The Late Bloomer Actor Introductory Episode

This monthly podcast series, hosted by actor David John Clark, will focus on his journey as a late bloomer actor and the people that he has crossed paths with on that journey. Episodes will partly showcase the trials and tribulations of starting on a journey in the acting world that many (or dare we say, most) actors commence in their early 20’s or 30’s, and usually via 3- or 4-years of formal drama school education straight out of senior high school. But specifically, the series will delve into what David has learnt on that journey, who he has met, what have they taught him that can be shared with you, the listener. These are all things that are relevant for all actors, regardless of their stage on the journey. 

Guests will range from fellow late bloomer actors, to industry guests including casting directors, agents and acting teachers. Guests who can impart their knowledge with us on how to navigate the world of acting in their particular domain, whether that be casting, acting classes, indie or student films, navigating social media, promotion and self-marketing or how to just be resilient in a very dynamic and changing world.

What can you expect from these episodes: For the actor listeners: whether you’re coming to the party late because you started out acting in school or your younger years but gave it up for a career choice, family or any other endeavour; or whether you’re taking up acting as a mid-life crisis (or a mid-life revelation or change of direction); or you are a younger actor, starting out on this journey, or even a seasoned actor, you may have asked the question, “Why?” Or more likely, “How?” Very pertinent questions, both of which David has asked himself continuously on his acting journey. In the upcoming episodes you will hear words of wisdom and wonderful stories of self-discovery and learnings from actors and industry guests, all willing to share their learnings to assist you, the listener, and hopefully enable you to broaden your knowledge on this journey. 

It is the ambition of this podcast to bring wisdom and motivation, to not just fellow late bloomer actors, but all actors listening.  And for the non-actors, you too will take away something positive with you from the episodes. 

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Transcript

00:01
At that range it should have been up to his  with ease as I hit it. It wasn't trying to  
00:06
kill us it didn't even hit Nigel. Ma'am we've  contacted base to provide further information,  
00:12
we should hear back from them soon. If you had any  idea what I had to do to get those scouts here.  
00:17
It was your golden moment out there.  There's a car at the end of the street  
00:20
we should try and commandeer it.  Right, we know what we're up against.  
00:24
All corridors and air conduits to be locked  down we need to get rid of anything and  
00:28
anywhere that thing can hold up. I'll  get the weapons, everyone goes armed.
00:35
You are listening to the Late Bloomer  Actor podcast, with David John Clark.
00:47
Welcome, to the first episode of my podcast the  Late Bloomer Actor. My name is David John Clark  
00:53
and I'm a Late Bloomer Actor your host for this  podcast. You may know me from the millisecond  
00:59
appearance on screen with Hayden Christensen and  Natalie Portman in Star Wars Attack Of The Clones,  
01:05
numerous background roles on Sydney film and  TV shows in the 90s, more recently as the crazy  
01:11
complaints council officer on channel 7's Today  Tonight, the smiling Stratco dad, the heavily  
01:18
bearded post-apocalyptic survivor in What Remains,  numerous bad Dads or police officer number two  
01:24
or notably Chief Of Security David Menz in  the sci-fi mini movie Antaries, hence the hat.
01:32
This monthly podcast series will focus on the  journey of late bloomer actors, the trials and  
01:37
tribulations of starting on a journey in the  acting world that many well dare I say most  
01:42
actors commence in their early twenties or  thirties and usually via three or four years  
01:47
of formal drama school education straight out  of senior high school. I will endeavor to bring  
01:52
on guests that are fellow late bloomer actors  to learn from their acting journey and also  
01:59
industry guests that can advise us late bloomer  actors on how to navigate the world of acting  
02:03
in their particular domain whether that be  casting, acting classes, indie or student films,  
02:10
or just how to navigate the world  of social media and self marketing.
02:16
What is the late bloomer? I admire a quote  from Jeff Brown, the author of Love It Forward,  
02:20
it's a collection of magical  quotes in which he has written,  
02:24
"So called late bloomers get a bad rap.  Sometimes the people with the greatest potential  
02:30
often take the longest to find their path because  their sensitivity is a double-edged sword.  
02:36
It lives at the heart of their brilliance but it  also makes them more susceptible to life's pains.  
02:42
Good thing we aren't being penalized for handing  in our purpose late, the soul doesn't know a thing  
02:48
about deadlines" he says. It is also said that  if you're a late bloomer you remember that many  
02:54
oak trees they don't produce first acorns until  they're 50 years of age and I'm pushing 50 and I  
03:00
haven't produced my first acorn yet either.  So it appears you can be late to the game yet  
03:06
produce fresh product and this is the journey  I'd like to explore with you on this podcast.
03:12
So a little about me: I am at the time of  this podcast in 2021 48 years of age pushing  
03:20
49. I'm a government employee of 30 years, I'm  married to Kellie, my wonderful wife of 22 years.  
03:27
We have three sons together, Rohan age 19, Aidan  18 and Connor 16 who's just sitting next door to  
03:34
me on his own computer at the moment. Connor is  now just starting out on his acting journey so  
03:40
he might most certainly might be following a  different journey to that of his late bloomer Dad,  
03:45
maybe! I wish him well of course and certainly  I'm very excited to see what his journey will be.  
03:51
I may even have to dedicate an episode with him  to compare the differences of our journey so far.
03:58
A few years ago just after I turned 40,  I walked into an acting agency here in  
04:02
Adelaide to sign up as an extra, having  worked as an extra in the 1990s in Sydney  
04:08
and seeing some major movies now  being filmed here in Adelaide,  
04:11
notably Russell Crows The Water Diviner and  Deadline Gallipoli starring Sam Worthington.  
04:17
I decided, I should get back into acting and  and find an agent, sign up as an extra again.  
04:24
You're 40 years old people said and I thought,  yeah! You've got no chance of getting anywhere in  
04:30
the acting world you've missed that boat, sailed  already. Well that's okay, I said. I was just  
04:36
getting back to my extra background roles that I  used to do as a 20-something back in Sydney in the  
04:41
90s. Ah, only if I'd done things back differently  back then huh? This podcast might be titled  
04:47
something completely different. Hey you know what  happened? I did a course! Yep I did of course.  
04:56
The agency asked me to complete their intro course  so they could teach me their expectations of being  
05:00
an extra on their books and then they told me  about their four-term course, teaching the basics  
05:06
of acting, you know, introduction to camera,  acting technique, intensive professional  
05:12
development and finally showcasing your show  reel at the end of the year. Well I thought,  
05:19
might as well jump on board, at best what's  it going to do it might put me or higher  
05:24
on the extras ladder. You know what totally  amazed me? From very early on in my first term  
05:32
I really enjoyed this acting thing. Not  just being on set and walking backwards  
05:35
and forwards on the street a dozen time while  the real actors did their thing but you know  
05:41
actually being that real actor learning a script  and and stepping in front of a camera and this  
05:48
initially amazed me personally and scared  the shit out of me! What was I thinking? Why  
05:54
was I doing this? Because, I, .... some people  find it hard to believe but I'm an introvert.  
06:04
I know this for sure. I've done all  the tests the mini psyche personality  
06:08
tests and the big Myers-Briggs personality  test. I'm a definitive ISTJ from memory.  
06:15
ISTJ indicates a person who is energized  by time spent alone, "introversion";  
06:21
who focuses on facts and details rather than ideas  and concepts, "sensing"; who makes decisions based  
06:28
on logic and reason, "thinking"; and finally who  prefers to be planned and organized rather than  
06:34
spontaneous and flexible, "judging". That's also  us Taureans I think, very loyal. You know what,  
06:42
what I found most surprising, things that many  top actors, yeah guess what, are introverts.  
06:48
Came as a huge revelation to me and a reason to  embrace the journey I was about to embark on.  
06:54
That being said, obviously there are  a myriad of actor personality types  
06:58
and likely they swing from the very introverted to  the very extroverted. For example: some well-known  
07:04
introverted actors include Glenn Close, Helen  Hunt, Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Gwyneth Paltrow  
07:13
and Julia Roberts to name a few. And alongside  them, obviously, you will find their extroverted  
07:18
counterparts such as Oprah, Johnny Depp, you  won't see this one coming ... Robin Williams  
07:24
(god miss him) (didn't see that one  coming and Jim Carrey, Jerry Seinfeld,  
07:28
Bruce Willis and Madonna. So, it doesn't matter  which type of personality coin you lie on  
07:34
your personality will bring out  something special on the big screen.
07:38
Now back to the primary reason for developing this  podcast: Can you make it in the acting industry if  
07:44
you're a late bloomer? Big question. Now whether  you're coming to the party late because you  
07:49
started out acting in school or your younger years  but you gave it up for a career choice family or  
07:55
any other endeavor. Or whether you're  taking up acting as a mid-life crisis  
08:00
or a mid-life revelation well just a change of  direction, I'm sure you've asked the question why?  
08:08
Or more likely how? Very pertinent questions,  both questions of which I have asked myself  
08:14
continuously on my journey and do today. And so it  is my goal in the upcoming episodes to speak with  
08:20
fellow actors who are on the same journey who've  started late like myself or for whatever reason  
08:26
to learn from them and discuss their journey. I  hope to bring to you, actors who have just started  
08:32
on the journey, actors are several years into  their journey and also actors who have made it,  
08:37
if making it is such a thing. Actors who have  come to the party late, persevered through all  
08:41
the hurdles, all the hurdles thrown at them  to accomplish a successful acting career.  
08:48
You know, late bloomers are not necessarily just  those that have commenced the journey late in life  
08:52
they may also be those that have pushed through  for years and for years without making it.  
08:58
But then you know they've made the jump from  a struggling actor or a hobbyist to the big  
09:03
time. Now, some prime examples are Morgan  Freeman, Samuel L Jackson, Christopher Walt,  
09:09
Betty White and two of my favorite actors both  Brian Cranston and Star Wars, Harrison Ford.  
09:16
Now many of these actors have spent decades in  Hollywood but truly didn't smash it until later  
09:21
in their careers. So the term late bloomer,  it can actually be subjective I suppose.  
09:27
So, my guests will have those  variations in their stories.  
09:30
Now ... if I can get any of those  awesome names on my podcast ... well  
09:34
let's see see where the future takes us hey?  Samuel L Jackson, if you're listening, I'm ready.
09:41
But this podcast, it won't just be actors in their  journey I'm also going to bring on some industry  
09:46
experts; acting teachers, casting directors, film  and TV directors to name a few. Now, so we can get  
09:52
their insights into the acting world and how they  see late bloomer actors in their world and to take  
09:57
their advice on how to navigate the jungle out  there, do they see the world being different if  
10:04
you've come to the party late compared to someone  out of a major drama school. That we'll see?
10:12
And to finish up, I hope these episodes bring  wisdom and motivation, to not just fellow  
10:17
late bloomer actors but all actors out there.  Actually, I'm sure anybody will take something,  
10:22
something positive away from the episodes coming.  So, please enjoy the journey, follow and share  
10:28
the podcast on whatever podcast platform  you're listening to and I'll see you on set.
10:51
You have been listening to the  Late Bloomer Actor podcast.  
10:54
Please, like and subscribe on your podcast  platform and share amongst your friends and  
10:58
social media. The podcast has been recorded by  RiversideFM, check the show notes for a link.  
11:04
A big shout out to StageMilk.com for keeping  me fresh on my acting journey. And finally,  
11:09
the music within the intro and outro is  written and composed by Aiden Hendry.
11:15
See you all on set.