Christopher Walken’s Acting Secret

Watch as Christopher Walken talks about how he approaches a role. He learned it when he was 9  and even after acting school, it’s never changed.

Emmy Roundtable: Dramatic actors talk about their performances

This years Emmy nominations are coming up and The Hollywood Reporter got some great actors together for a lively conversation.

Watch as Matthew Fox, Jon Hamm, Bryan Cranston, Alexander Skarsgard, Ray Romano and Matt Bomer answer questions like: Whats the best thing about being an actor & if they watch their own performances?

Watch it – it’ll definitely make you laugh!

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Mailing Labels Updated!

All the labels are now updated!

Now is a great time to look for an agent with pilot season over and things have slowed down a bit!

Click here for the mailing labels page

Melissa Leo talks acting, auditioning and preparation

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 16:14 — 11.2MB)

When Melissa Leo is on stage or you see her in a TV show or film, the project is immediately elevated to a different level. She has an incredible gift of grounding every scene she’s in, making everyone around her better.

If you saw her Oscar nominated performance in last year’s Frozen River, you’ll know what I’m talking about. Need more proof? Check out the first 5 seasons of Homicide, 21 Grams and the upcoming Welcome To The Rileys.

She’s currently starring in HBO’s Treme as attorney Toni Bernette. If you haven’t been watching the show, you are missing some great performances. Not only from Melissa, but John Goodman, Khandi Alexander, Wendell Pierce… the list goes on.

I talked to her while she was on set, filming another HBO project, Mildred Pierce.

When I first became aware of you in Homicide, and everything I’ve seen you in since, is that you bring a deep reality to everything you’re in. You keep everyone and everything around you grounded. That’s a big reason that Homicide stunk after you left the show.

Oh my God! I don’t know if I want all that responsibility but that’s quite a compliment. An actor at a festival once handed me a card, and she had written on it “Acting, the art of pretending the truth.” And I use her quote an awful lot, because it is. To me, that’s what it’s about, even when things go into the fantastical realm that they can on stage or in film. That’s an extraordinary compliment. Thank you.

After Frozen River, do you still have to audition now?

The auditioning has waned, some of it by choice. For many years, I recognized that I was used for casting directors to impress directors with their choices, to find out how a difficult part, in fact, can work. So I, as I’ve begun to have work offered to me, have backed away from auditions from time to time.

You seem to take these roles that might be difficult to cast, but you fit them perfectly.

Well, I think that anybody who does any kind of work gets the thing that if you’re going to be working, you might as well be working hard. So, that’s what I do, and I guess my passion and love for it is that acting really is my life. The only other thing really is my son.

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Hosting 101: There is Such a Thing as Being Overly Prepared

Hosting 101: There is Such a Thing as Being Overly Prepared

By Alison Massie

Two years ago I got the opportunity to interview Perez Hilton. I was ecstatic to say the least. I’m a die hard fan and it’s the one blog I always visit daily. It was arranged a few weeks in advance so I started to prepare…and prepare. I played tons of scenarios over and over in my head, wrote questions, rewrote them, and obsessed about every detail.

And sure enough, nothing went as planned. I was running late because of traffic and scrambled to get my gear and get out of the car as I could see Perez closing in on the end of the red carpet. There were no outlets outside and I couldn’t use my lights. I was frantic. Before I knew it, I was thrown over the ropes and heard someone tell Perez there was one last interview. No no no. I somehow wasn’t ready. This is not what I had envisioned.

Overall, things went fine. Perez was charming and fun – everything I had hoped he’d be. But I was so stuck in my own head that I barely heard him. I kept trying to remember the order of my questions and was sure I was forgetting some. Afterward, I couldn’t even remember what I said. I simply wasn’t listening.

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Beware Unsolicited Offers of Stardom

This week, I have decided to tackle a very hot topic, which has spurned lots of debate by industry insiders and actors alike: Unsolicited Offers of Fame and Requests for Partnership.

To give you some background on this topic, I am going to start by sharing an email I recently received from a “manager.” (Note: All grammar and spelling has been included, as originally written.)

I was looking on IMDB and noticed you do not have a Talent Manager.  As you may  know we are doing Talent Management..  A manager is different from an agent but in a way better as I have more fields to get you work.  I feel I could be a great assett to you to help you not only get your more acting roles but we are doing something no other Management firm does.  We are also going to provide free to our clients our Publicity Services.  We are a NON-EXCLUSIVE company so if at anytime you want to end services with us that is ok.  I really hope you will give me a chance to further your career and make you more money.  If you are interested please let me know and I’ll send you my information packate. – Mike

File this one away into the “If it seems too good to be true, it is” mailbox. Of course, there are warning signs all over the above email that tell the actor that they should stay far away. So, how does an actor gauge the validity of these types of emails, which become numerous as the actor gets more and more well known?

1) Does the manager know the difference between managers and agents? (Do you?)

Agents and managers are very different from one another, primarily because it is illegal for managers to procure work for their clients. Agents are required to be on file with their state as a “licensed employment agent” and managers are not given this clearance. Thus, a manager’s job takes on a different form. Directly from the Talent Manager’s Association website: “A manager, by nature, does not seek employment for a client, but rather council, market and network on their behalf making it easier for the agent to secure employment. A client, manager and agent should function as a team.”

You can see by the email above that the manager is not accurately conveying his role. This should be a very big “red flag” to you.

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Chuck’s Mark Christopher Lawrence: “You don’t choose acting, acting chooses you”

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 17:04 — 11.8MB)

Mark Christopher Lawrence has an incredible knack for stealing almost any scene that he’s in. Whether he’s got a couple of lines with Will Smith in The Pursuit of Happyness or yelling at Zachary Levi as Big Mike every week on Chuck – you always remember him.

And he’s not one to sit still and rest on his laurels. He does theater, stand-up, voice over, writing and producing.

He’s a truly multi-talented guy.

You’re currently starring in Chuck. The show has a rabid fan base. Do you get recognized a lot for that?

Yeah, pretty much everyday.

You were in for pilots the year you got Chuck, but Chuck was only a guest star role in that pilot.

Right.

So, was it just a gamble that you took when you got Chuck, that you auditioned for Chuck?

It was no real gamble, it was just one of the things that came across the plate that year. We auditioned for everything that came across. It just happened that Chuck was the only thing I got booked in.

Since it was only a guest star role, did you have a feeling that it could be moved up to a series regular?

No, I didn’t even read it. [LAUGHTER] I actually just read the sides because I was really concentrating on those other pilots, because they were series regular roles. I read the [sides] the night before I went in to audition, and just prepared to go in and get a job. Maybe because I was so relaxed, it wasn’t that important for me.

That happens a lot, when it’s not that important. Boom, you get it.

I think what happened is when you’re at that point—and not that you don’t care because you want to work—but when you’re at that point where it’s not that important, you have this sort of relaxed state that you walk into the room with. That was part of it, being really relaxed. The other was because you know what’s at stake before you go in and read for the network. Because they cut you a deal before you go in, so you know exactly how much money you will or will not get. So, I was just able to really relax and go in and have fun, and go out and concentrate on something else.

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The New Law To Help “Protect” Actors?

This is a guest post by Jamie Fishback.

I just got an email from a well-respected, highly used, Casting Director (CD) workshop explaining a new law that has come into play since January 2010.  In essence the law (The Krekorian Talent Scam Prevention Act of 2009 / Assembly Bill No. 1319) , Chapter 4.5 of the Labor Laws, is designed to protect actors from getting screwed by companies that want to charge actors for “training.”  The training companies now have to get bonded, other companies can’t get kick backs for referrals (i.e. you have to use “our” headshot photographer), and there are rules / regulations on charging for training.  A lot of this is to stop companies from saying, “if you pay us [X] in dollars, we’ll be able to guarantee you work.”  Of course, as all of should know, there is NEVER any guarantee of work in any business (that is to say, unless you join a Union, they’re governed to find you work… and NO SAG / AFTRA / etc. are not unions).

I get this, I get that we need to be protected, but to what degree.  According to the new law, CDs who attend these bonded workshops can no longer take your headshots with them, because this is considered an “audition.”  What the hell?!  A workshop is NOT an audition, I am not paying money to AUDITION for the CD.  I’m paying money to get in front of them and for them to take my headshot and put it in a special stack in their office that they go to when they are casting.  I am paying to be a select few that they use when it comes to casting.  It is also beneficial for the CD because it saves them time when it comes to casting.  They see people who are good before casting, and have type-cast them already, so when they bring them in they know what they’re getting.

So, they’re solution, as an actor we are allowed to “follow up” with the CD after the workshop.  Let’s take a look at this really quickly.

The average CD receives hundreds, if not thousands, of headshots A DAY!!!  And, normally, the actual CD isn’t even looking at those headshots, it’s their assistants, who were NOT at the workshops.  They have no idea who I am.  You say, why not put REFERRED TO on their.   I would argue that there is still hundreds of “referrals” that their assistants go through regularly.  And, I know some who just throw mailed headshots away.  They don’t even look at them because they don’t have enough time in the day.   And, yet again, everyone thinks that actors are made of money.  I know it’s only a few bucks to mail your headshots, but that’s more money that an actor has to spend.

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The Key to Booking A Role That You Might be Over Looking

Producers:  The Key to Booking You Might be Over Looking

by Dallas Travers, CEC

Several months ago, I surveyed 300 actors to discover their biggest questions about the business of acting.  Admittedly, I was not too surprised that 93% of the respondents asked, “How do I get more auditions?”  This seems like the most reasonable place to start when you’re building a career.

Surprisingly though, not one actor responded with the question, “How can I book more jobs?”  Frankly, this shocked me.  Wouldn’t you rather replace auditions with offers?  How often do you think an actor such as Will Smith or Sandra Bullock audition?

Rather than focus solely on snagging auditions, I want you to focus on building relationships.  That way, you can replace auditions with offers.

Producers are the key.

Building relationships with producers is often overlooked but highly effective way to market yourself as an actor.  Unlike casting directors, producers are not inundated with calls, headshots, postcards, and requests from actors.  Yet, they’re the people who are ultimately in charge of hiring you.  A producer’s job is to take meetings and make phone calls.  So, I find they are so much more receptive to an actor’s marketing than a casting director.

I’ve met many casting directors who feel frustrated by the fact that at the end of a long casting process, the actor who gets the job is someone who has a relationship with the producer.

Now, this may sound very unfair, but I think it’s really great news because all you have to do is build producer relationships and get on their short list.   You can do that by applying a lot of the same strategies that are effective with casting directors.  Here are four steps to help you get on a producer’s radar.

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Tony Nominee Stephen Kunken: “Your career is a marathon”

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 23:19 — 16.1MB)

If you got a chance to see the Broadway show, Enron you’ll know that Stephen Kunken was well deserved in getting a Tony nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his role as Andy Fastow.

I say “got a chance” because the day Stephen found out he was nominated he was also told that the show would be closing later that week.

If that were me, I’d want to jump out a window but Stephen is taking it all in stride.

And why shouldn’t he?  The critics universally praised his work, he and his wife just adopted a baby and he’s such a fantastic actor, the phone is probably already ringing in his agents office.

I got a chance to talk to him while he was sitting in his car about to take a well deserved break.

Congratulations on your nomination.

Thank you so much.

How did you find out about it?

I was watching, because I knew it was important to find out about the longevity of our show – Enron. With how expensive the show was, if it didn’t get nominated, I knew it would probably be a rough road for us. I was curious and watching for a couple of minutes. Then, they let it go and I watched it online. I sort of saw it all happening in rapid succession. They did the 5 big categories first on TV and then they ended it. So I thought that I had missed my category. I was like, “Damn, I can’t believe it!” But then they actually went back to it.

What’s that feeling like, to be one of the top five actors nominated?

It’s crazy. I don’t know that it’s sunk in yet. I was just talking to my wife about it. It’s such an incredible honor and its a thing that you always dream about as an actor, I think. Especially as a New York theatre actor who grew up on the Tony’s and grew up coming to see Broadway shows. I went to Julliard in the city, which is an institution for theatre.

I remember my first Broadway show, right before I went on, saying “Wow, as soon as the first word comes out of my mouth, I’m going to have done a Broadway show.” It was an incredible, huge threshold to walk across. It hasn’t even really sunk in yet to be considered a part of the community in a performance that was noteworthy in this season of incredible actors and performances. It’s kind of mind-boggling. It’s thrilling. It’s such a huge honor. I know these are all the things that everyone always says, but it’s so true. You actually really do feel awed by the attention and awed by people actually caring. There’s nothing that I just said that’s new or exciting, but it’s totally true. It puts all of that work into perspective for a moment. It’s a milestone in your career that you can look back and you can say, ‘Oh, my God, I actually put together a little body of work.’ It’s quite cool.

Is it true that now you can get better seats in a restaurant?

I don’t know. If I won the award, I could walk in with the statue and I still think I would lose instantly to anyone who’s been on a TV show or in a film. Maybe at Angus McIndoe across the street they might say “Hey!” but I think other than that, that’s the beauty of the theatre that unless you saw it, you don’t really know it.

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