Shoot: Cars.com

Interestingly, there's no non-disclosure agreement on this, but I think I'm good at keeping a secret despite not signing some contract to keep my mouth shut. So, I won't really give away anything other than what's common knowledge on the internet. Cars.com has purchased a Super Bowl commercial for the last couple of years, and has decided to do so again. Our director is Craig Gillespie, who directed their spot last year. You decide what that means.

The shoot was great. My scene has a distinct feel and time period that was fun. The talent and crew were all a pleasure to work with. What a wonderful thing to book just before the holidays too.

We didn't get our tv, because the store with the deal was sold out. But we will. Oh yes, we will.

View my REEL and RESUME

Avail, Booked: Cars.com

Got put on avail again last night. Found out tonight that I booked cars.com! I KNEW I needed to make that callback. It seems the crazier the circumstances or the more in doubt the outcome, the better things work out. My buddy Will had talked to me yesterday about a deal at one of the major electronics stores for an flat panel tv. I joked that if I booked this job, I was going to go get it. My wife and I promised ourselves a few years ago that after I got a big job or two, we'd upgrade our old hand-me-down tv, but we still haven't done it.

View my REEL and RESUME

Callback: Cars.com @ Cathi Carlton

So, here's a story. Friday, I found out I got a callback for cars.com Monday morning at 11am. Last night, while getting my daughter out of the car, I felt a little twinge in my back. Not a major pull or anything, just a tweak. I was "aware" of it before going to bed, but no pain or stiffness really. This morning, when I awoke, I could not move without pain. I could not roll over. I could not get out of bed. I originally hurt my back playing basketball in high school. When I got home after practice, I made the mistake of lying on the floor for a few minutes and the same thing happened. Couldn't get off the floor. My mom was the only one home at the time and she couldn't help me either. It was terrible, and this morning was the remix.

At some point, I just had to bite the bullet and get up. The pain was unbelievable. I tried to walk a little and must've looked like I was 110 years old. It was ridiculous. I downed some ibuprofen and started icing a little. The pain was so sudden and stabbing that it took my breath away. There was no masking it. Then, it was decision time. How could I possibly drive down to Santa Monica and get through a callback that might involved playing with a kid?

I was close to bailing out, but I had this idea in my head that I was really right for the role and that this is exactly the kind of situation that would surround a booking. So, I went. I sat on an ice pack all the way to Santa Monica. The ride itself wasn't so bad, but it took me a couple of minutes to get out of the car. I had to park about two blocks away, but I thought that would give me time to get moving again. I also got there early to allow a bit of time to just keep moving. Despite being the first one there, I didn't sign in. I just paced around a bit.

When I felt the back was as good as it was going to get, I signed in and got the scoop. They had cut one of the bits that involved leaning over, thank goodness! All I had to do was kneel down and stay there until the scene was done...no real range of motion required. Someone was looking out for me. I went in, did the slate, got on my knee, and did the scene twice from that position. When I was done, I turned my face away from everyone and got up. Whew.

So now, lots of ice packs and ibuprofen. I have to sit out my improv show tonight too, which stinks, but I don't want to make it worse.
View my REEL and RESUME

Audition: Cars.com @ Cathi Carlton

This was a smooth one...good old dad type stuff. My audition partner and I worked well together. We had one bit and I had another by myself.

We're getting ready for a trip home for the holidays. My daughter is having a good time talking about seeing our family and riding on the plane. As she gets bigger, she's definitely more prone to roam, so I'm hoping we can keep her entertained on the plane ourselves.

View my REEL and RESUME

Callback: Southwest @ Cathi Carlton

This went swimmingly. I was matched up with two other actors for a three-person scene and we had a "friends" feel going.

View my REEL and RESUME

Audition: Southwest Airlines @ Cathi Carlton Casting

This one went ok I think. It was kind of improvising, but mostly staying with the lines. It was an incredibly busy day, lots of traffic, and I picked up a friend at LAX, dropped him off at his place, grabbed a sandwich and a change of clothes, then ran out the door again to the callback for Sprint/NFL.



View my REEL and RESUME

Audition: Bayer @ Cathi Carlton

This audition was entirely physical improv set in a car. There should be a whole class on auditioning with a prop steering wheel. Anyway, I felt great about my performance. There is a fine line between playing a headache and just seeming tired and frustrated.

View my REEL and RESUME

Auditions: December

December was a busy month with several auditions, other work, and our trip to Atlanta for two weeks around the holidays. Here's a brief list of the auditions with a few comments as appropriate.

12/1 - Verizon @ Ross Lacy - to be one of the "network" army you see behind the main guy. There was no information really other than that. The session runner made up some stuff for us to do so they'd have something other than our slate on camera.

12/2 - Rosetta Stone @ Gabrielle Schary - I've had a couple of close ones at this office with the avail for the national Tabasco thing, but, strangely, I don't go there very often. I was dog-tired at this one, but the character was supposed to be sleepy anyway. Hooray for Providence!

12/8 - Culvers @ Liz Paulson - New CD for Culvers. I guess they're replacing our spots from before.

12/10 - DirecTV @ Cathi Carlton - This was fun! Felt good. I wore a bad tie though. It didn't look right on camera.

12/17 - Callback DirecTV @ Cathi Carlton

12/18 - Aflac @ Ross Lacy - This spot was kind of confusing, and didn't have a good flow or shape...if I could think of more obscure descriptives, I'd use them too. Oh - it wasn't sharp. No one seemed to know what to do with it.

12/18 - Coors Light @ Lisa Fields - Baseball umpire. I was perfect for it, with the experience and everything. I got to do some random calls, so I did the basic "Ball" "Strike" "Foul Ball" and then I threw in some fancy stuff like my strike three call, foul tip, check swing called strike. Afterward, I realized I should've done a little vocal warmup in the car.

View my REEL and RESUME

Audition: Life @ Mia Levinson/Josh Einsohn; Home Depot @ Cathi Carlton

A two-audition day that worked out perfectly. The auditions were solid. No unexpected surprises. For "Life", a series that I enjoy, I gave an initial read that was more understated or channeled the anger of the character differently. Josh redirected me to more of a clear expression of that anger and I felt satisfied with my adjustment.

The Home Depot was a silent, physical audition...a guy just doing stuff.

View my REEL and RESUME

AVAIL: ESPN

Well, it's good, but "You're hired!" is better. Wait and see.

View my REEL and RESUME

Callback: ESPN @ Cathi Carlton

Chuckles in the room are usually a good sign, but you just never know. I had a discussion with another actor who was in a class I took a year or two ago. He was telling me about another commercial actor who did a spot with him who was in the midst of booking 13 spots for serious dough. That's what we need here. A streak.


View my REEL and RESUME

Audition: ESPN @ Cathi Carlton

It has been several weeks since my last audition. I was beginning to wonder if commercials had left LA for a bit.

This one went very well I think. The wardrobe called for boxers, t-shirt, shirt, tie, slacks, jacket. I was thinking it would be another "take your clothes off" type thing, but it turned out that for the audition, it was just about being in the pants and t. The wardrobe that's involved in the final product may be different from what they need at the audition, but you never know until you get there. Sometimes, it's way off. You may get an audition notice in writing that says "suit and tie", but you may be the only one in your suit while everyone else is in safari gear. Then you wonder, how could we have possibly gotten the same notice for the same role and be this different.

View my REEL and RESUME