Working Actors Tell All

2:00-3:30 pm -- 9th Floor, Room #C998
Learn how to become a Successful Actor and make a living working in Film, TV, and Theater. Get tips from actors with credits from "Seinfeld," "Glee," "No Country for Old Men," and "Super 8."

Anyone can call themselves an actor. Not everyone can call themselves a working actor. Back Stage rounds up some of the busiest working actors in film and TV to learn how they navigated the business and persevered. Moderated by Dany Margolies, Executive Editor, Back Stage.

Speakers
-- Stephen Root, Actor
-- Stephen Tobolowsky, Actor
-- Dale Dickey, Actor

SPEAKER BIOS

Stephen Tobolowsky
Stephen Tobolowsky is one of the leading character actors in film today. USA Today listed Tobolowsky as the ninth most frequently seen actor in movies. He has appeared in more than 200 movies and television shows. He is best known for playing Ned Ryerson in "Groundhog Day," Sammy Jankis in "Memento," Werner Brandes in "Sneakers," Happy Chapman in "Garfield," and Mr. Bates in "Freaky Friday."

On television, he has played Tor Eckman on "Seinfeld," Hugo Jarry on "Deadwood," and Bob Bishop on "Heroes" and is currently seen as Sandy Ryerson on "Glee" and Stu Beggs on "Californication."

He wrote and performed "Stephen Tobolowsky's Birthday Party" and wrote "True Stories" with David Byrne and Beth Henley. He performs his stories on "The Tobolowsky Files" at Slashfilm.com and on iTunes. They are broadcast weekly on KUOW in Seattle—also now in Louisville, Ky., and Austin, Texas. His first book of stories is being published by Simon & Schuster in 2012.

Fun facts: Tobolowsky performed with Stevie Ray Vaughan when Vaughan was 14 and cut the first songs Vaughan ever performed.

Stephen Root
Stephen Root is one of Hollywood's most prolific character actors, with more than 100 film and television credits on his résumé. 2011 has seen Root in a variety of film roles, including "Cedar Rapids" with Ed Helms; "Everything Must Go" with Will Ferrell; "The Conspirator," directed by Robert Redford; and the voices of Doc and Merrimack in the animated feature "Rango."

This fall Root stars in Kevin Smith's highly anticipated "Red State." Root recently completed production on the Clint Eastwood–directed biopic "J. Edgar," opposite Leonardo DiCaprio. In early 2012, Root will appear in Universal Pictures' "Everybody Loves Whales," opposite John Krasinski, Kristen Bell, and Drew Barrymore.

Root has earned rave reviews for bringing a variety of characters to life in such films as "O Brother, Where Art Thou?," "No Country for Old Men," "The Men Who Stare at Goats," and "Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story."

He was catapulted into the realm of cult heroes when he starred as the put-upon Milton Waddams in Mike Judge's "Office Space." His voiceover work includes roles in "Ice Age," "Finding Nemo," "The Country Bears," and Judge's Fox series "King of the Hill" for 13 seasons.

Root starred as eccentric station owner Jimmy James on NBC's "NewsRadio." He has recurred on "Justified," "True Blood," "24," "The West Wing," and "Pushing Daisies." He has made memorable guest appearances on "Californication," "The Defenders," "CSI," "Louie," and many more.

Born in Sarasota, Fla., Root majored in acting and broadcasting at the University of Florida. After three years of touring the U.S. and Canada with the National Shakespeare Company, Root settled in New York, honing his craft in many regional theaters and starring Off-Broadway in "Journey's End" and "The Au Pair Man."

His Broadway debut came in "So Long on Lonely Street," which was followed by the Tony Award–winning production of "All My Sons." A starring role in the Broadway national touring company of "Driving Miss Daisy" with Julie Harris brought Root to Los Angeles, where he now resides.

Back on the boards, he more recently starred with Helen Hunt and Lyle Lovett in "Much Ado About Nothing," a Shakespeare Center of L.A. production.

Dale Dickey
Dale Dickey was most recently seen as Merab in the award-winning indie film "Winter's Bone," for which she received a Film Independent Spirit Award for best supporting actress. Other feature film work includes "Changeling," "The Pledge," "Domino," "Super 8," and "A Perfect Getaway."

Independent film work includes "2 Girls in Love," "Our Very Own," "Leaving Barstow," and "The Yellow Wallpaper." Television work includes Patty, the daytime hooker on "My Name Is Earl," and recurring roles on "Breaking Bad," "Sordid Lives," and "Christy." Numerous guest-star credits include "Law and Order: Los Angeles," "Weeds," "Criminal Minds," "Bones," "The Closer," "Cold Case," "CSI," "ER," and "Frasier."

Dickey is a veteran of the stage; her theater work in NYC includes the Broadway production of "The Merchant of Venice" with Dustin Hoffman. She has performed in regional theaters across the country, most recently as Blanche in "A Streetcar Named Desire."

Dickey's many L.A. theater credits include extensive work with The Blank's YPF and writer Del Shores' productions; she won two Ovation Awards for work in his "Southern Baptist Sissies" and "Trailer Trash Housewife" (she reprised her role for the film version this year).

She has completed work on eight other films this year, including "Another Bullshit Night in Suck City," "My Mother's Curse," and "Evidence."