That's The Guy
So I watched a television show the other night purely out of the need to watch the actor who got the role I had auditioned for about a month ago.
Does that make me a bad person?
I was curious. So sue me.
Let me state a few facts right off.
This was not a show I watched with any regularity. In fact, I've never watched a single episode of it. The role I had auditioned for was a guest starring role. One and done. I say to justify why I wouldn't need to watch any additional episodes of the series I had already not been watching.
I watched the episode, waiting for the scene in which, let's call him Larry, makes his first appearance. I knew the scene from the sides I had been given for the audition. I waited.
There was the line about the test.
I knew we were getting close.
There was the phone call and the angry hang up.
And...cue...Larry.
Uh huh. Okay. So that's the guy.
Larry walks in and delivers his first line and I paused the television and studied him for a few seconds.
There was nothing amazing about Larry. Let me just say that. He was interesting-looking, however. Almost odd in a way. I'm not saying I'm anything to look at it but this actor had a very unique look. He didn't look like a regular guy. He looked like a James Bond villain.
And I mean that in the nicest of ways!
I have a beard. Larry didn't.
I'm tall. Larry wasn't. In fact the two women in the scene were taller than he was.
Larry was bald. I'm not.
Short, bald and unique in appearance. If that's what they were going for, I couldn't compete. I cut myself some slack for not getting the part.
Next I studied Larry's acting.
Now remember, I knew the lines because I had been given the sides for my taped audition. I wanted to see how Larry interpreted them, to see if he was going to do something different than I had done.
The scene moved along as I remembered reading and I found my mind wandering.
Larry was just okay.
I'm being totally impartial here. No judgement based on me being jaded or bitter or angry. Larry was just...meh. I didn't buy it. His performance that is. He was hitting the emotional levels I thought were needed.
But!! (you're saying right about now) He got the part!
He sure did. Good for him. Good for Larry.
I'll always be the first to say 'Good going!"
I won't condemn another actor because they landed work.
It's interesting is all. To see the person who got the role you auditioned for and what production decided was the best way to go.
It's all subjective.
I could torture myself by trying to figure out what the director was thinking when he chose Larry as the guy. I could wrack my brain trying to pick out all things I did right and all the things I did wrong. I can't be shorter and I'm not shaving my head unless the money is really, really, good.
So what does it really matter?
You move on. You do the work to get the work. You hope.
Everything else is out of your control.
Rejection sucks. As actors, though, we have to make sure our filters are tuned correctly.
Don't interpret not getting a job...not being the right actor for a particular part as not being a good actor, or as some actors perceive, that you're not a good person.
I wasn't right for this part. That's it. The casting director hadn't checked my credit rating or if I had an outrages, unacceptable number of speeding tickets. Larry had something I didn't for this role.
What I have to remember is, I will, one day, have something Larry won't have. That's how it goes. That's the business, for good or for bad.
Understand that, accept that, and you'll tread water long enough to land work. Remember this and this is how you will get through the rough patches.
Now...
Does watching a show or movie for which I auditioned for but wasn't cast just to see the actor who landed the job instead of me do me any good? Absolutely not.
But seeing someone who looks like me, do something similar to what I did in my audition during their performance, tells me it comes down to look.
Somebody is always good to look more like the judge, doctor, FBI Director, father of seven, astronaut, toymaker and serial killer more than me. There's nothing I can about that except know that one day a casting director will look at my photo and my taped audition and say, 'That's the guy."
It's what keeps me going.
just keeping it reel
copyright 2019
all rights reserved
...
Does that make me a bad person?
I was curious. So sue me.
Let me state a few facts right off.
This was not a show I watched with any regularity. In fact, I've never watched a single episode of it. The role I had auditioned for was a guest starring role. One and done. I say to justify why I wouldn't need to watch any additional episodes of the series I had already not been watching.
I watched the episode, waiting for the scene in which, let's call him Larry, makes his first appearance. I knew the scene from the sides I had been given for the audition. I waited.
There was the line about the test.
I knew we were getting close.
There was the phone call and the angry hang up.
And...cue...Larry.
Uh huh. Okay. So that's the guy.
Larry walks in and delivers his first line and I paused the television and studied him for a few seconds.
There was nothing amazing about Larry. Let me just say that. He was interesting-looking, however. Almost odd in a way. I'm not saying I'm anything to look at it but this actor had a very unique look. He didn't look like a regular guy. He looked like a James Bond villain.
And I mean that in the nicest of ways!
I have a beard. Larry didn't.
I'm tall. Larry wasn't. In fact the two women in the scene were taller than he was.
Larry was bald. I'm not.
Short, bald and unique in appearance. If that's what they were going for, I couldn't compete. I cut myself some slack for not getting the part.
Next I studied Larry's acting.
Now remember, I knew the lines because I had been given the sides for my taped audition. I wanted to see how Larry interpreted them, to see if he was going to do something different than I had done.
The scene moved along as I remembered reading and I found my mind wandering.
Larry was just okay.
I'm being totally impartial here. No judgement based on me being jaded or bitter or angry. Larry was just...meh. I didn't buy it. His performance that is. He was hitting the emotional levels I thought were needed.
But!! (you're saying right about now) He got the part!
He sure did. Good for him. Good for Larry.
I'll always be the first to say 'Good going!"
I won't condemn another actor because they landed work.
It's interesting is all. To see the person who got the role you auditioned for and what production decided was the best way to go.
It's all subjective.
I could torture myself by trying to figure out what the director was thinking when he chose Larry as the guy. I could wrack my brain trying to pick out all things I did right and all the things I did wrong. I can't be shorter and I'm not shaving my head unless the money is really, really, good.
So what does it really matter?
You move on. You do the work to get the work. You hope.
Everything else is out of your control.
Rejection sucks. As actors, though, we have to make sure our filters are tuned correctly.
Don't interpret not getting a job...not being the right actor for a particular part as not being a good actor, or as some actors perceive, that you're not a good person.
I wasn't right for this part. That's it. The casting director hadn't checked my credit rating or if I had an outrages, unacceptable number of speeding tickets. Larry had something I didn't for this role.
What I have to remember is, I will, one day, have something Larry won't have. That's how it goes. That's the business, for good or for bad.
Understand that, accept that, and you'll tread water long enough to land work. Remember this and this is how you will get through the rough patches.
Now...
Does watching a show or movie for which I auditioned for but wasn't cast just to see the actor who landed the job instead of me do me any good? Absolutely not.
But seeing someone who looks like me, do something similar to what I did in my audition during their performance, tells me it comes down to look.
Somebody is always good to look more like the judge, doctor, FBI Director, father of seven, astronaut, toymaker and serial killer more than me. There's nothing I can about that except know that one day a casting director will look at my photo and my taped audition and say, 'That's the guy."
It's what keeps me going.
just keeping it reel
copyright 2019
all rights reserved
...
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