<p>This documentary, literally entitled "That Guy ... Who Was in That Thing," is on Netflix and should be required viewing for anyone aspiring to be a professional actor. Other than the one I've worked with, I was surprised to see that most of them have acting degrees. BFAs from BU, SUNY Purchase and USC; MFAs from ACT and Rutgers; a BA from Penn State and degrees from LAMDA, RADA and Drama Centre London. Check it out.</p>
<p>Funny, I had started watching it and noticed an actor who played my son’s father once. I remembered watching Zeljko Ivanek win his first Emmy. Did any other actors highlighted win awards?</p>
<p>I don’t feel like diving back into IMDb to get all the award and nomination info for each, but several of them have Tony, Drama Desk, Obie, Emmy, Golden Globe and even Oscar nominations for supporting roles they’ve played over the years. What’s most important, though, is that they have active careers spanning decades which is an honor unto itself despite the ups and downs they describe. These are the survivors and are as such the kinds of guys you want to listen to because they’ve pretty much seen it all.</p>
<p>Fishbowlfreshman- you are right- anyone wanting to be an actor needs to watch this. I can’t wait for my daughter to watch this. She just finished her freshman year at USC. This summer She is taking industry acting classes and working for a talent management/production company- non paid of course.</p>
<p>Our whole family watched this on Netflix, and whereas my husband and I found it depressing, our son found it inspirational!</p>
<p>For me the most interesting scene was when one of them said that for him, the “work” was doing all the auditions. When he actually got an acting job, the acting part wasn’t work, it was the fun part.</p>
<p>Also, a bizarre coincidence, that one of the character actors in the documentary, Matt Malloy, is actually my mother’s cousin! Is he the one you’ve worked with, Fishbowlfreshman (which would add to the coincidence even more)?</p>
<p>I don’t know Matt although I’ve now worked with one of the others and still another is a neighbor. </p>
<p>A lot of actors say that about auditioning, but I see it a little differently. It’s certainly part of the job, but what I actually get paid for is all the hours of waiting around for the director and crew to get their **** together. But yeah … Once we finally get around to acting, that’s just cake. :)</p>
<p>Um Fishbowl, I just have to say that the crew doesn’t have weeks or months of rehearsal. They aren’t able to come in until a week before opening or shortly before shooting begins. These folks work night and day to make sure you guys sound and look the way you hope to. They are highly trained professionals who are often up working while the actors are getting some rest and are as devoted to the production as you are. Their names and reputations are on the line too. Good to remember they say to respect your crew for a reason. Sorry to be harsh, but I felt your post was a bit disrespectful to your fellow CCers who include the designers and techs, and who are your colleagues in theatre.</p>
<p>I’m not speaking for Fishbowl, but I believe she was just making a joke. It’s known that when you work on movies or TV shows everyone spends a lot of time ‘hurrying up and waiting’ for one reason or another.</p>
<p>Yes, I think we all understood. The reality is that actors are indeed often waiting for the technical crew-and sometimes quite a bit, but it’s not because they don’t “have their **** together”. It’s because that’s the nature of the work and it’s because all of the time is devoted to the performers on the front end. I don’t mean to be be humorless- but just sayin.</p>
<p>I sometimes forget that there are people here who’ve never set foot on a professional film or television set and could have no point of reference from which to understand the dynamic or the humor that goes with it. So I won’t be harsh … Yes, there’s a lot of waiting around for the crew to set up and rearrange the equipment for the myriad shots that go into making a single scene and some of those same highly trained professionals who are on-set long before I arrive and long after I leave and who usually get all this done with a fairly amazing amount of efficiency given the monstrous nature of their task also happen to be good friends of mine. Geesh … </p>
<p>And for further clarification, actors rarely get any rehearsal at all other than maybe a table read and in technicals immediately prior to shooting the scene in which we mainly get our blocking and this might sometimes involve a rewrite we got minutes beforehand. There is no time devoted to the performers on the front end other than casting. It’s a different ballgame than theatre.</p>
<p>Haha, that looks awesome. I started it but had to stop it so I can watch with the family. I worked with one of those guys on a play way back when. Fantastic stage actor and yes, shows up in a 3rd of the movies I see over the last 20 years. I cheer every time… “Yeah! Go consistently working actor!”</p>
<p>I have to chime in here. Actually have not seen the documentary but have put this on my to do list and my list of the many things I will politely ask my D to do but know she probably won’t get to do. So many aspects of this thread are awesome conversation, Warning I may live on this thread for a while. </p>
<p>All I really have time to mention at this juncture is that way back when she was heading to her last year in middle school and she wanted to explore that untraveled territory in tv/film, on that unpaved road between the decent success she was seeing in school and community musical theatre I hesitatingly drove her right through sort of hoping she would find it boring and come back to the comfortable world of local theatre or decide to head in a different direction than acting. We went on a crazy journey much of which included waiting and waiting and driving and traveling. For a kid who could barely get up for school in the morning would be dressed and out the door at 5AM for 4 hours of driving for a 12 hour shoot for a 2 min scene. I was fortunate to be able to accompany her until the day she was 18 and didn’t want or need me anymore 
, but the bigger point here is what I saw was so much waiting around for the tech people to do their job. I was on a feature film tv set watching 2 hours pass while they to me haphazardly changed the clothing on random people. On a MFA student film with incredibly awesome experienced tech crew, I’ve watched a 1 minute scene take on a 2 hour delay because a ray of light was peeking through a 20 foot window in a gorgeous cathedral ceilinged hallway. We sat around. I have to say, that throughout each of these experiences we were both like kids in a candy store. Either we sat there dumbfounded watching the sideshow of the techies collaborating and improvising until they accomplished their task or literally hanging out with the remaining cast and crew playing cards, sharing stories and having a great time with new friends. In a few of the films she has done since she turned 18, some of her best moments on set were the times she got to hang with the new people she met who were her new cast and crew and the longstanding closeknit friendships she has made. I must say this all backfired on me because she loved/loves every minute of both the acting on any aspect of camera and the waiting while the techies do their ****. Anyone who watches this song and dance of the techies can have nothing but respect for how they tackle each problem that usually is not predcited. The retakes she loves it, loves doing it over and over and over to get to that Directors perfection. But it takes a lot of patience and this kind of acting is not for those who need the immediate gratification of that live audience or who don’t have the patience to wait around for the action.</p>
<p>If anyone gets a chance to shoot an outdoor scene in Louisiana on an August afternoon you will end up waiting on, and cursing Mother Nature too.</p>
<p>Mom2gals, my D has had similar experiences on the handful of movie/tv sets she has been on and because of the hours of waiting and the stop/starts and no feeling of continuity for her she has decided at this point in her life theater is where she needs to be.</p>
<p>Bisouu, I hope your daughter does not give up on the idea TV and film work all together if she likes parts that biz. Things tend to run much smoother when working on studio sets.</p>
<p>Neither I nor my D has done any film work, but I’ll chime in about the performing part being “easy.”</p>
<p>I’m a musician with many years of training and many decades of experience. Yes, I can walk in and play; one of my skills is being able to work by ear, without music, and without much rehearsal. But when anyone says, “Oh, it’s so easy for you,” especially if that implies that I make no effort (or don’t need to be paid), I tell them I can only do this because of the training and experience I’ve had. </p>
<p>I know people know this, when they think about it. I just don’t want too many kids to read this thread and say, “Oh, how fun, how easy,” and not understand - as fishbowl has said in other places many, many times, so wisely - that it is because of training and hard work (and some talent) that someone can walk in and perform with virtually no prep or help from a director.</p>
<p>I hope so too shacherry. I think if she had a few more experiences under her belt she might change her mind. I think the projects she did were too few to make a definitive decision. If she stays on the west coast I am hoping she will sign up with Central Casting and give it another shot…</p>
<p>My kids have both been extras in tv shows that were shot in the hot, muggy south and both decided very quickly that they were not interested. However, that does not mean they are not interested in being a part of film and television. They have both shot many student films that took weeks/months and countless hours and loved being part of the creative process. What they were not interested in was being a part of the crowd scene for a feature film/tv show that was shooting in town. There is a world of difference, I think.</p>
<p>photomom5 I agree wholeheartedly.</p>
<p>Bisouu, you mention your daughter signing up with Central Casting. The disconnect may be that Central Casting is a background casting agency and background actors do have more hours of sitting around in less then humane conditions. </p>
<p>If she ends up in NY and wants to register with extra casting agencies she should look into the NY office of Central Casting, Grant Wilfley Casting and Sylvia Fay Casting to name a few.</p>