Hello hello hello!
I'm a professional actor, I've worked in film, tv, theatre, radio and video games. Have been working professionally since 2000, both overseas and in Australia.
Thought this post would be a laugh on the off chance anyone's curious. Ask Me Anything!
Kind of. The usual comment is actually "Oh you're an actor? Which restaurant/bar do you work at?"
Recently, in another post, was discussing about actors perhaps being afraid of being typecasted. Is it true and does this happen to you?
In a few instances, I was surprised by how performances by actors suddenly stand out, based on the role they played. And sometimes, they are bad guy roles (James Norton and Dan Stevens come to mind). Is a role everything? Have you turned down roles you didn’t like, or you felt would not add to your resume?
Thanks.
Well being typecast is a double edged sword.
On the one hand, typecast IS cast. You're always getting cast as the bad guy or the lawyer or whatever means you're always working. The same type of character can exist in a multitude of different stories and hopefully the actor gets to explore all aspects of that character.
But if you're not getting work that explores a dimension of a character, well that's not satisfying.
I like working and paying my bills so, ya know, sometimes beggars can't be choosers.
I plan to take improv classes as a sort of general skill and (hopefully) to improve my D&D game.
As someone who does shit acting, how much do you think beginner classes help? Do you also know any good "reputable" improv or acting classes in Perth?
Sure, I believe any class will be helpful if you apply yourself.
I don't know this group personally but have a look at https://www.facebook.com/JustImproviseHQ?fref=ts
Also have a look at http://games.spaceanddeath.com/sin_aesthetics/102
Do you have any comments on how Margot Robbie got so big?
It seems like she went from Neighbours, to one tv show in the USA. Then started getting the top gigs ever since. How does that happen??
She's a good actress. And I've seen every movie she's been in but can't see anything that stands out..
Sorry if you're Margot Robbie..
I'm not Margot Robbie.
No, don't have any particular comments on how she got so big, as such. The vital combination of good talent, good agent, good manager, good opportunities.
Good looks. You seem to forget the most memorable one.
Intentionally overlooked. There are plenty of pretty people not willing to put in the discipline. They don't last.
Margot is talented beyond her appearance.
Is it easy for an actor to become a pathological liar? It happened to Steven Seagal.
Given the right circumstances, I guess it's easy for anyone to become a pathological liar.
Mods need to start regulating these AMAs… it needs verification by mods, similar to that in Reddit. Otherwise it's just another post on the internet.
That's what i've been saying but i've had so many negative for it on this thread. Perhaps people don't seem to care here and maybe believe people that are who they say they are.
I belive this is the correct link to register your concerns
Are you tom cruise or Johnny Depp?
Both.
Why did you type "Tom Cruise" without capitalisation!?
Whats the coolest game youve worked on?
I'm terribly excited about Erica on PS4. https://www.playstation.com/en-au/games/erica-ps4/
I'm not in it, but I was involved in early development of it.
Is it it true that female actors need to give sexual favours to make their way in?
Absolutely untrue. They don't need to.
What is true is that certain men in positions of power (decision making positions) have misused their authority to coerce women (and men) into sexual situations. Totally abhorrent.
I honestly think Leonaldo DiCaprio is overrated
The guy is always same person in any movie
He has mannerism
For example
Compare Leo’s performance in Revenant VS Mickey Rouke’s Wrestler
There is no competition in my opinion Mickey Rouke destroys him.
Michael Fasbender And Tom Hardy walks all over Leo I reckon
Am I delusional?
Sounds like you pay careful attention to films.
What I will say is that the more bankable an actor is, the more work they do, the more you are going to be exposed to how they work and what they do to produce that work, so naturally you will start to see patterns.
Similarly, if you watch Anthony Hopkins carefully you will certain things appear across different films. Or Bradley Whitford in the first season of The West Wing.
I haven't seen Revenant (missed it on the big screen!) or The Wrestler (haven't got around to it). I thought his work in Inception and The Departed was fine.
The guy is always same person in any movie
He was great in Django as the villain, that one was as a bit of a departure from his other roles.
Are there any roles that you turned down and subsequently regret ? And how much affect does a movie/tv script have on whether u take it or u just take on anything your agent can get you in?
I turned down a theatre job to do a tv job and I regret that.
For myself it's a mixture of the two. An actor's agent works on commission - they only get paid when you get paid but they are still working all the time to try and get you work. Naturally it's in an agent's best interest to try and get an actor the best work, that they are interested in, that they can perform strongly. (Just because I may desperately want to be Darth Vader doesn't necessarily mean I'm right for it, if you follow!) So with respect to that, I feel if an agent sends something my way I'd be pretty ungrateful not to trust they've put the work into finding me something decent.
I've had previous agents say 'look I know this isn't the best but would you perhaps be interested?'. It's a working relationship based on trust and understanding of each other's goals and strengths.
Hope that answers your question.
Have you been interviewed by Hamish and andy?
I'm not famous enough.
As a side note, there are quite a few types of work an actor does that the general public might never see. Corporate roleplay, corporate videos, training videos, medical roleplay, theatre in nursing homes and schools, audio book narration, additional dialogue recording/crowd voice work in film/tv, student films, short films, development workshops. There's probably a few more that I can't think of right now.
I guess my point being that professional acting isn't limited to the tv shows and films readily available.
And for those still worried about the authenticity of this AMA, here's my redacted union membership. :)
Your AMA comes in really timely.
Daughter loves acting, very musical and loves role playing (she's still under 7). The school she goes for dancing lessons thinks she'll make a good actor and want to make exception for her to join their musical theater lessons and vocal lesson (if vocal lesson, she'll have to take acting lesson as well).
This got me thinking, if I should seek out 'branded' school for these lesson. What's your view?
I am professionally engaged in many industry but media & entertainment is not something I have every experienced :s
Thanks for your question.
Do you know if this is what your daughter wants to do when she grows up? Have you had that conversation? I know she's only young but I knew from her age it's what I wanted to do. Supportive parents make all the difference.
I'm not exactly clear on what you mean by a 'branded' school. Do you mean a state/private school that specialises in the performing arts (such as Victorian School of Performing Arts or Newtown High School of the Performing Arts) or do you mean an acting school outside of school hours (such as Centrestage)?
My view would be - regardless of what your daughter's passion is, maths, science, art, technology, medicine - absolutely support her 100% and seek out the best place for her to be. :)
Wherever you take your daugher, research the teacher's credentials, where they themselves have worked and studied. See if you can get in touch with parents of students already there (perhaps a difficult task to do).
Yes. I had talked to her multiple times. I brought her to various musicals, performances etc with hope so she can see what's each field entails. definitely something she wanted.
Understood she might change her mind at some point, but at age of 7; she has shown interests and capacity with teachers commenting that she has already shown signs of talent in this area.
I'm thinking schools outside the normal school. She is attending private school which have good emphasis on overall development including music and arts.
@stingy-oz: Cool, brilliant. :)
I'd suggest talking to her teachers and seeing who they recommend, if the school already has a good emphasis on the arts.
Do you ever feel sad after doing a sad role and have to try to shake it?
Do you ever deal with something in real life and suddenly feel like you’re acting a response rather than being genuine?
First question - Yes. Acting is 'being real', being genuine, being honest and truthful in a set of contrived circumstances, in that moment.
One very hasty, rough example, I haven't lived Hamlet's life. My uncle hasn't betrayed my father and killed him then married my mother. I'm not a prince. I haven't lived in Denmark. All these things are outside of my experience. But I know what loss is. I know what betrayal is. I know what existential crisis is. I know those experiences, so - where appropriate - it's about marrying those experiences with the scenes in the text.
That's just one approach, mind you. An actor doesn't necessarily have to use personal experiences to navigate the ins and outs of a character. There are physical based techniques that help build these things.
Related to this - a big trap for actors is to think that just because they are feeling some big emotion means they are doing a great performance and it's going to be conveyed to the audience. Not the case at all.
Second question - no.
There are physical based techniques that help build these things.
I held this belief that if I meet an actor, s/he is unlikely to be a sociopath (or one with strong sociopathic tendencies :-)), because a sociopath lacks empathy, and your Hamlet example illustrates precisely the need for this.
So you are saying there are other physical methods to induce the "look" of emotion which is not there?
Please tell me a bit more about these physical based techniques - I am intrigued. Thanks in advance.
To clarify, not the 'look' of emotion, no, that's incorrect. Apologies if I explained badly. What I mean is that if the actor has no relatable experience for a scene, or does not want to use personal history for something, there are physical exercises to produce emotion, to actually produce emotion and sensation.
It can get a bit esoteric. Have a wiki look at Grotowski, or Chekov's psychological gesture, Meyerhold biomechanics, psychophysical awareness.
An actor has to live a character's life, so empathy is of the utmost importance. We have to be in their shoes, in those moments, alive.
An actor who decides 'right, I'm going to do this line this way, then this line this way, then move this way' with a scene will rapidly run into issues if the director changes direction or if their scene partner does something unexpected but still appropriate for the scene. You have to be alive, you have to be empathetic to what the character is going through.
If that makes sense.
@IndianaBargainHunter: So my belief below still holds, yes? :-)
I held this belief that if I meet an actor, s/he is unlikely to be a sociopath (or one with strong sociopathic tendencies :-))
@IndianaBargainHunter: Using this frame of reference (http://www.healthguidance.org/entry/15850/1/Characteristics-…) I'd say your belief is completely unfounded. Sorry. :)
Ah, but this only confirms the character Sherlock Holmes is a sociopath, but the actor playing Sherlock Holmes cannot be, he has to be empathetic and see what a sociopath feels like.
I read that James Norton when playing the psychopath in Happy Valley had to study the psychopath a lot, till it makes him sick. So his performance was brilliant :-)
@bluesky: Ignoring the bit about Sherlock Holmes entirely, the list of qualities of a sociopath, and so forth, I don't see them as applying to actors by and large.
Yes, I like to do my research too. I had a role as a forensic pathologist and studied up on that, interviewed homicide detectives and so forth. I even wrote the autopsy report propr for a scene I was doing.
@IndianaBargainHunter: Wow, that is dedication to your craft. Good on you. This is the reason why I love movies and theatre :-)
Any roles in any Bollywood dance extravaganzas!?
Ha! No. :) Can't sing or dance well enough for that, though I'm sure I have the right villian look for a Bollywood action/drama.
Also I don't speak any Hindi or Urdu.
I have the right villian look
Haha, you are fortunate then. In so many instances, the villain role seems to be the one that gives the greatest opportunity to show off one's acting chops. At least to me the viewer, it does - actors I never take notice before suddenly shine in such roles.
Thanks a lot for doing the AMA, BTW.
Thanks for reading. :)
Why to be an actor?
It's what I've always wanted to do. I like performing and telling stories. I like the creative process. I like collaborating with others in a creative endeavour.
It's a challenge because you are always up against yourself and your own capability to express yourself.
That's cool.
Do we know who this person is? Are you M or F or Unknown?
Hello! Male actor. :) I'm choosing to stay anonymous.
kramer of course…
Babka, Jerry. Babka.
You ever try to go overseas and make it big there? My cousin is smashing it there at the moment.
I've worked in the UK for a number of years and have my eyes on the US.
The only question I have for a professional actor is why does it take so long for hash browns to cook at McDonalds.
To get it piping hot of course. And we practice monologues whilst they are cooking.
these pretzels….are making me thirsty.
Are you Master of your domain?
Where have we seen you in?
Stingers, over a decade ago.
I've done two low budget films that are going straight to dvd/streaming, neither have distribution in Australia yet. A bunch of short films you'll likely never see (unless I get famous) and theatre you'll never have heard of because it's new writing still in progress in London.
have you being asked to sleep with the directors/producers?
No. And I wouldn't.
Forget sleeping with them - what about having sex? I have a pretty simple rule. "Everything but kiss on the lips" just like the movie Pretty Woman
Motto for every pornstar.
I get the impression you are the paid "extra" for many of your jobs (no offence intended), has that reduced the enjoyment of what you do? Like in all careers, we start out with big ambitions that don't eventuate…
No offence taken, but if you scroll back up to the photo of my MEAA card, you'll see it says 'Actor'. If I was just an extra it would say otherwise. :) Actual union rules.
fair enough, ever thought about changing careers to a drama teacher at a high school or acting business if such thing exist?
Do you mean full time and leaving acting? Heck no, not for me. Doing so would arguably be worse than starting a brand new career altogether. No, this is the career I've chosen, come what may. It's tough but that's how it is, and when it's good, it's great.
I don't know how I'd feel about representing myself as a coach or teacher part time/casually. Uneasy. There are many different methods and many different techniques so…I have a perspective and experience, sure. Doesn't mean my word is 'god'.
Do you get asked to do work for free/exposure a lot?
And, if so, do you do it?
Ooooh boy.
Yes it gets asked a lot, particularly by production companies who should be doing better.
I have a criteria. It depends. If the script is good, if I like the director's work, if there's a sound plan for distribution of the project, if it's not going to eat in to my wallet, if I can duck out when paying work comes along, if it's for friends….yes.
It's a contentious area. In the UK, for instance, employment law strictly defines the roles of employee, employer, volunteering and what a 'job' is. Essentially, if you are asked to be somewhere at a certain time and perform certain tasks (be it acting, plumbing, electricals, gardening) a potential employee/employer relationship exists and you have to be paid at least minimum wage for your time. Have to be. You cannot waive your right to minimum wage. Student film directors, for instance, are considered to be employers, regardless of their student status, because an employee/employer relationship exists as defined by legislation. And you know what, the students do pay and produce quality work.
Qutie a few production companies try to cut costs by getting actors to work for less money or getting extras to work for free. And in the UK there have been cases involving theatre companies paying everyone else but the actors and charging a premium for ticket prices. Also, minimum wage in the UK is stupidly low and cost of living is ridiculously expensive.
The legal situation here in Australia regarding employment law appears to be less well defined. It's an area I'm still trying to understand.
I belive this cartoon sums it up adequately. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CSkInJkWUAAqHa3.jpg
What kind of video game work do you do? Always dream to do it. ?
Voiceover work, characters. :) Yeah, I'm a gamer so getting to be involved is a huge thrill.
Someone has to ask it. How easy is it for you to pick chicks up?
Been in a relationship for many years, so I can't answer. Sorry.
So I've been reflecting on this, because my answer wasn't really helpful. Regarding observing my single peers, male and female. I would say being an actor helps in that it's easier to turn on the charm and be confident in social situations generally (massive generalisation), because we're always meeting new casting people and directors and have to be present and engaged and, most importantly, authentic. It's about interpersonal communication and being able to make others feel comfortable.
No cheesy pickup lines. :)
Do you think TV is becoming more generic, Americanized, politically correct as time goes by?
e.g we don't have Hey Hey it's Saturday or Norman Gunston anymore?
Hello, thanks for your question. I'll try tackle it a bit at a time.
It's complicated. Times change, tastes change. America has the most money for production so they produce more content. Australia has less resources than the US and UK to afford to produce content. In the UK, for instance, the BBC gets funding from tv license fees which the general public pay. (There is some argument that for what the public pays, the UK is not adequately represented in what the BBC produces). There are also more pay TV networks in the UK and US than Australia.
So to say that it's more Americanized….well, yes. It's cheaper for Oz channels to buy award winning, American made product than to invest in untested local content. American and England can afford to sell shows offshore cheap once they have rated well at home.
More generic? We're seeing more reality tv because it's cheaper to produce than fictional content (ie. paying writers and actors). I'd like to think we're slowly getting weary of the more sensationalist reality tv but good grief there does some to be an endless supply of home improvement shows.
More politcally correct? I don't even know how you'd quantify that so I'd say no.
The absence of Hey Hey is perhaps peculiar because it hasn't been replaced/usurped by any other variety show and variety still rates big in the US. Maybe it's because it was more family oriented and the US verions are more adult oriented. Maybe kids stopped watching with their parents.
Norman Gunston?! Wow that is going back a ways. :)
I don't think tv (as a whole) is becoming more generic, in fact I'd argue the opposite, if we're taking in the subscription channels as well. There are some truly awesome programs out there. Let's start with the Oz quotient - Sunshine, Rake, Get Cracking (I've never laughed so much at a tv show before), Wentworth, Offspring, Sunshine, Cleverman, Glitch.
Channel Zero, American Horror Story, Dear White People, Sense8, Mindhunter, Bosch, Orange is the New Black, The Bridge, The Killing.
For further reading about Australian content, try https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/sa/screen-news/2016/01-06…
There is also a problem with Australian support of Australian content.
The Babadook took just $256,000 at the Australian box office in six weeks. This is one of the most original horror films to come out in ages, got strong critical reviews. That's a seriously small amount of people who went to see it.
The Rover took $344,000 in it's first two weeks.
Gone Girl, which opened a few weeks before The Babadook took $5 million in it's opening weekend. Interstellar took $4.1 million in it's opening weekend a few weeks later.
I wish you success in your profession. Reading from your comments above, you have a good sense of humour which is required if you have to be successful. Good luck
Kind of you to say, thank you. :)
Is it difficult to get a mortgage approved with a fluctuating income?
Almost completely impossible if not completely impossible. I might personally know four actors (out of the few hundred I do know) who have earned enough money through acting alone to buy a house. Two of those won't have to worry about mortgages as they are in highly successful series with large fan bases.
In essence, you can't. It's not a stable enough profession. One of my friends back in the UK stopped acting for about two years, driving trucks, just to build up enough income to get a mortgage. Now he's back in the industry having obtained his house.
Sounds like an industry for Peter Pan.
You must love the industry and your partner must be pretty understanding in order to justify the significant disadvantage to your financial future.
I do love the industry, and yes they are very understanding. I don't make a living by acting alone (yet) and have always been conscious to contribute my part.
It's not just actors though, pretty much all tiers of the industry are affected. Francis Ford Coppola, for instance, started his vineyard as a way to get income in when he wasn't making films.
I'm not very materialistic, to be honest. I'm of the view that you can't take it with you when you die. Property prices are an endless source of mirth, infuriation and mystery to me.
Seriously how bad is it for Ethnic actors still?
It's not great, really. It's getting better but, my goodness, it's got a long way to go.
OP is Brad Pitt
Guilty as charged.
I just read this piece - Bounty offered for beheadings of Bollywood actress, director over controversial film, and my heart goes out to the actress/director. She is in XXX: Return of Xander Cage. As an actor, you take on work and the next thing you know, your life is in danger. In the west, we don't expect such extreme stuff, but have you ever gotten close to being threatened by nutcases etc - for a performance role?
Not for taking on a role, no. But I have been threatened just because I'm an actor. You know, 'oh you think you're better than me/it's not a real job, I work a real job/you're not a real man/you're all homosexuals' (that last one was the clean version).
Very sorry to hear you faced such prejudice/intolerance for just being an actor. I sincerely hope this is the exception and not widespread.
I was wondering how actors union / guild memberships work on an international level. That is, if you are a member of the Australian body, do you have to also join SAG-AFTRA to do work in the US? Is there some agreement between unions that allows members to work in other counties using their Australian membership? I’m interested as I am a scriptwriter / narrative designer for videogames based in Australia and have had issues in the past when working on US licensed videogames that have SAG-AFTRA voice over artists in them. After initial recording of VO (all the main characters) on a recent project, we needed some additional NPC character work done weeks later and were hoping to do the recording in house. But since we already had SAG-AFTRA actors working on the project, we were told we could only use other SAG-AFTRA actors due to union rules. From what we were led to believe, we couldn’t source home grown talent. This meant the excessive cost of having to source talent and record in the US, for essentially single sentence lines and noises such as grunts etc. Have you ever experienced this or similar issues when working on videogames?
Hello! Thanks for your question.
Yes, all the unions are separate entities and are actors are subject to the labour and union laws of the respective countries the project is initiated in.
SAG-AFTRA is one of the strongest unions around. A Google result states that for games 'All Principal Performers and the first ten (10) Background Actors per day must be covered under a SAG-AFTRA contract. If within reason you need to hire a non-union member for any covered role, you must submit a Taft-Hartley report, within 15 days of the first date worked, stating your reason for hiring that performer over a union Performer.'
There are Australians who are SAG-AFTRA members so with respect to that, it is possible you could have found someone locally, but naturally, an Australian actor with US union status is more likely to be in the US than here.
I haven't encountered that myself as the games I worked on were British, and it's a different set up there (for better or worse).
How do they make p0rn and find actress/actor? What is the payscale?
Can I get fries with that?