Questions from my Family: Influences and LA Inspiration
I’m writing on my new blog every day for thirty days straight. This is the twenty-eighth one. I asked my family and friends for questions about my career that I could answer during these thirty days. This is the final batch of questions and the final post in my Family Q&A series.
From my seester Sarah:How do you try to stand out from other actors you see?I’m still figuring this out.In general, I want to stand out by being kind. I don’t want my career to consume me. I don’t want my struggles to make me cynical. But both happen to me often.As a performer, I want to stand out by being completely comfortable in my own skin. I’ve recently talked about how I’m struggling with deep-seated insecurity. I think when you watch an actor who’s comfortable as themselves, it’s beautiful. It’s why so many of the best actors are successful. It’s like watching an animal in the wild - unrestricted, not self-conscious.As an actor, I want to stand out because of my versatility. I think that begins by being comfortable in my own skin. Everyone talks about honing in on that unique essence we all have: our “type.” But as an actor, I don’t want to stand out just because of my “type.” I don’t want to just be the best white quirky twenty-six year old male actor. I want to be seen in a diversity of work and roles. I want to be as comfortable in my own skin as I am with a myriad of characters.What life experiences have shaped who you want to be as an actor? Being a Catholic, I have a very strong sense of “vocation.” What I mean by that is I have a desire to devote myself to my vocation, and I understand that this level of devotion requires sacrifice. I think I got this understand by watching my brother Bobby sacrifice as a priest and my other siblings sacrifice in marriage and as parents. It’s this idea of sacrificial love that we’re reminded of every time we walk in a church and see a crucifix. I love acting, and I’m very aware of the sacrifices I need to make to truly continue loving my career.Are there some roles that you would turn down because you don’t want to be portrayed in a certain light, e.g. the goofball friend (because you don’t want to look stupid)?If I think the project has a good/non-harmful message, no. I think the most fundamental mistake an audience member can make is to confuse an actor’s personal character with what they do as the character they are playing. There are bad guys (and goofballs) in movies who do awful things so that a hero can come in and save the day, and this is necessary to tell a lot of amazing stories.The hardest part is that an actor doesn’t always have the opportunity to judge if the project has a good/non-harmful message before accepting a role. We won’t always have a prior relationship with the director or writer, and thus we won’t have a level of trust necessary to ensure this. When I audition for a project, I rarely am shown the scope, or theme, of the project – I just get a barebones idea of the story. So this is actually something I’m currently struggling to answer: how do I responsibly say yes to a role if I don’t know the intention of the people in charge?
From my brother Scott:What “not in Texas” business (retail, leisure, dining, groceries, etc.) has affected you most profoundly?Because I don't think it's what your asking - I’m going to avoid answering things like the beach, hiking trails, my acting school, or my improv theater or teachers. I can’t even begin to describe how meaningful the environment, my acting school, and my improv teachers have been. I don’t go shopping very often. I don’t go out to eat anywhere special. I don’t shop at a special grocery store. I honestly don’t think I’d be living a very different consumer life in another city. I don’t do yoga enough, eat organic, or see plays enough to mention things like that. These are more available than in Texas, but I don’t have enough disposable income to take advantage of them.It’s probably the Los Angeles Public Library. I haven’t lived in a ton of other places, so I don’t know how it compares to other cities, but LA has a pretty solid system. You can reserve books online and have them ship the book to a library closest to where you live. I do that constantly. I always have a couple books from the library. And I’ve learned a lot from what I’ve read. Today I picked up an L.A. history book, L.A. Noir: The Struggle for the Soul of America’s Most Seductive city, and a biography of T.E. Lawrence, Hero: The Life and Legend of Lawrence of Arabia.I can’t finish this answer without mentioning minimalism. When I came to Los Angeles, a friend turned me on to this idea of minimalism as taught by “the Minimalists.” This lifestyle philosophy has profoundly affected how I live my life (and it fits my low income). Since I’ve moved to Los Angeles, I’ve significantly pared down what I own.
And the final question from my family, from my sister Debbie:What’s the place in LA where I feel like I tap most deeply into my creativity? Does environment make a difference to you?I would say it’s on Sundays at my improv coach’s house. My improv team Stormchaser rehearses regularly on Sundays. My improv coach is a wonderful interior designer and spending time in her house alone is creatively inspiring. She is also extremely well-read. She’s poetic. She teaches us how to approach our work in a more beautiful and artistic way.Notable mentions: the beach, Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook, in my car listening to podcasts, reading a good book outdoors.It’s funny that I feel the least creative while I’m creating. I feel more creative when I’m recharging or being inspired by a good podcast or book. I don’t think that’s a good sign, but that’s why I started this blog challenge. I wanted to start creating more work. I wanted to get used to putting stuff out into the world. Right now, I’m a very self-conscious creator, and I’m trying to stop worrying as much about what I’m creating. I just want to be more comfortable in my skin. Call-back. Improv. For the win. Andrew out.
