Phase Two Begins
“Where do these Middle-Aged actors come from?” How many times have you asked that, while enjoying a Movie or TV series? The character actor that crops up either in one scene, or a handful, that moves the story forward, and leaves you quietly impressed with this person’s talent, their casting, the script or direction, or a collection of all of these components of a performance.
Do you wonder if they have been acting for years and you have always missed them, or have only appeared in stuff you haven’t seen, or have just been given a break in a Movie? Then there’s the marvelously romantic idea of the Theater actor that has only recently taken the leap into a high profile Movie or Television project. They have struggled for their art, and are now old enough to need a big payday!
I am a fan of the TV ‘Classic Movie’ channels, and often wonder about these kind of actors that you only saw in Black and White movies, where they always looked the same: Never younger or older, just the same look, playing similar roles for what seemed like an entire career, as if they just wandered onto the set as post 40-year olds, and were given a job. What in earth were they doing before?
If you watch the British TV series on streaming services, you see a similar kind of actor: A Police Sergeant for a season on one show, and then you see them again doing single episodes of long-running series in both modern day, and period costume. What in earth were these people doing before these two years when they suddenly were in everything? This particular kind of Character Actor has become my own favourite type to watch, but not just because they are talented. It is because Phase Two of my career has begun, and I hope to be one of them.
I find myself giving optimistic advice to others that are having a difficult time finding work. Especially throughout the last year when business was so busy for me (Compared to previous years.), and trying to tell them that everyone goes through this, and they shouldn’t worry – just be ready for the next audition, because ‘it could be The One’. We generally see everyone else’s life as much more successful as ours, but we don’t live the everyday that other’s do. While we all wake up thinking that this could be the day when the e-mail arrives, of course all of the pent up frustration of enduring weeks on end when it doesn’t does become too much on occasion. Our success level, really, is always better seen in the eyes of others. Our own level of ‘success’ is going to be harder for us when we live on the inside of our everyday lives.
I remember, when I first re-entered this career, that I was frustrated to continually go to auditions for a Real-Life Dramatic Re-enactment show, when they never cast me. When I finally got a part, one of the Executive Directors on set told me that they had seen me on three or four casting reels, and were ‘glad that they finally got a role for me.’ I was amazed, because I never took the process seriously enough to realize that there were always tons of reels around, and that they were watched after that single role was cast. You never know where and when you are going to be seen, so you had better make each one as good as you can possible act.
I knew that when I went professional in Fall 2016, I had left one phase of my career, and had landed at the bottom rung of the next ladder, so work was going to be tougher to get, but when it did, it would pay a great deal more. Of course, every day this winter when I didn’t ‘get the e-mail’, I thought that I was washed up, but – hey – there’s always tomorrow, right? When people ask if I expect to have a good year, my answer is always: “I don’t see why not!” After all, I’ve got this far. I hope to become one of these actors that you ask: “Who IS this guy, and where did he come from?” Like the late, great Pete Postelthwaite
(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pete_Postlethwaite)
