It’s the most wonderful time of the year! 

For the last several years, my “holiday tradition” has consisted of binging on trashy TV. 

By the way that’s more a term of endearment than it is derogatory. Obviously, I think the shows have merit, or I wouldn’t spend days on end watching them. In fact, the story arc is absolutely incredible on most of these shows, and they have cliffhangers down to a science. 

Anyway, it wasn’t very long after I started my annual binge that I noticed the trend that is going to hit the industry really soon. It’s actually already underway and still concentrated at the very top levels, but it’s about to go mainstream. 

Here’s where you come in… 

Next year you will be another year older…What will be different? 

It’s a question that one of my mentors asks constantly. So many of us leave for tomorrow, the things that we should have done yesterday. 

Most people see this time of year, as a time of new beginnings and possibilities. 

Here’s a reality check that I got the hard way… 

Dear Grasshopper, 

I got an email the other day from someone asking what it meant and why I keep referring to you guys as grasshopper. LOL 

In case you didn’t know it’s a reference from a really old Kung Fu movie. “Patience young grasshopper…” You may have heard it a time or two and had no idea what it meant. 

That’s kind of how it sometimes goes in the industry too: we succeed and don’t really know the origin or formula for that success. We see other actors succeed and don’t truly know what got them that level of success. 

This release grasshopper, is what I wish someone had written for me when I got started. It breaks down the chief principles of success, specifically as it relates to being an actor. 

Traditionally, I love, love, LOVE the dramatics!...but I’m turning over a new leaf, towards brevity these days so let’s dive right in. 

Dear grasshopper, 

How many of your friends did you hear say “Woo! 2017 is going to be my year!!!” at the stroke of midnight Jan 1st? 

Of those friends, how many of them did anything different come January 2nd, 3rd, 4th… 

Are they still in mostly the same place as they were a year ago? 

I bet they are. 

You know that I’m actively working towards brevity these days and so I’ll just get right to it.

Her last short film drew more attention than all but about a half dozen major studio films released this year. She’s an actress, a comedian, a writer and producer, and basically an all around bad ass chick. 

One of her films was partially produced by Brian Grazer and Ron Howard, through their production company. 

Anna Akana is the superstar in the making that you’ve probably never heard of. 

Here’s what will sting for some of you…you have probably been acting much, much longer than she has. She first started in comedy at the age of 19 (she’s 28 as of the time of this writing) and later decided to go the acting route. 

That’s one of the twisted things about this industry… 

Wanna know something strange??? 

My grandfather knew nothing about almost everything…and this made him one of the smartest people I’ve ever known. 

See he knew that he didn’t know and that he couldn’t know everything, so he embraced it. He took a page from the Henry Ford philosophy of “why should I clutter my mind with such things when I can have the answer readily available from 20 people in my employ.” 

So whenever he encountered a problem, my grandfather asked someone for advice. 

He knew that in our fast moving world, it took a village to do most things. Think about it. Did you build the device you’re using to read this? Is your home built of your own effort or did someone else put hammer to nails to build it for you? 

Being an actor is no different. Not a single successful person in this industry climbed their way to the top solely through their own efforts. It always takes a team and more importantly, it takes a community. 

That’s what today’s release is all about. It’s about you tapping into the collective mind of our tribe and getting answers to the most common questions I’m asked on an almost daily basis. 

“If you want to make movies kid, you first have to go just a little bit insane…then you go a lot insane…” Those words were uttered (slurred a bit) by a 9 am whiskey, trodden director on the set of one of my first indie films and it has been one of the most useful industry insights I’ve ever received. 

It’s crazy how inspiration and insight come from the oddest of places sometimes. Some people call it grace, others coincidence, I like to think of it as synchronicity: the universe aligning itself to fit your desires by placing events, circumstance, and people in your path at the time you need them. 

There I was sitting on a rock in the middle of a field covered in food dye (ultra-low budget stage blood) and wondering what I was thinking when I took the gig. It was 2 hours after call time and the director was nowhere to be found. This is especially problematic on an indie set where the director is also the AD, cinematographer, writer, producer, special effects, 2nd lead, and everything else on set! 

I wanted the credit on my resume but after a few days of putting up with this guy, I wondered if the movie would ever be finished. 

Have you ever found yourself in a similar situation?