In acknowledgement of a Rock star.

When I was younger I used to read credits and wonder why someone would be comfortable being cast as "Ugly Guy #2." I mean, how would you like to audition for that role be told "why yes, you're perfect!" After a year in this industry I don't wonder anymore. Sure, he had to come to terms with being ugly, much more so if he didn't need any rearranging, but that little bit he did got him monies, his SAG card, and a step closer to sustaining himself as an actor.

Those one-liner folk you see on television, they're not just random people off the street some casting director saw and asked "hey, you want to meet Sally Field?" No, they're actors who have read the books, taken the classes, submitted the headshots & resumes, snagged the agent interviews, they've done their work. They're all brilliant actors who aspire to be like their brilliant screen heroes, and have labored often times for years to get to that point. One such case is this young lady:


Jee Young Han. We did drama together in high school, and she's one of the main reasons I'm even out here today. Last night I saw her utter a couple lines the average couch potato would just gloss over; but every actor out in the industry knows the work it takes to get to that place, and I personally know her journey thus far. Every actor in the industry knows what an accomplishment it is to have even a single moment, a single line onscreen on a major television network, on an Emmy-award winning prime time celebrity machine like 30Rock . So when the camera cuts to her face and she says with a furrowed brow "isn't it…Frasier?" I'm thinking to myself "…wow" (by the way, she had more than that exchange with Kelsey Grammer in the episode).

The odds are stacked against you a mile high. Just to get an audition like that takes representation (which takes an interview, which takes standing out among the thousands, which takes talent, business savvy, and a whole lot of patience). Even after you nab the audition, there's the thousands of other actors who made it that far too all vying for that same spot, and it doesn't matter how many people are just so talented and just so good looking and just so accomplished and just so in need of this job…it only goes to one person.

Keep on the lookout for this one, she's well on her way. I owe Jee a great deal of thanks for, among many things, helping me get representation right at the start of my career. That representation has gotten me into auditions for some fantastic shows, so while I commend her greatly for her career leaps (and, oh boy, she's had many), I'll keep sticking it out and see if I'll get my single moment one of these days...Lord-willing of course. Pray they keep writing more awkard skinny guy roles, Michael Cera is such a hogger.