I was born and raised in Chicago, and I like to go back at least once a year for some deep-dish pizza at Giordano’s and a little bleacher time at Wrigley. It’s still one of my favorite towns, and spending time in a real city is good for my Los Angeles soul.
During a recent visit, I met an actor named Bob who had just moved back to Chicago after spending a year on the West Coast. We got to talking and the guy told me L.A. had kicked his ass. Curious about his choice of words, I pressed him on what happened. The more he talked, the more I realized he never gave L.A. a chance.
When Bob made the move west, he had an L.A. agent in place, some decent theater credits, and a reel that featured a few small roles on those shows Dick Wolf likes to shoot in Chicago. So he expected L.A. to welcome him with open arms. Surprise! That didn’t happen.
L.A. is a lady with standards. She’s very selective and she can afford to be, because she’s got a ton of suitors, all desperate for her attention.
Bob spent a whole year here and as far as I could tell, the guy made zero effort during those 12 months. Hell, he never even signed up for a class. Why? Because he already had plenty of training on his résumé. That was a mistake, because taking a class isn’t just about learning. Schools are also great places to network with other actors—the kind who have been around a lot longer than you and could be tapped as a source of information. Also, local training is something that looks good on a newly arrived actor’s résumé. It sends a message that you’re serious about getting your career started in L.A. But he couldn’t be bothered.
READ: Top Acting Schools in Los Angeles
Another thing Bob refused to do was get a commercial agent. He had one in Chicago and he worked all the time, but Bob wasn’t interested in pursuing that kind of thing now that he was in the City of Angels; the guy was all about film and television. I totally get that, but when you’re new to town, auditioning for commercials will keep you busy, and if you happen to book one, the job will put a few bucks in your pocket. That sure beats Bob’s plan, which was all about sitting at home, frustrated by the lack of activity, watching his savings dwindle.
And that brings us to strike No. 3: The dude had no patience. You can’t expect the Hollywood egg to hatch in just one year. It takes time to get established in a new market. And his L.A. agent barely had time to get to know him and what he could do.
I once attended a reading by a poet named Robin Coste Lewis who explained she was translating a poem from Sanskrit in her spare time. She guessed it would take something like 30 years to finish. And she was fine with that. But Bob? He got frustrated and pulled up stakes after just 12 months.
So in short, if you ask me, L.A. didn’t kick Bob’s ass. He did that himself.
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