Pilot Season Blues/What's to Come

<p>NJTM,
There are plenty of parts to go around in film, but TV is now being seen as more profitable by the people up the business chain. There’s actually a big civil war going on right now at one of the top agencies amongst the senior people some of whom want to stay the course with film and others who want to steer the ship more towards TV. The grass - we actors - tends to get trampled when those elephants go at it. But yeah … TV auditions are definitely part of the reality for a young, unestablished actor in LA if you’re lucky enough to be with a decent agent who would probably laugh you out of the room if you said you only wanted to do film. You’d better book some, too, if you don’t want to get dropped …</p>

<p>Talent isn’t the least consideration, but it’s definitely just one. Everybody is “too something” that has nothing to do with it the vast majority of the time besides all the weird business considerations. For instance, I have to accept that I’m often “too tall” to be cast next to some of the shorter leading men. Type and brand are also obviously huge considerations although the people on the business side are really the ones who make the decision as to what that is once you get your foot in the door. For those of us who spent years cultivating range, it’s really the sweet spot in that range that causes them to see dollar signs that you get stuck with at first. It’s not necessarily an artistic dead end, though. As a case in point, Juilliard graduate Keith David is a character guy who tends to fly under the public radar although he‘s one of the most prolific screen actors around. [Check</a> out his reel and notice the range he gets to play.](<a href=“Keith David Acting Reel - YouTube”>Keith David Acting Reel - YouTube) Although it’s often overlooked, the old Hollywood maxim of “Most actors can do one thing, the good ones can do two and the greats can do three or more” does still hold true. He’s one of the greats. Great guy, too, btw. </p>

<p>And for more blood and guts on the nuttiness of this reality, I recommend an article by sitcom writer Ken Levine entitled [“Guys</a> Are Not Going to Want to F*** Her.”](<a href=“http://kenlevine.blogspot.com/2010/02/guys-are-not-going-to-want-to-■■-her.html]“Guys”>By Ken Levine: Guys are not going to want to f**k her) Meh … Nobody held a gun to my head and said I had to pursue this as a career … and I’m honestly having a blast! :)</p>

<p>Are you kids still sure you want this? ;)</p>