Chasing Hollywood Dreams

S02 E06: Ever dreamt of making it big in Hollywood? You're not alone - join me as I share my experiences and insights from a recent trip to the heart of the entertainment industry. From navigating the infamous traffic to connecting with fellow actor Jacqui Darbyshire, I was inspired by the energy and motivation that LA has to offer. Together, we'll explore what it takes to chase your dreams and overcome the fear of failure.

In this spellbinding episode, we'll discuss the importance of researching acting coaches, networking, and self-promotion in the digital age. You'll learn how to make the most of your IMDb profile and utilize casting sites like Casting Networks and Show Cast. Plus, get tips on creating engaging online content and connecting with your audience on social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.

But the journey doesn't end there - as a community of late bloomers, we should continue learning from each other and support one another. So, don't hold back from reaching out, providing feedback, and sharing your own experiences. Remember, fear is temporary, but regret is forever - let's keep pushing through and chasing our dreams, no matter the obstacles ahead. 

Trust me, you won't want to miss this episode packed with valuable insights and inspiration for actors at any stage in their career.

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Transcript

David John Clark: 0:45

Hey everyone, welcome to The Late Bloomer Actor. I'm David John Clark, your late bloomer actor. I've got a special episode for you today, no guest, but the reason why I've decided to do an episode on my own is I wanted to address a few things on the business side of acting and insights that I've had over my years as an actor and still having now. But primarily, I've just got back from Hollywood, so I'm calling this perhaps I'll be calling this the Hollywood episode. I was fortunate to be able to travel to Los Angeles for only five days for my I don't like to use the word my real job, but my full-time job, my job that pays the bills at the moment, which. So unfortunately, i wasn't in LA for acting, but I did have the opportunity to see LA and have some time to myself in between meetings and traveling around the heavy US traffic. Now can I tell you that is an experience, jumping out of the airport, getting into a rental car on the left-hand side, the mirrors, the mirrors. Just it's like you're sitting in the passenger seat. You are if you're in Australia, and I just feel like you couldn't see where I was going. So, or seeing what was behind you, but then straight away out of the airport onto the 405 freeway, which is like six lanes of traffic. I think it was four PM on a Monday afternoon when I arrived in LA, so it was pretty heavy traffic. I had the GPS going and I was fortunate that I had a co-worker who's based in LA that was able to meet me at the airport in his car and I was following him to my hotel. So I had that benefit that if I had any panic moments or the GPS wasn't working, then here we go. So that was my first foray into Los Angeles, was the freeways and then down to Santa Monica Boulevard. I think I was I'm trying to remember my hotel street name now but all the famous street names come out pretty quick. But I was right in the heart of Hollywood almost for my hotel for my first stint And then I had a nice couple of days in LA for work And then I was able to travel down to San Diego for another day down there for my work, which again, that's about a two hour drive on all the Hollywood Los Angeles freeways. So pretty freaky and a good insight. But being in Hollywood gave me that inspiration and built everything back and it was fantastic And what I want to do now is just quickly play something for you just to show you from the acting perspective and why the motivation and why the excitement has come out, and so bear with us and a little bit of editing here, maybe to play it. It won't work on my screenplay but I'll edit it back in. But here we go: there you go. So that was me bearing the Late Bloomer Actor podcast t-shirt in Hollywood Hills with the Hollywood sign. So I think that says it all. Really, it was a beautiful day.

David John Clark: 4:07

I was able to meet up with a fellow actor friend, Jacquie Darbyshire, who was on season one at the start of my whole journey on this podcast. So make sure you check that out. But it was. Jacquie was in LA just checking out some acting opportunities herself And I was able to meet up with her and she showed me the site. So we up into the Hills for that awesome video and some great photos up in the Hollywood Hills. So why are we here? What are we doing this episode for? I wanted to.

David John Clark: 4:40

One of the reasons I put the podcast together was to share my journey as an actor and to share stories with people that I've met, both fellow actors, other actors, industry people, casting directors and acting teachers, and I'm obviously going to continue to do that And I've got some great guests coming up. And firstly I just want to thank everyone for being on this journey with me. It's been great to have you as listeners and have the feedback that comes through on emails at the late bloom Rector at gmailcom, as well as comments on Facebook, youtube and other associated podcast sites. It's great to see that you're getting something benefiting from listening to my show And that's why I've put the podcast together to get that information and to get a network of community of actors together and to learn from each other. That's why, here in Adelaide, i run my Adelaide Actors and Extras group. I put that together when I first started training. It started out just being a conduit for fellow actors in my class to meet and to get together and to share each other's information and journeys, And then it just expanded from there to being a fully fledged group. Here in Adelaide, south Australia, i think we've got over 3,500 members now, pushing 4000 members, you know, and a lot of people that they're what are they called? stalkers on social media said they're in the group, but we don't get a lot of involvement from many, but then we get a lot of involvement from others And it's what you don't see.

David John Clark: 6:18

I think it's what you don't see in the background, what people are taking away from what you providing. What you're putting out there And that's what I'd like to discuss here is about what you can be doing as an actor, what you should be doing as an actor and what to expect on this journey, because it won't happen overnight And I can attest to that. I'm at I think I've hit the 10 year mark now, or pushing the 10 year mark, since I really took this process up as a fully fledged actor. Now I've been in the industry for a while. I've discussed it on previous podcasts and when Eva Gillack interviewed me on a role reversal, we discussed my first foray into acting and that was in Sydney in the 90s as just as an extra And I say this all the time as, imagine I knew then what I knew now, or took up some courses, etc.

David John Clark: 7:14

Etc. Maybe in a different spot, but you cannot go on a wood-a-cuda shooter, especially in this industry. It's the full of hurdles and roadblocks all the way and a lot of people will hit those hurdles and hit those roadblocks and give up And you don't want to be that person really on your deathbed or the end of your life going. I wish I did, and a lot of my guests have said that the reason they took out acting and the reason why they got into it as fellow late bloomers that I've talked to is because they've looked at it and said you know what I want to do this and I don't want to be a regret about it. So that makes me think of something that I heard this saying just recently on a TV show. It's actually on one of our Australian shows here, i think it's National. It's a journey about the different parroting styles and looking all the different parroting styles and the families through all these situations to learn how different parents react.

David John Clark: 8:26

But there was one on the last episode where the kids had to climb this giant frame. You know where you strapped into the frames, you can't fall. You can fall but you get caught by the ropes and the kids were scared And one of the I think it was a sister of one of she went up to her brother who was freaking out and she just went up and whispered in his ear fear is temporary, regret is forever. Just leave that one with you. For a second, fear is temporary. Regret is forever. I think there's something in that for all of us, really it's. Firstly, i thought it was amazing coming from this young child, and whether it was fed to her for the filming of it or not, or whether it's something that her family or as a group that they, that's what they instill in their children and that's just saying that they have. But we could take so much from that, because there's so many moments in your life regardless of whether it's acting or anything, but where you presented with situations and it scares the shit out of you, the fear. But it is only temporary. You know it's only temporary and you get through it. But the biggest one is regret, and regret is forever because you can't always go back and change something And you always can't go back and do something that you should have done or you wanted to do. So if you take anything away from this episode, that is probably my biggest one. Don't let regret be the biggest thing that you have at the end of your journey, whatever that journey is. Beer is temporary, regret is forever.

David John Clark: 10:10

And that leads to another one. I'll throw a couple of nice quotes to you. I don't want to throw them all out at the start, or otherwise I'll have nothing to talk about for the rest of the episode. And that leads me to another quote from one of my favourite heroes, motivational people that I have been fortunate to meet in my life, and that is Arnold Schwarzenegger. He act the governor of California for a little while there, and he's been a big inspiration in my life from a young teenager, both in my bodybuilding journey. Obviously, he was a huge bodybuilder and I still say he is, even though obviously he doesn't compete anymore. He's way too old for that, but maybe you're never too old for that.

David John Clark: 10:57

But in a lot of his videos and one of his motivational speeches that he was doing at a university graduation, i think was he said don't be afraid to fail. Leave that one with you for again, for a second. Don't be afraid to fail. You have to push through and you have to try something. Now, if we do things and we never fail, it's always positive. What are we going to learn from that? really, as a bodybuilder and I go in the gym and Arnold talks about this as well He says you're going to put 100 kilos on the bench press and you're going to fail, you're not going to be able to do it. So you try it again and you're going to fail, and you try it again and you're going to fail, and then you're going to get it. And you've got your 100 kilos and then you move on to the next stage. You put another five kilos on and then you're going, you're going to fail and you keep pushing through and you keep pushing through and your body and your mind will find a way.

David John Clark: 11:52

You have to ignore the naysayers in your journey is another thing that he says, and that's where fail comes, because people say you can't do it, you can't do it, you're not meant to do that. Why risk it? Why risk that? Take the easy approach, get the job, become an accountant like your dad and you'll have a job for life and it'll be easy. But I don't want to be an accountant. So you have to ignore the naysayers and trust yourself and keep going. He says that's a big thing And I think being in Hollywood even though for me for that such a short time and I wasn't even there for acting purposes it was an inspiration for me.

David John Clark: 12:37

It really we talk about in this journey by myself and other actors and other people have talked about the ups and downs of the journey. You have such a big high moments, which also lead to such big low moments and times where you're thinking to yourself, oh my God, why am I doing this? It's such hard work, but it's the little things. Well, in this case, not the little things, but such a big thing of being in Hollywood And it's arguably the center of the entertainment industry. Yes, that's changed a little bit now that we live in such a worldwide area that we're connected electronically and we can do self-tapes no matter where we're at.

David John Clark: 13:20

But Hollywood is still the calling card that everyone says that's where they want to get. Now I'm not saying that, hey, you have to aim for Hollywood. Us here in Australia, for example, we have a wonderful film and TV network and the movies on themselves that are made here, both on Hollywood, on the Gold Coast and Fox Studios and Sydney and Melbourne. They have some of the biggest Hollywood blockbusters filming right now and have done for years and years and years, for that is the Australian dollar and our diversity of our landscapes and our crews and everything like that. So you do not have to aim to be on the ground in Hollywood. Again, it's a big hurdle, but that doesn't mean you don't have to get there. And even if you do something like me, and have a trip there, just to ignite your passion and have that experience and your reaffirmant, to reaffirm your commitment to acting, because, as I said, i was only there for five days and I only had maybe a day to myself, but I was surrounded by the energy of that city and that experience of going down the Hollywood stars and to see all the stars and I was just absolutely amazed by that feeling there.

David John Clark: 14:59

I remember I used the GPS to say take me to the Hollywood stars, and I got there and pulled over and it was Saturday morning, it was just before I flew out. I was flying out Saturday night just last week before recording this podcast, and so I managed to get a nice spot to park and fed the meter and started walking and it wasn't busy, it was good. I am looking at the little stars and there's names I didn't know and there's lots of names I did know and then I've gone. Oh, okay, quickly Google Arnold Schwarzenegger where's your star? I think it said something like Hollywood Boulevard 6,724, pretty close. You can check that on Google see if I was right and see how my memory is going as a 50 year old. And I looked up and I think I was at 6,3 something. So I was about I don't know how you say it in America 10 blocks away.

David John Clark: 15:51

So, oh, i had a schedule because I was meeting Jackie for the trip up to the Hollywood sign. So I plodded along and just checking out the stars and going, and Norman Reedus was the biggest one I found first, which Connor, my son, absolutely loved. He's a big fan of Norman's from Walking Dead, of course, so got nice photo in front of that and then continued on down and found Arnold's sign and his star and got my photo there, which was obligatory, i think, but I loved it. That's fantastic. And, as I said, yeah, i was showcasing my podcast a little bit. I had my t-shirt on, but it was more about immersing myself in that whole experience And that's what was really good about it.

David John Clark: 16:42

And a little bit of a dream there. So hey, i know you're the late bloomer actor, hey, i'm a producer from such and such a film, so that would have been really nice. But you know, these are dreams, but you never know, and that's what you've got to do. You've got to find the moments and run with them and try it.

David John Clark: 17:02

So what came out of being in this area? you know being in Hollywood. what did I get on it? I can reflect on my trip and it's motivated me to set new goals and aspirations for my acting career. It's about pushing through and getting, continuing this journey and knowing that this is something that I'm really enjoying and I really want to do And that's what I'm trying to bring out to you now in this episode is that keep going, keep pushing through, find those opportunities to take the next step forward and don't let the negatives take you away from it. Don't let the negatives or the naysayers, as Arnold Schwarzenegger says, stop you from reaching out for your dream. Now it doesn't matter what your dreams are.

David John Clark: 17:53

I've always said I don't envisage myself being the next Mel Gibson, but I do this for the fun of it. And my agent say to me is when the fun of acting is gone, then that's when you need to stop. So you need to be having fun. It's not about the money, it's not about the fame, it's about having fun in doing what you're doing, and that's what being in Hollywood did for me. As I said, such a short time there, but it's. It's given me that motivation and that inspiration to continue on my journey, and my experience here is it's given me the confidence and determination to pursue my goals, no matter what the challenges are that lie ahead, because they'll be there. So there you go. That was my walk down the Hollywood Boulevard and the all the stars that are there. And, hey, you never know, every one day I'll be walking down there again and I'll be able to look at your star or I'll be able to see my own star. It can happen if you keep pushing through.

David John Clark: 19:01

So after that I got to go up to the Hollywood sign, and what a beautiful area that is, up in the hills of Hollywood, and very, very busy. By that stage I think it was midday Saturday, so, as you can imagine, there's a lot of people up there and it's a beautiful day. I think they're just going in the summer in the US at the moment, whereas here in Australia we're just hitting our winter. So talk about how you feel. I hate winter. My wife likes to say that we've been self diagnosed with the sad That's the seasonal effective disorder. But, jokes aside, it was a beautiful day And here we are up with all those people, all those people excited about being in that location or where they were and having a simple sign in the background Hollywood.

David John Clark: 19:54

But it's the how do you explain it? It's the feeling of being where you are and what it represents and knowing that everyone that's done something in the acting world over all these years that has culminated in the sign being there in the first place. I think And that's what I'm talking about And that those little things like that it drives the momentum of your acting, and it's very important. You need to maintain your momentum And this is what my Hollywood experience has done for me. So this will develop strategies for you. How do you stay motivated Because you might not be able to make it to Hollywood?

David John Clark: 20:36

I was very, very fortunate to go on this trip, and it's something that we're planning as a family. We're going at Christmas time, we're having a white Christmas in New York and then flying to Louisville to do the Jimiim Kentucky factory there. That's something for me I'd like to do And my wife's. There's a ghost house down that way that we want to see. And then we're flying into Albuquerque and doing Roswell for New Years. So, and then from there we're driving through up to San Francisco and back down to LA. So we'll be there as a family I, because we wanted to. We wanted to do the LA experience and see it. So you can find a way to do it. But if you can't, there are other ways to drive your momentum and to drive your desire to keep pushing through and develop your strategies, to maintain those that motivations, whether it's through ongoing training or staying connected with industry contacts or seeking out new opportunities. Locally And here in Adelaide we have just as many opportunities as they do in the Eastern States, and in the Eastern States all the opportunities are there, whether that be casting director workshops or acting teachers courses that they have. I just did the Les Chantry one day course thanks to the Equity Foundation, part of the MEAA union here in Australia. So that's another thing I'll talk about.

David John Clark: 22:10

In the business side of acting, about what you can be involved in and the opportunities that come up, because it doesn't all cost money. There's plenty of opportunities for you to do it And this is what you need to look at. So I wanted to talk to you a bit more. I'm told by my agent that I'm doing all the right things, which is fantastic because I think I am. I try to.

David John Clark: 22:35

I've always treated this journey professionally and done as much as I can, knowing that the restrictions I have in my life. I'm a full-time government employee and will be for another just under 10 years now but you need to know that this is a business and you need to treat it as such. Hey, that doesn't mean that you don't have to. If you want to treat it as a hobby and you just want to do some extra work or see where you go, there's no problems in that at all. But if you really really want to make it work and especially for the younger people who might be wanting to make it as a career you need to know that you need to reach out and learn what can be done And I'll finish up this episode with some pointers to the basics of what you really really need to do, because it's something I've been wanting to talk about for a long time things that I've learned and put together.

David John Clark: 23:33

But it is doing all the right things is about building a strong foundation. The importance of building a strong foundation is an act. This can include honing your skills through continuous training, whether it's a formal course or you're three years into in college at NIDA or WAPA in Western Australia. My son's just about to finish year 12 and he's looking at doing the Flinders drama course of three years here in South Australia. But if you don't have those opportunities or if you're like me you started as a 40-year-old as an actess you can't really go back to university. You can if you have that opportunity. But if you can't find those acting opportunities, so you can have that continuous training, i continually do stagemilkcom, which puts me in a position to do self-tapes every month and learn from those and have feedback from those.

David John Clark: 24:29

I'm also, as you can see you've heard this podcast is sponsored by Castability out of the United States, which is a similar thing. It's about submitting self-tapes and Castability has. It's done like an audition simulator. So each week there's five different scenes. Membership your basic membership gives you five credits per month, so you can do five scenes a month. That's one a week with a spare left over, and obviously you still have the opportunity to do more if you want. But each scene is done. Every actor does the same character, does the same scene and they're all put into boxes of five actors and looked at by an actual, established casting director out of the States and then ranked in order of five different criteria, and you can look that up through the castabilityacto website and I won't go too deep into it here, but it's things here that it keeps you going and keeps your skill set up and that learning environment, so to speak. And every time you do another course or meet another casting director in a casting director workshop, you need to listen to them because they can give you so much, and if you walk away with just one new thing that you've learnt from them, then that builds over time. You do five different things in a year. That's five new things that you've learnt and it can change your journey.

David John Clark: 25:58

You've got to make sure that you use reputable acting coaches as well. There's so much unscrupulous people out there. So reach out to your networks, reach out to people like myself for your Facebook groups that you're in if you're looking at a new training course and say, hey, has anyone done this course? and find out what they are. I really follow Geoff Seymour a lot and one of the biggest things that he says is that you need to look up your acting teachers and say, well, what's their background? Have they done film before? Have they been in the industry? Have they worked? Because that's a big thing. There's not the be all and end all. Of course, there's some great teachers out there that don't act for whatever reasons, but do your research and make sure that you're happy with them, and everyone is different. So Geoff Seymour might work for me, but he might not work for you. Lea Chantry might work for me but might not work for you, and vice versa, on so many different things. So you need to do that Now, continuing on your journey, you need to expand your skill set.

David John Clark: 27:00

Okay, so we start with zero in this industry and you do that first course and you do the second course and the third course, and you're continually improving and working on what you like and what you're good at. But you need to expand your skill set a lot. Some of the values of expanding your skill set as an actor is you need to explore various mediums, such as film, television, theater, voice acting or even commercials. A big thing that's also out there now is doing voice for video games or voice for audible books, learning to speak English properly, especially when you're in a medium like this, without tripping over your tongue, but that's why I leave these sort of things in. It shows that you can't be perfect all the time. You need that versatility to be able to adapt to different platforms and it can open up a wider range of opportunities for you and increase your chances of success.

David John Clark: 27:55

So me, unfortunately, i can't do theater because I'm a shift worker so I can't commit to that regime of continued rehearsal. But that doesn't mean that when I retire I might be able to do it. That's certainly there. So I reach out. I do student films and independent films and obviously any professional productions as they come up, commercial work I've had a few commercials that are there.

David John Clark: 28:18

So every time you do something, whether it's in a training environment or for real, you're expanding your skill set and that's big for actors, networking and building relationships even in my government career I hate networking. I really always have It's a special skill set and it's not always a positive thing about. You know the old saying of knowing the right people. I believe in that. If it is knowing the right people but it's not it's really hard to say. But it's about being professional and being real and being honest And if you can develop the relationships with the right people and the right teams and quid pro quo, so to speak, what you give out you may receive 10 fold back, and that's what's important.

David John Clark: 29:08

The significance of networking, building relationships in this industry, is just immeasurable. Sometimes There's some power in attending industry events when they're available there, whether it's red carpet networks or meat and greets or whatever's happening in your local area. America at the moment is going through the strike for the writers, so they have a lot of picket lines Now, without diving too deep into the need or the reasons why they're striking, it's certainly a very much needed thing. It's amazing some of the things that they're seeking, but you have the position to support people in that matter. So if you're in the States now, you can jump out and get on a picket line and help, because it all come back 10 fold in the whole industry. But at the same time, while you're on the picket line, you're meeting people. You're meeting fellow actors and other industry people who can provide you with tools and guidance in your journey. So you've got to find those opportunities when they're there, participate in workshops or networking sessions as they come up. South Australian Film Corporation, for example, regularly has meet and greets here in South Australia And it's a great opportunity to meet the people in this industry again, from fellow actors to people right at the top. Sydney and Melbourne do the same thing all the time with their professional organisations, so you can get them up to look them up and join their website and get their emails.

David John Clark: 31:36

Self promotion Yes, i can see a lot of you cringing straight away with social media and and putting yourself out there. You're an actor. It's unfortunate or fortunate. It's something you need to do. It's a very important in today's digital age that you have self promotion. So have your social networks up to date. Have an Actors page on Facebook and Actors page on Instagram Tiktok, if you will. Not a personal page, but your actual Actors page where you share insights and learnings from your own journey and other people's journeys.

David John Clark: 32:26

And while I'm here with social media, another big issue there is to remember you do not know who's looking at your social media. So even on your personal page, you never know that when you've got an audition coming up or you've got an audition, whether they will look at your pages. And I have heard that if you're in serious contention for a serious role, they will go through your feed. Now, if your feed is heavily political, you know, we've just been through the COVID situation, which, all around the world, had some very, very serious discussions and beliefs from people, and people said what they thought or how they felt Wrong or right of what your opinion is.

David John Clark: 33:17

That's not what I'm talking about here. It's about how you promote that, to know how you say things in social media. So if you're being very derogatory or if you're showing photos of yourself getting drunk on the weekends or doing stupid things, it might go against you because they're going to look at you and say, well, how professional can this person be? Do we want this person representing our message or our product, if it's for commercial, when this is how they showcase themselves online? So just be mindful of that. It doesn't mean not talking about issues that you believe in, of course, but just make sure that you do it professionally and you back yourself in such a way that you're not digging a hole for yourself, so to speak. So that's the biggest thing I'll say there on the negatives of social media. But you certainly need to look into having that presence online and being involved online so that people can find you and people can see what you're doing and see your journey. So showing the videos that you know your first show real and then people begin to see your new show real that you're releasing go. Oh my God, look, he's, he or she's changing so much since I've joined the page and watched them journey. So there's more positives and negatives, that's for sure.

David John Clark: 34:43

There's two big words that come up with acting, and that is persistence and resilience, and this goes back to the start of what I said in the podcast, when Arnold Schwarzenegger was saying that you've got to just keep pushing through and don't be afraid to file the importance of persistence and resilience in the acting industry. It's full of setbacks and rejections and knows, no, no, no, no, 10 knows before you get a yes. Now, if you were looking for a job and you were going for interviews, there'd be a point there. If you went to 10 more interviews for the same job, so to speak, and they said no, you'd be going. Well, what am I doing here? But that is the nature of acting in here in Australia, especially for me here in Adelaide. I'm lucky if I get maybe two to three auditions for professional roles a year And you know they'll be no. So that means to get to 30 auditions. That's 10 years worth of knows before I might even get one.

David John Clark: 35:48

In America it's a little bit different. Actors in Los Angeles, for example, can be doing five, 10 or more auditions a week. So they've got a lot more opportunities but they get a lot more knows. But you have to put things in perspective And this was a dot point that I had for a bit later on, but we'll talk about it now Having that perspective of the industry you're in and the location that you're based in. The difference here is you look at me, i just said it two to three auditions a year, compared to Los Angeles, which is, you know, 10 to 15 auditions a week, but there's a bigger pool of actors going for all those jobs as well.

David John Clark: 36:27

So, pros and cons, pros and cons but you have to develop the resilience for when you get the nose and all that rejection that does come with it. And and rejection is probably not the right word really because if you're in the audition room, they wanted you, they wanted you for that job, someone saw something in you and they wanted you in the room. Now it can be a simple thing, as you're too tall for the lead actress or the lead actor that you're going to work with or you're playing someone's son or someone's daughter and your eye color is completely off off there and it just didn't work, and such little things like that can be the reason why you get the no. You can't take that as a as a negative against your acting ability or your persona, because that is that's the nature of it, and it can be simply just someone. I like that person better. You know that sucks, but that's the nature of it, what it is, and you've just got to learn to go into the room, deliver knowing that they wanted you there. They wanted you there for reason. So go. Good morning, hi. How are you? Deliver your audition and say thank you very much and walk out like you had somewhere to go? That's a big thing. I've learned a bit more additions. So thank you and leave like you had somewhere to be. That's the job and that's the job you're doing. And then one day that phone call will come through and it'll be a yes or be a call back, and then a yes and all that hard work will pay off.

David John Clark: 38:07

So there are numerous, numerous actors out there and you can find them on podcasts, can find them in interviews on TV about their journeys and and they find out their challenges that they had to go through, but they made it. And that's where the late bloomer actor story can be so great, because us late bloomers come to the industry late or they've been in this industry for decades, which is some cases for some actors, and they didn't. They didn't make it until they hit their 40s. So you can do it And and that's where the resilience comes in and the persistence to keep pushing through. So I want to start to wind up about my journey to Hollywood and the motivations and everything that came from that and talk quickly just before we finish up on some side of the business side of acting, just just because we're in season two, haven't been able to address them directly. So, before we all do that, i just wanted to bring up another quote that I got, and I got this out of an episode of smart list, which is an awesome podcast series that I listened to with the boys of Jason Bateman and Sean Hayes and Will Arnett all great actors in the industry In my opinion and clearly but they interviewed recently Simon Le Bon from Durand Durand, one of my wife's favorite bands, and I'm glad I listened to it because I'm not a big music fan and I didn't know who he was.

David John Clark: 39:46

Obviously I knew who Durand Durand was, but he said he asked them whether they suffer from nerves And of course they all said yes, yes, they did, and we all do So. When we go into any acting situation, we have the nerves and it's horrible. I get a red rash right up my face if I'm really struggling there. So he has a thing and I hope he doesn't mind me putting out there, but I am quoting it from him. So it's from Simon Le Bon, from Durand Durand, and it's his litany against nerves.

David John Clark: 40:20

And this is what he said It's not fear, it's adrenaline. It's not fear, it's adrenaline, it's just your mind and your body preparing to do something extraordinary, and you will do something extraordinary. I love that. I love that. When I first heard that, i just said, wow, that is just brilliant. Really, if I could put it on a shirt, i would. I love the last thing he said with it You will do something extraordinary. So use that fear, use it as a tool and push through, and remember the other things that I've said. Fear is temporary. Regret is forever. Don't be afraid to fall.

David John Clark: 41:17

That just sums up everything that I really wanted to say here and that's what I've taken away from my trip to Hollywood is about Oh my God, i'm doing all the right things and I'm enjoying the journey, and I'm enjoying the journey. That's the biggest thing is to make sure that you're having fun, and that's what I wanted to instill in you is that know that you're going to have moments of down time and moments of regret and moments of struggle, but push through and find ways to get to the next level and make the next jump, and you never know when that next door will open for you. Alrighty, alrighty, alrighty. That's enough about me. I hope you took something from what I'm trying to say out of my trip to Hollywood. It was just fantastic and it's really pushed me through to keep going on this journey and to keep doing what I'm doing and to wait for that next door to opens. What I want to run through here is just some discussion points on the business side of acting. So these go towards everything that we've just talked about, about doing the right things in your journey and making sure that you're ready when that call comes. So this is in no particular order. It's things that I do all the time and I'm happy to answer any questions if you wish to throw me an email Or perhaps we can look at individual points here that we talk about now as separate discussions later on. So first one I'm Dubi.

David John Clark: 43:11

International Movie Database, arguably the biggest resource for actors and movies and TV shows in the world. It records every show, every movie, every podcast Well, not every, but they can all be listed there. The Late Bloom Ractor podcast is listed on there, so each episode is shown. My guests have a credit and that's another reason why I do that. Now, a lot of podcasts don't, but it's an opportunity for me to give back for my guests who come on, so they get a credit. So you never know how that credit is going to work for them and it builds on their credit. So I'm Dubi.

David John Clark: 43:58

It's pretty easy to set to work out And it's not about someone giving you a credit. Sometimes, with a lot of independent films or smaller films, you can put your own credit on there. So obviously that doesn't mean I'm going to go and say that I was lead role in Star Wars, because you're going to get found out that you're lying. This is where I help out a lot as well, because I work as an actor with a lot of indie films here in South Australia and I know I'm Dubi So I put their film on I'm Dubi for them. I know how to do it. It takes a little bit of learning how to get over the requirements to put roles and to put movies and TV shows on there, but it's pretty easy. So I help out there. And then obviously everyone can have a page. If you've got a credit, that means you've got a page on I'm Dubi and then you can own that your page.

David John Clark: 44:54

And if you wish to spend the money to get an I'm Dubi pro account, which I think in Australian dollars is about $249 a year, So it's not a lot of money, but I understand that it can be difficult if you short of cash, but it gives you the ability then to upload photos to your page. The biggest thing of that is having a blank square on your credit name. You can have your acting photo there, which I think is just a measurable of having it there. And the extra benefit of having an I'm Dubi pro account is then you can put additional videos on the show reel, on the you can put more photos, character shots, and then in the back area of I'm Dubi pro, you have access to castings very US centric, of course, but I have seen Australian ones on there So there is some casting that you can then submit for and you have an ability then to add to your profile so you can put all your size on there and what skills you have, etc. I think it's worth the time, the effort and the small outlay of cash each year to have your I'm Dubi pro account set up. It's wonderful.

David John Clark: 46:14

Okay, casting sites casting sites Now, these are the sites that are used around the world by casting agents to find their actors. Again, going back to just quickly, time the pro, they can go through that and type in what they're looking for age, race, sex, heights, etc. Skill sets. They can tick as much as I want or as little as I want to find actors And that's our casting sites work. So in Australia we have casting networks and show cast your primary two major ones that are used by casting agents to find their actors and send out briefs to their agents Or to you directly. If you're, you don't have an agent if you're independent and in the US I think it's also. Don't quote me on these. I did quick Google search because every country is a little bit different. So in the US they have casting networks as well, as well as backstage and actors access are the three biggest ones there. Backstage is available in Australia, but I don't think it's overly used a lot by the casting directors yet We're still primarily on casting networks and show cast in the UK I believe it's spotlight casting networks as well, and Europe I'm not 100% sure. I think they do have casting networks goes across Europe as well And, apologies, i don't know any other names there, but it's reasonably easy to reach out to your networks in your local area and find out who did you. Now these are going.

David John Clark: 47:53

You need to treat it as a business. This is how people find you. This is how casting directors see the work that you've done, see your show, will see your photos and then be able to send out briefs to you or to your agent via your agent to you, and so you can submit, and you submit through these sites. So you need to keep them up to date and that is making sure that you've got headshots on there. You've got some videos A recently updated show real, or demo real as they pretty much calling them now as well, as you can have character wheels, you know 30 second comedy role or drama roles, that sort of stuff. So that's why, again, you can have a basic profile on your casting sites, which I think most give you the ability to have a good profile. You have the ability to have your primary headshot up there, but that's about it. Again, you need to find a way to put some money aside that you can pay for the proper full membership so you can have that ability to upload more photos and more videos. I think it's immeasurable the results that you'll get back from that. For sure That leads you into headshots.

David John Clark: 49:06

Headshots go with everything. You need it for your own to be pro. You need it for your casting sites online. You need it for your social media. You need your headshots to be professionally done Lighting aspects like that.

David John Clark: 49:22

Most photographers have the ability to tell you to get a bit of character out of your photo. You just don't want a straight photo, you want some character in that. I think they call most headshots now. I think they put it as the Mona Lisa smile. It's not a smile per se and it's not a frown, it's just a hint of a smile, if that makes sense. I have a photographer that knows what's required. Greg Apps talks about this. A lot Casting directors have. They can have 20, 30, 40, 50 small thumb size photo prints on a TV, on a computer monitor that they're looking at. So you need to find a way to make it stand out in a little way without actually crossing over boundaries, and a lot of agents won't let you have a photo that's completely doesn't meet the requirement 100%. But that doesn't mean that you can't have different photos on your casting sites And that's where you have a good photographer get your standard profile shot and then have some character shots and something a little bit different that I might draw the attention of a casting director when they're in there. But that also means that with your head shots you need to update them, probably at a minimum every 12 months to two years maximum.

David John Clark: 50:46

I'm a little bit overdue on mine now. I think my beard is a little bit gray now compared to my current head shot and I've lost a heap of weight. So I think my last head shots were probably closest to my heaviest weight that I was, which over a year ago was a better, i'll be honest. Here was about 124 kilograms, down to 109 at the moment, aiming for the hard deck If we use some top gun analogy there of about 100 kilos. So Crystal, one of my agents here in Adelaide at Buckland Gunn, said that I actually look a little bit younger at the moment compared to my head shots. I go, oh, thank you very much. Considering I just turned 15, was feeling really, really old. So, yes, so head shots Okay, i know guys, it's another cost, is difficult, but it's something that you need to try and budget in.

David John Clark: 51:44

And all these things, once you know what they cost, find a way, budget them in and then do some overtime, do some extra work. Or, when you get an acting job, make sure you put some money aside so that you know you're covered for the next year on that. So try and get your head shots done every 12 months to two years. Make sure that the photo that you have online is what casting directors are going to see when you walk in the door. You certainly don't want to be long hair all the way down to your backside and then walk into an audition and you've, you know, cropped around because you've had a haircut, because they wanted the person with the long hair for the role, and it will look very unprofessional and it may do you a disservice in that particular time and maybe in the future. So just try and keep on top of that.

David John Clark: 52:33

Demo rules, also known as show rules I think they're leaning towards calling them demo rule. Now, these are always a difficult area because it's like the chicken and the egg You can't put professional work up until you've got professional work, and then you can't get professional work unless you've got a good demo rule. It's really difficult. So that again is about reaching out to your networks and being involved in areas where you can film things. You can do it as simple as just having some self tapes that you film in front of your gray screen at home and putting them on your show reel. To start with, i've done it. I had that, i've upgraded and then I've done some independent films or student films and grab some great scenes from there and then put them into there, into my demo reel.

David John Clark: 53:25

Now, the biggest thing with your demo rules is they want to see your acting, and the only problem with student films and the like is that these are made to showcase the ability of the filmmaker, not the actors, and you may or may not get that acting scene that you want. It's all about how it looks on screen. So you need something that showcases your acting ability. So if that means just do your own self tape, do it something that. And you don't want scenes where the heavily emotive, you don't want an angry scene where you scream and yelling and thumping the wall or crying and bullying your eyes out because of the death of a loved one. They're great acting, but that's not what they want to see in a show reel. They want to see you interacting with another actor and having that ability to feed off them and show that you can have that give and take in a scene, so to speak. So and then you can. Obviously you can mix and match. You can do your dramas, you can do some more of an action type scenes or some comedy if you're into comedy. They all, all these genres are very, very different for sure. And if you're good at all of them or one particular, showcase what you're good at and always put your best scene at the front of your show reel.

David John Clark: 54:47

Don't make it any more than three minutes long. You can just have two, two scenes of a minute half each, or you can have a few of 30 seconds each. Don't do snippets. Don't do three seconds, five seconds, sort of stuff. Don't use music overlays. Just keep it all about you and your acting. So and keep them up to date, like your headshots.

David John Clark: 55:06

I think I can moving through. I don't want to bore you too too much. We can talk about this offline if you want to come and ask me questions. Certainly do. We've already talked about social media earlier, so just make sure that you have your active pages up and running and make sure that they are up to date, and it doesn't always have to be about you. If you want to showcase something that you've learned or something that you've seen, and do that, because that shows that you, you're sharing and caring, so to speak, and what you're posting in it will influence decision makers, in the positive or the negative, and I talked about that before, so I won't go into it again, but just be mindful of that. But it's certainly something you need to do. And to finish up and I touched on this before be realistic.

David John Clark: 55:57

Put your position of acting into perspective. I'm a middle aged Caucasian male. It's really hard to say how many other people in who look like me are going for these roles and actors who have been doing it since they were teenagers or young men who have been to the three year degree. So especially this was very prevalent and noticeable during COVID, because all of a sudden the work dried up and the work wasn't there, and so, as we came out of COVID, the actors who were only ever doing the lead roles and that they were now reaching out, they were doing the smaller roles, and that's where I looked a lot and put a lot of things into perspective and realize that I'm not at the bottom of the barrel, so to speak.

David John Clark: 56:46

But yes, you know, that's where you are. You're up against the biggest names and some people with much more experience than you, and you've got to have that perspective and understanding and don't let it make you give up and don't let it cause you to get depressed or anything like that. You need to find ways of overcoming those obstacles in that area and keep pushing through and don't let the depression and the negatives of this bring you down, because the more you do it just becomes a big snowball effect. So that's why I used that analogy before of going into the room delivering a scene and then say thank you very much, it's been a pleasure meeting you and walking out. Job done, job done. So there we go, ladies and gentlemen and people. Thank you very much for listening to me by myself, for not sure exactly how long it'll be when I edit out all my arms and arms, but it's as I said at the start.

David John Clark: 57:49

I really wanted to take this opportunity to talk about the the highlights of me being in Hollywood and to give that back to you in some way that you can maybe, if you're feeling, feeling dejected in your acting journey, to say that it's, it's a long haul, it's not going to happen overnight, as they said in the commercial way, back when it's it's, it's the long haul and it's about persevering and keep pushing through and reaching out to your networks and reaching out to people like myself or to my Facebook group. So if you're here in South Australia or Australia, finding your local community of actors and teaching opportunities and casting director workshops, finding everything that can make you get that one more step forward, and if you keep doing that, one little step and then the next step and the next step, before you know it, you're looking back on your journey. Oh, my God, i have learned so much And I'm such a better person for such a better actor, and that's that's it. That's really what I wanted to say. So thank you very much. I'm loving the ability to share my journey with you and to hear about your journeys as well, and to be on it. So let's finish up this.

David John Clark: 59:17

If you want to reach out to me, reach out at the late bloom reactor, at gmailcom or on your podcast platform. Leave a rating review if you can. I certainly love to see them. They do come through. Or on Facebook I'm on. There is the late bloom reactor. You can see all the work that I'm putting out there and you can comment on the videos when I upload new episodes. That would be great to hear from you, see what you took away from the episode and whether you've made any changes from what you've learned today or on any of the past episodes or any of the future episodes. That's, that's what I love to hear. Same on Instagram tick tock, tick, tock. A little bit, but I am on there. So, like I said, i try to do all the right things. So thank you very much. It's been an absolute pleasure having this chat with you and that I like to say we'll see you on set.