Unscripted - A Blog for Actors - Backstage

Ode to Gary Oldman

I have this fantasy. 

I am on a movie set, lying in a huge bed, draped in taupe, surrounded by a crew, about to shoot an intimate scene with one of the greatest talents and heart throbs of all time...Gary Oldman.

Yes. Gary Oldman: one of the most talented, seamless, versatile, dynamic, brilliant and under-awarded actors of our time.

Gary Oldman.

"True Romance." "The Professional." "Immortal Beloved." Gary Oldman. 

If there is any actor who deserves to be acknowledged as the epitome of stellar acting in its most mind-blowing forms; if only to raise the bar, heighten the standard of what great acting truly is on a universal level, that actor is Gary Oldman.

Personally, I think Gary Oldman is the male Meryl Streep.

And Now We Wait

One of the most nerve wracking parts of being an actor is the wait. You spend hours preparing for an audition: You get your lines down, glean what you can from the context of the script, and put your personal touch on the character and the scene. After all this work, you go in and pour out all that work on the audition room floor in 3-5 minutes and promptly exit. 

And then you wait.

For those of you who aren't actors, once you've auditioned, that's often the last contact you have with the production. It's not like job interviews where they either give you a time frame for when a decision will be made or let you know when they've decided to go with someone else. Every now and then they'll be so kind as to let you know, but more often than not, it's a matter of waiting until it's been long enough that you figure you didn't get the role. All that work and not so much as an email saying "Thank you but you didn't get the part." 

Are You a Specialist?

I've been thinking a lot lately about finding a specialty as an actor.  I know we're supposed to be versatile enough to do anything, but let's be honest. Most established talents find a niche and stick with it because that's what works. Tina Fey doesn't go from doing "30 Rock" to starring in four-hour period dramas. She stays in her wheel house, making wry comedies, and makes an excellent living doing what she's exceptionally good at.

Lately I've been working steadily in commercials and industrials, with a little print and voice over work thrown in here and there. Of course the assumption is that I'm biding my time until I get a juicy role in a tv show, play or movie. When I tell people I'm working on a commercial, sometimes I get replies such as, "That's great! When will we see you in television and film?" And I don't think they mean "see you in television" as in my latest ad. I hate to disappoint, but the truth is that I'm pretty darn happy right now, doing what I'm doing.  

Tea and Silver, the Old Chinese In and Out...

In Chinese film circles, they have an oft-asked question: are you in it for the money or the fame? For us western actors in China, its almost always the former, since it's even harder for us to gain national recognition here than for Americans to recognize a second Bruce Lee. Along that line of thought, I've been making out pretty well recently. My screen time has been sparse, as of recent, but the pay keeps on rising-- so I can't complain.

From the date of my last entry, I've had three gigs... well, kind of. The first was the last day of filming for that prison break show. I know for sure now it’s finally finally over, since I have been paid. The last day consisted of simply gluing on a mustache and looking out a window, but the crew bought me round trip tickets and paid me overtime just for that. Someone must've forgot that shot before. Oops.

Mass Hysteria

Last week I attended an invitation only screening of a new film to be released by Sony Pictures Classics on May 18th.

I was grateful to be invited by one of the film’s executive producers.

Starring Hugh Dancy, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Rupert Everett and Jonathan Pryce, Hysteria, based in the Victorian era, tells the story of how the fictitious female disease, known as hysteria, led to the invention of the vibrator.

The screening room was the size of a small movie theater. The chairs were comfortable and wide.

And instead of showing your ticket at the door, you showed your ID at the gate and a visitor pass at the front desk.

There were no refreshments, no popcorn, and no waiting lines. Just about everyone there knows everyone else and the dress is casual. No red carpet.

The director, Tanya Wexler, made a small announcement in the beginning. She thanked the audience for coming and then left us to the screen.

This is what I learned...

Never Say You Suck

This piece is called "Never Say You Suck" because it is really a companion piece to the post I did recently entitled "Never Say You're Sorry". One of these days I will have to write a blog about what you CAN say...

The last few auditions I have been involved with (both as an actor and as a producer) have had one thing in common: a lot of negative self-talk from the actors.Very LOUD negative self-talk.

An actor gets done with their audition and immediately announces to the room at large: "I can do better". Out loud. They say it OUT LOUD!

An actor walks through the waiting room and announces to all us nervous actors waiting for our turn: "You guys better do better than I just did!"

An actor runs into a friend in the parking lot at casting and says: "I suck".

PGDS - Post-Gig Depression Syndrome

I suffer from what I call PGDS, or Post-Gig Depression Syndrome. You know the drill; you've been working with a wonderful cast for several months, enjoying eight shows a week, and the comfort of feeling validated by your work. You're a working actor, hell yeah! Until the show ends and suddenly you are thrown into the pool of the unemployed. 

Without fail, I fall into PGDS when a fabulous job ends, and I don't have any jobs lined up on the horizon. I miss the show, my cast, what is feels like to be that character. The evil vampire voices start creeping in on me, telling me that I'll never book a show again. I'm confident in my career path and logically know that I will work again soon, but the doubt lurks around the corners of my bravado. 

Going Union

No matter what line of work you're in, if there is a workers' union for your job, choosing to join or not join the union is a big decision. In March I reached the point in my acting career where I felt it was the right time to finally join SAG. I had just wrapped my second SAG principal role (which put me at "must join" status), and the SAG-AFTRA merger was being voted on. By joining prior to the merger, I'd save at least $700 (the fee to join the merged union would go up), so I joined sooner rather than later.

I've been eligible to join SAG since May 2011, but had chosen not to because of the cost and because I was getting a lot of nonunion work. I was rather nervous about the effect this would have on my workflow. On the flipside though, I was looking forward to the better treatment and pay union actors receive.

Actors Insured

I settled back down into my metal folding chair in the basement studio. The second half of our monologue class was starting up and I’d snuck in just in time. There were some announcements before the next person got up to work, and as usual, a few people were slipping into the room late.

It was about ten minutes in that I noticed someone was still missing. Sean had called me earlier and asked if I was free to grab a drink before the class. He hadn’t sounded like he was in the best shape. I unfortunately was busy, but a bunch of us usually went out to a bar afterwards, so we said we’d wait until then.

But now, looking around, I couldn’t find Sean. I’d seen him in the first half of the night but hadn’t gotten a chance to say hi during the break. I kept an eye on both doors but he didn’t make it back in.

The Value of A Pair of Earrings

My mother is a costume designer and stylist, so I've always grown up with an appreciation for what clothes can do for a person.They transform you, they really do. And when you add the right pair of shoes? BAM. You're ready to go.

So when I had 2 auditions back to back, I knew I needed to find a way to become these different characters without changing my entire outfit. I just didn't have time. 

So what did I do? I chose a few pairs of earrings that would help define my character and I took a black blazer with me. Easy enough, right?

Exposed

I recently began working with a commercial agent.  (YAY!)  And the lesson I've learned from this so far is that nudity is a funny thing.  

Allow me to explain.

The first audition my agent sent me on happened to take place in Philadelphia, the city where I went to undergrad and remained for a few years afterwards doing regional theatre and a few local commercials. It was fantastic to go back, even for a brief time, but before I had a chance to get too nostalgic, my pants ripped.

If it's yours...it's yours

Around the third week of March my bike was stolen; out of the laundry room, out of my building and onto the streets of Los Angeles.

This was a new feeling for me. Ten years in New York and not a single break-in, mugging, mail fraud...nothing. Lucky dragon.

This was the bike I bought at the East West Players Gala last year in May at their annual fundraiser.

It was exactly what I wanted; a black, white, and hot pink beach cruiser, a little too heavy and a little too big to go with my west side lifestyle.

That Monday night in March I left for work, checked that my bike's tires were peeking out behind the laundry room door where she was locked up along with four other resident's bikes, "...still there."

But, when I got home there was nothing there but a huge white negative space where my hot girlie bike used to be. Somebody stole my bike!

I was in shock. I started laughing. It was absurd to me that someone would go to that much trouble; pick the lock, plan an escapable time to commit the petty crime, all over my heavy beach cruiser...?!

I told my landlord who was still awake and tried to be more upset as opposed to flabergasted.

But the truth is, ultimately, this was just an inconvenience.

Elemental

This weekend, I had two long shoot days on a western webseries. Being a western, it's mostly shot outdoors, and of course there's an obligatory desert scene. It's cold in the desert in California in late March. The rigors of the shoot reminded me of one I blogged about a year ago (Will Freeze for Work). 

Out in the desert, we were combating relentless winds; ultra-fine dust that worked it's way into eyes, ears, nose, and mouth; and blindingly bright sun exacerbated by reflection off the white desert surface (this being a period western, these cowboys didn't benefit from sunglasses). At least one in three takes was spoiled by someone's hat being blown away. Several of us were running on only a few hours sleep.