February 3, 1998
This was the first audition under the new regime of Pakula/King/Ducey. And yes, Jill Anthony is a friend of mine, so that helped get me the audition, but casting for this project has apparently been going on for a while, and the fact that I had not read for it with Contemporary Artists underlines how insufficient their efforts were in terms of getting me out there. After only an hour with Pakula/King, they had set up a meeting that Contemporary Artists never even thought about. It's good to be the Pakula/King.
The part of Jimmy in Holding the Baby is not quite me, or so I thought after reading the sides. I felt he was a little to suave and studly for me to pull it off. But after meeting with Jill today, I may turn out to be one of the few people who is right for it. Her description of the character makes him sound a lot more real and down-to-earth than I had pictured him, and maybe the other people she had read did not succeed on that level. (She told me she was having a hard time casting this part.) So maybe I have a decent chance after all...
The audition went well. The lines came out as I had envisioned them and I got a couple of smirks and smiles out of Jill. She gave me a good note on the second scene to help hit one of the jokes, so that was very cool. And lo and behold, I'm heading back there at 5 o'clock today for producers. Big day.