Latest / The Scene Projects / Aaron Marcus on Transitioning Careers, Acting Insights, and Overcoming Challenges

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Aaron Marcus on Transitioning Careers, Acting Insights, and Overcoming Challenges · The Scene Projects

• 0:00
  Hi, everyone, and welcome back to another episode of Talk with Ross podcast with me, your
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  host, Ross.
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  And I've got a very exciting guest here, a tremendous guest, Aaron.
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  So, Aaron, please introduce yourself to the guests.
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  Yeah, so hi, my name is Aaron Marcus.
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  And I've been very, very fortunate in life.
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  I've been a full time actor for a little over forty years now.
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  And I do everything that I can get my hands on from film to TV, commercials, radio spots,
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  narrations, commercial modeling, which is modeling for real looking people.
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  And I've done over 800 workshops spanning three continents.
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  And I help people break into the industry or advance their career and got a great family and
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  a wonderful dog.
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  And so I'm good.
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  That's absolutely fantastic.
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  So I wanna rewind a few years because, obviously, you said that you've you've done mod
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  you've done your acting stuff for quite a long time now.
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  So what age did did you decide to get into the acting industry?
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  Yeah.
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  You know, and that that's a good question because a lot of times you hear about people
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  who say, well, I knew from a very young age this is what I wanted to do, and I just
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  followed my dreams.
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  Yeah, it wasn't that way for me.
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  I didn't get started until my late 20s, and it actually, I wouldn't say an accident, but it
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  wasn't part of my game plan.
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  I had dropped out of college.
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  I was a musician for seven years, a singer songwriter who's touring.
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  And I was working with my brother.
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  When he decided that he didn't like touring and didn't like performing, which is not really
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  good for musicians.
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  He gave me a year's notice to make a long story pretty short.
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  Went back to school.
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  I thought I was going to be a physical therapist.
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  I needed a part time job while I was in school.
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  And I met an actor.
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  And he did mostly TV commercials, and I thought, boy, that sounds like fun.
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  That sounds like a great part time job for me just to support myself while I'm in school.
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  And I did that for two years on a part time basis.
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  And at the end of those two years, I decided, you know what?
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  I love acting.
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  And so I just dropped out again and became an actor, tried it for one year full time.
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  And that's what I've been doing.
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  That's amazing.
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  So, like, obviously, some people who do acting, you know, they do like these like, the acting
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  school you go to, and you gotta do, like, acting classes and all that sort of stuff.
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  I mean, did did you have to do any of that, or was it just, you know, you just took a a leap
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  into the career and then you just fell in love with it and escalate from there?
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  Yeah, it kind of made me laugh because I did things backwards.
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  So I'm not recommending that you follow my path.
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  What I did was, because I didn't know anything.
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  And I got started just by working with my instincts.
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  I guess I had some natural abilities, and that's how I got started.
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  After doing it for a little while, it became very clear to me that my natural instincts
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  would only take me so far.
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  And I'm not saying, look, there are some people in this world who've never taken a class, have
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  never studied, have had tremendous success, but that's unusual.
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  I mean, of the great actors that you see, these people have studied for a long time.
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  So what I did was I started working, getting some work, But then when I realized that I
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  really needed to have some kind of system inside of me that would allow me to tap into
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  emotions if I'm not feeling it that particular moment and really know what I was doing.
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  So then I went back and started studying while I'm still working.
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  And I never went to university or anything for that.
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  I just studied with people privately, and I still do.
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  I'll take a workshop periodically.
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  Normally it's like one on one stuff, but I took some classes, but it was mostly working with
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  mentors and coaches and people.
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  That's just that's the style that works best for me.
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  And I did take by the way, I don't know if you're interested in talking about this, but I
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  have taken it was mostly one class, very well known teacher, and the class was absolutely
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  horrible.
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  The information was really good, and I was learning things, but the teacher himself was I
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  didn't like him.
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  I thought he was nasty.
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  I thought he was cruel to actors.
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  And some people, what I learned was some people like to be treated poorly.
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  Some people like to be embarrassed.
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  Some people found it therapeutic in some way.
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  And I walked out of the class because I just thought I'm not going to be treated like this.
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  There's no reason it's not helping me.
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  So I learned some things.
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  But yeah, so I went back and I started studying.
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  And without having that information, there's no way I could have had the success that I've had.
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  I mean, that's that's quite interesting that how you just mentioned that, you know, because,
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  like, obviously, if you're doing these, like, workshops and you're having these one to ones
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  and private sessions and, you know, you've got a a tutor who's supposed to teach you, you
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  know, you wanna go in and enjoy your lesson because it's like what you said then.
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  Obviously, if you get into it, you're like garbage.
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  You you're just gonna wanna leave.
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  And, you know, it it's it's unfair on yourself.
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  You know what I mean?
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  It's just I just don't understand the concept behind why people would like to be treated like
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  that way.
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  You know what I mean?
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  And and I get after it and it's tough and everything.
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  And it blows my mind when when I watch a film or something and how they do the scene.
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  And it's just like for for example, when you mentioned about feelings and everything and
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  it's an emotional film or something like that, it's like, how how do you cry?
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  Like, what do you do?
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  Like, I got told.
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  I don't know if this is true or not.
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  But someone said to me, he went into acting.
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  He said to put a hole in your in your pocket and then to pull your hat hands on your leg
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  with some tweezers.
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  I got told that.
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  And I was like, is that actually true?
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  Like, you actually have tweezers in your pocket and pull out your leg hair?
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  No.
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  Well,
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  look, there are a lot of things to say about that.
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  One, like when you were saying, why would people want to be treated poorly?
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  Look, there are some people who feel like they don't deserve to be treated well.
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  And being treated poorly, they feel like it's something they deserve, which is kind of sad.
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  I can also tell you, there are some people in some of the classes that I took, they were
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  using it as a form of therapy, which I think is a very dangerous way to do it because the
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  teachers are not psychotherapists, they're not psychologists, they're not trained for that.
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  And I've experienced this where there and I don't want to say this is the norm, but I did
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  see it once or twice where a teacher was smart enough to know how to push people's buttons,
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  how to get them to cry, to feel horrible, to show that kind of emotion, which is not a hard
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  thing to do.
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  If you can really get a sense of the person and know where they're needy and know where they're
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  having issues in their life, and you just push and push and then they'll break down.
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  And for some people in the class, they view that as a great acting technique, something
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  that was just incredible.
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  Look, being able to cry, there are lots of different ways to do it.
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  I mean, for some people, they will just tap into something very emotional in their life,
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  feel it, and then show it to the camera.
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  There are other people and, like, everybody has different styles, and there's no one right way
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  to do it.
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  Some people and it's kind of similar to what you were talking about.
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  You know, I've heard pulling out a nose hair, and then turning to the camera, and then the
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  tears start coming.
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  I've heard of people putting a sliced onion in their pocket, and they'll just reach into their
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  pocket and, you know, wipe their eye a little bit.
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  And because of the onion, they just start tearing up.
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  And then other people do it, you know, in a more organic way.
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  Just like there are some, you know, acting teachers who will tell you you've got to create
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  the life of your character from birth and take it all the way up until the time of when you're
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  saying your lines.
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  And look, that's great for some actors, and I certainly would never say anything negative
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  about that.
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  I've never done that.
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  I mean, I will think about before I'm I'm saying my lines, what happened to my character
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  right before the scene started?
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  So to give you an example, and I'm not like, I don't wanna make this an acting class, but this
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  seems like you're interested in learning more about this.
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  So let's say, for instance, I'm running late for a business meeting, and this is this is
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  what's happening in the scene.
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  My first line is walking into the boardroom, and I say, hey, I'm really sorry I'm late.
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  Okay.
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  So that's an interesting first line.
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  However, if I think about what caused me to be late.
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  My alarm clock didn't go off.
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  My watch didn't go off on time.
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  I hit traffic.
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  I got lost driving to this particular place.
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  I couldn't find a parking spot.
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  I had to run two blocks to, you know, go up the steps and go into the office.
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  And after all this, I go, hey, guys, I'm really sorry I'm late.
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  Now it gives me a reason to show why I'm late without stating why, but I feel it.
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  And so, you know, there everybody uses different techniques.
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  It's it's just like with with musicians.
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  You know, if you play guitar, there are a million and one different styles that people
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  use, and there is no one right way.
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  And anybody who says, oh, you know, when you're playing guitar, if your, you know, your right
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  hand is angled at a certain way, it's not the proper way.
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  Who cares?
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  You know, what matters is, does it affect you?
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  When you're listening to the musician, does it take you some somewhere?
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  Just like you were talking about when you're watching a movie, does it move you in a certain
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  way?
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  Does it make you feel certain things?
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  Does it feel organic and natural and real to you?
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  And if so, whatever these people did, it worked.
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  I was just reading an interview with a famous writer, and was talking about this exact thing
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  that you were referring to.
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  And he said, you don't have to create a life.
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  Just say the lines.
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  Just say the words.
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  That's all I need you to do.
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  So once again, that's one way that people do it.
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  Some people use method, and they will, you know, stay up all night and sleep on the
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  streets because they're supposed to be a homeless person.
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  And if that works for you, then do it.
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  But the most important thing is, does it seem believable?
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  Is it real?
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  If so, then whatever you're doing is right.
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  That's some interesting facts and, you know, information that you've just mentioned then as
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  well, particularly that you've mentioned something about, you know, with with your lines
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  and everything.
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  Now have you have you actually ever forgotten your lines while you've been on camera?
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  Well, I'm assuming I'm assuming everyone's everyone's thought of a thing where, you know,
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  camera's rolling, everyone's on set, everyone's ready, and then you don't have your lines with
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  you to hand and you're like, forgot what I'm saying.
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  Oops.
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  Cut.
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  Take two.
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  Sure.
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  Yeah.
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  And look, it's it's one thing if you don't work and you don't practice and you walk in and
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  you're unprepared and you can't get your lines out.
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  That's one thing, and that's unforgivable.
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  But we all we all make mistakes.
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  You know, we all goof things up, say the wrong word, get stuck.
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  You know, I've seen very, very famous actors make mistakes, and what's important is how you
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  handle it.
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  And there are some actors who think, especially ones who are just getting started, they think,
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  oh, if I goof up here, they're gonna fire me, and they're gonna replace me right away.
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  And I just don't I've never seen that take place.
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  I mean, you just think about it logically, there are over 100 people on the set, with crew
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  and everybody else running around, and all of a sudden and you've already been cast.
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  Don't forget, you've been auditioned.
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  Lots of people have seen your audition.
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  You might have had a callback.
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  You might have had multiple callbacks where they have you read again.
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  And for them to fire you on the spot and then start trying to find somebody else, you know,
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  that that's I've never seen that happen.
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  So what you wanna do is not apologize, which I've seen people, oh, I'm really sorry.
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  Can I do that?
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  Don't apologize.
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  You mistake.
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  made Just do it again.
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  And sometimes, you know, it's nervousness that will prevent it.
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  And in fact, don't mind sharing this with you.
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  It's not something I normally talk about, but you brought it up.
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  It might have been one of my favorite shows of all time.
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  It's a very old show.
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  It was on HBO.
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  It was called The Wire.
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  And, people either love the show or they really just don't like it.
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  I love the show.
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  And it's it was created by a guy named David Simon.
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  And, I got cast in that, and I had one line.
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  And what's interesting is sometimes the one liners are much more difficult than when you
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  have multiple pages, because they kind of pop in out of nowhere sometimes and just say a line
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  that isn't really connected with a conversation that's taking place.
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  And the crazy thing is normally I remember it, it's an initiate a criminal investigation of
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  any official tolerating such.
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  Now see, I remember it right now.
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  Twenty years ago when I was on the set, or whenever the show was on, I struggled.
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  And it took me seven takes to get that one line out.
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  Now granted, it's a weird line.
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  It's not the way that people normally speak.
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  I was an attorney general, and just to say, you know, and initiate a criminal investigation of
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  any official tolerating such.
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  It's weird.
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  And I struggled, and I would go and initiate Cut.
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  Okay, let's do it again.
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  An initiated criminal cut.
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  So, yeah, it happens to everybody.
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  And and but and also just be honest with you.
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  All of a sudden, my heart rate is going up.
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  I can feel my palms getting a little sweaty.
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  I'm feeling incredibly embarrassed.
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  Feeling like I'm not being a professional here.
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  I got it.
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  I worked through it.
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  I finally got it.
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  It was hard.
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  And so yeah, it does happen to everybody.
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  It's quite interesting, and I and I love quite some of, you know, your facts that you share as
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  well and how you can go, oh, well, yeah, you know, answer the question, and then you give an
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  answer to something that you've actually done and be like, oh, well, yeah, I was in this
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  part, and I tried to do this, and, you know, I've I've had to do it, like, seven times.
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  So it's just it's just absolutely amazing.
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  So is there any like, obviously, like, when you've done a film, did you watch it back and
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  think to yourself, like, oh, that's so cringey or something like that?
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  Or do you just I don't know why.
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  Because, obviously, when a person like myself will watch a film, because obviously I'm not in
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  it, you know, I'll be like, oh, it's really good.
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  It's fantastic.
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  Or I'll be like, it's a bit crap that, you know, CGI was a bit shit.
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  I mean, but when you're watching yourself and you're you're waiting for your part to come in
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  and you're like, do do you sit there and get, like, excited or, like, how how do you feel
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  when you when your film comes out?
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  Yeah.
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  So look.
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  First of all, you never know what might happen.
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  There was a movie that I did, and oh gosh, I just forgot the name of the movie.
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  But I had a scene with Judi Dench, Dame Judi Dench, who was just, she was unbelievable.
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  She is such an incredible actor.
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  She was so generous.
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  She was so kind.
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  I mean, just because I knew I was having a scene with her, I purposely did not have any
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  contact with her ahead of time.
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  And part part of the reason too was I was her priest, and she was coming in for a
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  confessional.
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  And so I kinda felt like I I don't wanna be close to her.
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  I don't wanna share a conversation or a meal.
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  I feel like I need to kind of separate myself.
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  And I also was concerned about being so nervous about working with her because she's such as an
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  Academy Award winning actor.
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  And so I, you know, I finished shooting it, and I went to watch the movie, and my scene was
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  cut.
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  So you're talking about, you know, getting prepared.
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  What do you think?
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  It's like, what happened?
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  So I wasn't in there.
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  But for for, and by the way, I know they didn't cut it because they thought it was bad.
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  Get cut all the time.
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  Especially TV, it's timing.
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  They overshoot typically, and there are scenes that are always cut, And the same thing with
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  movies as well.
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  So when I do watch something, it's not like I sit there and watch it over and over and over
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  and over again.
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  I know that things can happen.
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  They might cut things short.
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  And the other thing too is, and this is something that I've learned in, not something
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  at the very beginning of my career, but here's what I've learned.
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  Even if it's something where I'm not 100% crazy about, I wish I would have done things
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  differently, what I do is I think to myself, you know what, in that moment, I did the best I
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  could.
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  And I'm really proud of that.
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  I didn't run off the set.
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  I wasn't screaming and crying because I didn't do what I wanted to do.
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  In that moment, I did the best I could.
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  Even with that incident I just shared with you about the wire.
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  In that moment, I did the best I could, and I hung in there.
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  I fought through it.
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  And so I think that's a that's a really important lesson for people that you don't kick
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  yourself.
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  Just like if you go to an audition and the audition is horrible.
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  You know you didn't do what you prepared to do, and who knows why.
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  There could be a million one reasons, for you getting thrown off.
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  You know?
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  Is it other people who you saw in the waiting room?
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  Was it the way the casting director talked to you?
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  Did you just kind of blank out?
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  Did they give you some notes that really messed you up because now they're asking you to do
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  something very differently than what you planned?
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  And, you know, I've spoken with people because I do a lot of mentoring and coaching with
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  people online.
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  And sometimes they'll talk to me about how they just goofed us up and they felt so bad.
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  And it's so important to just know you after every audition, if you happen to book anything
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  and you book the job, no matter how you felt it went, you need to go out and treat yourself.
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  Do something kind and nice for yourself because you did it.
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  And might not have been exactly what you wanted to do in that moment, but that was the best you
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  could do.
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  Oh, that's that's absolutely fantastic, you know.
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  And I'm sat here just listening to you talking, and I feel like you're preaching to me.
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  And I feel like, you know, I feel like you're giving me a pat talk about something.
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  I'm like, I'm I'm like, you know, I'm finally touched here, you know.
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  Like, I feel like I'm about to go go do a bit of activity.
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  But you know what's interesting, first of thank you.
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  And I'm glad this has some meaning for you as well and for all your listeners.
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  But I think it's just, even though like when I'm doing workshops, or like I was saying,
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  private sessions and stuff, yeah, this stuff is acting and modeling and industry related.
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  But in many ways, I think this has nothing to do with the industry.
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  I think these are just really helpful ways to live your life.
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  So as a matter of fact, was funny.
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  There was a big architectural company, and the guy who was president of it was being
• 23:21
  interviewed in a big architectural magazine.
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  And the guy takes horrible pictures.
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  And they were gonna be taking some photos of him for the article.
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  He contacted a modeling agency, and this is in Washington DC in The States, and he asked, hey,
• 23:41
  do you know anybody that could help me take better pictures, for this article?
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  And the owner of the agency recommended me.
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  So I met with the guy, and I showed him some techniques, and we practiced a little bit, and
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  session went really well.
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  He loved the photos.
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  He said, normally I look stiff, I look uncomfortable.
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  I just don't look like a real human being when I'm photographed.
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  And he said these shots were great.
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  He actually hired me to give a workshop for all of his workers, all the people at the
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  architectural company, from the architects to the salespeople who are going out and pitching
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  ideas for new jobs, and I use the same information.
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  I slightly adjusted some things, but basically it's the same information that I tell actors
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  who are going out on auditions and what to expect and techniques to use.
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  So a lot of the stuff that that I talk about, it's really very universal and things that can
• 24:53
  be helpful to many people in all walks of life.
• 24:57
  It's quite interesting.
• 24:59
  And, also, you mentioned about modeling.
• 25:01
  So when you say, like, modeling, do you mean, like, you have modeled or you're the
• 25:08
  photographer of the person who's being modeled?
• 25:12
  Like, what's all that?
• 25:16
  Yeah, okay, so no, I'm not a photographer, but I'm really glad you brought up modeling because
• 25:22
  normally you say the word modeling and everybody thinks of fashion models, which I
• 25:29
  understand because they get a lot of publicity.
• 25:33
  Now in The States, we're not that smart, so I can't change the numbers for you.
• 25:40
  But in The States, if you want to be a fashion model, and I'm talking about a high fashion
• 25:47
  model, a supermodel, you are going to be between five'nine and six feet tall.
• 25:52
  Once again, I can't do centimeters.
• 25:53
  I'm not that bright.
• 25:55
  Your measurements are going to be thirty four, twenty four, thirty four.
• 25:59
  You have to get started at a pretty young age.
• 26:03
  And once again, yes, there are some exceptions to the rule.
• 26:07
  But pretty much if you look at all the supermodels, those are the statistics for guys.
• 26:13
  Going to be between six feet and six feet two and wear a size forty jacket.
• 26:18
  And for both men and women, you have to have a very specific kind of look.
• 26:23
  It's the only industry that I know of where women make more money than men, which I think
• 26:27
  is very interesting.
• 26:28
  So what they do is they do runways and they promote high end designer clothes.
• 26:37
  These people can make a fortune walking the runways, you know, doing the catwalks.
• 26:42
  Now, there's a whole other, and I've never done any of that, because even though I have the
• 26:47
  statistics or I had the statistics for being a fashion runway model, I I never had to look.
• 26:55
  However, there's a whole other world of modeling out there that a lot of people don't
• 26:59
  know about, but there's actually more work available than fashion modeling, and it's
• 27:06
  called commercial modeling.
• 27:08
  Commercial models are sometimes the incredibly handsome guys with perfect bodies, beautiful
• 27:17
  women, who promote anything from being in Gap catalog, Abercrombie and Fitch, to maybe being
• 27:29
  a patient who has a bad stomachache for a pharmaceutical commercial modeling ad.
• 27:35
  These are not TV commercials.
• 27:36
  These are still photos that you will see in magazines, newspapers, billboards, posters, on
• 27:44
  the sides of buses, on products.
• 27:48
  And I've done hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of those things.
• 27:52
  The nice thing with commercial modeling is they need everybody.
• 27:56
  They need people who look like tough, maybe construction workers, they need babies who are
• 28:04
  one or two months old, they need people in their 80s for senior living centers, and that
• 28:12
  kind of stuff, and everything in between.
• 28:15
  One of the reasons why I love doing commercial modeling is that I get a chance to use my
• 28:21
  acting skills, but I'm just being photographed by a photographer.
• 28:27
  So what they really love is, let's say it's a pharmaceutical ad, and I don't know, I've got a
• 28:35
  horrible headache, and this is a pill that will cure the headaches.
• 28:39
  Well, I've got to be able to show that I've got a migraine.
• 28:42
  Cause if I just do one of these, that guy doesn't look like he's sick, doesn't look like
• 28:48
  he's got any kind of headache.
• 28:50
  So I would actually have to show that.
• 28:53
  And I use the same acting skills of tapping into previous experiences in my life that will
• 29:00
  give me that feeling.
• 29:01
  And then typically what I do, and there's a whole technique that I created for this and
• 29:06
  that I share with other people.
• 29:08
  And I'm gonna look away from the camera, feel whatever I need to feel, then look wherever I'm
• 29:13
  supposed to look, do the shot, look away, come back.
• 29:16
  Anyhow, I love doing commercial modeling work.
• 29:19
  And the other nice thing about it is, look, for fashion, if you want to be a fashion model,
• 29:25
  you're going be living in London, Milan, in Paris, in New York City, maybe, Florida, Miami,
• 29:36
  and Chicago, and LA.
• 29:38
  There are limited cities where, you know, supermodels actually work.
• 29:44
  Commercial models are all over the place.
• 29:46
  And even if you live, you know, in Liverpool or smaller smaller cities, than London, you're
• 29:54
  gonna you're gonna find commercial modeling work because there's always advertising being
• 29:58
  done.
• 29:58
  So anyhow, I love doing commercial modeling.
• 30:01
  So how did you fall into the commercial modeling side?
• 30:04
  Was it was it through acting or was you doing commercial modeling before your acting sort of
• 30:10
  stuff?
• 30:12
  Actually, they both started happening at the same pretty much at the same time.
• 30:17
  My very first job was a commercial modeling job.
• 30:21
  And once again, I mean, when I started, I knew nothing.
• 30:24
  As a matter of fact, there's something called a headshot, and that's what actors use to help
• 30:31
  them get work.
• 30:32
  And it's a still shot, typically from your chest to the top of your head.
• 30:36
  And what you want to do, and I do entire workshops just on headshots because they're
• 30:42
  crucial to, having success in the industry.
• 30:47
  But you want to be able to portray and show how you are going to be cast, what kind of projects
• 30:55
  are right for you.
• 30:56
  And if you're not honest with yourself, like for me, look, I look like everybody's next door
• 31:02
  neighbor.
• 31:03
  I'm the family proctologist.
• 31:06
  You know, I'm not the handsome guy.
• 31:08
  I'm just like the regular kind of guy.
• 31:10
  I'm, you know, the high school teacher.
• 31:12
  I'm the college professor.
• 31:14
  I could be the, you know, the doctor, the attorney.
• 31:18
  And that's my look, just a regular kind of guy, not the handsome, beautiful, handsome kind of
• 31:23
  guy.
• 31:24
  And so once you understand that and you create the right headshot, that's how you can start
• 31:32
  getting submitted for jobs.
• 31:34
  So when an agent that I spoke with said, Hey, I think you've got a good look for this stuff.
• 31:40
  Why don't you go out and get a headshot?
• 31:42
  I didn't even know what that was.
• 31:44
  So I just asked her, I said, Well, do you have any recommendations for places to go to to get
• 31:48
  a headshot?
• 31:49
  And she gave me names of some headshot photographers.
• 31:52
  And once again, just because I didn't know anything, I walked in and said, so what do I
• 31:58
  do?
• 31:58
  And she said, no, just make a lot of faces.
• 32:00
  And he took like 200, three hundred shots of me making faces.
• 32:03
  It was a horrible session because I didn't have any sense of how to prepare, what I should be
• 32:10
  doing.
• 32:11
  It was not a very good start.
• 32:14
  But I guess I was able to salvage one photo from that first headshot session, and the agent
• 32:23
  submitted me, and it was a commercial modeling job.
• 32:25
  I didn't know what it was.
• 32:26
  I showed up on the set and I said, what are you looking for?
• 32:29
  And they explained, and I was able to give them the look that they needed fortunately.
• 32:34
  And then pretty soon after that, I actually I started doing extra work first before I ever
• 32:41
  booked any principal jobs.
• 32:43
  And so I was hanging out on sets, working as an extra just in the background.
• 32:48
  But I tell you and some actors will tell you, don't do extra work.
• 32:52
  It's gonna be horrible for your career.
• 32:54
  They're only gonna view you as an extra.
• 32:57
  I feel a little bit differently.
• 32:58
  I found that I learned a lot from, the times where I could watch actors, really great
• 33:05
  actors, work, up close.
• 33:07
  I got a chance to network with other actors in the area who are also doing extra work.
• 33:13
  I got a chance to observe to see who are the people on the crew.
• 33:18
  You know, what what do they do?
• 33:20
  Sometimes you even get a chance to listen to the directors talk to the actors.
• 33:24
  Once again, if you're in a stadium and you're one of 10,000 people, you know, watching, you
• 33:30
  know, football match, you're not gonna get a chance to really hear that much or watch the
• 33:35
  actors closely.
• 33:35
  But sometimes you might be in a bookstore, you know, a coffee shop, and your table is right
• 33:41
  next to where all the action is taking place, and you can eavesdrop and listen, and it can be
• 33:46
  a great learning experience.
• 33:49
  That's fantastic, that.
• 33:50
  And it's it's a bit of a shame, really, how over apt to, you know, look upon that when
• 33:59
  you've just mentioned about, oh, don't be taking the extra job or anything because people
• 34:04
  are just gonna look look at you as an extra, and that's all they're gonna see as is this
• 34:08
  person who's just an an extra or anything.
• 34:11
  But it's like what you just said then.
• 34:14
  Obviously, it leads to new opportunities, and it opens up new doors, more avenues for
• 34:19
  yourself.
• 34:20
  Do you know what I mean?
• 34:21
  And it's it's all about networking, I suppose, in that sort of industry, you know, when it
• 34:27
  comes to the modeling or even if it's the acting side of things as well, I know.
• 34:34
  And that's that's an interesting point because although I do have a slightly different take, a
• 34:40
  lot of times people say, oh, that actor was lucky.
• 34:43
  You know, he was in the right place at the right time.
• 34:46
  And it's, you know, he knew somebody and they got in.
• 34:50
  It's not who you know, it's who knows you.
• 34:55
  I and I think that there's an interesting distinction there.
• 34:58
  It's who knows you in the industry.
• 35:01
  That's what's gonna be really helpful.
• 35:03
  But having said that, even if you have a connection, even if people know you, you have
• 35:10
  to be able to produce when it's called upon.
• 35:15
  Because, you know, even if it's, you know, a famous director who's bringing in a friend,
• 35:21
  they're not gonna have somebody who is absolutely horrible and make the movie look bad
• 35:29
  just to bring in a friend.
• 35:31
  The person still has to be able to do what is needed, you know, to help support the movie,
• 35:37
  you know, in any way.
• 35:38
  There was a movie called Runaway Bride, and Gary Marshall was the director.
• 35:44
  He died a few years ago.
• 35:46
  And it was Richard Gere, and oh, boy, I'm sorry, I'm just forgetting the woman's name.
• 35:54
  She was also, anyhow, very, very famous actor.
• 35:58
  Sorry, I'm not remembering.
• 36:00
  Anyhow, the point was Gary Marshall would bring in his friends, people he worked with in the
• 36:09
  past, like Richard Gere, like, oh, what's her name?
• 36:13
  Oh, I can't believe it.
• 36:15
  Anyhow, then he would also bring in his secretary, he would bring in relatives, and
• 36:23
  give them one word to say.
• 36:25
  You know?
• 36:26
  And so you would do that for a couple of reasons.
• 36:28
  One is when he's traveling and out on location for a couple months, wants to be surrounded by
• 36:34
  people who he knows and people he loves and people he cares about, makes him feel better.
• 36:40
  And he knows that he's helping them because they can get one word out without it being a
• 36:46
  problem.
• 36:47
  And they'll get paid well for their one day of work.
• 36:51
  They'll get residuals forever, because of their one day at work.
• 36:56
  And it was interesting because there were, just speaking of extras, there were a bunch of local
• 37:01
  extras who were very angry because they were saying, It's not right, it's not fair.
• 37:06
  Should be getting these one sentence lines or one word lines, and he's just bringing in his
• 37:12
  friends.
• 37:13
  I just thought, well, I never said anything to anybody, but I was just thinking, maybe you
• 37:17
  need to be really good friends with Gary Marshall, and maybe he'll bring you in as well.
• 37:22
  It's like, I get it, you know, and I understand why sometimes people might get frustrated
• 37:26
  because they don't get the opportunity just because they're not friendly with them.
• 37:31
  But, you know, that's the way the world works.
• 37:36
  So, yeah, it's who knows you?
• 37:39
  That's it, you know
• 37:40
  Julia Roberts.
• 37:41
  That's who I was thinking of.
• 37:43
  Sorry.
• 37:43
  Julia Roberts.
• 37:45
  And she was also in pretty woman, you know, with Richard Gere and Gary Marshall.
• 37:53
  Yeah.
• 37:55
  No.
• 37:55
  But it's it's interesting what you say.
• 37:57
  You know what I mean?
• 37:58
  And I like I like your, you know, your little quote then.
• 38:03
  Obviously, it's who knows you, not the opposite way around.
• 38:08
  You know?
• 38:08
  And it's not who you know.
• 38:11
  I'm I'm gonna I'm gonna pinch that off, you know.
• 38:14
  So we're we're, like, giving extras as well, And this is someone who's been in sets as well.
• 38:23
  He would've been on.
• 38:24
  So obviously, I don't know if you've ever heard of it.
• 38:26
  You know, like, Coronation Street and EastEnders and stuff like that.
• 38:31
  Like, it's it's it's it's one of the salts over here, like, that's quite big.
• 38:36
  So someone who I know, he auditioned for that, and he went in to be an extra.
• 38:43
  And he had to mind the words fish and chips whilst he was being retarded.
• 38:51
  I sat there talking to someone, obviously, not actually talking, but there was just like then
• 38:57
  just like nodding their head.
• 38:58
  So they have to like nod their head and like obviously you just don't take it on like just
• 39:04
  look at the camera while it's on.
• 39:06
  Do you know what I mean?
• 39:07
  And it's just it's weird how you've got to do these different techniques and everything just
• 39:12
  to make it look like because no one understands how much hard work and how much effort goes
• 39:18
  into shooting a scene or anything.
• 39:20
  Do know what I mean?
• 39:21
  Because there could be two main characters.
• 39:24
  And then you've got, say, for example, you're in a hospital.
• 39:28
  Yeah?
• 39:29
  And then you've got the receptionist.
• 39:32
  You've got the the surgeon or the doctor or whoever.
• 39:37
  Obviously, they're having a conversation, and then the camera pans round.
• 39:41
  And then you've got people sat in triage.
• 39:43
  You've got people waiting to be queued up and everything.
• 39:47
  Or you've got people coming in from outside, you know, where the ambulances can drop you off
• 39:52
  and all that sort of stuff.
• 39:53
  You've got all this going on.
• 39:54
  And obviously, the director has to give all these people like their jobs and their roles
• 40:01
  and everything and tell them what to say, what to do at the exact time and everything.
• 40:06
  And I just think it's just mental just because, you know, that could be like a five minute
• 40:11
  shoot.
• 40:13
  But it took longer than five minutes and people don't understand what goes on in their
• 40:18
  background, you know, behind the scenes sort of stuff.
• 40:20
  And it's just it blows my mind because when I watch a film or a TV programme, when I get a
• 40:27
  chance to do it, I'm just I'm one of these.
• 40:30
  I'm fixated in like how how it's all created, like how they actually sat there and took the
• 40:37
  time and took the effort into putting.
• 40:39
  It's just that extra tiny little detail that makes it so much better as well.
• 40:45
  And it just blows my mind, doesn't it?
• 40:50
  It's and and and you're a % right.
• 40:52
  I mean, when you think about it, look, for, let's say, a ninety minute film, you know, it's
• 40:58
  not unusual for it to take three months of shooting.
• 41:01
  You could do one page in a day, or a couple pages.
• 41:05
  Now, of course, it depends on the dialogue, how much dialogue there is.
• 41:09
  Are you talking about, are there scenes where there's no dialogue, but just a lot of action?
• 41:14
  But there was a film that I did called Fishbowl, and I was the pastor, and I'm talking
• 41:22
  to my congregants in the church.
• 41:25
  It probably lasted a minute in the movie, something like that.
• 41:33
  And we did 20 takes just to get that one minute scene done because and it's exactly what
• 41:43
  saying, and people don't know this unless you've actually watched it.
• 41:49
  So they might do, it's called a wide shot.
• 41:53
  And so I'm doing my sermon, and the cameras are picking up everything in the church.
• 42:00
  And then once that is done, then they're gonna break everything down, move the cameras around,
• 42:07
  change all the lighting, And then it might be the shot over my shoulder doing individual
• 42:13
  close ups of my congregants, getting their reaction to what I'm saying.
• 42:18
  So we'll do that a million times.
• 42:20
  And then they break everything down, and then it's over their shoulder, and now it's my turn
• 42:25
  for the close ups.
• 42:26
  Then we do it a million more times.
• 42:29
  And so even just for small scenes, it can take all day to do something like that.
• 42:38
  And so, yeah, there's a lot that goes into doing a scene.
• 42:43
  And when you're talking about, like sometimes for the extras, are told to just mime and not
• 42:48
  say anything.
• 42:50
  And it was a funny story.
• 42:53
  One thing, there was a TV show, this was a million years ago, it was on NBC, and it was
• 42:58
  called Law and Criminal Intent.
• 43:02
  And I was a doctor, and my patient collapses as I'm talking to him, and I had to reach out and
• 43:10
  grab him.
• 43:11
  And then I'm talking to the stars of this particular show and explaining what's going on.
• 43:18
  So it was about, I don't know, four days after we finished shooting, I got a phone call from
• 43:23
  production, and they're saying, hey, we need you to come back to New York, and you have to
• 43:27
  shoot.
• 43:28
  We have to do this thing again.
• 43:29
  And I'm sorry, not shoot it, but I have to it's called doing a loop.
• 43:33
  I had to redo my lines in a studio.
• 43:36
  And so, of course, at that time period, I was thinking, uh-oh, they hated what I did.
• 43:42
  It didn't work.
• 43:43
  They want me to do it completely differently, and I'm feeling a little paranoid.
• 43:48
  So I go into the studio, and it's this big room with a giant screen on the wall.
• 43:54
  I have headphones on.
• 43:56
  And what they do is they play the scene back, but now I'm rerecording my lines into a
• 44:02
  microphone.
• 44:03
  So I have to match exactly the way I said the lines.
• 44:09
  What I found out was when they actually shot it, one of the extras was talking in the
• 44:18
  background.
• 44:19
  It was one of the assistants at the hospital, and it was covering up and overlapping my
• 44:26
  lines.
• 44:27
  So they needed a fresh take so they could get rid of this extra who had been talking and just
• 44:34
  do mine again.
• 44:34
  So, yeah, sometimes for the extras, they're gonna just ask you to move your mouth to make
• 44:39
  it look like you're talking, but they don't want any words to be said.
• 44:44
  It's quite interesting that as well.
• 44:46
  You know, obviously, because someone, like, caught up on their end, and now, obviously,
• 44:53
  yours, like, panicking and, like, getting that nervous thinking, oh, what's going on?
• 44:57
  I I messed up, or did did I do this wrong, or have I done that wrong?
• 45:02
  And, obviously, a million things have rushed into your mind then, and then you've got there.
• 45:08
  And it's like, well, unfortunately, one of the extras spoke, and it's over, you know, it's
• 45:12
  overpowered your voice.
• 45:13
  So you're gonna have to it's sort of like mime in it in a in a sense, really, because,
• 45:20
  obviously, you're talking into this microphone, watching your lines, like, obviously, like
• 45:24
  watching your part, and you've got to reenact the same situation just through the microphone.
• 45:31
  Yeah.
• 45:32
  But it's just miming it.
• 45:33
  Yeah.
• 45:34
  Hell, you know?
• 45:36
  I've just got to say my lines the exact same way.
• 45:38
  And you know, because when I thought about it later, and once again, it's easy for us to feel
• 45:43
  paranoid.
• 45:45
  You know, like if I'm in a recording studio and let's say I'm doing a voiceover or a radio spot
• 45:51
  or something like that, and I could see on the other side of the glass, I'm able to see the
• 45:59
  director and maybe the producer and they're talking back and forth.
• 46:03
  And I'm sitting there thinking, uh-oh, do they hate what I'm doing?
• 46:06
  They're probably talking about what they're gonna have for lunch.
• 46:09
  They're probably going over the menu of what they're going to eat.
• 46:12
  Because when I step back and I think about it, if they really hated what I did on Law and
• 46:19
  Criminal Intent, they would have told me then.
• 46:21
  They would have given me some kind of direction.
• 46:24
  They would have given me some notes.
• 46:26
  They're they're not gonna, you know, wait four days, all of a sudden there's this discovery.
• 46:31
  I mean, the the director is watching a monitor.
• 46:34
  The director has headphones on.
• 46:37
  You know, they hear every single word that is said.
• 46:40
  So if there was an issue with delivery, they would have told me then and there.
• 46:45
  So anyhow.
• 46:46
  But it I'm telling you, it's it's easy to take things, personally.
• 46:51
  It's easy to feel paranoid, and and that's why and and this took me years and years and years
• 46:58
  to to figure out.
• 47:00
  But something that is just invaluable for me is that you can't take anything personally in this
• 47:07
  industry.
• 47:08
  When you go to an audition and you finish the audition and you don't get the job, it's not
• 47:15
  because they hate you, it's not because they don't like you, it's not because you're not any
• 47:21
  good.
• 47:21
  For whatever reason, you weren't the perfect person for that role.
• 47:26
  And and now I'm not saying maybe maybe your audition was horrible.
• 47:29
  You know, that's certainly very possible.
• 47:32
  Yeah.
• 47:32
  Probably not, especially if you've auditioned with this casting director in the past because
• 47:38
  casting directors won't bring somebody else in to read unless they love what you did.
• 47:44
  Because they don't wanna waste their time, and they don't wanna look bad if they are sending
• 47:49
  in and submitting auditions of people who are just really not, you know, talented actors,
• 47:56
  it's going to make the casting director look bad for the directors and the producers or the
• 48:00
  networks or the streaming companies.
• 48:02
  And that's bad for their reputation.
• 48:05
  So yeah, you can't take anything personally.
• 48:09
  And just kind of talking about that, once again, I'm kind of going back into caveman
• 48:14
  times, but was a it was the very first streaming show ever on TV and was on Netflix,
• 48:21
  and it was called House of Cards.
• 48:24
  And the first four seasons of that show I thought was really phenomenal.
• 48:29
  And I auditioned for that show 14 times over two years.
• 48:36
  They kept bringing me in.
• 48:37
  I would read.
• 48:38
  Sometimes they would put me on hold, meaning that there were just a couple of us and they
• 48:43
  were asking us to hold the dates of the shoot because I was being considered, didn't get it.
• 48:49
  Sometimes I would have a callback, meaning they liked the initial audition, and now they're
• 48:54
  calling me back to read again, instead of just with the casting director.
• 48:58
  Now the director is there, maybe the writers are there.
• 49:02
  Never booked anything.
• 49:03
  And I know that some actors get very frustrated and they start thinking the casting director
• 49:08
  doesn't like them.
• 49:09
  I mean, the third or fourth audition, whether it's for the same show or maybe the casting
• 49:14
  director is casting other things, And they start thinking, why should I even bother coming
• 49:19
  in there?
• 49:20
  Apparently, they don't want me.
• 49:21
  They would have cast me.
• 49:23
  14 times, I didn't book it.
• 49:25
  The fifteenth audition, I booked a reoccurring role on the show.
• 49:29
  And it just goes to show, and it was a good it was a very helpful learning lesson for me.
• 49:34
  I know that the casting directors only bring back people who they like.
• 49:39
  And for whatever reason, maybe I was, you know, too tall, too short, didn't quite have the
• 49:46
  exact look.
• 49:47
  Maybe I looked too much like some of the other principals in the scene.
• 49:50
  Who knows why?
• 49:52
  But it was the fifteenth audition that got me a reoccurring role.
• 49:55
  So if you are ever brought back a second time by a casting director, that means they really
• 50:01
  like what you did.
• 50:03
  I mean, that that's quite interesting to learn and to know this sort of information as well.
• 50:09
  And with some of the stuff that you were just saying then, it just makes me wonder, like,
• 50:16
  they they have to be thick skinned in action because it's like it's like some of the stuff
• 50:23
  that you've been saying then, and it's like, well, you know, you you might go off thinking
• 50:31
  that, oh, you've not you you may have not done a good job or but they might have said
• 50:35
  something to you, and you took it the wrong way because how how they've said it took towards
• 50:42
  you.
• 50:43
  But then again, it could it go back to, you know, being treated like a bit of shit,
• 50:49
  basically?
• 50:50
  And they're trying to trying to get you into that character sort of thing, you know, because
• 50:54
  obviously they're not feeling you're that character.
• 50:57
  So maybe they're talking down to you just to get you back up to where you need to be, or,
• 51:03
  you know, do you think that people will have to be thick skinned basically?
• 51:09
  Well, you do.
• 51:11
  You really do because there aren't that many jobs in this world where pretty much every day
• 51:18
  you're being told, No, I don't want you.
• 51:21
  And that's just the reality.
• 51:23
  I mean, it's like, in some ways we're like salespeople.
• 51:27
  And instead of selling Mac computers and you knock on somebody's door and you say, Hey, are
• 51:36
  you interested in buying a MacBook Pro?
• 51:38
  And they say, You know what?
• 51:39
  I really like PC computers.
• 51:41
  I really don't enjoy Macs.
• 51:42
  You go, Okay, it's nothing personal.
• 51:45
  They just wasn't the right fit for that person.
• 51:48
  It's harder for us because when somebody says to you, I don't want you.
• 51:56
  It's kinda like, you know, you ask somebody out on a date and they go, no thanks, not
• 52:01
  interested.
• 52:03
  It's easy to take that personally.
• 52:06
  But the reality is maybe, you know, you just aren't a good match for that person, that's
• 52:12
  all.
• 52:12
  And it doesn't mean that you're not great.
• 52:14
  It doesn't mean that you might not go out with somebody else.
• 52:18
  But for that one particular person, it didn't work out.
• 52:21
  So yeah, you do have to be and that's a good way of putting it.
• 52:25
  You do have to be thick skinned and not take it personally.
• 52:29
  And I'll tell you something that I do, and I'll share it with everybody here because I think
• 52:33
  it's really helpful.
• 52:36
  When I go to an audition, I do something differently.
• 52:39
  Now, when I say I go to an audition, look, pretty much every audition not pretty much.
• 52:46
  Every audition that I've done since the beginning of the pandemic has been self tapes.
• 52:52
  I shoot all my auditions at home.
• 52:55
  But when I was going into casting directors' offices, but even though I still have the same
• 53:01
  frame of mind, even if I shoot it here, I don't try to book the job, which I know it's a little
• 53:09
  counterintuitive because most people would say, you don't wanna book that.
• 53:13
  You're not trying to book the job.
• 53:14
  Why else would you spend the time preparing, shooting, editing, uploading it unless, you
• 53:20
  know, you're trying to book the job?
• 53:23
  I don't try to book the job.
• 53:25
  My number one goal Once again, let me just back up for a second.
• 53:28
  Everybody has different ways of doing it, and whatever works for you is great.
• 53:33
  Some people like to manifest things.
• 53:37
  They imagine themselves at the red carpet.
• 53:40
  They're walking up the steps to get an Academy Award for this film that they're about to work
• 53:46
  on.
• 53:46
  And look, if that works for you, do it.
• 53:50
  Doesn't work for My number one goal for every audition that I have, because I know I'm not
• 53:58
  gonna book it, is I wanna enjoy myself.
• 54:02
  I think, you know what, it's a Tuesday afternoon, I get a chance to play.
• 54:07
  I get a chance to act.
• 54:09
  Might only be two minutes, three minutes, but that's fun for me.
• 54:14
  And that's how I go into every audition.
• 54:17
  And then the second goal is I wanna learn from it.
• 54:20
  You know, after I finish the audition, I'll analyze it for myself just really quickly.
• 54:25
  Did I do what I wanted to do?
• 54:27
  Which is one of the nice things about doing a self tape because I can look at it.
• 54:32
  I can watch it.
• 54:32
  And if there's something I wanna change, I can easily do that.
• 54:36
  But I'm never thinking of booking the job.
• 54:39
  And I'm not saying I'm not going to get the job because I think I'm horrible and I don't have
• 54:43
  any talent.
• 54:44
  Look, I have some skills.
• 54:46
  I mean, I know I didn't it's not a coincidence that I booked almost 1,300 jobs, but I'm not
• 54:52
  the greatest actor in the world.
• 54:53
  I do some things okay, and people like it, and that's why they hire me for that.
• 54:58
  But I think when you go in there, I wanna get this thing.
• 55:01
  I wanna work with this actor.
• 55:02
  This could change my career.
• 55:04
  I could make a lot of money.
• 55:05
  All of a sudden, start building all this stuff up, and I think you start putting a lot of
• 55:10
  pressure on yourself.
• 55:12
  When you go in there and just try to have a good time, that's And I truly believe that that
• 55:19
  feel comes out in your read, even if it's just with your slate, the way that you introduce
• 55:25
  yourself.
• 55:26
  Because casting directors, they can smell desperation a mile away.
• 55:31
  It's just like going back to that whole dating concept.
• 55:34
  Hey, if you ask, you go out on a date with somebody and the first thing you say, you know
• 55:39
  what?
• 55:40
  I think we should get married.
• 55:42
  I think we should start a family.
• 55:43
  I think we should get married.
• 55:44
  I think we should buy a house together.
• 55:46
  It's like, what are you crazy?
• 55:48
  You know, we haven't even spent time together and you're already talking.
• 55:52
  You're putting pressure on me and I can feel the desperation from you.
• 55:56
  And casting directors, they they can they can smell out desperation a mile away, and that's
• 56:02
  not who they wanna work with.
• 56:04
  They wanna work with people who have this feeling of, hey, if I book the job, great.
• 56:08
  If I don't book the job, that's great.
• 56:10
  I'll book something else.
• 56:11
  Somebody who's just there to enjoy themselves.
• 56:13
  That's who they want to surround themselves with.
• 56:16
  And I'm sure the directors as well.
• 56:18
  That's who they want to be spending time with on a set.
• 56:21
  So I think that's just really, at least for me, that's just really important.
• 56:25
  Don't try to book the job when you are auditioning.
• 56:29
  Just enjoy the audition.
• 56:31
  Mhmm.
• 56:32
  It's again, I really like your analogy as well with, like, the auditioning and, you know, the
• 56:38
  dating thing as well because the the two really resonate with each other, and they go hand in
• 56:44
  hand.
• 56:44
  And it's just like, well, if you you're gonna book something, you say no.
• 56:49
  You know what I mean?
• 56:50
  And and people take it personally.
• 56:53
  And when you go on a date and you get rejected, you know, you take it personally again.
• 56:58
  And it's like the desperation thing, what you just mentioned then, oh, well, let's get
• 57:04
  married.
• 57:04
  And it's just like, woah.
• 57:06
  And then you're going you're going to this going on to this point.
• 57:10
  I'm getting it.
• 57:12
  You know what I mean?
• 57:13
  Yeah.
• 57:13
  And and They're being confident and then overconfident.
• 57:16
  Do you know what I mean?
• 57:17
  Like, because if if you're gonna go in there onto this, you know, whether it's a date or
• 57:23
  whether it's your audition, and you're like, hi.
• 57:27
  Oh, timid and everything.
• 57:29
  You know, people are just gonna walk all over you, basically.
• 57:33
  But if you go in and you're like, I, you know, show a bit of, you know, confidence, then
• 57:41
  people are like, yeah, okay.
• 57:43
  He seems a bit interesting or he seems a bit interesting.
• 57:46
  Let's let's see what they're about, you know?
• 57:48
  And you'll probably more likely get a chance.
• 57:52
  And it's like, you know, I I've been to obviously, I've not had auditions or anything,
• 57:59
  but when you go for a job interview as well, it's sort of like the same process as well
• 58:04
  because you've got to do something that makes you stand out.
• 58:08
  Because when you have an audition, you know, them people who are looking for that for the
• 58:15
  for these people, they could they could have hundreds of people coming in, you know, doing
• 58:22
  doing the cast for it all and everything and doing all this acting.
• 58:25
  So you've got to come in, you've got to be unique and shine differently because then that
• 58:30
  way they'll be like, Oh, yeah.
• 58:33
  You remember Irene did this?
• 58:34
  Did that, you know?
• 58:35
  And you gotta stand out from everyone else so that they remember you.
• 58:40
  There's no point going in just doing your lines, and then they're like, oh, well, this is
• 58:46
  like everyone else is just coming.
• 58:48
  So now we don't want them in.
• 58:51
  You know what I mean?
• 58:52
  Just And you know that
• 58:54
  Stand out.
• 58:55
  Okay.
• 58:57
  And you know what?
• 58:59
  Just like, and I love your analogy of going in for an interview for a job, you know, a job
• 59:04
  interview.
• 59:05
  And I talk about this in workshops the exact same way.
• 59:09
  Like if you're going to meet an agent, you're gonna do the exact same thing that you would do
• 59:14
  if you're going for any job interview.
• 59:17
  What I would suggest is before you go in for your job interview, look the person up.
• 59:24
  Try to get a lot of information about the person.
• 59:26
  You can go to their social media pages, whether it's LinkedIn, whether it's Instagram, or X,
• 59:36
  Twitter, whatever it is, and find out, hey, do they live in the same area that you do?
• 59:43
  Did they go to the same school that you do?
• 59:46
  Do they have hobbies that are adventurous?
• 59:48
  Can you imagine, like, if you went in and I would, just like with agents, if I was going
• 59:56
  for a job interview, I would think of questions that somebody might ask me and know how to
• 1:00:02
  respond.
• 1:00:03
  Now, I'm not gonna have a sheet of paper when somebody says, well, what kind of things do you
• 1:00:08
  like to do besides work?
• 1:00:09
  Well, I'm not gonna pull out a sheet of paper and go, well, I'd like to do But if you know
• 1:00:13
  that this person who's interviewing you is involved in martial arts, And you are too.
• 1:00:18
  I wouldn't lie about this stuff, but you've been studying Taekwondo for ten years.
• 1:00:24
  You say, well, you know what?
• 1:00:27
  Work is very important to me, but I tell you, some of my hobbies are also really, really
• 1:00:32
  important.
• 1:00:33
  Like I love spending time, and I've been studying taekwondo for ten years now.
• 1:00:38
  All of a sudden, man, there's this connection.
• 1:00:41
  And like you said, you want something that makes you stand out.
• 1:00:45
  You don't have to go in there and say, I've done this, this, this, this, this in my life,
• 1:00:53
  and that's why I'm the best person.
• 1:00:55
  Everybody who's coming in has done a lot of really good things.
• 1:00:59
  Just like for an actor, if you're meeting with an agent, you don't have to say, well, you
• 1:01:03
  know, I did this movie, you know, A Man Called Otto, I was in the scene with Tom Hanks, you
• 1:01:08
  know, the train station.
• 1:01:09
  It's like they see your resume, you know, you don't need to go through that.
• 1:01:14
  They want to see who you are as a human being.
• 1:01:17
  And once again, these people are going to be working with you.
• 1:01:21
  They want to make sure that they feel comfortable with you.
• 1:01:25
  So if you're meeting them and you first walk in, whether it's an agent or just regular job
• 1:01:30
  interview, and you treat it like you're meeting somebody at a party for the very first time.
• 1:01:36
  And you know, just go, oh, hi.
• 1:01:38
  Hey, how are you?
• 1:01:38
  I'm Aaron Marcus.
• 1:01:40
  That's it.
• 1:01:41
  You know, treat them with the same kind of respect that you would like to be treated with.
• 1:01:45
  No more, no less, and just be a human being.
• 1:01:50
  And once again, think of some questions that might be thrown at you.
• 1:01:54
  And you don't have to memorize any answers, but have a pretty good idea of what you might wanna
• 1:01:59
  say in response to that.
• 1:02:02
  So that yeah.
• 1:02:02
  So you stand out.
• 1:02:04
  You're somebody they like, somebody they trust, someone they feel comfortable with, and
• 1:02:08
  certainly someone that they think is competent.
• 1:02:12
  Again, it's just quite interesting some of the stuff that you said.
• 1:02:16
  And, you know, and I feel like how our conversation has gone so far, you know, like,
• 1:02:24
  we've got sort of, like, similar mindset with things.
• 1:02:28
  You know?
• 1:02:29
  Obviously, I said I said something.
• 1:02:30
  You know?
• 1:02:31
  Oh, well, that that's how I do that analogy, you know, with the workshops and everything.
• 1:02:36
  And I just think it's it's quite crazy.
• 1:02:38
  Do know what I mean?
• 1:02:39
  Because obviously, we've not we've not spoke or anything prior to Okay.
• 1:02:45
  Football.
• 1:02:45
  That's about it, really, I suppose.
• 1:02:47
  And then a two minute brief chat before we came on to the show and everything.
• 1:02:52
  But, no, it it's it's crazy as well.
• 1:02:55
  Do you know what I mean?
• 1:02:56
  So I don't wanna take too much of your time before I do because we we we have been on the
• 1:03:02
  call for a long time now.
• 1:03:05
  Is there anything you'd like to promote yourself?
• 1:03:08
  Is there any website?
• 1:03:09
  You've got any books out?
• 1:03:11
  You know, now is your time to promote yourself.
• 1:03:15
  Great.
• 1:03:16
  Hey, well, thank you.
• 1:03:17
  I really appreciate that.
• 1:03:19
  Probably
• 1:03:20
  most importantly, if you're interested in getting free information from me, just go to my
• 1:03:28
  website and it's how to act and model, just h o d, I'm sorry, h0wt0m0del.com.
• 1:03:35
  How to act and model.
• 1:03:36
  Oh, did I say the a c t?
• 1:03:38
  Yeah.
• 1:03:38
  Howtoactandmodel.com.
• 1:03:41
  Go there.
• 1:03:42
  You can sign up to be on my email list every week.
• 1:03:45
  I send out really helpful information.
• 1:03:48
  You will also find on the website, there's a contact tab.
• 1:03:53
  If you ever have a industry question, I'm more than happy to try to answer it for you.
• 1:03:58
  Not that smart of a guy, but I can promise if I know the answer, I'll get back in touch with
• 1:04:03
  you and let you know.
• 1:04:04
  And I'm really good at doing that because, look, I know how difficult it is to break into
• 1:04:09
  the industry.
• 1:04:10
  It was very hard for me, and I spent years doing things by trial and error.
• 1:04:15
  So, you know, I I like gives me, joy to be able to help other people as well.
• 1:04:23
  And that's why I also offer private mentoring.
• 1:04:26
  I do this virtually online, and you'll you can read about it on the website.
• 1:04:30
  I also have a really helpful YouTube channel.
• 1:04:33
  Just click on the YouTube icon on the website, and I've got over 500 free quick tip videos.
• 1:04:40
  You know, you should go there, subscribe, click the notification bell so you always know when I
• 1:04:45
  upload a new video.
• 1:04:46
  And thank you.
• 1:04:47
  Yeah.
• 1:04:47
  I did write a book.
• 1:04:48
  It's how to become a successful actor and model, which is great.
• 1:04:52
  You can order it from the website.
• 1:04:54
  But actually, if you're living outside The US, if you can order it through Amazon, it's much
• 1:05:01
  better for me to order it from my website financially.
• 1:05:05
  But for you, it's gonna be much more economical to order it from Amazon.
• 1:05:10
  So I don't have to pay for shipping, you know, across the ocean.
• 1:05:14
  Or you can get the, electronic version of it from my website.
• 1:05:17
  So, yeah, those are the main things.
• 1:05:19
  Sign up to be on my mailing list.
• 1:05:21
  Subscribe to my YouTube channel.
• 1:05:23
  Oh, you can follow me on Instagram.
• 1:05:25
  It's just Aaron, a a r o n, r for Robert, Marcus, m a r c u s.
• 1:05:30
  So it's Aaron r Marcus.
• 1:05:32
  Yeah.
• 1:05:32
  Follow me on, Instagram, and you can also follow me at the same address on on X as well
• 1:05:38
  or or LinkedIn.
• 1:05:40
  But, yeah, I'm here just to try to help other folks out if I can.
• 1:05:45
  And also, this was really fun.
• 1:05:46
  I'm really glad that we did this.
• 1:05:49
  And thank you for those great questions.
• 1:05:50
  It was really good.
• 1:05:51
  No, I just want to say like to thank you to yourself, you know, taking time out of your
• 1:05:56
  day, and you shared a lot of insightful information.
• 1:06:01
  I I mean, I have to find a lot of information myself, and, you know, I'm quite privileged,
• 1:06:06
  and I'm very, very honored to have someone like yourself on my my show as well because, you
• 1:06:11
  know, you've got a very, very interesting background, you know, within your career that
• 1:06:16
  you've been doing.
• 1:06:18
  And, yeah, I hope that some people who are watching right now take some insightful
• 1:06:24
  information as well.
• 1:06:25
  What I will do as well, ladies and gentlemen, is all the information that Aaron just said, I
• 1:06:30
  will get him to give it to me on Messenger, and I will put it on the description of the video
• 1:06:36
  for the YouTube channel.
• 1:06:37
  And I will also put it in the links as well in the description for Spotify.
• 1:06:42
  So ladies and gentlemen, I just want to say a massive thank you to everyone who has watched
• 1:06:45
  the show today and everything.
• 1:06:47
  And I just want to say a massive thank you to everyone who has been supporting the podcast.
• 1:06:51
  And and again, Aaron, just wanna say a massive thank you to yourself, and thank you, everyone.
• 1:06:56
  Just watching.
• 1:06:57
  Oh, well, great.
• 1:06:59
  Thank you.