What does it REALLY take to book over 500 acting jobs in Hollywood?
On this episode of The Demia Avery Show – The Industry, I'm sitting down with actor, director, comedian, acting coach, and motivational speaker Dave Pileggi!
You've seen Dave in productions like Dopesick, The Resident, Hightown, Tyler Perry's Sistas, The Vampire Diaries, and One Night in Miami.
With nearly 20 years in the entertainment industry and more than 500 bookings under his belt, Dave knows a thing or two about making it in this business!
We're talking about:
🎬 Why great auditions don't always lead to bookings
🎭 What actors should be doing besides relying on their agents
🎥 How small roles can lead to bigger opportunities
⭐ What directors REALLY want from actors
🎤 The difference between being a great auditioner and a great actor
🥊 How boxing taught Dave to handle rejection and keep fighting for his dreams
And of course, we're having some fun with my favorite game, "I'd Rather!"
Whether you're a new actor or a seasoned professional, this conversation is packed with advice, laughs, and some serious industry knowledge!
CONNECT WITH DAVE PILEGGI:
Acting Coaching: https://www.climbingthecallsheet.com/
IMDb: https://www.imdb.me/davepileggi
SUBSCRIBE to The Demia Avery Show for more entertaining and educational conversations with the people who make the entertainment industry happen!
#TheDemiaAveryShow #DavePileggi #ActingTips #ActingCoach #ActorsLife #HollywoodInsider #ClimbingTheCallSheet #ActingCareer #AuditionTips #FilmIndustry #WorkingActor #TheIndustry
00:00:00 --> 00:00:04 If you got a dream, come closer. [music]
00:00:04 --> 00:00:07 If you want to shine, come over. We
00:00:07 --> 00:00:11 breaking all the rules tonight.
00:00:11 --> 00:00:12 Yeah, we stepping [music]
00:00:12 --> 00:00:16 in the spotlight is the industry.
00:00:16 --> 00:00:17 Where [music]
00:00:17 --> 00:00:21 everybody trying to be
00:00:21 --> 00:00:25 [music] nice.
00:00:25 --> 00:00:27 living.
00:00:27 --> 00:00:31 [music]
00:00:31 --> 00:00:33 >> Hello. Hello everyone. This is Deia
00:00:33 --> 00:00:35 Avery with the Deia Avery Show, the
00:00:35 --> 00:00:37 industry. And let me ask you guys a
00:00:37 --> 00:00:40 question. What does it take to book over
00:00:40 --> 00:00:43 500 jobs in the industry and still have
00:00:43 --> 00:00:45 something left to teach the rest of us?
00:00:45 --> 00:00:47 Well, my guest today has done a little
00:00:47 --> 00:00:50 bit of everything. You've seen him in
00:00:50 --> 00:00:53 Dopessick, The Resident, High Town,
00:00:53 --> 00:00:55 Tyler Paris Sisters, The Vampire
00:00:55 --> 00:00:57 Diaries, and films like One Night in
00:00:57 --> 00:01:00 Miami, and Anchor Man 2. But he's not
00:01:00 --> 00:01:02 just working in front of the camera.
00:01:02 --> 00:01:04 He's also helping other actors figure
00:01:04 --> 00:01:07 out how to work smarter, book more, and
00:01:07 --> 00:01:10 survive this crazy business that we call
00:01:10 --> 00:01:12 entertainment. He's an actor, director,
00:01:12 --> 00:01:14 comedian, motivational speaker, and the
00:01:14 --> 00:01:17 founder of Climbing the Call Sheet.
00:01:17 --> 00:01:20 Please welcome Dave Pledgy. Welcome.
00:01:20 --> 00:01:23 >> What's up, everybody? Hello. Hello.
00:01:23 --> 00:01:25 >> Oh, I just I was just telling him off
00:01:25 --> 00:01:26 the air. I feel like I've known him
00:01:26 --> 00:01:29 forever. But I don't know if we ever
00:01:29 --> 00:01:31 actually talked. Have we?
00:01:31 --> 00:01:34 >> No, it's been by proxy through Jera back
00:01:34 --> 00:01:37 and forth. [laughter]
00:01:37 --> 00:01:39 >> I love it. I love it. So, we're just
00:01:39 --> 00:01:41 going to go ahead and get started. So,
00:01:41 --> 00:01:44 Dave, I know you were a college athlete.
00:01:44 --> 00:01:46 you're a boxer before getting into
00:01:46 --> 00:01:50 acting and apparently in 2008 there was
00:01:50 --> 00:01:53 a house crashing episode that pushed you
00:01:53 --> 00:01:55 in a direction. So now most people don't
00:01:55 --> 00:01:57 uh respond to financial crisis becoming
00:01:57 --> 00:02:00 an actor but how did that whole
00:02:00 --> 00:02:02 transition
00:02:02 --> 00:02:04 how did that whole transition happen for
00:02:04 --> 00:02:05 you?
00:02:05 --> 00:02:07 >> Yeah, it was such such a weird dynamic
00:02:08 --> 00:02:10 because we uh my wife was working for a
00:02:10 --> 00:02:12 really high-end boutique. I was working
00:02:12 --> 00:02:14 for like advertising consulting firm.
00:02:14 --> 00:02:16 Market crashes, both of those things
00:02:16 --> 00:02:17 shut down.
00:02:17 --> 00:02:20 >> So, we're in this space of praying
00:02:20 --> 00:02:22 going, what do we do?
00:02:22 --> 00:02:23 >> Right. Right.
00:02:23 --> 00:02:25 >> And it was one of those weird things
00:02:25 --> 00:02:27 where you kind of just have all of these
00:02:27 --> 00:02:28 thoughts run through your head like,
00:02:28 --> 00:02:31 okay, do I start my own thing? Do I just
00:02:31 --> 00:02:33 resume the heck out of every day, eight
00:02:33 --> 00:02:35 hours hitting the pavement doing my
00:02:35 --> 00:02:35 thing?
00:02:36 --> 00:02:38 >> Yeah. But it was interesting because we
00:02:38 --> 00:02:40 had this thought like, "Okay, so now
00:02:40 --> 00:02:42 we're broke working for other people for
00:02:42 --> 00:02:44 decades.
00:02:44 --> 00:02:46 What if we both follow the dream we've
00:02:46 --> 00:02:48 had since we were little to entertain
00:02:48 --> 00:02:50 and see what happens?" Like, what the
00:02:50 --> 00:02:51 heck do we even do?
00:02:51 --> 00:02:52 >> Yeah.
00:02:52 --> 00:02:56 >> And so my wife being the analytical,
00:02:56 --> 00:02:58 brilliant researcher that she is, goes
00:02:58 --> 00:03:00 ahead and jumps in and starts
00:03:00 --> 00:03:01 researching acting studios in Atlanta.
00:03:02 --> 00:03:02 Right.
00:03:02 --> 00:03:02 >> Okay.
00:03:02 --> 00:03:05 >> So we find an acting studio downtown.
00:03:05 --> 00:03:07 She finds an improv troop is having
00:03:07 --> 00:03:10 auditions. Uh I go down and audition and
00:03:10 --> 00:03:13 I make the troop. Um a little while
00:03:13 --> 00:03:15 later took improv classes there because
00:03:15 --> 00:03:16 they make you kind of take classes
00:03:16 --> 00:03:18 before you're on stage.
00:03:18 --> 00:03:21 >> And then after a while
00:03:21 --> 00:03:23 um there was an opportunity where he
00:03:23 --> 00:03:24 director came to me. He's like your main
00:03:24 --> 00:03:26 stage on Friday, biggest show of the
00:03:26 --> 00:03:27 month. Like let's go.
00:03:28 --> 00:03:28 >> Wow.
00:03:28 --> 00:03:31 >> And so I get in there now. Meanwhile,
00:03:31 --> 00:03:34 I'm searching jobs, working for my
00:03:34 --> 00:03:37 cousin, working for other people, doing
00:03:37 --> 00:03:39 the hustle, make money thing, right?
00:03:39 --> 00:03:40 >> Yeah.
00:03:40 --> 00:03:44 >> So, then, um, I do this improv show, and
00:03:44 --> 00:03:45 it's one of those improv shows very
00:03:46 --> 00:03:49 honestly, uh, Pack House, Standing Room
00:03:49 --> 00:03:51 Only. It's one of those knockdown,
00:03:51 --> 00:03:53 dragout, bring the house down funny
00:03:54 --> 00:03:56 shows, right? Like the whole improv
00:03:56 --> 00:03:58 troop, every single person was just
00:03:58 --> 00:04:01 killing it, right? So, at the end of the
00:04:01 --> 00:04:03 show, I have a couple agents come up to
00:04:03 --> 00:04:04 me and say, "We'd love to talk to you on
00:04:04 --> 00:04:06 Monday. Uh, you were referred to us by
00:04:06 --> 00:04:09 this other member of your troop who we
00:04:09 --> 00:04:11 trust. Uh, we'd love to talk to you
00:04:11 --> 00:04:11 Monday."
00:04:12 --> 00:04:12 >> Okay.
00:04:12 --> 00:04:14 >> Um, I'm like, "Yes, absolutely." So,
00:04:14 --> 00:04:16 they give me their card and then um
00:04:16 --> 00:04:18 right after that, the thing that really
00:04:18 --> 00:04:21 changed me on the inside more than
00:04:21 --> 00:04:22 anything else after that first very
00:04:22 --> 00:04:24 first show
00:04:24 --> 00:04:26 >> was this family walked up to me. Um it
00:04:26 --> 00:04:30 was a really tall older burly jump
00:04:30 --> 00:04:32 lumberjack looking guy. Okay.
00:04:32 --> 00:04:34 >> With his three adult daughters around
00:04:34 --> 00:04:36 him. Okay. So they're all like clenched
00:04:36 --> 00:04:38 arms walking towards me. They're all
00:04:38 --> 00:04:42 crying and I'm like uh this is my first
00:04:42 --> 00:04:45 show. Is this normal? Like I know we're
00:04:45 --> 00:04:47 supposed to shake hands and kiss babies
00:04:47 --> 00:04:48 and hug necks and all that.
00:04:48 --> 00:04:49 >> Security.
00:04:49 --> 00:04:51 >> Security. Somebody help a brother. Like
00:04:51 --> 00:04:54 what's happening? So they kind of
00:04:54 --> 00:04:56 awkwardly walk me over to the corner
00:04:56 --> 00:04:58 away from everyone else. And I'm
00:04:58 --> 00:05:00 literally like, "What is going on?"
00:05:00 --> 00:05:02 >> Yeah.
00:05:02 --> 00:05:04 >> And this older gentleman, big old long
00:05:04 --> 00:05:07 beard, says, "Um, my daughters bought us
00:05:07 --> 00:05:09 tickets to the show last week, but I
00:05:09 --> 00:05:11 refused to come out of my house and
00:05:11 --> 00:05:11 come."
00:05:11 --> 00:05:12 >> Okay.
00:05:12 --> 00:05:14 >> They tricked me this week to come. And
00:05:14 --> 00:05:16 the reason I didn't want to come is that
00:05:16 --> 00:05:19 um the human being responsible for every
00:05:19 --> 00:05:21 ounce of my laughter, my wife,
00:05:21 --> 00:05:23 >> passed away six months ago. And I vowed
00:05:23 --> 00:05:25 that I will not laugh again until I see
00:05:25 --> 00:05:27 her again.
00:05:27 --> 00:05:29 >> And my daughters have been pushing me to
00:05:29 --> 00:05:32 come and live. And I I refused.
00:05:32 --> 00:05:35 >> Well, they tricked me coming here.
00:05:35 --> 00:05:37 >> And I walked into this place angry,
00:05:37 --> 00:05:40 frustrated, bitter, with my arms folded,
00:05:40 --> 00:05:41 knowing beyond the shadow of any doubt
00:05:41 --> 00:05:44 I'm not laughing. And the very first
00:05:44 --> 00:05:47 scene, you came jumping out of this side
00:05:47 --> 00:05:51 angled room window, bouncing onto the
00:05:51 --> 00:05:53 floor, doing this thing. I couldn't help
00:05:53 --> 00:05:57 but laugh. And it came out of me so loud
00:05:57 --> 00:05:59 that something in me broke.
00:05:59 --> 00:06:01 >> And he goes just like this, he leans in
00:06:01 --> 00:06:02 and points his finger in my face and
00:06:02 --> 00:06:04 says, "Don't you ever stop doing what
00:06:04 --> 00:06:07 you're doing right now."
00:06:07 --> 00:06:09 >> And I start crying now. I'm like, "Is
00:06:09 --> 00:06:13 this normal? [laughter]
00:06:13 --> 00:06:15 We're all crying. What is happening?
00:06:15 --> 00:06:16 >> Right.
00:06:16 --> 00:06:18 >> But hugged him, hugged his daughters.
00:06:18 --> 00:06:19 His daughters started talking about kind
00:06:19 --> 00:06:21 of the dark place he was in. And now he
00:06:21 --> 00:06:23 looks like their old dad again.
00:06:24 --> 00:06:25 >> And that really rocked me. It really
00:06:25 --> 00:06:27 kind of brought me to a place to go, all
00:06:27 --> 00:06:31 right. So, I known my whole life I
00:06:31 --> 00:06:32 wanted to do this.
00:06:32 --> 00:06:32 >> Yeah.
00:06:32 --> 00:06:34 >> I didn't know how I didn't know how it
00:06:34 --> 00:06:36 would function. I really didn't didn't
00:06:36 --> 00:06:39 have a a a pulse on how to get it done.
00:06:39 --> 00:06:40 Mhm.
00:06:40 --> 00:06:42 >> But now I kind of see the impact that it
00:06:42 --> 00:06:45 can make in changing someone's life. So
00:06:45 --> 00:06:47 I'm all in.
00:06:47 --> 00:06:49 >> Yeah. Wow.
00:06:49 --> 00:06:51 >> You know, coming from a business
00:06:51 --> 00:06:52 consulting background, I went ahead and
00:06:52 --> 00:06:54 hit my knees in prayer and was like,
00:06:54 --> 00:06:55 "All right, we need a business plan. We
00:06:55 --> 00:06:57 need a marketing plan. We need to
00:06:57 --> 00:06:59 strategically see how to lay this thing
00:06:59 --> 00:07:01 out. I got to start studying how to even
00:07:01 --> 00:07:03 build this, right? And what the heck to
00:07:03 --> 00:07:04 even do,
00:07:04 --> 00:07:06 >> right? Right. Uh, so that following
00:07:06 --> 00:07:07 Monday, I went and met with those
00:07:07 --> 00:07:11 agents, go down there and uh I'm like,
00:07:11 --> 00:07:12 "Yeah, sure. Whatever this means,
00:07:12 --> 00:07:14 great." Because I, again, I don't know
00:07:14 --> 00:07:15 anything about the entertainment
00:07:15 --> 00:07:17 industry at all.
00:07:17 --> 00:07:18 >> Right.
00:07:18 --> 00:07:19 >> She goes, "Oh, by the way, there's a
00:07:19 --> 00:07:21 little improv audition right down the
00:07:21 --> 00:07:22 street at a casting place if you want to
00:07:22 --> 00:07:24 go down there and just do they'll
00:07:24 --> 00:07:25 probably give you some improv. You're an
00:07:25 --> 00:07:27 improv guy, so it'll be easy. No lines."
00:07:27 --> 00:07:29 I'm like, "Yeah, I'll do it."
00:07:29 --> 00:07:31 >> Right. So I go down and to Stillwell
00:07:32 --> 00:07:32 when they were on
00:07:32 --> 00:07:33 >> Pedmont
00:07:34 --> 00:07:36 >> and um it was just like okay pretend
00:07:36 --> 00:07:38 you're building a treehouse. Like it was
00:07:38 --> 00:07:40 something so dumb, right? I'm just like
00:07:40 --> 00:07:43 okay, right? Like just so dumb.
00:07:43 --> 00:07:43 [laughter]
00:07:43 --> 00:07:46 >> So I find out like a couple days later
00:07:46 --> 00:07:47 they call me and they're like, "Oh my
00:07:47 --> 00:07:49 gosh, how exciting. You booked it." I
00:07:49 --> 00:07:51 was like, "Great. I don't even know what
00:07:51 --> 00:07:53 that means, but fantastic." And then
00:07:53 --> 00:07:55 they go, "And guess what?" I was like,
00:07:55 --> 00:07:58 "What?" They go, "You may not know what
00:07:58 --> 00:07:59 this means, but this is fantastically
00:07:59 --> 00:08:01 amazing. This is a SAG national
00:08:01 --> 00:08:02 commercial."
00:08:02 --> 00:08:04 >> Wow.
00:08:04 --> 00:08:06 >> By the end of the year,
00:08:06 --> 00:08:06 >> Wow.
00:08:06 --> 00:08:09 >> It paid me almost exactly what I was
00:08:09 --> 00:08:12 making in the other job that tanked.
00:08:12 --> 00:08:14 >> So, you were like, "Okay, I'm I'm in.
00:08:14 --> 00:08:15 I'm all in." [laughter]
00:08:15 --> 00:08:17 >> It was like It was almost like God was
00:08:17 --> 00:08:19 up there laughing going
00:08:19 --> 00:08:20 right [laughter]
00:08:20 --> 00:08:23 a little bit of I got you. Right. I was
00:08:23 --> 00:08:25 like, "Now you're just showing off. I
00:08:25 --> 00:08:28 get it." [laughter] All right.
00:08:28 --> 00:08:30 >> And then ever since then, it's been
00:08:30 --> 00:08:32 business plan, marketing plan,
00:08:32 --> 00:08:34 strategically laying out. And obviously,
00:08:34 --> 00:08:36 I made a bunch of mistakes along the
00:08:36 --> 00:08:38 way, but but it's that learning where
00:08:38 --> 00:08:40 where I know, okay, I'm called to this
00:08:40 --> 00:08:43 to make an impact behind the camera and
00:08:43 --> 00:08:44 in front of the camera. Yeah,
00:08:44 --> 00:08:47 >> we wrote a mission statement so that we
00:08:47 --> 00:08:49 were always on point, making an impact
00:08:49 --> 00:08:51 in everything that we did and then
00:08:51 --> 00:08:53 strategically just growing the career as
00:08:53 --> 00:08:55 much as humanly possible on all aspects
00:08:55 --> 00:08:56 of it.
00:08:56 --> 00:08:56 >> Yeah.
00:08:56 --> 00:08:59 >> And here we are almost 20 years later.
00:08:59 --> 00:08:59 [laughter]
00:08:59 --> 00:09:02 >> Wow. Well, but you know what? Okay. So,
00:09:02 --> 00:09:05 it's like we said, you you've had over
00:09:05 --> 00:09:08 500 jobs 20 years later and I think I
00:09:08 --> 00:09:11 know the answer this to this because you
00:09:11 --> 00:09:14 kind of touched on it. So looking back,
00:09:14 --> 00:09:16 what would you uh what have you
00:09:16 --> 00:09:20 consistently done right that you think
00:09:20 --> 00:09:24 other actors might be overlooking?
00:09:24 --> 00:09:26 >> Great question. And this is going to be
00:09:26 --> 00:09:28 a little weird and our your listeners
00:09:28 --> 00:09:30 are probably going to be like, "Oh, come
00:09:30 --> 00:09:32 on." Right? But I'm being very
00:09:32 --> 00:09:34 transparently honest. Uh-huh.
00:09:34 --> 00:09:38 >> On my spreadsheet of bookings, I have a
00:09:38 --> 00:09:41 a little check mark box where it's it's
00:09:41 --> 00:09:43 a multiple box where I book with this
00:09:43 --> 00:09:45 particular client more than once, more
00:09:45 --> 00:09:47 than a oneoff.
00:09:47 --> 00:09:48 >> Okay.
00:09:48 --> 00:09:54 >> Well, the secret sauce truly is that I
00:09:54 --> 00:09:55 after every booking,
00:09:56 --> 00:09:57 >> I send thank you cards to every single
00:09:57 --> 00:10:00 person on set.
00:10:00 --> 00:10:02 uh every producer, every dire the
00:10:02 --> 00:10:04 director, the writer, if it's a
00:10:04 --> 00:10:07 commercial, ad agency, uh ad agency
00:10:07 --> 00:10:10 team, um individual names, everybody on
00:10:10 --> 00:10:14 the call sheet, the DP, um any
00:10:14 --> 00:10:15 department heads, I can get their
00:10:15 --> 00:10:17 information.
00:10:17 --> 00:10:19 They all get a handwritten thank you.
00:10:19 --> 00:10:20 >> Awesome. Awesome.
00:10:20 --> 00:10:22 >> And the decision makers, here's a little
00:10:22 --> 00:10:24 super secret sauce. Now we diving into
00:10:24 --> 00:10:26 the legit. So people going to steal this
00:10:26 --> 00:10:28 and BE LIKE, I FOUND IT.
00:10:28 --> 00:10:30 >> I KNOW. NOW, EVERY EVERY AGENT in the
00:10:30 --> 00:10:32 world and and and casting director and
00:10:32 --> 00:10:34 everything going to start receiving
00:10:34 --> 00:10:37 muffins, receiving candy.
00:10:37 --> 00:10:38 >> Yeah.
00:10:38 --> 00:10:40 >> But here's here's the secret super
00:10:40 --> 00:10:42 secret sauce though on everything that I
00:10:42 --> 00:10:44 send. And I literally just sent one to a
00:10:44 --> 00:10:45 thing I booked in Utah.
00:10:45 --> 00:10:46 >> Okay.
00:10:46 --> 00:10:48 >> Where I set it on on the you know, you
00:10:48 --> 00:10:50 open the thank you card and then you got
00:10:50 --> 00:10:51 a handwritten thank you so much. Great
00:10:51 --> 00:10:54 time on set. I appreciate you. Then on
00:10:54 --> 00:10:57 this side, I give them an idea of how
00:10:57 --> 00:10:59 the character that we just shot could
00:10:59 --> 00:11:01 shoot multiple things.
00:11:01 --> 00:11:03 >> Ah,
00:11:03 --> 00:11:04 okay. That's a gift though, Dave. Not
00:11:04 --> 00:11:06 everybody can do that because if I wrote
00:11:06 --> 00:11:07 something down, they would be like, I
00:11:07 --> 00:11:09 don't know. I'm I'm sure they don't want
00:11:10 --> 00:11:12 to do what I write down.
00:11:12 --> 00:11:14 >> And I love Right. Right. Right. Some
00:11:14 --> 00:11:15 people So, you got to be really careful
00:11:16 --> 00:11:17 about that.
00:11:17 --> 00:11:17 >> [laughter]
00:11:18 --> 00:11:20 >> Um but but mine is like I always start
00:11:20 --> 00:11:23 it off with and so I say thank you so
00:11:23 --> 00:11:25 much sign it and then I say and I'm
00:11:25 --> 00:11:27 inspired
00:11:27 --> 00:11:29 and then I say what about this idea for
00:11:29 --> 00:11:32 later and then I just I I have an idea
00:11:32 --> 00:11:33 of oh you know what we could do with
00:11:34 --> 00:11:35 this what if this dude in this
00:11:35 --> 00:11:37 commercial
00:11:37 --> 00:11:41 >> would do XYZ ABC
00:11:41 --> 00:11:43 in future
00:11:43 --> 00:11:45 longrunning commercials or in industrial
00:11:45 --> 00:11:48 Yeah. where I say, "Yo, industrial HR
00:11:48 --> 00:11:50 writer, ad agency person, whoever you
00:11:50 --> 00:11:52 are. Thank you so much. Great time on
00:11:52 --> 00:11:54 set. What if this dude then goes through
00:11:54 --> 00:11:57 this, this, this, and this." So, we have
00:11:57 --> 00:11:59 a series so your people can follow this
00:11:59 --> 00:12:01 character through.
00:12:01 --> 00:12:05 >> I've got over 170 multiple clients.
00:12:05 --> 00:12:05 >> Yeah.
00:12:05 --> 00:12:09 >> Who who now 100% transparency, not all
00:12:09 --> 00:12:11 of them booked recurring because of my
00:12:12 --> 00:12:12 note,
00:12:12 --> 00:12:13 >> right?
00:12:13 --> 00:12:16 But some of them legit were like, "Holy
00:12:16 --> 00:12:17 smokes, the ad agency asked us what we
00:12:17 --> 00:12:19 want to do next. We had no idea. We get
00:12:19 --> 00:12:20 your thank you card." And we immediately
00:12:20 --> 00:12:22 pitched them and they're all in.
00:12:22 --> 00:12:24 >> That's amazing.
00:12:24 --> 00:12:28 >> So, if I have a business plan to know
00:12:28 --> 00:12:31 this is the revenue line I need
00:12:31 --> 00:12:33 >> and this is the level every year that I
00:12:33 --> 00:12:35 have to be at for the, you know, baby
00:12:35 --> 00:12:37 needs diapers, right? Kind of thing.
00:12:37 --> 00:12:39 [laughter]
00:12:39 --> 00:12:41 If that's what I have to do, then I've
00:12:41 --> 00:12:43 got to think strategically as a
00:12:43 --> 00:12:46 businessman. How can I so so this client
00:12:46 --> 00:12:48 has already paid me, so they already are
00:12:48 --> 00:12:49 in love with me,
00:12:49 --> 00:12:50 >> right?
00:12:50 --> 00:12:53 >> How can I extend that love relationship
00:12:53 --> 00:12:55 so that they now will book me more since
00:12:55 --> 00:12:57 they already know that I can crush
00:12:57 --> 00:12:59 whatever they bring me in for. Right.
00:12:59 --> 00:13:00 >> Right.
00:13:00 --> 00:13:04 >> Um and so that's been a massive massive
00:13:04 --> 00:13:08 help. Um, and then the other thing I do
00:13:08 --> 00:13:10 consistently is I I very honestly and
00:13:10 --> 00:13:13 truly I I I
00:13:13 --> 00:13:15 always go back to my improv coach to
00:13:15 --> 00:13:18 coach me on freedom in auditions.
00:13:18 --> 00:13:18 >> Okay?
00:13:18 --> 00:13:21 >> I'll send him sides and be like
00:13:21 --> 00:13:23 technique-wise, I got it. I've got my
00:13:23 --> 00:13:24 moment before, my moment after, all the
00:13:24 --> 00:13:27 blah blah blah things.
00:13:27 --> 00:13:29 >> The flow of this feels like I should do
00:13:29 --> 00:13:31 this and this. Mhm.
00:13:31 --> 00:13:33 >> What else do you see living the life of
00:13:33 --> 00:13:36 this person that would just be flowing
00:13:36 --> 00:13:37 out of them?
00:13:37 --> 00:13:37 >> Right.
00:13:37 --> 00:13:38 >> And he'll give me little bullet points.
00:13:38 --> 00:13:41 He's like, "Well, if if I'm living this
00:13:41 --> 00:13:43 guy, then it would be." And I'm like,
00:13:43 --> 00:13:46 "Oh, that's so good."
00:13:46 --> 00:13:46 >> Yeah.
00:13:46 --> 00:13:48 >> And I make sure that I'm living the life
00:13:48 --> 00:13:52 in a way that is free. I really focus on
00:13:52 --> 00:13:54 that freedom in the audition. If I feel
00:13:54 --> 00:13:57 honed in, locked in, I know I'm not
00:13:57 --> 00:13:58 living the life of this human being.
00:13:58 --> 00:14:00 >> Right. Right. It's actor Dave trying to
00:14:00 --> 00:14:03 look like a certain way
00:14:03 --> 00:14:04 >> that every time I've ever done an
00:14:04 --> 00:14:05 audition
00:14:05 --> 00:14:06 >> like that.
00:14:06 --> 00:14:06 >> Yeah.
00:14:06 --> 00:14:08 >> I don't it. And it hurts. Like I
00:14:08 --> 00:14:11 watch it back and I'm like,
00:14:11 --> 00:14:12 >> you know.
00:14:12 --> 00:14:15 >> Wow. Wow. Okay. So, let me ask you this.
00:14:15 --> 00:14:17 You got you have so many nuggets. I
00:14:17 --> 00:14:19 could just h just take them all out.
00:14:19 --> 00:14:22 Okay. So, some actors believe that, you
00:14:22 --> 00:14:24 know, once they get an agent, the work
00:14:24 --> 00:14:29 will start rolling in. But as you know,
00:14:29 --> 00:14:32 that's not [laughter] always the case.
00:14:32 --> 00:14:34 So, what should actors be doing to
00:14:34 --> 00:14:36 create their own opportunities instead
00:14:36 --> 00:14:39 of waiting for their agents or managers
00:14:39 --> 00:14:41 to make something happen?
00:14:41 --> 00:14:43 >> Great question. So, when I I still do
00:14:43 --> 00:14:46 today, almost 20 years later, what I did
00:14:46 --> 00:14:48 back in the day when I first started
00:14:48 --> 00:14:49 based on what my very first agent told
00:14:49 --> 00:14:51 me.
00:14:51 --> 00:14:52 >> And here's what she said. Because after
00:14:52 --> 00:14:53 I booked that first commercial, she's
00:14:54 --> 00:14:55 like, "Okay, you might have something,
00:14:55 --> 00:14:57 but here's what you got to do.
00:14:57 --> 00:14:59 Everyone wants to book film and
00:14:59 --> 00:15:00 television. Everybody wants to book big
00:15:00 --> 00:15:02 sag commercials. Everybody wants to
00:15:02 --> 00:15:03 build, you know, book consistent
00:15:03 --> 00:15:05 corporaty whatevers,
00:15:05 --> 00:15:06 >> right?
00:15:06 --> 00:15:09 >> You have to prove to them
00:15:09 --> 00:15:12 that you can do what you're asking them
00:15:12 --> 00:15:15 to pay you to do.
00:15:15 --> 00:15:18 >> Yeah. So, in order to do that,
00:15:18 --> 00:15:20 >> you've got to be able to to go look what
00:15:20 --> 00:15:22 else I've done to prove that I can do
00:15:22 --> 00:15:24 your thing. So, she said, "You need to
00:15:24 --> 00:15:26 look on every Facebook group that
00:15:26 --> 00:15:28 exists, every website that exists, and
00:15:28 --> 00:15:29 you got to book as many indie things as
00:15:30 --> 00:15:31 you possibly humanly can."
00:15:31 --> 00:15:32 >> Wow.
00:15:32 --> 00:15:33 >> And she said, "Some of them are going to
00:15:33 --> 00:15:35 be a nightmare, and you will literally
00:15:35 --> 00:15:38 pray no one ever sees them."
00:15:38 --> 00:15:40 [laughter]
00:15:40 --> 00:15:43 >> Pulling up now pulling up stuff. Yep.
00:15:43 --> 00:15:46 >> I wouldn't do that. [laughter]
00:15:46 --> 00:15:48 Those are some wounds in the heart right
00:15:48 --> 00:15:49 there that that you wish
00:15:49 --> 00:15:51 >> like, "Okay, Dave, we have one right
00:15:51 --> 00:15:51 here." No,
00:15:51 --> 00:15:53 >> you're right. Yeah. Yeah. Wish I
00:15:53 --> 00:15:54 [laughter] would have had some better
00:15:54 --> 00:15:59 discernment on that one. Right.
00:15:59 --> 00:16:01 >> But then you're going to have some where
00:16:01 --> 00:16:03 you're going to go,
00:16:03 --> 00:16:04 that was fantastic.
00:16:04 --> 00:16:05 >> Yeah.
00:16:05 --> 00:16:07 >> Right. The director's vision, the way
00:16:07 --> 00:16:09 that it was written was so good. It was
00:16:09 --> 00:16:11 a short film that they entered into some
00:16:11 --> 00:16:14 festivals. might have done okay, but the
00:16:14 --> 00:16:16 footage that I got showed them I can be
00:16:16 --> 00:16:17 a cop at any level.
00:16:17 --> 00:16:18 >> Yeah.
00:16:18 --> 00:16:18 >> Right.
00:16:18 --> 00:16:19 >> Yeah.
00:16:19 --> 00:16:22 >> And then so boom, got that IMDb credit
00:16:22 --> 00:16:25 for a short film. Uh, grab the footage,
00:16:25 --> 00:16:27 Actors Access, IMDb, right? Put it on
00:16:27 --> 00:16:29 all the things. And then the next one,
00:16:29 --> 00:16:31 Dr. Roll for a little short film of a
00:16:31 --> 00:16:33 thing, right? The next one, an Italian
00:16:34 --> 00:16:35 assassin, right? Like whatever it
00:16:35 --> 00:16:38 [laughter] is, right? And then and then
00:16:38 --> 00:16:40 you just build and build and build and
00:16:40 --> 00:16:42 build. And the interesting thing is that
00:16:42 --> 00:16:46 I found is the longer someone's in it,
00:16:46 --> 00:16:49 >> usually the less they're willing to do
00:16:49 --> 00:16:50 that because they feel a feeling of
00:16:50 --> 00:16:52 entitlement.
00:16:52 --> 00:16:54 >> That they Well, I've been in this game
00:16:54 --> 00:16:55 20 years. I ain't going to do a freaking
00:16:55 --> 00:16:56 indie,
00:16:56 --> 00:16:57 >> right?
00:16:57 --> 00:17:00 >> When's the last thing you booked? The
00:17:00 --> 00:17:01 industry's changed. No, I didn't ask
00:17:01 --> 00:17:04 that. When's the last thing you booked?
00:17:04 --> 00:17:06 >> Well, you know, there's some exter, you
00:17:06 --> 00:17:08 know, circumstance. I didn't ask that.
00:17:08 --> 00:17:12 When is the last thing you book? 2024.
00:17:12 --> 00:17:13 Okay. You better go do an interview.
00:17:13 --> 00:17:14 >> You better go do something.
00:17:14 --> 00:17:16 >> You better [laughter] do something.
00:17:16 --> 00:17:17 >> Right.
00:17:17 --> 00:17:17 >> Yeah.
00:17:17 --> 00:17:19 >> Because your agents are hustling 24
00:17:20 --> 00:17:21 hours a day, seven days a week. They
00:17:22 --> 00:17:24 only sleep with one eye open and the
00:17:24 --> 00:17:26 other eye is on a laptop clicking away
00:17:26 --> 00:17:27 and spinning still.
00:17:27 --> 00:17:29 >> So, they're working their tail off.
00:17:29 --> 00:17:30 Yeah.
00:17:30 --> 00:17:33 >> You also have to work your tail off. I
00:17:33 --> 00:17:35 always tell actors,
00:17:35 --> 00:17:37 I can't even believe the partnership
00:17:37 --> 00:17:38 agreement we have with agents. It's
00:17:38 --> 00:17:39 mind-blowing to me.
00:17:39 --> 00:17:39 >> Yeah.
00:17:40 --> 00:17:41 >> Can you imagine someone coming to you
00:17:41 --> 00:17:43 and pitching you a business idea where
00:17:43 --> 00:17:45 where they go, hey, listen, here's the
00:17:45 --> 00:17:48 business idea. Let's be partners. I'm
00:17:48 --> 00:17:52 going to do 90% of the work, but but I'm
00:17:52 --> 00:17:55 only going to get 10%.
00:17:55 --> 00:17:56 >> Yeah,
00:17:56 --> 00:18:00 >> I'd sign that all day long. Of course,
00:18:00 --> 00:18:00 [laughter]
00:18:00 --> 00:18:02 >> but I personally
00:18:02 --> 00:18:02 >> that up. Yeah.
00:18:02 --> 00:18:04 >> I personally wouldn't be on the flip
00:18:04 --> 00:18:05 side of that. I'd be like, "YOU CRAZY.
00:18:05 --> 00:18:07 OUT YOUR MIND. YOU WANT ME TO DO 90% OF
00:18:07 --> 00:18:09 THE WORK AND ONLY GET 10? ARE YOU OUT OF
00:18:09 --> 00:18:11 YOUR MIND?" [laughter]
00:18:11 --> 00:18:14 >> That is our deal with agents. They are
00:18:14 --> 00:18:16 constantly working and they don't get
00:18:16 --> 00:18:18 paid unless we do. Right.
00:18:18 --> 00:18:19 >> Yeah.
00:18:19 --> 00:18:23 >> So, that's a massive thing. And not only
00:18:23 --> 00:18:25 the IMDb credit and footage, not only
00:18:25 --> 00:18:28 that, that's a surface level. Yeah.
00:18:28 --> 00:18:31 >> thing I always tell actors, you have to
00:18:31 --> 00:18:34 remember that your root system is what
00:18:34 --> 00:18:37 grows your fruit system.
00:18:37 --> 00:18:38 >> I love that. I love that.
00:18:38 --> 00:18:43 >> If you are not on set, you get rusty.
00:18:43 --> 00:18:45 >> You all of the sudden after two years
00:18:45 --> 00:18:47 want to go pop into a Marvel set with
00:18:47 --> 00:18:49 five pages of dialogue and think you
00:18:49 --> 00:18:51 going crush town. Mhm.
00:18:51 --> 00:18:53 >> You haven't been on set and experienced
00:18:53 --> 00:18:56 the nerves, the weird, the awkward, the
00:18:56 --> 00:18:57 trying to remember your lines while some
00:18:57 --> 00:18:59 lady's got her his her hand down your
00:18:59 --> 00:19:01 pants to pull your underwear out because
00:19:01 --> 00:19:03 it's looking weird in the fold of your
00:19:03 --> 00:19:05 jeans, right? Like it's [laughter] just
00:19:05 --> 00:19:06 a work.
00:19:06 --> 00:19:09 But if you consistently do those short
00:19:09 --> 00:19:12 films and most some of them are just
00:19:12 --> 00:19:13 chaos,
00:19:13 --> 00:19:15 >> right? So you [laughter] you get in that
00:19:15 --> 00:19:18 indie film game and now you go to a real
00:19:18 --> 00:19:19 set and you're like this ain't nothing
00:19:19 --> 00:19:21 compared to that last nightmare sport
00:19:21 --> 00:19:23 [laughter] I was on. Right.
00:19:23 --> 00:19:26 >> Yeah. I love that. I love that. Now okay
00:19:26 --> 00:19:28 so you've written,
00:19:28 --> 00:19:32 >> produced, directed projects. What's in
00:19:32 --> 00:19:34 your opinion something actors do on set
00:19:34 --> 00:19:36 that they think makes a director love
00:19:36 --> 00:19:38 them but actually makes the director's
00:19:38 --> 00:19:40 job harder?
00:19:40 --> 00:19:42 >> Oh, what a great question. I'm so glad
00:19:42 --> 00:19:44 you asked. actors, please listen.
00:19:44 --> 00:19:48 [laughter]
00:19:48 --> 00:19:53 >> Um, the biggest thing for me
00:19:53 --> 00:19:55 is to not
00:19:56 --> 00:19:59 understand the human.
00:19:59 --> 00:19:59 >> Okay,
00:20:00 --> 00:20:01 >> that's the biggest thing. I produce
00:20:01 --> 00:20:05 corporate, commercial, pilots, TV, film
00:20:05 --> 00:20:09 now. Um, and even in in auditions, you
00:20:09 --> 00:20:11 can tell they don't understand.
00:20:11 --> 00:20:12 >> Yeah. Yeah.
00:20:12 --> 00:20:14 >> When they're on set and you got an
00:20:14 --> 00:20:17 entire and I ask people too, I'll ask
00:20:17 --> 00:20:20 basic questions of the human. Right.
00:20:20 --> 00:20:22 >> So, we just shot a pilot recently and I
00:20:22 --> 00:20:24 asked a couple of the actors privately
00:20:24 --> 00:20:27 and I asked five total actors that were
00:20:27 --> 00:20:28 in this particular scene and only two of
00:20:28 --> 00:20:30 them had an answer for me. And here's
00:20:30 --> 00:20:33 something that I asked. Hey, um, what's
00:20:33 --> 00:20:35 your character's favorite breakfast
00:20:35 --> 00:20:37 food?
00:20:37 --> 00:20:40 Three of them looked at me like, what?
00:20:40 --> 00:20:43 I was like, "Where were they born?"
00:20:43 --> 00:20:45 >> Um, uh, hold on. I don't have my
00:20:46 --> 00:20:47 character breakdown. Um, hold on. Let me
00:20:47 --> 00:20:50 get my phone. Um, okay. What are their
00:20:50 --> 00:20:52 parents' names?
00:20:52 --> 00:20:54 >> What do you feel in this particular
00:20:54 --> 00:20:56 scene is the flow of of the arc of their
00:20:56 --> 00:20:58 story? Where are they going? Where have
00:20:58 --> 00:21:00 they been? Where are you just coming
00:21:00 --> 00:21:01 from in the moment before? After this
00:21:01 --> 00:21:03 scene, where are you going? Right.
00:21:03 --> 00:21:05 >> Oh. Oh. Um, let me let me let me look at
00:21:05 --> 00:21:07 the script real quick. I'm not asking
00:21:07 --> 00:21:08 that.
00:21:08 --> 00:21:10 >> Right. Two actors were like, "Oh, that's
00:21:10 --> 00:21:12 easy." One one of them was just like
00:21:12 --> 00:21:15 cinnamon apple oatmeal, right? Without
00:21:15 --> 00:21:18 >> withoutation,
00:21:18 --> 00:21:18 right?
00:21:18 --> 00:21:20 >> Didn't even think. I was like, "Yes,
00:21:20 --> 00:21:23 sir." [laughter] And he goes, "But not
00:21:23 --> 00:21:25 with milk. My parents were too poor. I
00:21:25 --> 00:21:26 only did it with water."
00:21:26 --> 00:21:26 >> Oh my god.
00:21:26 --> 00:21:29 >> And I was like, "What detail?"
00:21:29 --> 00:21:30 >> Yeah. Yeah.
00:21:30 --> 00:21:32 >> And you know, I learned that not out of
00:21:32 --> 00:21:35 my own kind of thing. Um, I had watched
00:21:35 --> 00:21:38 an interview with Robin Williams where
00:21:38 --> 00:21:40 they had asked him, you know, you go
00:21:40 --> 00:21:42 from a stand-up comedy guy to an
00:21:42 --> 00:21:46 Oscar-winning, unbelievable, deep, I
00:21:46 --> 00:21:49 mean, next level depth character actor.
00:21:49 --> 00:21:51 How do you do it? And he said, "Every
00:21:51 --> 00:21:54 one of them is a human, and I build them
00:21:54 --> 00:21:56 out in my imagination."
00:21:56 --> 00:21:57 >> Okay.
00:21:57 --> 00:21:59 >> Until I believe they're a human, and I
00:21:59 --> 00:22:01 don't stop until I believe it.
00:22:01 --> 00:22:04 >> Oh, wow. When he said that, I was like,
00:22:04 --> 00:22:04 "Whoa,
00:22:04 --> 00:22:06 >> that's like mind-blowing there." Yeah.
00:22:06 --> 00:22:09 >> Whoa. So, for every audition, and I tell
00:22:10 --> 00:22:11 people this now, I know that there's
00:22:11 --> 00:22:14 this uh thing that goes around where
00:22:14 --> 00:22:15 some people are like, "You're a co-star
00:22:15 --> 00:22:17 with two lines. Just say it and get
00:22:17 --> 00:22:19 out." Right?
00:22:19 --> 00:22:21 >> That's one angle. Sure.
00:22:21 --> 00:22:22 >> Right.
00:22:22 --> 00:22:25 But can you understand that if you feel
00:22:25 --> 00:22:27 called to this industry and this goes
00:22:27 --> 00:22:30 back to the roots, your root system will
00:22:30 --> 00:22:33 produce your fruit system. So if I
00:22:33 --> 00:22:35 believe I'm called to make a massive
00:22:35 --> 00:22:37 impact in this industry, then I've got
00:22:37 --> 00:22:39 to be preparing for my series regular
00:22:39 --> 00:22:41 for my co-lead big supporting role in
00:22:41 --> 00:22:43 film, I got to be prepping for that. So
00:22:43 --> 00:22:45 if I prep that, practice that with every
00:22:46 --> 00:22:49 co-star role. Now I'm at another level
00:22:49 --> 00:22:51 when that when those bigger
00:22:51 --> 00:22:53 opportunities come.
00:22:53 --> 00:22:55 >> And if you understand how to build out
00:22:55 --> 00:22:57 that full human being and know their
00:22:57 --> 00:23:00 life, now it doesn't matter what comes.
00:23:00 --> 00:23:02 You're fleshing this human out, making
00:23:02 --> 00:23:05 them a full fully you, fully
00:23:05 --> 00:23:06 combination, right, of you and this
00:23:06 --> 00:23:09 character being able to tell any aspect
00:23:09 --> 00:23:11 of any story.
00:23:11 --> 00:23:13 >> And my improv coach said something so
00:23:13 --> 00:23:16 profound to me early early on. Mhm.
00:23:16 --> 00:23:20 >> He said, "If you get stumped
00:23:20 --> 00:23:24 >> in any scene, it's because you're faking
00:23:24 --> 00:23:26 that person, not living like that
00:23:26 --> 00:23:27 person."
00:23:27 --> 00:23:29 >> Oh, good. Wow.
00:23:29 --> 00:23:31 >> He said, "Let's say you, Dave Pelgi, are
00:23:31 --> 00:23:34 at a store and all of the sudden you you
00:23:34 --> 00:23:36 expected the lady to just beep all your
00:23:36 --> 00:23:38 stuff and cash you out and then you're
00:23:38 --> 00:23:40 out of the store." But she beeps a
00:23:40 --> 00:23:41 couple things and then looks at you and
00:23:41 --> 00:23:44 goes, "What kind of idiot buys great
00:23:44 --> 00:23:47 begg?
00:23:47 --> 00:23:48 >> What would Dave Pelgi do?"
00:23:48 --> 00:23:49 >> Right?
00:23:49 --> 00:23:52 >> If that's not in the script and you're
00:23:52 --> 00:23:55 on set in a scene, what would the
00:23:55 --> 00:23:57 character do? Right? You would just flow
00:23:57 --> 00:23:59 out of who you are in a response to
00:23:59 --> 00:24:00 that. Right?
00:24:00 --> 00:24:02 >> Many actors lock up and get uh oh
00:24:02 --> 00:24:04 >> because it's them and they're like
00:24:04 --> 00:24:05 that's not in the [laughter] script.
00:24:05 --> 00:24:07 What do I what do I say?
00:24:07 --> 00:24:10 >> Right? So if you know the human being,
00:24:10 --> 00:24:12 if you make the character a human, it
00:24:12 --> 00:24:14 doesn't matter what happens, you just
00:24:14 --> 00:24:17 flow because you everything you say and
00:24:17 --> 00:24:18 do is right.
00:24:18 --> 00:24:21 >> Wow. Do you ever find yourself
00:24:21 --> 00:24:23 bec I'm just going from what you're
00:24:23 --> 00:24:25 you're saying now and you fully immerse
00:24:25 --> 00:24:27 yourself in that character. Do you ever
00:24:27 --> 00:24:30 find yourself not able to get out of
00:24:30 --> 00:24:31 that character? because I've heard
00:24:32 --> 00:24:34 actors do that that they get so far into
00:24:34 --> 00:24:37 it so that it takes a while for them to
00:24:37 --> 00:24:38 come out of it.
00:24:38 --> 00:24:40 >> Great question. So, when I was on
00:24:40 --> 00:24:42 Powers, I had a five episode arc and it
00:24:42 --> 00:24:45 was a medical technician who tortured
00:24:46 --> 00:24:47 superheroes
00:24:47 --> 00:24:49 >> so that the pain would teach them to not
00:24:50 --> 00:24:51 use their powers. Okay.
00:24:51 --> 00:24:52 >> Okay.
00:24:52 --> 00:24:57 >> So, I was a month of shooting um in this
00:24:57 --> 00:25:00 guy. Crazy. A little bit off, right? a
00:25:00 --> 00:25:02 little bit fearful but a little bit got
00:25:02 --> 00:25:04 to use that fear to get flex my power
00:25:04 --> 00:25:05 >> right
00:25:05 --> 00:25:07 >> and I talked to a psychologist friend of
00:25:07 --> 00:25:08 mine and also my older sister is a
00:25:08 --> 00:25:10 shrink too so that's definite benefit
00:25:10 --> 00:25:12 there too I talked to both of them
00:25:12 --> 00:25:14 >> and both of them said of something very
00:25:14 --> 00:25:17 very very interesting they said a lot of
00:25:17 --> 00:25:18 people don't believe this because their
00:25:18 --> 00:25:22 emotions take over but thoughts bring
00:25:22 --> 00:25:26 emotions that bring words and actions
00:25:26 --> 00:25:28 >> so any thought that brings you into an
00:25:28 --> 00:25:31 emotion and into words and actions. You
00:25:31 --> 00:25:34 can reverse engineer that to go back to
00:25:34 --> 00:25:36 your words and actions and back to your
00:25:36 --> 00:25:38 thoughts, out of your emotions. So, you
00:25:38 --> 00:25:41 can go into an emotion and and actions
00:25:41 --> 00:25:43 of a character and back right back out
00:25:44 --> 00:25:46 with full precision and pull full
00:25:46 --> 00:25:49 authority and power. Not that you're
00:25:49 --> 00:25:51 getting lost in the human because
00:25:51 --> 00:25:53 there's always a part of you that's in
00:25:53 --> 00:25:54 it, right? M
00:25:54 --> 00:25:57 >> and I think that um a huge thing that uh
00:25:57 --> 00:25:59 you know in improv one of the things
00:25:59 --> 00:26:01 they teach you is spin the dial. If the
00:26:01 --> 00:26:04 crowd in an improv show yells out you're
00:26:04 --> 00:26:07 a Russian spy then you have to within
00:26:07 --> 00:26:10 five seconds become a Russian spy. Yeah.
00:26:10 --> 00:26:12 >> Then you're going to spin the dial of
00:26:12 --> 00:26:14 Dave Pelgi to get as close to a spy how
00:26:14 --> 00:26:17 I would act as a spy while fully
00:26:17 --> 00:26:19 functioning in the life of this spy.
00:26:19 --> 00:26:19 Right.
00:26:19 --> 00:26:20 >> Right.
00:26:20 --> 00:26:22 >> So this character work is exactly the
00:26:22 --> 00:26:26 same. So in that powers world I imagine
00:26:26 --> 00:26:28 that I had a whole back history a whole
00:26:28 --> 00:26:30 different I always do at least four
00:26:30 --> 00:26:33 points of history um so that I have like
00:26:34 --> 00:26:36 when he was a kid when he was in middle
00:26:36 --> 00:26:37 school when he was a teenager and when
00:26:37 --> 00:26:40 he was a young adult or or at some point
00:26:40 --> 00:26:42 right before the scene that I'm in
00:26:42 --> 00:26:45 >> how he became this person right so that
00:26:46 --> 00:26:48 I know okay if I'm a kid if I'm a
00:26:48 --> 00:26:50 Russian spy for example and I grew up in
00:26:50 --> 00:26:52 New Jersey but then I was stolen from my
00:26:52 --> 00:26:54 parents and flown to Russia and then
00:26:54 --> 00:26:56 trained to be a spy and then flown back
00:26:56 --> 00:26:58 here to the States to in infiltrate
00:26:58 --> 00:27:00 America, right? I'll make all of those
00:27:00 --> 00:27:03 things so that I have a platform in my
00:27:03 --> 00:27:06 imagination to be able to function in
00:27:06 --> 00:27:06 that.
00:27:06 --> 00:27:08 >> And the great thing about that is is
00:27:08 --> 00:27:10 that those same thoughts that got me
00:27:10 --> 00:27:12 into it can get me out of it.
00:27:12 --> 00:27:14 >> So, I lay it in and lay it out, right?
00:27:14 --> 00:27:15 >> Yeah.
00:27:15 --> 00:27:17 >> And both of those psychologists, my
00:27:17 --> 00:27:18 sister as well as this good friend of
00:27:18 --> 00:27:20 mine said something really profound.
00:27:20 --> 00:27:22 Harvard and uh I think it was Cornell or
00:27:22 --> 00:27:25 Yale, one of those did a partner study
00:27:25 --> 00:27:28 on the places of the brain where things
00:27:28 --> 00:27:31 reside. So they brought in adults and
00:27:31 --> 00:27:32 they would ask them a bunch of normal
00:27:32 --> 00:27:34 questions to see where memories came
00:27:34 --> 00:27:36 from and they pinpointed the creative
00:27:36 --> 00:27:37 part of our brain where memories came
00:27:37 --> 00:27:40 from. Then they brought in children and
00:27:40 --> 00:27:42 asked them a bunch of questions for real
00:27:42 --> 00:27:43 memories.
00:27:43 --> 00:27:45 But then they would talk to the kids
00:27:45 --> 00:27:49 about where is uh where did you have
00:27:49 --> 00:27:52 your most favorite imaginary playtime as
00:27:52 --> 00:27:53 a kid? And these were three, four, five,
00:27:53 --> 00:27:55 six, seven year olds, right? That would
00:27:55 --> 00:27:57 start talking about this playtime that
00:27:57 --> 00:27:58 they had.
00:27:58 --> 00:27:59 >> Well, they had brain scanners and MRI
00:28:00 --> 00:28:01 and patches all over their head while
00:28:01 --> 00:28:03 they're talking about this stuff and
00:28:03 --> 00:28:05 they would be these kids would talk
00:28:05 --> 00:28:06 about this imaginary playtime. They
00:28:06 --> 00:28:08 would get them talking about it to the
00:28:08 --> 00:28:10 point where it went from logical brain
00:28:10 --> 00:28:12 and then it would carry over to the
00:28:12 --> 00:28:14 exact place where real memories were
00:28:14 --> 00:28:17 stored molecularly
00:28:17 --> 00:28:19 >> these imaginary play times these kids
00:28:19 --> 00:28:21 going and then I flew on the spaceship
00:28:21 --> 00:28:24 past Saturn but I noticed that a star
00:28:24 --> 00:28:25 was going to hit it. SO I JUMPED OUT OF
00:28:25 --> 00:28:27 MY SPACESHIP AND I HAD TO GRAB THE STAR
00:28:28 --> 00:28:30 AND SWING IT AROUND and it was coming
00:28:30 --> 00:28:31 from a real memory place.
00:28:32 --> 00:28:34 >> Wow. at a molecular level which proved
00:28:34 --> 00:28:37 that if you can emotionally attach an
00:28:37 --> 00:28:39 imaginary thought
00:28:39 --> 00:28:42 >> to something you as an adult could
00:28:42 --> 00:28:45 function in that exact same space
00:28:45 --> 00:28:48 >> of believing out of a place of belief
00:28:48 --> 00:28:50 >> of this is what I created for this
00:28:50 --> 00:28:53 person and then flow in that character
00:28:53 --> 00:28:55 and then flow right back out.
00:28:55 --> 00:28:57 >> Wow. Wow.
00:28:57 --> 00:29:01 Okay. So, you just blew my mind like a
00:29:01 --> 00:29:02 couple of different times. So, I know
00:29:02 --> 00:29:04 everybody's here that you're gonna want
00:29:04 --> 00:29:06 to hear Dave. You got to come back for
00:29:06 --> 00:29:06 sure.
00:29:06 --> 00:29:09 >> Oh, 100%. I would love it. [laughter]
00:29:09 --> 00:29:11 >> But, okay. So, let's let's talk a little
00:29:11 --> 00:29:14 bit about your comedy because you're so
00:29:14 --> 00:29:18 funny and I think people underestimate
00:29:18 --> 00:29:22 how much skill comedy actually takes.
00:29:22 --> 00:29:23 So, what's the difference between an
00:29:23 --> 00:29:26 actor who's genuinely funny in a scene
00:29:26 --> 00:29:28 and one who's trying too hard to get a
00:29:28 --> 00:29:29 laugh?
00:29:29 --> 00:29:32 >> Great question. So, one of the great
00:29:32 --> 00:29:35 things about comedy is that um it's
00:29:36 --> 00:29:39 always funny if you don't try.
00:29:39 --> 00:29:40 It's a pretty profound thing that I
00:29:40 --> 00:29:42 learned about comedy.
00:29:42 --> 00:29:45 >> And, you know, I was on Anchor Man 2.
00:29:45 --> 00:29:47 Um, and in the film, I think I'm on
00:29:47 --> 00:29:48 screen for like eight and a half
00:29:48 --> 00:29:50 seconds, right? [laughter]
00:29:50 --> 00:29:53 But I'm in the room. We shot for days in
00:29:53 --> 00:29:55 this room in this scene. And I watched
00:29:55 --> 00:29:58 these masters of comedy, Will Frell and
00:29:58 --> 00:29:59 Steve Carell and all the whole team,
00:30:00 --> 00:30:01 right? Paul Rudd, all of them
00:30:01 --> 00:30:04 improvising and flowing in comedy. And
00:30:04 --> 00:30:06 they would say things like, "Hey, I'm
00:30:06 --> 00:30:08 going to go up on that. You go down."
00:30:08 --> 00:30:10 And I would think about like what do you
00:30:10 --> 00:30:13 what do they what do they mean? Like I'm
00:30:13 --> 00:30:15 going to go up, you go, you go down. And
00:30:15 --> 00:30:16 it's interesting because they would
00:30:16 --> 00:30:18 trade positions.
00:30:18 --> 00:30:20 >> And what it is in comedy is if somebody
00:30:20 --> 00:30:23 is the is the wild and crazy up, you
00:30:23 --> 00:30:25 have to have a straight man that is the
00:30:25 --> 00:30:28 flat in order for that joke to hit,
00:30:28 --> 00:30:29 right? So they would trade those
00:30:29 --> 00:30:32 moments. And I noticed that and I would
00:30:32 --> 00:30:34 hear Adam McKay, the director, say
00:30:34 --> 00:30:36 things about, "Hey, this is going to be
00:30:36 --> 00:30:38 funnier if instead of you you doing
00:30:38 --> 00:30:40 this, you just say super still and then
00:30:40 --> 00:30:41 just look out of the corner of your eye
00:30:41 --> 00:30:43 and come back and stay really straight
00:30:43 --> 00:30:45 and let him hit that joke and then your
00:30:46 --> 00:30:47 reaction will make it funnier." And I
00:30:47 --> 00:30:49 was listening and watching and learning
00:30:49 --> 00:30:51 and I'm just a fly on the wall. My I'm
00:30:51 --> 00:30:53 nothing in the scene. Right. Right.
00:30:53 --> 00:30:55 >> But I'm literally just watching them
00:30:55 --> 00:30:57 going, "Wow."
00:30:57 --> 00:30:59 And I think a lot of times people who
00:30:59 --> 00:31:01 are really funny in real life don't even
00:31:01 --> 00:31:04 know why they're funny in real life. But
00:31:04 --> 00:31:08 a huge part of funny is being someone
00:31:08 --> 00:31:11 who either cannot do or is assumed to
00:31:12 --> 00:31:14 not be able to do a thing
00:31:14 --> 00:31:16 >> and then you do that thing or you try to
00:31:16 --> 00:31:18 do that thing. Right?
00:31:18 --> 00:31:22 >> So um a dude who's wanting to date a
00:31:22 --> 00:31:24 lady that's way out of his league
00:31:24 --> 00:31:25 immediately funny. Right. [laughter]
00:31:26 --> 00:31:28 immediate. Everyone always goes, "Oh,
00:31:28 --> 00:31:32 yeah." Right? Like that kind of vibe.
00:31:32 --> 00:31:33 And one of the things I learned in
00:31:33 --> 00:31:35 writing comedy was that that power
00:31:35 --> 00:31:38 shift, a lot of actors don't see that
00:31:38 --> 00:31:42 there's a power imbalance, right?
00:31:42 --> 00:31:44 >> Comedy is really funny when there's a
00:31:44 --> 00:31:46 power imbalance.
00:31:46 --> 00:31:49 >> And if I try to be funny, if I hit a
00:31:49 --> 00:31:51 line, and one of the big things that a
00:31:51 --> 00:31:52 lot of people do is when it's a funny
00:31:52 --> 00:31:54 line, they all of A SUDDEN GET LOUDER,
00:31:54 --> 00:31:55 RIGHT? THEY just
00:31:56 --> 00:31:57 and you're like watching the audition
00:31:57 --> 00:31:59 going,
00:31:59 --> 00:32:00 you're kind of away from [laughter] the
00:32:00 --> 00:32:03 frame. But I tell people all the time in
00:32:04 --> 00:32:07 these comedy auditions, what if you drop
00:32:07 --> 00:32:10 and start whispering that line instead
00:32:10 --> 00:32:11 and then it gets really funny because
00:32:11 --> 00:32:13 they're watching THEMSELVES GOING, "OH
00:32:13 --> 00:32:15 MY GOD." RIGHT? BECAUSE THE LINE took
00:32:15 --> 00:32:17 care of itself. Right.
00:32:17 --> 00:32:18 >> Right. Right.
00:32:18 --> 00:32:20 >> So a lot of people don't understand when
00:32:20 --> 00:32:21 you write comedy, it kind of looks like
00:32:22 --> 00:32:23 a heartbeat monitor,
00:32:23 --> 00:32:25 >> right? If you go heartbeat monitor, it's
00:32:25 --> 00:32:28 a really high joke, then a really low
00:32:28 --> 00:32:30 response to make it funnier, and then
00:32:30 --> 00:32:32 there's some dialogue and some flatline
00:32:32 --> 00:32:34 that brings you to the next joke, right?
00:32:34 --> 00:32:34 >> Yeah.
00:32:34 --> 00:32:35 >> So,
00:32:35 --> 00:32:37 >> if you know that that's kind of the
00:32:37 --> 00:32:39 rhythm of comedy,
00:32:39 --> 00:32:41 >> now you can see those beats and know
00:32:41 --> 00:32:45 where in this joke am I is my person.
00:32:45 --> 00:32:48 So, I know then how to react.
00:32:48 --> 00:32:51 >> Yeah. And so I think if people try less
00:32:51 --> 00:32:53 and they just be themsel and allow
00:32:53 --> 00:32:55 things to flow, I think Dairo said it
00:32:55 --> 00:32:57 best where the greatest actors do
00:32:57 --> 00:33:01 nothing but they're always being.
00:33:01 --> 00:33:02 >> Right.
00:33:02 --> 00:33:04 >> Yeah. But you know what's so funny
00:33:04 --> 00:33:06 because now see [laughter]
00:33:06 --> 00:33:09 when I watch comedians I'm gonna looking
00:33:09 --> 00:33:10 for this little heartbeat thing. I'm
00:33:10 --> 00:33:12 like, "Okay, that's where he he he
00:33:12 --> 00:33:15 lowered it down just a little bit."
00:33:15 --> 00:33:16 [laughter]
00:33:16 --> 00:33:19 >> Yeah. Yeah. I love that.
00:33:19 --> 00:33:21 >> Tell me about the um climbing the call
00:33:21 --> 00:33:23 sheet. Tell me more about that.
00:33:23 --> 00:33:26 >> Yeah, you know, a year and a half ago, I
00:33:26 --> 00:33:28 was
00:33:28 --> 00:33:30 uh busy doing a lot of the production
00:33:30 --> 00:33:32 company stuff we do. I was writing a
00:33:32 --> 00:33:34 pilot, writing a film. I had sold a
00:33:34 --> 00:33:35 script and someone asked for another
00:33:35 --> 00:33:37 one. So, I was writing another script.
00:33:37 --> 00:33:40 But I keep having actors reach out to me
00:33:40 --> 00:33:41 be like, "Hey, I need some help coaching
00:33:41 --> 00:33:43 on this. I need this. I need that." And
00:33:43 --> 00:33:44 I just didn't have time.
00:33:44 --> 00:33:46 >> And they're like, "Yeah, but what about
00:33:46 --> 00:33:48 this and what about that?" And I felt a
00:33:48 --> 00:33:50 little bit convicted because I know that
00:33:50 --> 00:33:53 part of my gift is teaching. And so I
00:33:53 --> 00:33:54 knew I probably should have been doing
00:33:54 --> 00:33:56 it, but I just kind of let myself get
00:33:56 --> 00:33:57 busy.
00:33:57 --> 00:34:00 >> So I very truly I just kind of retreated
00:34:00 --> 00:34:02 and started praying about how can I
00:34:02 --> 00:34:05 structure this to where it's insanely
00:34:05 --> 00:34:08 affordable and brings the most value out
00:34:08 --> 00:34:10 of anything on the planet so that people
00:34:10 --> 00:34:12 get everything they need in one place. I
00:34:12 --> 00:34:14 do not want to create something that's
00:34:14 --> 00:34:17 just more expense for actors. Nickel and
00:34:17 --> 00:34:20 dimeing having to pay hundreds of
00:34:20 --> 00:34:21 dollars a month for a membership, having
00:34:22 --> 00:34:25 to pay $400 bucks for a workshop or $800
00:34:25 --> 00:34:27 to be a part of a weekend thing. I was
00:34:27 --> 00:34:29 just like, God, it's so overwhelming for
00:34:29 --> 00:34:31 them. A lot of them can't afford it. So
00:34:31 --> 00:34:33 then they just sit and they go, I hope
00:34:33 --> 00:34:35 I'm doing it right.
00:34:35 --> 00:34:37 >> So I really, really
00:34:37 --> 00:34:39 prayed and then I had the idea, let me
00:34:39 --> 00:34:42 call about a hundred agents. and just
00:34:42 --> 00:34:45 see what they would want their actors to
00:34:45 --> 00:34:48 be a part of and at what level.
00:34:48 --> 00:34:49 >> Okay?
00:34:49 --> 00:34:51 >> And I mean over a hundred agents were
00:34:51 --> 00:34:53 like it has to be insanely cheap and I
00:34:53 --> 00:34:55 don't want them to ever complain about
00:34:55 --> 00:34:57 how much money they pay and they got to
00:34:57 --> 00:34:59 be able to get everything they need like
00:34:59 --> 00:35:02 audition technique for commercials for
00:35:02 --> 00:35:04 TV for film for comedy for drama. Can
00:35:04 --> 00:35:09 they just have a home that is theirs?
00:35:09 --> 00:35:11 And I was like after talking to all
00:35:11 --> 00:35:12 those a took like a month and a half and
00:35:12 --> 00:35:14 just was calling agents every day.
00:35:14 --> 00:35:15 >> Yeah.
00:35:15 --> 00:35:17 >> So I got all this information from them
00:35:17 --> 00:35:19 and I'm like okay. So I'm looking
00:35:19 --> 00:35:22 through my journal one day and five but
00:35:22 --> 00:35:24 like from weeks and months past
00:35:24 --> 00:35:26 >> and five or six times I saw this phrase
00:35:26 --> 00:35:29 in this statement that said, "God,
00:35:29 --> 00:35:31 continue to help me climb the call sheet
00:35:31 --> 00:35:33 to make a bigger impact behind the
00:35:33 --> 00:35:36 camera and in front." And then I would
00:35:36 --> 00:35:37 have another affirmation a few weeks
00:35:37 --> 00:35:39 later that would say something like,
00:35:39 --> 00:35:41 "God, I thank you that I'm climbing the
00:35:41 --> 00:35:43 call sheet to make a bigger impact
00:35:43 --> 00:35:45 behind the camera and in front." And
00:35:45 --> 00:35:49 then I realized most storytellers are
00:35:49 --> 00:35:51 storytellers because they feel this pull
00:35:51 --> 00:35:53 from inside of them, almost a calling to
00:35:53 --> 00:35:53 do it.
00:35:53 --> 00:35:54 >> Yeah.
00:35:54 --> 00:35:56 >> And they just want to make an impact.
00:35:56 --> 00:35:58 They want the stories they tell and the
00:35:58 --> 00:35:59 thing they're a part of to make an
00:35:59 --> 00:36:01 impact. Whether it's making people laugh
00:36:01 --> 00:36:02 a ton
00:36:02 --> 00:36:05 >> or bringing a story, communicating a
00:36:05 --> 00:36:06 something, right?
00:36:06 --> 00:36:08 >> So, I kept seeing that phrase that I
00:36:08 --> 00:36:09 just had written in my journal and I'm
00:36:09 --> 00:36:11 like, well, that's it. The higher we
00:36:11 --> 00:36:12 climb on the call sheet, the more impact
00:36:12 --> 00:36:14 we can make. So, we're going to make a
00:36:14 --> 00:36:16 path so that actors can be climbing the
00:36:16 --> 00:36:19 call sheet their whole career and know
00:36:19 --> 00:36:22 the difference between U5s, U10s,
00:36:22 --> 00:36:25 co-star, guest star, recurring, series
00:36:25 --> 00:36:27 reggg, and know how to flow and function
00:36:27 --> 00:36:31 with all of that. And so it's I
00:36:31 --> 00:36:33 literally was like what is the cheapest
00:36:33 --> 00:36:35 thing I can do but still so that it's a
00:36:35 --> 00:36:38 planting a seed type of situation where
00:36:38 --> 00:36:39 they get a harvest. My grandpa always
00:36:39 --> 00:36:40 taught me
00:36:40 --> 00:36:43 >> um everything free fades but every seed
00:36:43 --> 00:36:45 that is planted will reggerminate and
00:36:45 --> 00:36:45 grow
00:36:46 --> 00:36:47 >> because he was a farmer.
00:36:47 --> 00:36:48 >> Okay.
00:36:48 --> 00:36:51 >> And so um I said okay we're going to do
00:36:51 --> 00:36:53 27 bucks a month and you get access to
00:36:53 --> 00:36:55 everything I've ever done. every
00:36:55 --> 00:36:57 workshop, every library content, every
00:36:57 --> 00:36:59 course, everything from film and TV
00:36:59 --> 00:37:02 prep, audition prep to fast improv prep
00:37:02 --> 00:37:05 if you have a short deadline to crushing
00:37:05 --> 00:37:07 a commercial so that you can dominate
00:37:07 --> 00:37:09 everything you ever do commercially, the
00:37:09 --> 00:37:11 corporate game, what advertising people
00:37:11 --> 00:37:14 are doing. Um, and because this last 10
00:37:14 --> 00:37:15 years I've been casting for Stillwell
00:37:16 --> 00:37:17 with Stillwell as a casting director
00:37:17 --> 00:37:20 too, I've got that interesting point of
00:37:20 --> 00:37:22 view from the client and the ad agency
00:37:22 --> 00:37:25 behind the scenes so I can get a little
00:37:25 --> 00:37:27 007 on you, right? And be like, "This is
00:37:27 --> 00:37:29 what the agency always says, right?"
00:37:29 --> 00:37:31 [laughter]
00:37:31 --> 00:37:34 And so I just did that. I was just like
00:37:34 --> 00:37:35 I emailed all the agents being like,
00:37:35 --> 00:37:38 "Look, this is 27 bucks a month forever.
00:37:38 --> 00:37:40 It's never going to go up. You get
00:37:40 --> 00:37:42 access to everything I ever do. a free
00:37:42 --> 00:37:43 workshop a month. We meet every single
00:37:43 --> 00:37:45 Sunday night as a start your week to
00:37:45 --> 00:37:47 focus on a different aspect of the
00:37:47 --> 00:37:49 industry and you get access to me so
00:37:49 --> 00:37:52 your career can grow. It is pointless if
00:37:52 --> 00:37:54 you're just a part of this community for
00:37:54 --> 00:37:56 feelgoods. No,
00:37:56 --> 00:37:56 >> right?
00:37:56 --> 00:37:58 >> The point is growth. You have to climb
00:37:58 --> 00:38:01 the call sheet. What is your career
00:38:01 --> 00:38:03 right now? Where do you want it to go?
00:38:03 --> 00:38:05 What does the mentality? What does your
00:38:05 --> 00:38:07 spirit have to be? What does your
00:38:07 --> 00:38:09 technique and your work ethic have to
00:38:09 --> 00:38:11 be? and where do you have to focus to
00:38:11 --> 00:38:14 grow it? And that's the entire thing. We
00:38:14 --> 00:38:15 got to grow careers.
00:38:15 --> 00:38:16 >> Yeah.
00:38:16 --> 00:38:18 >> And so, um, everything from people
00:38:18 --> 00:38:20 wanting to write, not knowing how to.
00:38:20 --> 00:38:21 So, we got a writer part of that
00:38:22 --> 00:38:23 community. We've got a couple directors
00:38:24 --> 00:38:25 that are in there who just want to know
00:38:25 --> 00:38:26 what the heck actors are thinking so
00:38:26 --> 00:38:27 they can direct better, which is
00:38:27 --> 00:38:29 fantastic. And then we got a bunch of
00:38:29 --> 00:38:31 actors in there just flipping growing
00:38:31 --> 00:38:32 and doing their thing.
00:38:32 --> 00:38:34 >> Love it. Love it. And you know what? I
00:38:34 --> 00:38:37 wanted to go back a little bit to your
00:38:37 --> 00:38:40 boxing. To your boxing. So in boxing,
00:38:40 --> 00:38:43 you you train hard, you have a strategy,
00:38:43 --> 00:38:45 and you still get knocked down. So
00:38:45 --> 00:38:48 >> you ain't lying. [laughter]
00:38:48 --> 00:38:50 >> Acting isn't much different. So what did
00:38:50 --> 00:38:53 boxing teach you about resilience and
00:38:53 --> 00:38:55 rejection and knowing when to keep
00:38:55 --> 00:38:57 fighting versus
00:38:57 --> 00:39:00 when to maybe change your approach?
00:39:00 --> 00:39:02 >> Yes, great question. You know, one of
00:39:02 --> 00:39:04 the things in boxing that that I was
00:39:04 --> 00:39:06 taught very early, I was a cocky little
00:39:06 --> 00:39:08 dude, man, growing up. I had some major
00:39:08 --> 00:39:11 issues. And so, [laughter] so I go into
00:39:11 --> 00:39:13 this gym and I'm one of the random
00:39:13 --> 00:39:15 tiniest little dudes ever. I think
00:39:15 --> 00:39:18 soaking wet. I was 140 pounds. And so I
00:39:18 --> 00:39:19 walk in, I'm like, "Yeah, I WANT TO BOX.
00:39:19 --> 00:39:21 LET'S DUNK THAT." AND THE trainer
00:39:21 --> 00:39:23 immediately, Mr. H, we called him. Uh,
00:39:23 --> 00:39:25 he looked at me and he was like, "You
00:39:25 --> 00:39:25 really want to do this?" I was like,
00:39:26 --> 00:39:27 "Yeah, let's go." He's like, "I'm going
00:39:27 --> 00:39:29 to teach you how to dominate right from
00:39:29 --> 00:39:32 day one." I was like, "LET'S GO. I'M
00:39:32 --> 00:39:34 GONNA CRUSH." HE GOES, "Come on." Gets
00:39:34 --> 00:39:35 me right in the ring. And there's a dude
00:39:36 --> 00:39:37 across from me about my size and I'm
00:39:37 --> 00:39:39 like, "Oh, I'm going hammer this guy.
00:39:39 --> 00:39:42 Let's get it." So he puts boxing gloves
00:39:42 --> 00:39:43 on me.
00:39:43 --> 00:39:44 >> And then he goes, "Let me see your arms.
00:39:44 --> 00:39:45 Drop them down." And I'm like shaking
00:39:46 --> 00:39:47 them out, shaking them out. And he
00:39:47 --> 00:39:50 brings them behind me and straps them
00:39:50 --> 00:39:53 behind me. So they're taped behind my
00:39:53 --> 00:39:54 back.
00:39:54 --> 00:39:56 >> He gets out of the ring and rings the
00:39:56 --> 00:39:59 bell. Ding. And my hands are behind my
00:39:59 --> 00:40:00 back tied. And I'm looking ahead with
00:40:00 --> 00:40:02 big old deer eyes. And here comes this
00:40:02 --> 00:40:03 little dude toward me with his arms up.
00:40:03 --> 00:40:05 I'm like, "WAIT, WAIT, WAIT, WAIT, WAIT,
00:40:05 --> 00:40:08 WAIT, WAIT." And he goes, "Better move
00:40:08 --> 00:40:11 your head." So, I'm like, [laughter] "I
00:40:11 --> 00:40:12 don't know what I'm doing." And this
00:40:12 --> 00:40:17 dude knocks me out cold three
00:40:17 --> 00:40:18 times.
00:40:18 --> 00:40:20 >> Oh my gosh. Oh my god.
00:40:20 --> 00:40:21 >> Three times.
00:40:21 --> 00:40:22 >> Wow. Wow.
00:40:22 --> 00:40:25 >> And he goes, "Uh, so then I'm on the
00:40:25 --> 00:40:27 canvas the third time. Head is pounding.
00:40:28 --> 00:40:30 It hurts so bad. I got a neck issue at
00:40:30 --> 00:40:31 that point, right?" I'm like, I'm too
00:40:31 --> 00:40:34 young for neck pain, but I'm my whole
00:40:34 --> 00:40:35 I'm hurt. I'm just hurting.
00:40:36 --> 00:40:37 >> Everything hurts.
00:40:38 --> 00:40:39 >> So, I get up
00:40:39 --> 00:40:41 >> and he looks me right in the eye after I
00:40:41 --> 00:40:44 settle. And he goes, "Listen to me. The
00:40:44 --> 00:40:47 key to life and the key to boxing is you
00:40:47 --> 00:40:48 can't do anything if the only thing
00:40:48 --> 00:40:52 you're doing is getting hit."
00:40:52 --> 00:40:53 >> Got it.
00:40:53 --> 00:40:55 >> And he I was like, "Wow."
00:40:55 --> 00:40:57 >> It's legit profound.
00:40:57 --> 00:40:59 >> Yeah. and a lot of actors and and here's
00:40:59 --> 00:41:01 what that means in the acting world. I
00:41:01 --> 00:41:04 found right when I got in it when I made
00:41:04 --> 00:41:07 my marketing plan, I immediately, you
00:41:07 --> 00:41:09 know, did the research and started doing
00:41:09 --> 00:41:11 my marketing plan and even my agent when
00:41:11 --> 00:41:13 I started getting asked by casting
00:41:13 --> 00:41:14 girls, hey, this young dude Dave, you
00:41:14 --> 00:41:16 have let's see him for this little
00:41:16 --> 00:41:17 co-star. And they would ask me, how do
00:41:18 --> 00:41:19 they even know who you are? I was like,
00:41:19 --> 00:41:21 oh, well, I started my marketing plan.
00:41:21 --> 00:41:23 And they were like, you're what? Like a
00:41:23 --> 00:41:26 marketing plan? Mhm.
00:41:26 --> 00:41:29 >> I right away viewed it as such a
00:41:29 --> 00:41:31 business that I had to have a balance
00:41:31 --> 00:41:33 of offense and defense.
00:41:33 --> 00:41:34 >> Yeah.
00:41:34 --> 00:41:36 >> And I think a lot of actors are only on
00:41:36 --> 00:41:39 defense where they sit
00:41:39 --> 00:41:41 and they only wait for their agents to
00:41:41 --> 00:41:43 send them stuff. Now, that's wise to do
00:41:43 --> 00:41:44 because your agents are working their
00:41:44 --> 00:41:45 butt off. Right.
00:41:46 --> 00:41:47 >> Right.
00:41:47 --> 00:41:50 >> But after I had that lesson in boxing,
00:41:50 --> 00:41:52 the very next day, he was working on me
00:41:52 --> 00:41:54 with punches. He said, "Look, if the
00:41:54 --> 00:41:56 only thing you ever do is go in the ring
00:41:56 --> 00:41:57 and move your head around, move your
00:41:57 --> 00:41:58 head around, move your head around,
00:41:58 --> 00:42:00 defense, defense, defense, you're still
00:42:00 --> 00:42:01 going to lose because he's going to land
00:42:01 --> 00:42:03 something. You got to learn the balance
00:42:03 --> 00:42:05 between defense and offense.
00:42:05 --> 00:42:08 >> So, I learned the importance of trusting
00:42:08 --> 00:42:11 the defense, which is you sitting at
00:42:11 --> 00:42:14 rest at peace in your spirit, mind,
00:42:14 --> 00:42:16 body, soul, will, and emotions. I'm at
00:42:16 --> 00:42:19 peace. I've got people working for me. I
00:42:19 --> 00:42:21 have learned to trust them and I'm gonna
00:42:21 --> 00:42:24 sit here at peace and let it come to me.
00:42:24 --> 00:42:26 That's what they call letting So defense
00:42:26 --> 00:42:27 is letting the fight come to you. Right.
00:42:28 --> 00:42:28 Right. Right.
00:42:28 --> 00:42:29 >> So you're gonna let those auditions flow
00:42:30 --> 00:42:31 in and you're going to crush every
00:42:31 --> 00:42:32 opportunity you get.
00:42:32 --> 00:42:32 >> Right.
00:42:32 --> 00:42:35 >> Then the balance of that is that offense
00:42:35 --> 00:42:37 where now I'm going to market and I'm
00:42:37 --> 00:42:38 going to reach out and I'm going to let
00:42:38 --> 00:42:41 them know I'm here just once a month or
00:42:41 --> 00:42:43 every other month. Just a top of- mind
00:42:43 --> 00:42:46 little reminder. Dave's smiling cheesy
00:42:46 --> 00:42:47 face, right?
00:42:47 --> 00:42:47 >> [laughter]
00:42:47 --> 00:42:49 >> just let them know I'm still here,
00:42:49 --> 00:42:52 right? Like and then then back to
00:42:52 --> 00:42:53 defense, right?
00:42:54 --> 00:42:56 >> That balance I found
00:42:56 --> 00:42:59 >> really allowed me to win a lot in boxing
00:42:59 --> 00:43:01 and it's really allowed me to be in this
00:43:01 --> 00:43:04 structured kind of arc of just rising my
00:43:04 --> 00:43:07 career as well. Not settling into just
00:43:08 --> 00:43:09 sit and wait
00:43:09 --> 00:43:12 >> and then complain like most actors do.
00:43:12 --> 00:43:16 Um, but sit, wait, be at peace, and then
00:43:16 --> 00:43:20 flow from that place into letting them
00:43:20 --> 00:43:22 know that I'm here. So, a nice balanced
00:43:22 --> 00:43:25 kind of attack, if you will.
00:43:25 --> 00:43:25 >> Yeah.
00:43:25 --> 00:43:29 >> Um, really, really helps things grow at
00:43:29 --> 00:43:30 a very, very perfect pace.
00:43:30 --> 00:43:33 >> Great strategy. Great strategy. I love
00:43:33 --> 00:43:36 that. Now Dave, we talked about business
00:43:36 --> 00:43:39 bookings, even gotten knocked down a few
00:43:39 --> 00:43:40 times, but [laughter]
00:43:40 --> 00:43:42 but now I want to have a little fun with
00:43:42 --> 00:43:44 you. So, we're going to play play a game
00:43:44 --> 00:43:46 called I'd rather.
00:43:46 --> 00:43:47 >> Oh, sweet.
00:43:47 --> 00:43:49 >> So, I'm going to give you two choices,
00:43:49 --> 00:43:51 and you got to tell me which one you'd
00:43:51 --> 00:43:53 rather do. And you can't can't think
00:43:53 --> 00:43:55 about it too hard. Okay, you can
00:43:55 --> 00:43:56 yourself if you want to.
00:43:56 --> 00:43:58 >> All right.
00:43:58 --> 00:44:00 Would you rather book a recurring role
00:44:00 --> 00:44:02 on a hit television show where your
00:44:02 --> 00:44:04 character barely speaks or one
00:44:04 --> 00:44:07 unforgettable scene in a major movie
00:44:07 --> 00:44:09 where you steal the entire show?
00:44:09 --> 00:44:11 >> Unforgettable scene.
00:44:11 --> 00:44:13 >> Awesome. Would you rather show up to a
00:44:13 --> 00:44:16 set and discover they've completely
00:44:16 --> 00:44:18 rewritten your scene or find out you're
00:44:18 --> 00:44:20 doing the entire scene in one take with
00:44:20 --> 00:44:23 no rehearsal?
00:44:23 --> 00:44:25 >> Entire take with no rehearsal.
00:44:25 --> 00:44:26 >> [laughter]
00:44:26 --> 00:44:28 >> That's your improv schedule.
00:44:28 --> 00:44:30 >> That's right.
00:44:30 --> 00:44:32 >> Okay. Would you rather perform standup
00:44:32 --> 00:44:34 comedy comedy in front of 5
00:44:34 --> 00:44:38 strangers or do an improvised scene in
00:44:38 --> 00:44:40 front of 20 casting directors who aren't
00:44:40 --> 00:44:43 allowed to laugh?
00:44:43 --> 00:44:47 >> 5 people. M would you rather direct
00:44:47 --> 00:44:50 an incredibly talented actor who
00:44:50 --> 00:44:52 questions every decision you make or a
00:44:52 --> 00:44:55 less experienced actor who follows every
00:44:55 --> 00:44:57 direction but gives you absolutely
00:44:57 --> 00:45:00 nothing unexpected?
00:45:00 --> 00:45:01 >> Oh, seasoned actor who questions
00:45:01 --> 00:45:03 everything. [laughter]
00:45:03 --> 00:45:04 >> Oh yeah.
00:45:04 --> 00:45:06 >> Okay, a few more. Would you rather
00:45:06 --> 00:45:08 accidentally call the casting director
00:45:08 --> 00:45:11 by the wrong name during an audition or
00:45:11 --> 00:45:13 nail the audition and realize afterwards
00:45:13 --> 00:45:15 that you forgot to hit record on your
00:45:16 --> 00:45:18 self tape?
00:45:18 --> 00:45:21 [laughter]
00:45:22 --> 00:45:23 >> That's fantastic. Probably the second
00:45:24 --> 00:45:28 one since I've done it. [laughter]
00:45:28 --> 00:45:31 >> I love it. I love it. Okay. Would you
00:45:31 --> 00:45:32 rather play a character who is
00:45:32 --> 00:45:34 completely opposite of your real
00:45:34 --> 00:45:37 personality or play a character who is
00:45:37 --> 00:45:39 so much like you that everyone thinks
00:45:39 --> 00:45:41 you're not acting?
00:45:41 --> 00:45:43 >> Oh.
00:45:43 --> 00:45:43 [laughter]
00:45:44 --> 00:45:46 Oh, this hurts to even choose. What a
00:45:46 --> 00:45:49 great question. Um, I'm gonna go with
00:45:49 --> 00:45:51 the completely opposite of me just
00:45:51 --> 00:45:53 because of the challenge of it.
00:45:53 --> 00:45:56 >> Okay. Okay. Two more. Two more. Would
00:45:56 --> 00:45:58 you rather get a phone call from Adam
00:45:58 --> 00:46:00 McCay offering you a role in the next
00:46:00 --> 00:46:03 movie or get a call from a major studio
00:46:03 --> 00:46:05 offering you the chance to direct your
00:46:05 --> 00:46:10 own film?
00:46:10 --> 00:46:11 [laughter]
00:46:11 --> 00:46:16 >> Oh, I would have to say um oh my gosh,
00:46:16 --> 00:46:17 this is one of the This is the hardest
00:46:17 --> 00:46:21 ever. This is the hardest ever. Um, Adam
00:46:21 --> 00:46:23 Mccay is one of my big do I've already
00:46:23 --> 00:46:24 worked with him, but I'm like I'm gonna
00:46:24 --> 00:46:26 be legit in one of his things. Which one
00:46:26 --> 00:46:29 is it? I I uh
00:46:29 --> 00:46:33 uh uh [laughter]
00:46:33 --> 00:46:34 >> um Adam Mccay. Adam Mccay.
00:46:34 --> 00:46:37 >> Okay. All right.
00:46:37 --> 00:46:40 >> Okay. Final question, and this one is
00:46:40 --> 00:46:40 personal.
00:46:40 --> 00:46:43 >> Okay. Would you rather be remembered as
00:46:43 --> 00:46:45 the actor who gave unforgettable
00:46:45 --> 00:46:47 performances or the coach who helped
00:46:47 --> 00:46:49 thousands of actors achieve their
00:46:49 --> 00:46:50 dreams?
00:46:50 --> 00:46:51 >> Coach,
00:46:51 --> 00:46:53 >> love it. Love it. Dave, thank you so
00:46:54 --> 00:46:56 much for playing that with me.
00:46:56 --> 00:46:58 >> Absolutely. What great questions. Oh my
00:46:58 --> 00:47:01 gosh, those were awesome. Thank you.
00:47:01 --> 00:47:03 >> Awesome. And I think one of the biggest
00:47:03 --> 00:47:04 takeaways from our conversation today is
00:47:04 --> 00:47:07 that building a career in this industry
00:47:07 --> 00:47:09 takes more than talent. It takes
00:47:09 --> 00:47:11 preparation, persistence, and a
00:47:11 --> 00:47:13 willingness to keep learning. So, thank
00:47:13 --> 00:47:16 you so much for joining me on today's
00:47:16 --> 00:47:17 episode. [laughter]
00:47:17 --> 00:47:19 >> Well, you're so welcome. Thank you for
00:47:19 --> 00:47:21 having me. What a phenomenal time. This
00:47:21 --> 00:47:23 was so fun. Thank you so much for
00:47:23 --> 00:47:24 letting me share.
00:47:24 --> 00:47:26 >> Oh, you're so welcome. And you're going
00:47:26 --> 00:47:27 to come back, right?
00:47:27 --> 00:47:30 >> 100%. You tell me when and I'm all in.
00:47:30 --> 00:47:31 >> Awesome. Awesome. All right, guys. We
00:47:31 --> 00:47:33 want to thank Dave Pledgy for joining us
00:47:33 --> 00:47:35 today. And we see you on the next
00:47:35 --> 00:47:37 episode of the Deia Avery Show, The
00:47:37 --> 00:47:39 Industry. We will talk to you later.
00:47:39 --> 00:47:42 Bye-bye.