Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?

Well, it's another week down, and it wasn't too shabby. I worked for 4 out of the 5 days. I would consider that a victory. Considering that a lot people probably didn't work more than 2 days this week. It's pilot season, which means all the new shows that you will be seeing in the fall are starting to film right now. They film now because all of the season regular shows are on hiatus, so the crew members move over to work on the new shows. Work picks up for folks like myself.

I worked on the show 'Cougar Town' on Tuesday. It was a 13 hour day. Which meant a good paycheck but also hard to catch up on sleep. It was a fun day though none the less. Plus, being on set with Courtney Cox doesn't really make for a bad day. Wednesday was one interesting day. I had a 6 am call time in Malibu. Which when you think about it, it's not that early, but... that means I've gotta wake up at 4:45 to get ready and drive there. Waking up with a "4" on the clock makes me wanna puke. The day was set on the pier. So I got to see the sun rise in Malibu, which made my $8 an hour job worth getting up that early.

That day came out to be around 14 hours and full of characters. There were a few familiar faces, which was fun. One guy, named Ira, he is a horny old man, who has been in the game for YEARS. I was in the van with him going to set, and he said probably the DIRTIEST jokes I've heard to date. And the fact that he told it at 6am really set the pace for the day. Another familiar faces was a woman named "Sinderella." I don't know her real name. That's just what she goes by. She is a skinny, tattooed, white woman who is down on her luck. A real character. She has a rap CD to boot. The only thing she raps about is smoking pot, partying, and how she hates her family. She's a real catch.

I worked on another new show yesterday called "Edgar Floats." Best part to work on that show was that I only had to drive 4 miles. THANK GOD. I was told that I was booked for 2 days on that show. As the day progresses, they picked 10 of us to go home early. Which is a catch 22. You go home early, but you miss out on the overtime money. The other kick in the balls was that the 10 of us would be apart of the recall for the following day (which is how I am writing this blog right now). But hey, this happens from time to time, and there isn't anything I can do. It's just part of what I signed up for.

I got an audition for my voice over talents last night. So that was cool. I was given the paragraph to read and record. So I got to use my ghetto closet studio for the first time. So we shall see what happens with that. I also got a call from the web series I auditioned for the other day. They want me to be apart of it, with a small reoccurring role. It's not a main character, and there is no pay. BUT... I do get copy, credit, and I get to eat. All of which are a step in the right direction.

"I don't care is people think I am an 'overactor', as long as they enjoy what I do. People who think that would call Van Gogh an 'overpainter.' - Jim Carrey

The Ususal Suspects

The past couple days have been pretty productive. I worked on "How I Met Your Mother" on Friday, it was the usual day. Shot a couple scenes, had a few good laughs and we were out by lunch. Which was nice because I didn't sit in the 405 HWY traffic on a Friday afternoon. Some of you know what I am talking about. For those who don't; the 405 HWY on a Friday evening is like sitting in parking lot for a good 90 mins. When it's summer, and you're A/C dosn't work, then you are S.O.L.

Random fun fact; I got a nice little shout out by the actress Christine Lakin ( Al from the show "Step by Step") via Twitter last week. I had wrote her saying hello on the off chance that she might actually read it. I did that because back in August I worked on a Feature Film she had been apart of called "You Again" with Jamie Lee Curtis and Segourney Weaver. I was upgraded to be a "Husband" of one of the featured actress'. I had gotten that upgrade because I had worked on a few other movies with the "extras coordinator" and remembered me from that. Anyways, So I was paired up with the actress Anna White (small role in 'Valentines Day' as tap dancing weather girl and multiple Broadway hits.). I worked with her for 2 weeks so I got a cool friendship out of it. So we have that mutual friend, so I thought I'd mention it.

Today I worked on the set of "FLASH FORWARD." My favorite new show this season. If you haven't seen it, you are missing out, and should catch up this summer before season 2. It was a really quick day. One scene, and there wasn't any dialogue. It's nice to be done early in the morning, but it's the overtime hours where you make the good money, so that's the catch. My friend Chuck was there again. As always, was just as goofy as ever. Telling me about his days when he used to deliver copies of porno movies from the studio to the stores. What job that sounded like. People stared at us every once in awhile because Chuck has a voice that carries. So you can imagine when "particular" words where said people wanted to know what two dudes where talking about. That was after his story about being in jail in New Orleans for a DUI. I had a full morning.

"Decide that you want it more than you are afraid of it." - Bill Cosby

West Side Story

For the past two days I have been working on the show 'Parks and Recreation' on-location in Hollywood. They had us park at the Hollywood Palladium parking lot. Cool fact about the Hollywood Palladium is; 5 years ago, I had caught wind of the website "Beinamovie.com" It allowed people to be in movie who were visiting Los Angeles or people who were curious. Basically they made you an extra for a cattle call, and you didn't get paid. Anyways, back then, I had no idea what an "extra" for a movie was. So I signed up because I thought it was cool to have the opportunity to be in a movie. They were filming at the Hollywood Palladium, the movie was 'Akeelah and the bee.' A spelling bee movie, so I was apart of the audience for the spelling bee. I had no idea that it was going to be a 12 hour day or that we would get feed a sack lunch. None the less, I was just happy to see the process of my very first movie set experience. That was 5 years ago, and it was just cool to see how far I had come from that point in my life.

The scenes I have been shooting take place in a club. Club scenes are the longest days. Long days don't bother me, but long days dancing to no music and holding a drink get a little old. Great money though, and having comedic talents such as Amy Poehler there made the day better. The real funny part of days like this, are the other 20 somethings I get surrounded by. This time around I had 3 couples, 2 married couples, guys with fohawks, and girls that were 19 who skipped college to become a movie start (that usually works out for them. . .) The way this goes is, the couples get annoyed with each other because of too much 'together time'(ALWAYS entertaining) the fohawk guys use their time to try to pimp the ladies around, while the 19 year old girls complain that day is too long and can't believe they were up at 4:30 in the morning.

My buddy Jason was there to keep me laughing through all this. Jason is probably one of the biggest pot smokers I know. He disappears and comes back smelling like a Dave Matthews Concert. Sometimes I will give him a ride home because he takes the bus. Which is pretty fun when you get stuck in traffic.

Today, I had the actor David Lawrence aka Puppet Master from HEROES come to my apartment and help me with getting my Voice Over career on the right track. Set me up with a mic, the software, how to use it, and I am now apart of his agency. I took classes from him in January and this kicked it into high gear. Voice Over work consists of EVERYTHING you can think of. Commercials, Movies, Tv, Radio, Over the phone recordings. So this will be another door opened and a way to expand my career to cover all my bases.

"If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. It's the hard that makes it great." - Tom Hanks

Some Like it Hot

The first Monday after day light savings time is always rough. It was no picnic having a 6am call time in downtown L.A. this morning. My alarm went off at 5, which really is 4am two days ago. Good thing I love my job, otherwise waking up would have been a stretch. It was a normal day, shot a chase scene which is fun to watch. It was for a new show called "Uncle Nigel." It was a nice hot day today. Which made for a a good afternoon.

The one thing that added color to my day, were the people I was surrounded by. I was paired up with a girl named Elle. She was quite the character. Very socially awkward. She would just ramble about whatever came across her mind. Everything from her being accused of being a racist from her African American roommate, to her struggles with insomnia. I had trouble coming up with reactions to what she was telling me. I also had an acquaintance named Chuck that I see from time to time on set with me today. The best way I can explain Chuck is; looks just like a bald version of the actor Steve Buscemi. With the EXACT same voice. a real character. He looks like the type of guy that would get excited about the return of the McRib at McDonald's.

Chuck also is accident prone. His latest stunt was a mishap in the kitchen. He was cooking bacon, and some grease had popped out of the pan and onto the floor. He ended up slipping on it, and catching himself by putting his fingers into the pan with the bacon cooking inside. The result, the most disgusting, blistered fingers I have ever seen. Moving on...

These are the people I interact with everyday. Each one with a different story to tell. Some are actors like myself, others do it for another source of income, and some are in between jobs. It's one hell of an experience at times. It's all apart of the ride. I know that it is hard for a lot of you to understand why I don't take a better paying job and audition on the side. In this business, I have noticed that it is best to be on set and show your face as much as you can. I can't do that if I am waiting tables and only auditioning. I'm doing what I got to do to. Small price to pay when you have a goal.

"It is hard to convince anyone of your hopes and dreams until you manifest them and prove them." - Heath Ledger

Cool Hand Luke

I worked on the show "How I Met Your Mother" yesterday. It's like going home when I work that show. This is the third season I have worked on this show as a regular. Many opportunities have come out of my experiences working on that show. I have received a SAG voucher, met the cast, and it has provided me with somewhat of a steady paycheck. Being a regular for this show has been a blessing. Made a lot of good friends working the show as well.

In this line of work the days can be 15 hours long, bad conditions, and surround by negative people. It can wear you down after awhile. But when I work that show, and see how close the cast and crew are, it reminds me why I got into this line of work in the first place. You create this family atmosphere that you don't see anywhere else. Its as if you aren't at work at all. The long hours don't bother you. Thats how I feel when I work that show, and it's that feeling that keeps my hope up that all this hustling can be worth it down the road.

Thats the one thing people don't understand when they come to HOLLYWOOD to be the next Johnny Depp or Jennifer Aniston. When they realize that it does actually take time, the negative mindset starts to settle in. Thats what makes this job the hardest. It's the mentality to overcome the people that surround you. The auditions and all the other tests you got to pass are easy. Almost every single day I hear the same conversations. The consist of people talking about SAG vouchers, how long the day is, and how unfair the process is. That is how you filter those who can stand it, and those who can. I don't plan on leaving the game anytime soon. There is no reason to take a job that doesn't make you happy. No one wants to be 50 years old and wonder what would could have happened if they actually went for the career they wanted. I apologize for having nothing funny to say, so i will leave you with a quote from "Family Guy,"

Tom Tucker: And now, here's Ollie Williams, with the BlaccuWeather Forecast. Ollie!
Ollie Williams: IT'S GON' RAIN!
Tom Tucker: Thanks, Ollie.

Nobody Puts Baby in the Corner

My audition went well yesterday. It was a low budget SAG feature film. I only had to drive a couple miles down the freeway to this Holiday Inn which was nice; considering my time slot was at 4pm, the rush hour would have SUUUUCKED otherwise. The movie is called "3 Time's a Charm." I read for the roles of "Football Player" and "Trent." I read for Football Player first, and they liked what they saw, so they gave me a few pages for a character named Trent. I looked them over twice and was ready to go. They gave me the option to go back into the holding room to look it over, but it really wouldn't have made a difference if I read in 30 mins. or right there on the spot. I do better under pressure anyway, I don't have the time to worry or get nervous; which is for pussies anyways. I say that because no matter how your audition goes, your life won't change if you don't get the part, so why worry?

One of the FUNNIEST things I do notice during this process, is that I notice that some of the people are holding head shots that don't even look like them! Their hair is a different color, or they gained weight. I just don't get it. The only thing that can really get into people's heads is when you go into audition and you see the BIG table with all the other head shots laid about. Some with better resumes, better pictures, and hell some of them didn't really have to audition because they already know the director. So now we play the waiting game.

Today I went to work on the set of NCIS: L.A. It was a cattle call of 300 people, which always good for a laugh. You'll meet the good, the bad, and the ugly on these calls. First thing I saw out of the gate, was once I found the parking garage, 3 cars had pulled into the opening that had the BIG BOLD LETTERS saying DO NOT ENTER EXIT ONLY above it. Since it was 3 cars, that means that the first person made a mistake, the other two were out of PURE stupidity to follow. Which gave me a good laugh right off the bat. Pretty solid day overall. Good food always makes being on a set of 400 people (crew included) bearable.

It was a club scene, which means, a lot of 20 somethings dancing to no music holding a drink for 12 hours. It can be a little annoying after awhile. And the PA's will pair us up sometimes. Which means, they see me (red head) and pair me up with another red head or "the bottom of the barrel." Which is fine because they usually have a "good personality" which helps with conversation. She is probably thinking the same thing about me for all i know. HA! Anyways, not a bad day, good company, makes for yet another day not wasted.

East of Eden

This is the first posting. I've never been a big fan of blogs, but I have reached a point where I feel like a Facebook status change just doesn't do my day justice. I'm not implying that my life is so interesting that hundreds of thousands should follow this blog. What I am saying is, the line of work I have chosen to take part in has so many unique paths that it can be found interesting; Whether you were born into the industry, moved out here from Nowhere U.S.A. or have preformed "favors" to land 5 second guest spot on Entourage.

I personally have taken the route to incorporate music, food, and movies to describe my journey from day to day. Everyone can relate with all three. I understand the food part of this is random, but to an actor food is sometimes all we got at the end of the day. I will change the music on the playlist frequently to go with the type of week I've had, or just recommend something new that I've heard that I want to share.

Amateur Hour will be a little section that will have tips to help point out beginners mistakes I notice on a daily basis. You won't BELIEVE some of the dumbass things I see. You must understand, I deal with people who were born into the industry, moved out here from Nowhere U.S.A. or have preformed "favors" to land 5 second guest spot on Entourage.

I will also post videos of myself as I go to and from auditions and how they turned out. My twitter account is also on here for those of you who are not apart of social networking. Most importantly this is for all of you who support me and always ask how my career is going and what move I will be making next. So here it is, I hope you all enjoy, and please recommend this to people you know who; want to be an actor, just want a good laugh, or if you work in a cubicle and need a 5 minute break. I've also got to give credit for Jason Minatrea for the help with the name of this blog. Combining the two things I love the most. Acting and Food.