Off The Leash

To be quite frank, the times have changed a lot since I left for Hollywood sixteen years ago. Long gone are the days when one has to completely uproot their life and move out West. Of course Los Angeles is still the epicenter for all things Hollywood, however the advent of technology opens new doorways to getting started. Hollywood is a global phenomenon, and cities across America are cashing in on the game. 

The first rule is to remember this: Don’t chase your dreams, catch them. The way I have gone about the pursuit of my goals are to first allow myself to dream. Second, I imagine my dreams are happening to me right now. This is a great exercise to build confidence in yourself and what you believe is possible.  Try it right now. Take 3 minutes to visualize your dream. In fact I suggest that you describe it out loud. Your spoken words are very important to helping you better understand what you want to do and why it’s important to you. I am  a big believer in speaking my truth.  

After you have a clear picture of what you want to accomplish I suggest that you share your vision with someone whom you trust. Someone you believe will support your goals. Let’s face it, all people have their own personal agendas, and sometimes people would rather see you do the opposite of what you say you want to do. Don’t taint your dream by sharing it with everyone, even people that you spend a lot of time with. Share with only one or two people whom you trust, and who can share their dream with you. 

Now let’s get started: You have to set a goal. Goals are extremely important,  however if you don’t write it down, and look at it regularly, you may forget to make a strong agreement with yourself. By writing down your goal you basically are creating your personal contract. This step will give your goal a powerful boost, and make you accountable.  

Now that you have a clear vision and have written down and shared your personal goals with a significant person whom you trust, you should now go about learning everything that you can about your pursuit of a Hollywood career.   

There are many ways to learn about Hollywood and getting started as an actor. In my day much of what I learned came from television, magazines,  and good old common sense.  Today you have the Internet. That alone is a tremendous advantage. You literally have access to everyone in show business. However if not used wisely, you could find yourself intruding on professional people that view you as an interruption, inexperienced, or a target.   

The best way to use the Net is to research the ways in which Hollywood works. It’s important for you to understand power players, terminology, costs involved, the tools needed to get started. Basically, you need to know how to put together a great creative business outline that will work for you. Yes Hollywood is a business, but remember it’s your business, and you can run it however you choose.  

I’m considered a talent manager who became known for developing actors in TV and film. I’m fortunate in that many of my actors that began with me are still working today and more importantly, they are still with me. This is not always the case in Hollywood. People are not always loyal. There are a lot of distractions, and people want to climb the latter of success by going from one person to the next as long as they believe that person can help them with more success.  

As a manager my aim is to make certain that I have a clear vision for the actors that I represent. Then I want to make certain that my actors are presented with the best opportunities in the business. When introducing an actor to an agent, which is a very important link in our business, I look for someone that loves working the phones.

Agents, like everyone else in our industry come in many different styles and types. I enjoy working with people that enjoy the sales aspect of pitching a client, fighting to get the client out on auditions, and love the art of negotiating. This combination is not always easy to find. I’m sure that most agents would say they fit this criteria, but from my experience those agents are few and far between. I have had the privilege of working with some of the best.