I know most actors wish things could be better. I know most actors feel they could or should have more opportunities and better roles. The reality is this is a business that makes no sense. When I was growing up and there were only a few TV stations, there was a way to build a career. You started to get work, started to become known and if you stayed focused on your professional goals (and sometimes even if you didn’t) you could basically at the very least, maintain steady work for the rest of your life.
Today however, things are different. “A” list actors are on drug rehab reality shows. Actors who starred in TV shows perhaps years ago are resurfacing in some type of celebrity reality show or doing small guest appearances on TV shows and infomercials or voiceovers etc. What may be a step up for some feels like a step down for others. We may be thrilled that “movie star from yesteryear” is appearing in the local production of “Showboat” but they may feel like spending three months in your small town and living out of a suitcase was not what they had in mind at this point in their career. So it’s all perspective. If you were in a hit movie, you don’t want to necessarily do summer stock but if you’re working at Wal-Mart, summer stock is a three-month, creative break you would give your right arm for!
The known fact has always been show business is not an easy life. Today however, I feel show business is no different than any other business and us show folk already understand how to handle the financial ups and downs. But recently, I had the privilege to witness something that even floored me. I say the privilege because I thought this person handled the situation with such grace and dignity that it made me feel proud of them from afar.
I was recently working on a network TV show and was emailed by a friend of mine who was trying to get a friend of theirs some extra work. The end of the year was coming, pension credits are needed (and for union actors that entails making a certain amount of income), health insurance is needed (also based on a certain income), and so this is a normal request. When you are working fairly regularly on a TV show, you can at times help friends out by getting them some year-end union extra work to make the pension and health insurance income. When I got the email, I thought the name they were asking me to put in for a request sounded familiar but I didn’t give it much thought. It rang a far away bell and I thought wasn’t that…. didn’t this person used to have that TV show…didn’t I see them in a Broadway play? A moment later I dismissed it in my mind and thought I must be confusing the name I was given with this successful actor.
I went into work a few days later and as luck would have it, the request went through and this person got a few days of union extra work to help them meet their pension/health care needs. I didn’t notice this person because I was busy working and doing my own thing and then the AD came up to me and said, “Oh I put in Sally’s friends name and that person is here today, such a sweet person, right over there”. I turned to look and then it all flooded back. This person had been a popular entertainer in the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s and by popular I mean from a regular on soaps, to leads on Broadway and had their own TV show for about five years!!! OWN TV SHOW!!! Yet, there this actor sat, with all the other extras and I have to say was a total pro.
Now I know that we in life shouldn’t be patted on the back for doing what we should do. If you find someone’s wallet and return his or her money, you shouldn’t be treated like you did something special, because you did what was right. But in the world of Hollyweird, to go from your own TV show to being an extra in a time frame when you are still recognizable from your TV show, and you do it with grace and dignity, I say this person deserves a pat on the back. Because it crystallized so much for me. So many people either complain or say what they won’t do. “Oh I would never do a soap”, or “oh I would never do commercials”, or “oh I would never do a reality show”. Well welcome to real life folks, because in a span of 30 years, this person went from starring in a soap opera, to Broadway, to Vegas and to a primetime TV show. But when their run came to an end and work was scarce, this person did what they had to do to take care of life and not feed into an ego that destroys so many of us along the journey, I tip my hat to this actor and am grateful for not only the grace that I witnessed but the reality check that helps to keep me in check.
As far as I’m concerned, this is the best performance this actor ever gave because this is the one that changed me the most. This was the one that is going to make it easier for me to appreciate every audition, job and opportunity I get. And as a side note, the star of the TV show whose set this took place on recognized this actor because years ago, they were in side by side sound stages when they were both starring in other TV shows. They spoke and no one flinched. The star of the show did not look down upon this person’s need to do extra work after having a busy show business career and this person did not seem at all embarrassed by their current state. So next time you feel like life in show business is being unfair, remember this story and keep your reality in check!