Yesterday Didn't Go Quite As Planned...

... it went MUCH better!

If you're a regular reader, you know that my life is kind of a mercurial thing... I had the day all planned out, see. My first full day back in town after Trish and my trip to the coast to celebrate our anniversary was booked up, with a meeting in the morning, a day-job appointment in the afternoon, and a meeting with a director in the late-afternoon. And, of course, the usual errand running squeezed in-between... jaunts to the bank, the post office box, etc...

Well, like I said - my life's pretty mercurial. Things change in an instant. My morning meeting got called off. My client cancelled our appointment in the afternoon. Suddenly, my day was open until my director's meeting at around 4:30. In some ways, that wasn't a bad thing... Trish and I both picked up chest colds before we left for the coast - sadly, we hacked and coughed throughout our anniversary - and I'm still a little green-around-the-gills. I could have just stayed in bed... but nature abhors a vacuum. That open time got quickly filled!

First, there was the email I received from Jacqueline Gault, writer-director of the upcoming feature film Meet Jane Doe. I'd auditioned for a role in the film earlier this year and didn't get cast... but I've kept in touch with Jacqueline and other people working on the production. When it came time to cast the role of young Jane's father in the film... she thought of me! So, she sent the script over to me for a read and - wow. How could I refuse? I've been hearing people rave about this script for months... and now that I've read it, I can see why! Of course, I signed on. Filming begins in late Summer here in Portland.

Then it was time to prep for my meeting with Jon Garcia about his new film, The Falls. I'd auditioned last year for a part Jon's film Tandem Hearts; things didn't work out for us on that project, but he obviously remembered my audition - he sent me the script last week, before I headed out of town, and asked me to look at the role of the main character's father (yeah. You're right... ANOTHER father. Hey, look at those new headshots, folks... see that grey in the side-burns? I'm getting planted firmly in the "father type" these days... no reason to fight it - I might as well embrace it!)

I was pretty moved by Jon's script when I brought it with me to the coast. It's very personal, and deals with a subject that hasn't been examined too closely in popular films. Rather than try to explain it here, I'll leave it to the video on the film's Kickstarter Page. It pretty much says it all.

Needless to say, I was very interested to talk with Jon and see where he sees this story going... we had a great meeting at Portland's Doug Fir Lounge, and by the end I managed to talk him into letting me have the role :)

So, my day didn't go as planned. But I'm not complaining... the time filled up juuuust right! Looks like July and August are lining up to be VERY busy months!

New Photos With the NebCat

So, I got together with local actor and photographer Deneb Catalan yesterday at Portland's Washington Park to shoot some new headshots. I think they turned out pretty well... Take a look and let me know what you think at my Facebook "Fan Page" (yes I have one of those... that's where I post the more "business-related" and less "personal" stuff). Of course, if you're not the Facebook type, you can always just email me your thoughts... or send them to me on Twitter!

See, I love the headshots that Owen Carey took for me back in 2006... but we shot them in 2006. That's four years ago... and lets be honest - our faces change from year to year!

Rule of thumb when it comes to headshots in the acting biz - they need to look like you. Not the "You" you want to look like - all air-brushed and given the "Glamour Shots" treatment - but the "you" that's going to walk through the casting office/ theater/ agency door when you audition or interview. The person who set that interview or audition based his or her decision - at least in part - on what you look like. S/he knows what you look like from your headshot - and if you walk in the door looking different, s/he isn't going to be too happy. It can be quite the uphill climb, getting past the bad feelings a situation like that can cause.

That's why I went to Colleen Cahill late last year when I grew back my Animus Cross Series II mustache; I grow facial hair from time-to-time, and I'm still looking for work while I've got it on my face. If I get submitted for an audition (or if I submit myself) I need to show the person casting that project what I look like right then - they don't care what I looked like, or what I will look like... they want to see me now, and they want to see what I look like now.

Which brings us back to the new photos... a lot's changed since those shots in 2006. The hair's gotten a little greyer... the lines around my eyes have gotten deeper... I got my teeth worked on and they look different. I just don't look quite like this guy any more... so I've got to find the right shots that show how I look today. Right now.

Well, not right now... I haven't showered yet today... but you get the idea.

So, tell me what you think. Give me your favorites - which shot looks the most like me (and make the most out of how I look right now)? I'd love to hear what you think.

Have a great weekend!

-Harold