In this article we're going to go over
what to expect when you've finally landed
that first big job as an actor.
Many
people think that acting is all about
glamour and living the good life. Maybe
you get some fancy limo and a ton of other
perks and that's all there is to it.
Unfortunately, the real work of being an
actor is not glamorous. There's actual
work involved. Here is a typical day on
the set of a major motion picture.
You're up at about 5:30 in the morning.
Why? Because most likely you have a call
time of 7 AM and the shoot is in Pasadena.
You're on your own as far as getting there
so you have to shower and shave early and
hop in your own car and drive to the
shoot. Traffic in LA is awful so you
better get an early start. After you
arrive and park your own car, a teamster
shuffles you off to the film set. At the
set you check in with the second director
and then get in line at the food truck for
a quick breakfast. No fancy meals.
Before you even get a chance to finish
your bagel, a girl from wardrobe comes
over to you and says they need to measure
you for a new jacket that they picked out
for your scene. After you get fitted they
then ship you off to makeup. After about
an hour of having your face tortured
you're out of the makeup trailer with
toilet paper stuck to your collar in order
to keep makeup off your clothes. It's now
time to head to the set.
The director and the whole crew,
lighting, cameras, etc., are already all
there setting up the scene. At this point
the director will have a brief chat with
you to inform you of the change in your
lines that you spent half the night
studying and memorizing. At this time
you'll rehearse the new lines a couple of
times on the set. Then they finish setting
up the lights and whatever else is needed
for the scene. This gives you some extra
time to memorize your new lines. So you go
to your trailer to do this. Yes, you
actually get your own trailer. It's also
the size of a walk in closet.
After about 20 minutes or so, the
production assistant knocks on your
trailer door and calls you back to the
set. At this time they remove the tissue
paper from your collar and you go to your
mark on the set to begin the scene.
The scene begins. Your co-star
approaches you and begins to say her
lines. You then say yours and suddenly you
hear the director say "cut!" You wonder
what you did wrong. Actually, nothing. One
of the lights on the set went out. The
gaffer runs over, replaces the bulb, and
then you start again from the beginning.
They do a few more takes of the same scene
from different angles. In the final
cutting they'll decide which one to use.
You'll get about 2 shots done before
it's time to change the set for the next
scene. There's no applause or fanfare. You
might get a "nice job" from the director,
but that's about it. You then just sit
around and wait for the next scene.
That is the truth about acting. Only
about 10% of the time are you actually
acting. The other 90% you spend waiting
around for set changes and other things.
So unless you have a major role that
requires a lot of preparation, you better
bring a deck of playing cards with you or
you're going to be bored out of your skin.
At around noon you break for lunch. An
hour later you come back, maybe do another
scene and then get your sheets for
tomorrow's shoot. You're done for the day
and go home.
Not very glamorous is it? No, but when
the film is released and you get to see
what they've done with what seemed like
pretty dull stuff, it simply amazes you.
And knowing that people all over the world
are going to be seeing you, well, that's
what acting is all about.
