Last night I had the honour of stopping by a very close friend’s house to see the new addition to the family. Baby Mia was born on Labour Day. How’s that? In labour on Labour Day. Definitely made me giggle. So there we were with my friend’s 7 pound baby and of course the girlfriend fawned all over her for the first bit. She is very cute and I learned what a finger condom is. If you don’t know it is what is taking the place of a pacifier in some circles. Basically you stick a little finger condom on your finger and jam your finger into the baby’s mouth. I will say it worked amazingly. The reaction on the family members applying the finger was priceless. Very impressive how strong the suction can be on a new born.

Have you ever just sat back and admired how life begins? Have you taken a look at how fragile we are in the beginning? How dependent and how needy? This is how we all start out. With crap coming out of our diapers and up your back, crying all the time when the littlest thing goes wrong. But you ask any parent, what would you change? They would all say nothing. Well maybe they could do without the crap up the back and in every tiny wrinkle of skin imaginable, but basically they wouldn’t change anything. Why should they? Someone had to suffer through yours and my crap filled diapers and whining. It definitely changes you as a person. Gives you a whole different perspective on life. I know the birth of my daughter changed the direction I was headed. Which was a nowhere unemployed bum. Now it wasn’t just me throwing my life away. Every decision I was about to make would affect the life I had helped bring into the world. How could I live with myself, or be so selfish to just piss away my life when this fragile, tiny baby was just at the beginning of her journey? To just continue on the road I was on which led to nowhere. It doesn’t happen overnight but it will hit you. Someone is counting on you now.

I owe a lot to my daughter, besides the crap up the back discovery. But does she owe a lot to me? Nope. It’s my responsibility as a parent to provide and guide her as best I can. I know some people are scared to have children because it is a life changing event. But it is not negative….just different. Ask any parent. The upside is ten times greater than any possible downside. I can tell you honestly, would I change a thing? Not a thing. And I would do it all over again in a second.

So I decided to stay up late and catch Rocky II last night. A decent film but wow it took long to develop. Also why is it they make Rocky and Adrian look like a special needs couple in this one? I thought it was very strange how far they were taking the brain damaged or dim witted angle. I guess the script was a little rushed to catch onto the hype that the first installment generated.

Amazing how a script with the same characters and the same writer can come out so different from the first film. Some parts were really like pulling teeth. At one point he seemed like the wimpy kid that all the bullies pick on and he was just giving up his lunch money.

I always believed generating your own work is a great way to make your mark. Look at Sylvester Stallone, Luke Wilson, Owen Wilson, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck are just a few who have exploded after creating their own work. I think I really have to sit down and come up with a great idea and put it to paper. I believe I can sell the script but I guess I need one first.

If any of you are down to watch something a little silly and yet some what serious, I highly recommend the CW show Supernatural. The show starts off a little too serious but I’m telling you, over the years the show has truly developed a goofy, humourous side to go along with all the demon and spirit references. Sometime the acting is over the top but if you suspend belief and just sit back and enjoy the ride, you are in for a treat. And they have some incredible guest stars. Very hot. Examples, Sarah Shahi, Alona Tal and even Jared’s wife, Genevieve Padalecki.

That is my TV pick for this week.

I hope all of you had a great labour day weekend. I took the time, as I mentioned, to go to a cottage. It was very relaxing but also very motivating. I could not help but sit there and feel that I want to be able to do this every weekend. I want to own my own cottage where I can go to unwind at my discretion. Somewhere in the woods and near a lake would be ideal. I truly want this very bad. So instead of having a completely relaxing weekend, I ended up getting pretty fired up about my pursuit to act as my career. I was with friends and hitting the Brome fair, and just couldn’t help but think “why am I here?” “What am I doing wrong?” These things haunt me. If anyone has suggestions, I am all ears.

I watch Rocky for the first time last night. I always thought I had seen the whole series but quickly realized my exposure started with Clubber Lang in part three. I know the series has a rap of being cheesy and predictable. But I invite you to go and watch the first movie. This story is about a guy who never got a break and isn’t the smartest or the fastest but he has a lot of heart. This role may be the misconception as to why some people think Sylvester Stallone is dumb in some way. Well he sure as hell wrote a kick ass script with the first installment of Rocky. You can’t help but sympathize with his character the whole time. The adversity he overcomes in every facet of his life, that you can achieve anything with hard work and determination. It is truly a great film. It is also very well acted. If you have had hard times in your life, then you can relate to this film.

Just watching that film and replaying the past weekend in my mind, brought so many things to mind. I want a better life for not only my family, but my friends and my immediate family. I want to be able to devote time to everyone. I also realize I need to act to stay sane. I love it more than any possible job in the world. I think I’m going to get some copies of some films I made with friends and put them on the website.

So enough about my dreams. This weekend was awesome. My niece showed me what a true belly flop looks like while wearing a bikini. It was spectacular. Then my niece and my daughter decided to do tandem jumps which brought us the “Cherry Jump” where the girls hold hands and the “Avocado” which really doesn’t make sense and I still can’t get the reference but it was very funny to say the least. I was able to witness a projectile bowel movement from a cow almost as tall as I am (6’2”) and a waterfall of urine from another giant cow. I saw a prize winning cow and I and I am still confused what it takes to win best cow. We saw a huge rabbit and I got a 30 minute massage for 25$ and it was quite relaxing. The kids made me go on the 1001 Nights ride (Magic Carpet) and the guy running it decided to give us the extended, can  make you vomit, session. He almost won. I had to ask my daughter if she slipped him a twenty to try and make me barf. Sunday it rained all day and was wonderful as we were able to sit through a spectacular thunderstorm while eating a mammoth breakfast and spent the rest of the day playing cards while the girlfriend made incredible lasagna and all in all just taking it easy.

A truly great weekend. You are invited to share what you did this past weekend. I would be honoured to read it.

It’s Friday and I’m going to Lac Brome this weekend (Sutton actually). So be ready for the possibility there will be no blogs until Tuesday. I know, you are just as sad as I am. Hopefully this weekend will provide some time to reflect on what I’m doing and how I can do this better. I have joined the Twitter nation, which I never thought I would do. I must say, I actually enjoy it. If you want to be amused, follow Simon Pegg. He’s just a down to earth, funny guy. But back to my point. I know there is a lot of luck in making it as an actor but how do I improve my chances?

I was watching some movies this past week. Saw Source Code, Little Red Riding Hood and Lincoln Lawyer. In all three of those movies I saw roles I thought I could play better. I’m not saying I should have been the star because I respect all the leads in those films, but I just saw things that I would have done different that would have made that character more interesting and brought a different vibe to each film.

Funny enough since I started writing this blog I have really been focusing on what I need to do. I shaved my legs and chest and got a Brazilian wax….then I started thinking about what I need to do to make it! 😉

This world is a glorious place and sometimes there are pitfalls in your life which bring you down. I know I am having some right now. But always remember there are good times and good people out there to lean on. It can also be extremely discouraging trying to be an actor. Those of you out there who are similar souls know what I mean. Sometimes you watch a movie with terrible acting and you can’t help but ask yourself what the f*&^?? How can this bum be getting paid to make this drivel? Guess maybe we should try to make our own drivel and take a page out of Luke Wilson and Owen Wilson’s books. I’m not going to tell you how they made. That’s homework for the long weekend.

Have a great long weekend all of you. See you on the other side of Labour day.

Yesterday, on Weston’s Wisdom, we left off with the dramatic conclusion to never follow the head talent. What will happen next???? Tune in….now.

So on my first audition I was in the union and on my way to stardom…or was I? See most struggling actors get to cut their teeth on independent projects and short films that pay nothing before they get their shot at the union. I did two student films and then was union bound. Did I mention that I never went to theatre or acting school? I didn’t think so. I once read that 75% of acting is osmosis. Since I was doing impressions and mimicking every action of the actors and performers I enjoyed, I figured I had a leg up on the competition. I do not know if I do but let me start by saying it is almost impossible to learn to act. It is something you have, that is in you, that is ingrained in your personality, a part of you. Of course people will tell you this is wrong but the people who learn to act usually already have it in them. Regardless of your reason for starting or pursuing, you usually have that spark.

Now that I was in the union, I believed the world was my oyster. I believed Kate Beckinsale and I were going to do a romantic comedy any day now. Or maybe a dramatic thriller with Tom Hanks and I would play the villain. But it was not to be. What ensued was a slew of auditions for commercials and one line roles. I landed a few commercials and had a non-speaking role in a very cheesy movie of the week called Time Bomb where I played a security guard who has his gun taken off him by David Arquette. That was the extent of my television work until this year where I will be found playing Billy the Cop in the upcoming season of Blue Mountain State on Spike.

We will get into more detailed stories about my trek down the road. But moving forward we need to see how I can get my break. What can I do to be noticed? I’m in Montreal and I have never had an audition for a role with more than 2 pages of text. This is such a small market and almost everything is pre-cast for the main roles. How do I carve my path??

As I sit and wonder how my last two auditions went, I seem to be reflecting on my journey to where I am today. You see I always wanted to be an actor but when I was younger I just seemed to believe it would just happen by some miracle like the red sea of Hollywood would part and welcome me in with open arms. So I honestly did nothing to pursue it. I worked and I lived and I just let time slip by. Finally after I was laid off from a company that was closing its doors, I decided I would really set my goals towards reaching my dreams.

I enrolled in some acting classes at a great school in Montreal called ASM Studio. Basically you get classes with people who act for a living, whether it be theatre, film or a combination of the two. So my journey had started. As I mentioned before I had been doing voices since I was 4 so I took a microphone, hooked it up to my pc and recorded myself doing over 70 voices. Celebrity, impressions, cartoons, accents…you name it. I started looking around to see what I could do. It was at this time that I decided to bring it to Cinar studios in Montreal. This is where I met Andy Gryn. He was responsible for casting and I brought him my cd which he was kind enough to listen too. He decided to give me my first audition and it was on a union production. (I will write more on getting into the union later). Needless to say, I had my first audition. I nailed it and got my first part which was doing a voice for a cartoon. I was now a union member.

That first gig was something to behold. My calltime was 10am. They were running behind so I was kind enough to let some people in a rush go before me. Then the star of the show arrived and what do you know…he was in a rush as well. The director (a woman) ran to greet him with open arms and even offered to read with him. They had a blast for 2 hours. Laughing and joking, a real good time. Finally cam my turn behind the mic. I start doing my lines and the director, who apparently was all laughed out at this point, kept saying “It’s just not funny.” She didn’t realize I was able to hear everything they were saying because the tech had left the studio mic on. She didn’t like any of it. Lucky for me I already had my first credit to get in the union so I was set but word to the wise, try to never have to follow the star…..EVER!

I will leave the story off here for today. But trust me, the journey continues. Have a great day and came back for more!

Welcome to my blog and thanks for stopping by. I guess you know my name so I can skip that intro. What I can say is I love acting, with all my heart. I know it is what I was born to do. I have been doing voices and impressions since I was 4 years old. I was doing a full set of Eddie Murphy’s Delirious when I was 12.When I was 11 years old I was doing We Are the World and mimicking every person’s voice. I asked my mother if she could bring me to someone and let them hear my impression. There was no Youtube back then of course. She said to me “No one cares if someone can do all the voices in We Are the World”. A full two years later Andre Philippe Gagnon came to fame doing exactly just that. To be fair, he was doing the impression in 1985 but it took a while to catch hold. But how much more impressive would it be to have seen an 11 year old do it?  I was a little frustrated to say the least.

Let’s just say it has always been the dream. I am going to say something now that you may think is conceited. If so, I understand. But I will also tell you something which may have you change your thought or your way of thinking. In my heart, I have always known I am going to make it. It has never been a question to me. I once had an ex-girlfriend, which is probably why she is an ex, ask me “So when are you going to give up and find a real job?” I didn’t even know how to answer. The question just didn’t compute. I know I am a great actor. I know one day I will be able to make a living on acting alone. A good living. Now some of you may think I’m crazy or conceited but for you I have only one question, what good does it do you to think that someone out there is better than you? What good or purpose does it serve you to think you might not make it? The answer is nothing. It does absolutely no good and all kinds of harm. How do you expect to make it if you doubt yourself? People will see right through you and see your insecurities.

So here I am. Sitting at my computer documenting my struggles to make it in the world as an actor and really get my career going in the right direction. I hope you come along for the ride and live with me through the good times and the bad which there may be many as I have never been the world’s luckiest person. But whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger as was said by Friedrich Nietzsche. So shall we start the ride? Amazingly, this ride is free. So take a seat, and let’s see where the next stop is. This definitely won’t be easy for an actor living in Montreal, but it’s a start.

Welcome to my world. This is a detailed documentation of my struggles (and random thoughts) of trying to establish myself as an actor. I hope you enjoy the ride, for I am sure it will have many ups and downs.