As I previously mentioned, I landed a role in an infomercial. I got it by auditioning for a commercial. Confused? Here, lemme 'splain. So, about 6 weeks ago, I auditioned for Carribean Island Country Tourism Board Commercial, one of 4 in a new ad campaign. The role I read for was for a guy who was very pale and needed a vacation so he could actually get some sun. Considering that I (a) am of English and Irish heritage, and (b) I stay inside most of the time, this was right up my alley. (I can't really tan anyways, except for a bit of a farmer's tan from driving a lot.) The audition went very well for an casting director I hadn't read for in a couple years, and she specializes in stylized stuff. These series of spots, we were told, are going to be done mockumentary-style.
A week goes by and I get a callback. I drove all the way to the West Side of LA (from Burbank, mind you) in record time, fed my meter, and went in. The commercial I was up for had a large cast, and for some reason, they didn't have enough choices in each category and they were running late. Like, really late. I was there for almost two hours. I finally went in and read, taking turns playing different roles 'cause they were short people. The director is very good -- serious about knowing what he wants but also not hectoring us if we aren't doing it exactly how he wants it. All in all, I ended up auditioning for almost half an hour. I say thank you and bolt back to Urban Basic Cable Competition Show (UBCCS).
A few days go by and I'm in my final days at UBCCS when I get a call from my
commercial agency. They called me the previous day about an audition that
would have happened during my trip
to
Italy.
I had already booked out with them.
[ "Booked Out" -- actor lingo. When you have something come up
and it makes you unavailable for auditions, you are supposed to call your
agency and tell them the days you aren't available . This is called
"Booking Out". "Booking Out" will, 90% of the time,
guarantee that you will have auditions that will pop up for you on those
specific dates that you won't be available. Anyway, back to the story...
]
I answered the phone, expecting it to be another audition I had to turn
down. Nope -- one of the lovely, wonderful agents at my commercial agency
told me I was "on avail" for the commercial.
["On Avail" -- actor lingo. When roles are cast here in
Hollywood, frequently the top choices for each role will be put on hold, in
which the actors availabilty is checked. It is also understood that if
you say you're available that day, you won't take something else that would
conflict. Sometimes an actor will read for a role and then book another
gig and will therefore be unavailable. Or the director and the ad agency will
differ on who should play a particular role, so they put both on avail to cover
their asses. The number of people 'on avail' for each role will differ from 2
to 6, usually]
I was pretty psyched. The commercial didn't shoot until about a week after I got back from Italy, so I wouldn't miss anything. There was a brief scare where there would have been an overlap of time and right when I talked to Tom about it and we both agreed to change the tickets, I got the call back from one of my commercial agents, recanting the change in schedule and everything went back to normal. She said she'd get the news on whether or not I would be getting cast while I was in Italy and I told her to e-mail me, since my cell phone wouldn't work on the Continent.
Cut to a few days later. I'm walking with my parents over the Ponte Vecchio and I asked my dad if I could use his phone to check my messages, since his T-Mobile worked in Europe (I had no idea either). I was about 12:30am in Firenze as we were walking and boom, there were two messages from my commercial agency, saying I had booked a role in the infomercial for the campaign, not the commercial.
[Booked -- actor lingo. Meaning that one lands the job. Uh, pretty self-explanatory]
I called them back, buzzed on a few glasses of delicious Italian wine and satisfaction over landing a gig. After waiting on hold for a bit, I finally talk to one of my commercial agents and say yes to the gig. Tom was psyched, my parents were thrilled. And I? I was very, very happy, but a bit confused as to how I got this gig but not the commercial. Still excited, but curious nonetheless.
Cut to last Friday. I go in for my costume fitting for this very silly and fun infomercial, having no idea about the role I would be playing. I meet one of the producers, who finally gives the skinny. The production company and ad agency really liked my read for the role of pale guy who needs some sun.
Producer: We ended up going with someone who's almost albino. So, basically, you weren't pale enough.
Me: Oh. [looks down at my eggshell-colored arms] Okay...
Producer: But we really liked you. A lot. So, we wanted to use you, and we thought of this role and thought you'd be great.
Me: Oh. Okay!
This was a first for me. I've lost out on roles because I was too tall, too old, too young, and not Hispanic. But not pale enough? I mean, look at my picture up there. Do I like George Hamilton to you? What can I say, this is Hollywood.
All things considered, I'm pretty happy with what I did get. True to form of everything else in the campaign, this informercial is very goofy and rather stylized. Oh, what role did I get? I try on a lot of outfits, and... well, I'm being a bit fuzzy about the details on purpose, 'cause I don't want to spoil the surprise.
I worked the job today, and it was a blast. The infomercial should be airing starting in mid-December, and obviously, I'll let you guys know then. So, whoo, Jon works as an actor! Good News!
ETA: It's my 100th Typepad post! That's whoo-worthy too. So... Whoo!
Congrats on the big 100, and the infomercial sounds like fun. :) I died laughing about the albino, though. :) It just figures that they actually found someone more pale than you and that it had to be an albino! Coz, Jon? You are paaaaaaale. Literally the whitest white guy I've ever met. ;) But how cool is that, they liked you that much? :) And look at it this way: you're probably going to have more fun, and how many jobs is an albino actor going to get in this town? So, it's a win-win. :) I really want to see the infomercial. :) xo, kd
Posted by: katie d | October 25, 2006 at 05:48 AM
had. you probably HAD more fun. jeez. i can read.
Posted by: katie d | October 25, 2006 at 05:49 AM