She had the best of times. She had the worst of times. She embodies the age of wisdom. The other sees the age of foolishness. For one it was the epoch of belief, for the other it was the epoch of incredulity.
For one Mindy it is the season of light, for the other it is the winter of despair.
This is A Tale of Two Mindys.
Faceless Hollywood. You may have never heard of it, but you sure do know of it. It’s made up of actors that are quietly living the dream. Only, that dream may not look like what Hollywood dreams are typically made of.
It’s their own version of the dream. No paparazzi. Few red carpets and in many cases, no red carpets. Some of these actors have a statue or a golden globe on the mantle, but it’s definitely the exception.
Faceless Hollywood is more about the craft than the fanfare. It’s a place where actors just get to be actors.
Riddle me this: what do cult leaders, politicians, and star actors have in common? They all know how to build a following and create a cult-ure that bends to their will.
In any great movement whether it’s getting someone elected to public office, convincing a group of followers to drink the Kool Aid, or building a base of raving fans that follow your every move, there are a couple of things that are always present.
First and foremost, there is a charismatic, future pacing leader at the helm of the movement.
I’ll give you an example.
His head was held firmly underwater. His arms were frantically flailing and splashing. As he struggled to breathe, the young guy could feel the life escaping him. Feeling like his face was about to explode, the hand on the back of his neck pulled the young guy out of the water.
He collapsed at the river bank, savoring every breathe he feverishly took. Finally able to catch his breath, the young guy asked of the perpetrator “What was that for? [gasp] You could have killed me! [gasp]”
“Young man, when you crave success the way you craved a breath of fresh air…that is when you will succeed. That is the secret of success.”
It was July of 2003. United States Army General Joe Gordy sat in a taxpayer funded room, staring at a goat that was also raised and kept using tax dollars.
His mission? Stop the goat’s heart...really! A highly decorated, real American Hero was tasked by the US Government to kill a goat using the ultimate weapon: his mind.
Sound crazy? It’s about to get even weirder!
Wondering what this has to do with you as an actor? You will see how the dots connect in just a moment.
If you are tired of living the stereotype of a starving actor...
If you constantly have to shuffle your work schedule to make it to an audition, or worse, if you you sometimes have to choose between auditions or work...
Then this whole “acting” thing probably isn’t turning out the way you hoped for. Did you know that the IRS classifies you and your career as a business?
It’s why you can deduct headshots, mileage to and from auditions, and all the expenses that come with being an actor.*
Here’s a head slapper: If you are a business...isn’t it about time that you started acting like one? I’ll explain. Do you know the number 1 reason that businesses fail?
Lack of revenue. Without adequate cash flow businesses can’t keep up with payroll, rent, inventory costs, etc. Sound familiar?
Stay with me, you will see in just a second exactly how this ties into your career as an actor.
Marker. [CLAP!]
It was probably the loudest sound I have ever heard. I knew my lines, I had studied them for a week straight but all of a sudden, for 3 takes, all I could muster was a cold sweat.
CUT!
Shouted the director. Let’s take 5 everyone he said as he walked over and put his cold hand on my shoulder. “Let’s go for a walk” he said
Still unable to speak, I cracked an obliging smile and off we went. Taking a lap around the lot.
I knew he was speaking but all I could catch was a few words here and there. “Big opportunity...you’re shoulder to shoulder with the big guys now...maybe you’re not cut out for this life kid, have you thought about modeling instead?...Go home.”
As quickly as it came, my chance to be on the big screen with some of the most admired people in our business disappeared.
Where did I go wrong, how did I get here? Ugh!...
I didn’t know what to do or even what to think. I curled up on the couch with a quart of Ben and Jerry’s every day for the next 4 days and cried as I binged on Netflix, longing to see myself on screen.
It was my first big audition and I landed it!
Without a single credit to my name, I freakin’ landed the gig.
It was a real one, in a real movie with real actors, a real budget (they had craft services for crying out loud!!!).
But just like that the curtain was drawn on my career, I thought. I knew I would never work again and figured I should probably pack up already and go back home to Oklahoma.
But I just couldn’t. I called my mom and told her all about it and she said “honey, I’m so proud that you landed the job to begin with and you should be proud too. Not many actors can say they landed on such a big project their first try. If you did it once, you can do it again.”
That’s when it hit me.
I had done it! I got an audition, rocked it, and landed the gig!
If I could just lather, rinse, repeat...and not choke next time, then all should be good, right?
So I started thinking of how I got there in the first place. I’m just a nice girl from Oklahoma, I didn’t cut anybody’s throat.
I talked to my acting coach and he said. “You got lucky, it doesn’t happen too often. So don’t get used to it.”
I asked my friends what they thought and they all said the same thing. “LUCK! Right place, right time.”
Well, one of them did ask me who I slept with?! Shocker: we’re no longer friends! I knew this wasn’t it and I was dead set on finding out why it happened this way. Something you should know about me. I’m not a quitter.
So, unable to get an answer, I went straight to the source. I camped outside the casting office until the casting director came out and I followed him all the way to his car, demanding that he tell me why I was cast in the first place.
“You’re cute, you’re talented enough, and you’re not on drugs.” Why else? I pressed on.
Digging into the back of his mind the light bulb went off. “Oh! You had 150,000 followers on Instagram that were really into you! I figured we would sell some movie tickets that way.”
And there it was. The answer I was looking for...
See before I left Oklahoma I spent a year and a half building up my savings and my social media following. It’s kind of the conventional wisdom these days, or so I thought.
But that was the key?
It wasn’t my talent. He said I was “talented enough,” remember?
It wasn’t my looks. I was only cute, he said.
It was my social media following! Something I had built totally on accident.
So I went searching for a way to take it to the next level, figuring this was the only way I would ever get to work again, and found that there was a way to do it all simply, quickly, and systematically.
These guys at BoostMyStar were absolute masters at it and they helped me take it to a level I never thought possible.
I begged them to please share this with everyone and so here it is. From one actor to another, I know you need every possible advantage you can get in this business.
So pay close attention to what Scott is about to share with you. Put it to work and break a leg! See you on set.
Love,
-Jessica R.