August 24. 2001
I had this pegged as my great commercial redemption. Young Dad-To-Be. Come on. I'm ripe for this part. And my talent shone through the audition tape despite the utter lame-ness of my fellow actor. Bring on the work and the wheelbarrows of cash.
Yikes. Not so fast. We did one take and then he gave everyone notes. "Tone it down a little," the director said to me. "It's like you're performing it. Just make it more real." We did a second take and then he gave notes to the other two people but not me. Nor did he say what I great improvement I had made. From that point forward, I was just using up oxygen in that room. I had lost it. I tried to make it "more real" on the third take but I don't even know if anyone was watching. Another commercial. Another nothing.