Being Nice

Being an actor in a smaller market like Portland, Oregon means we all tend to know each other, the agents and casting directors. So when I meet a new actor I am always pleased (and a little surprised!).

This happened earlier this week while at an audition for a non-broadcast training type of project. I was a few minutes early and was just getting ready to go in when a stranger frantically pulled in next to me.

"You look like an actor!" She yelled out. (Might have been the headshot in my hand...)

"Yep! Are you lost?" I replied, totally recognizing the panicked look on her face.

She was, in fact, not as lost as she thought. She was standing in front of the casting office. I showed her the way to the door, how to get in using the passcode posted right on the door, where the restroom was and where to sign in. She was so relieved and so grateful you would have thought I had given her a kidney. Or booked her for the gig myself! She kept saying "You are so nice!" All I could think of was "Really? I am not thinking I am being nice, I am thinking I am being 'human'!"

Later that afternoon I received an email from a  fellow actor that had overheard her gushing in the waiting room. In the email, he mentioned that I had been so nice to him when we first met and that he was not at all surprised to hear I had been nice once again. I was again surprised. 

All this commenting on how "nice" I was got me to thinking...Shouldn't we ALL be nice to everyone we meet in the course of our acting career? Shouldn't every actor treat every other actor with kindness?

The answer is, of course.

And we shouldn't be nice just in case today's stand-in is tomorrow's casting assistant is next year's Oscar winner. We should be nice because we are all wrapped up in the same love affair - the love of acting.

-- Mercedes Rose

 

Comments

[Arielle]

I'll go one step further and say that every person should be treated with kindness. I once got a job (not acting related, but still) because I was the only candidate who was nice to the receptionist. I didn't even think I was being nice: She was wearing really cute shoes and I said as much. She happened to be really close with the hiring manager, however, and when asked what she thought of the people interviewed, suggested that I be hired.

You never know who you're really talking to, nor how things might come back to you.

[Kathleen Sauer]

Couldn't agree MORE! Goes back to the Golden Rule of treating others as we would like to be treated.
I work in retail and think about that everytime a new customer enters the little boutique where I work. I say "Hi, Welcome!" and so many people respond with a surprised, "Thank you!". Instantly making someone feel at ease breaks down so many barriers, makes my job easier and their shopping experience more pleasant. And so many times I've found out that the person I've just been nice to turns out to be someone who knows my husband or is a friend of the owner of the store, and I don't have to be concerned about the impression I gave because I know I treat everyone with respect and kindness. Thanks Mercedes for perpetuating NIceness!

[Steph]

This industry is hard enough. We should be nice to each other as a matter of course.

Wishing you every success,

Steph

[Angela Sauer]

I always think it's more important to be supportive than competitive. As actors, we know how tough this business is on all of us. No sense in making it harder for anyone else.