Perspective

Last week I got an audition for two roles on a prime time TV show. I was called back for both roles and I liked my chances to book one of them. The director is someone I have worked with before and the casting director has been calling me in regularly. Hell, I thought I was a shoo-in. When my agent hadn't called by 7 pm on Friday night with the booking, it was clear that they had gone with someone else.

Now, as an actor you get very good at handling rejection. But, inevitably, when you get close to booking a job you begin to get your hopes up. It always stings when you don't get the part. As a result, I was feeling a little bad over the weekend. But, I just heard a story that gave me some perspective so I thought I'd share it with you.

I just got back from another night at the circus (seriously, it's really fun... you should go). After the show, I wondered around the big top and came across the ringmaster. After sharing some of his Jack Daniels, I learned that his name was Ted. Ted told me a little story that I really took to heart. You see, Ted got his start as a big cat man (the guys that go into the cage with lions and tigers holding nothing but a whip and their enormous cojones). On his first job, Ted was getting trained by the retiring cat man. Unfortunately, Ted hesitated and was promptly bitten by a tiger. It wasn't fatal but he was bleeding profusely from three puncture wounds on his neck and back. The retiring cat man told him that the only thing to do was to repeat the trick immediately without showing fear or pain. With blood soaking the front of his shirt and in great pain, Ted approached the tiger. He looked it in the eye, gathered his wits, and repeated his command. The tiger sized up this silly, bleeding man that he had just bitten, and obeyed.

Now, acting and auditioning aren't nearly as hazardous as being a cat man but the mentality is similar I think. Instead of licking your wounds and calling it a day, you've got to get back in there and show 'em what you're made of. People and tigers alike respect someone that can take a little punishment and not back down. I'm just glad that I'm taming producers and writers instead of 400 pound cats. Getting tested by them is seldom fatal. So, next time you get tested and come up short, remember Ted. And if that doesn't help, remember that he was drinking Jack Daniels. That definitely helps.

Lastly, we have lost one of the true greats in this business. Paul Newman was one of a kind. He'll be missed.

Vacation and appreciation

Sorry it's been so long since I've put up a post. Winning 8 Gold medals at the Olympics and accepting my party's nomination for President has really limited my computer time. I'm sure you've all been salivating with mouse in hand. You can relax, I'm back.

The truth of the matter, is that my lovely wife Amy and I were in Maine on vacation. We ate lobster (almost every day... seriously), fished (unsuccessfully, per usual), and played some wicked croquet (now THAT I'm good at). But the really neat thing about going to the place I grew up is that it's not LA. Don't get me wrong, I love LA. But getting outside of LaLa Land once in a while is crucial, and not for the reasons you think.

It's not about getting away from traffic, or the smog, or all the Scientologists. OK, that last part is great. But what really struck me when I was back East is how lucky all of us who pursue our dreams in this business really are. I know that's something you expect to hear from a 17 year old with stars in his or her eyes, but hear me out.

We were in Maine for a number of weeks, so one of the first things I did was to hang a trapeze so I could keep my skills and strength up. Nothing fancy, a couple of ropes and a bar hanging about 9 feet off the ground. I didn't think much of it, but it wasn't long before I found myself explaining to folks why I was hanging upside down over my Dad's geraniums. I told them about my film project and the training I've been doing and that's when it hit me: I am ridiculously lucky. I wake up every day and pursue the very thing that I've pictured myself doing since I was a kid. During a time when people are walking to work, if they still have a job, I get to push my script and play on a circus rig. Crazy.

So, sometime this fall or winter, when I get annoyed by the back up on the 405 I'm going to picture that lone trapeze rig hanging from a snow covered tree. And for all of you industry types here in LA that need something to brighten your day... go ahead and picture me hanging on that trapeze in January freezing my nuts off.

Movie news soon, good things are happening but good things take a long time here...