Two of television’s most acclaimed auteurs took the stage last weekend at the inaugural Tribeca TV Festival, and they did not disappoint. Louis C.K. and Pamela Adlon were on-hand to celebrate and screen Season 2 of their FX series, “Better Things,” in which Adlon is attached as co-creator, star, and director of the full 10-episode installment. (C.K. is co-creator.)
After airing Episode 203, “Robin,” which airs tonight and co-stars “E.T.” child star Henry Thomas as a single dad love interest for single mom and voice actor Sam (Adlon), C.K. introduced Adlon to the stage, where they sat for a 40-minute conversation about Adlon’s storied life and career. “I could never do what Pamela does, and neither could any of you,” C.K. quipped. Luckily, Backstage was in attendance to learn how maybe, one day, you can do it, too. Catch Adlon’s six pieces of advice for aspiring creatives below.
Say yes to work, but know when to be discerning.
“I don’t know if most people feel this way, but I always felt very insecure and always doubted myself,” Adlon said. “In terms of jobs, I would just take jobs when they were offered to me. You don’t turn down work, you know? And men—anybody who threw their hat into the ring, I was just like, ‘Oh, you like me? I’ll go over here. You wanna hire me? I’ll go over here.’ So I never was really discerning [early on].”
‘Working is the greatest thing that anybody can do.’
It wasn’t until the opportunity to head her own series with C.K. came about (in part thanks to C.K.’s relationship with FX) that Adlon took a hold of her abilities across writing, directing, producing, and acting for herself. “I never knew that I had the ability to do a season of television like I’m doing now. I did not know that. And all of this didn’t come into full flower for me until I got my own show. Now I know I can do this. I can make work for myself in four to six different ways, and it’s an amazing feeling to have that and to model that…. It’s an incredible feeling to be modeling that for my daughters right now, and, you know, to have a work ethic and to keep working. I think working is the greatest thing that anybody can do.”
Don’t be afraid as an actor to chat with the crew on set. Learn what they’re doing.
“The fact that I worked for so many years as an actor—you’re sitting there, [and] it’s, like, how [many] little kind of side conversations can you have without saying, ‘Wait, what are you doing over there? What is that? What’s that called?’ Getting involved in that way,” Adlon advised. “I’ve always been a photographer and been documenting things and making things and shooting things and all of that, so it was just a kind of a natural evolution for me [into filmmaking]. I never thought I would be able to do [what] I have done and that I am doing in my wildest dreams. It was not on my radar to be a director, to be my own showrunner, all of these things. It’s a shock to me and it’s also…a lot easier than I thought it would be.”
You have to find the light in humor, even when it’s dark.
“I like to make people laugh, I like to make people feel good,” she said. “You know, I like to just connect with people. I like dark humor. I like things that are dark, but it has to have a heart. There has to be a life.”
‘The less self-conscious you are, the more powerful you can be.’
“[My father] struggled with other people’s perception of him, and that was massively important to him, and that’s something that I always fought and I was able to really get over that when I became a mom,” Adlon revealed. “I had my own insecurities about being a mom when I was a new mom because I would measure myself to other moms who seemed normal and pretty and nice and could cook and did everything and be, like, a room mom and all that. And I just could not fucking keep up. I just finally stopped looking for side-eye as a mom. I don’t even look for it. Why do I even care? And then as your kids are growing up and you’re getting older, you’re like, OK, well, there’s not much I can do about the way my neck looks anymore. I’m just gonna own it. I’m not gonna stop wearing necklaces for the rest of my life. You just kind of gotta let go and let your face be the face that you’re going to be wearing at that point in your life. You get less self-conscious, [and] the less self-conscious you are, the more powerful you can be.”
As an actor, ‘let the moment lay there—like a fart.’
“I say to everybody, [when filming] just let the moment lay there—like a fart,” Adlon concluded. “You could just be uncomfortable, just move around or whatever, but we, as actors, we try to fill in and everything. In my show, I just like it to breathe.”
Want to work with creators like Adlon and C.K.? Check out Backstage’s TV audition listings!