Thursday, September 25, 2014

A Revelation from "Cop #2"

Here I am, standing in a tiny dressing room at ABC Prospect Studios. I just clipped on my tie. Looking in the mirror, there is a proud member of the Port Charles Police Department staring back at me. This marks my fourth time on the General Hospital sound stages in a year.
That's when it hits me in the running lights. I don't know exactly when it happened. I barely noticed till now. But it happened all the same.
I have a career.
A fun one.
I think to myself "what a lucky idiot I am. Who else gets to do this stuff?".
I stood in that dressing room, staring at this person I had become with a goofy grin on my face. It was at this moment that I realized I was blessed.
I am a "thirty-something" six-foot tall Irish man. I just described a very well represented cross-section of the acting community. Chances are good if you know one, then you know five more. That I have enjoyed any success at all is a small miracle to me, as there are so many others who didn't get the chance.
When I started this little dream of mine back in 2006, I had no expectations of where it would take me. In a previous life, I had been a 3D Artist in computer games. I HAD a career.
I had talent for the job. What I lacked was the necessary passion.
The world of acting engaged me in ways I had never suspected possible. When I learned what acting could be, what it meant to me...
Well, there was no turning back. I was doomed.
Sure, it's easy to downplay one's accomplishments, especially as actors. We count the number of words in our script. We count the seconds of screen time we share with the "somebodies" that made it into the final edit. We do these things as though they represent some measure of our talent. Our ability.
It took me a little while to realize these things have nothing to do with a career.
In my opinion, simply being invited to play, to join in the creative process, shows that you have arrived. Someone thinks enough of your artistic contribution that they are willing to include you in their vision.
Whether you play "King Lear" or "Cop #2", you have made a valuable contribution.
Take a bow.
You earned this.
For me, I have no idea what will come next...and that is damn exciting.

My first time in make-up chair. Six-ft "Ken Doll" comes to mind. Call me "Glambo".

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