Have I Seen You in Anything?

The other day I sat on a plane next to a stranger who asked the inevitable actor question "So, have I seen you in anything?"

Many of us struggle with this question - feeling we must list our credits or explain why we aren't starring opposite Jude Law in his latest film - "I'm doing theater right now, I had a commercial on ESPN last year, I just starred in a short film that screened at a bunch of festivals, I have two films in post-production..." As actors actively involved in pursuing work, we know what accomplishments these are, and yet sometimes when faced with a stranger asking for a succinct verbal resume, we seem to come up short.

We have to be smart about these encounters, because as actors we're sensitive - a few too many demoralizing cross-examinations, and we may slip into the dreaded attitude that we are "just another actor trying to make it in LA." We know we are not this person - after all, we gave up everything in [New York, Chicago, Nashville, Duluth, fill in your city here] to come to LA because we knew we were SPECIAL. The way we feel about ourselves is the #1 tool we have for success, so we have to know we are special, and we have to know what makes us special.

So here's my suggestion: don't wait for someone else to give you a job or tell you how great you are or discover you. DISCOVER YOURSELF. In that blessed free time between shoots, write scripts you think are funny (or sharp drama if that's your thing). Invite your actor friends over and do a reading of your work. Get clear on what you want to do, who you want to meet. Develop a short "elevator pitch" of yourself, and when you meet someone who says "What do you do?" you can answer something like this:

I'm an Isla Fisher meets Megan Mullally type. I'm funny, sarcastic and quirky. I'm currently writing an original tv comedy pilot in the vein of Two and a Half Men. So I'd like to meet the producers of projects like Confessions of a Shopaholic and Will & Grace.

Sometimes people will go, Wow! That sounds exciting. And you'll feel great. And just sometimes, they'll say things like "Oh, really? My sister babysits for Steven Levitan's kids. I'll see if I can introduce you." And then you'll feel really great. The key is to get clear on what you want, then distill it to a simple pitch you can share with others. Because how you feel about yourself as an actor is going to be a huge part of not only how long you stay in LA, but how you do here.