ACTORS FUNK AND HOW TO GET OUT OF IT (part 2)

This post is a continuation of last week’s post. You can have a look at it here if you haven’t already.

Sometimes the actor’s funk can last a bit too long and when it’s been five years and you haven’t managed to book even an extra’s role on a student film, we can no longer call it a funk my friend. It’s time to be brutally honest with yourself and take action.

This is one of the toughest blogs I have ever had to do. It gives me absolutely no pleasure to write this down but somebody’s gotta do it. We live in a society where we are always told to be positive, have faith, don’t give up etc but at some point someone has to burst your bubble to bring you back to reality. Today, I play the devil’s advocate.

Below are a few things you can do when you’re being hit by a long term funk. These solutions are gonna cost both time and money but need to be done.

CHANGE YOUR LOOK

I have a male friend who used to have very long hair. He would book commercials and work extremely well. When he hit 30 he decided he wanted to have a ‘clean’ more mature look. So he shaved off his hair and beard. Big mistake. All of a sudden the jobs just stopped coming in. Clients were no longer interested. It took months to grow his hair and start working again. In showbiz, looks are everything. You must know what works for you. It can take months, sometimes years to know what works best. I have tried all kinds of looks in the past, it’s only recently that I came to settle on one that seems to be working perfectly. A look is a very personal thing, just because your friend got a boob job and is now working a lot doesn’t mean you need a boob job as well. Also, what you think is a ‘disability’ or an unattractive feature on your body may be the reason why you are booking all these jobs. That mole right in the middle of your face could be the one thing  getting you all the jobs coz it’s unique. If you remove it, you blend in with the rest of us and no one notices you anymore.

During a long term funk try shake things up a bit with your appearance IF NECESSARY. Only make changes that make you feel more confident about yourself. Add weight, lose some, change your hair color, grow a beard, shave it, get a nose job. Whatever it is you feel you need to do to alter your look for the better, DO IT! but only do it if it feels natural to you and not because grandma has been pressuring you to gain some weight or else you’re out of the will 😉

RELOCATE

Back in 2013 my funk was running a bit too long. I felt suffocated. I just wanted out so I found a new agent, packed my bags and moved to Johannesburg for a year. It was a whole new experience. Made new friends, created new contacts; it was amazing. Also, I got to live in Denmark and work on a play when I was there. Afterwards I moved back to Cape Town. Everything looked so fresh and alive. It was like I had never been here before. There was so much potential. So many possibilities.

Sometimes we need to literally move from where we are and experience another life away from what we are used to. Who knows, you might like it so much and decide to stay or go back to where you were but only this time with a fresh pair of eyes and different energy.

GO BACK TO SCHOOL

I believe that one can never learn too much. If you can, take some time off to enroll in an an acting course. I’m talking at least one year of intense classes, chances are you will come out a better actor with new inspiration ready to give your career one more shot at succeeding.

WORK BEHIND THE CAMERA

The film industry is HUGE! Actors represent 30% or even less of the different people who work in this industry. From make up artists to set designers to sound technicians to costume designers to production assistants to prop managers to agents to managers to casting directors to stylists…*I’m running out of breath now but you catch my drift*. Find out what else you are good at.  Go back to school, finish that law degree you had dropped out of, come back as an entertainment lawyer. Maybe you have a background in medicine you can be a set doctor or even work as a consultant on medical shows. I remember when I was working on The Last Face we had a real surgeon whose job was to advice the director (Sean Penn) on how to make the scene look as real as possible. At some point he was directing me on what instruments to use and how to hold them. If you love cooking there is a place for you too, you can be the caterer for the production. This industry needs EVERYONE. Actors on their own can never make it without the hundreds, sometimes thousands of people who work tirelessly behind the scenes to make the show happen. You can be one of them too. Try it, you might just like it 🙂

EXPLORE OTHER AVENUES

Now this is really the last resort. It is an extreme measure but as I had mentioned earlier, I’m playing the devil’s advocate today so please allow me to humor you for a second. Okay?

A  few months ago I was working as a casting director’s assistant. At some point she asked me for suggestions of people she can call in for a possible audition. I suggested a few but one stood out. The moment I mentioned the actor’s name, the casting director said “I like how hardworking this actor is, never seen someone so passionate and committed in his work. Too bad he’s not talented enough, he will never make it”. Then with a sigh she  said “I will call him in for the audition anyway, that’s the best I can do”  Her statement had absolutely no malice in it and the fact that she still invited the actor for the audition proves it further. She was just being honest. It crushed my soul but sometimes you have to be honest with yourself and start looking for another way forward.

Every year there are thousands of people all over the world who quit their full time well-paying jobs to pursue a career in acting. Some succeed, others get burnt. The reverse is also true. This is one industry where many are called, few are chosen. Maybe it was never a funk in the first place. The universe was simply trying to tell you something all along but you were hell bent on making acting work. The beautiful thing about human beings is that we were all born with a gift. Some discover it immediately, others later on in life. What is sad is spending your whole life chasing a dream that was not meant to be yours. Getting to old age and dying never knowing what your gift was. Sometimes we want something very VERY MUCH but it already has somebody else’s name on it. You might come from a family of actors. Everyone in your family including your identical twin brother is a brilliant actor, that DOES NOT mean you will end up acting as well let alone be successful at it. You need to do a career audit at some point. If it’s not working out, don’t look at it as a waste of time. Count it as a lesson learnt and be what you were truly meant to be!

Sometimes acting is like a stubborn woman. You may give her all the love and money in this world but if she has her eyes set on another, there is nothing you can do to make her stay.

Image: Justin Munitz

Epic Line: God has given each of us the ability to do certain things well.

Romans 12:6

Disclaimer: this blog is proudly brought to you by the voice(s) in my head. It does not intend to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any personal issues. If symptoms persist, click here