I'm Going Places

When I first got to Los Angeles, any time people asked me what I did, I would always say "Oh, I'm an 'actor' right now" or "I'm trying to act." or "I'm trying to maybe get into the acting business someday. Perhaps."

Gee, who wants to hire that guy?

The thing I didn't realize was that even at those parties and coffee shops, I was auditioning. The aura of success around you is often just as important as actually succeeding out here.

Now that sounds like a bunch of LA bullshit, but it's really just as simple as how you present yourself. A friend of mine was talking about this on the way to a screening with me today: If a police officer is on the way to a crime scene, he doesn't sit in traffic on the 405 and maybe change lanes every once in awhile. That dude BLARES THOSE SIRENS because he's getting where he's going and he wants everybody to know it.

Even when I did get gigs, I would shrug sheepishly and mutter to the ground "Yeah, I booked this modeling gig for a Del Toro movie" almost as though I was ashamed of it. Because God forbid somebody might think you're smug! Gasp!

Not anymore. I trumpet my successes from the mountain tops. When people ask me how I've been doing, I look them straight in the eye and say "I'm great. My KIA commercial just aired and I can't wait for my next project. Let me tell you about it..." 

And ya know what? It works! Even in dry spells, I'll run into friends who say "You're really doing well out here!" They see me with a new respect, because I respect my own successes first. And that respect, in turn, creates new opportunities for people who remember you as an artist whose career is on the rise.