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??
