You didn’t have to be a huge talent on A level movies. There was always work for minor actors doing documentaries, B, C, and family movies, dozens of TV channels desperate for shows to put on the air, and other opportunities. Acting has never been an easy gig, but it’s getting harder and harder to find good work these days.
But it gets back to “what am I going to do when this show is over?”.
Which is why I referenced David Schwimmer and Band of Brothers. His portrayal of Sobol was spectacular (and wildly disrespectful but that is what happens when you make a miniseries based off someone’s memoirs). But he was basically in 3 episodes and was arguably more background than not in 2 of those. But there is a reason that every few months you have a “Holy shit, So and So was in Band of Brothers?”. That was basically a production where anyone whose agent knew the right people could get a bit part.
But it gets back to the “problem” with the old TV model. Signing up for a TV show was basically admitting you were going to “cap out” at that unless you got INCREDIBLY lucky. Versus staying flexible and potentially becoming a great.
You didn’t have to be a huge talent on A level movies. There was always work for minor actors doing documentaries, B, C, and family movies, dozens of TV channels desperate for shows to put on the air, and other opportunities. Acting has never been an easy gig, but it’s getting harder and harder to find good work these days.
But it gets back to “what am I going to do when this show is over?”.
Which is why I referenced David Schwimmer and Band of Brothers. His portrayal of Sobol was spectacular (and wildly disrespectful but that is what happens when you make a miniseries based off someone’s memoirs). But he was basically in 3 episodes and was arguably more background than not in 2 of those. But there is a reason that every few months you have a “Holy shit, So and So was in Band of Brothers?”. That was basically a production where anyone whose agent knew the right people could get a bit part.
But it gets back to the “problem” with the old TV model. Signing up for a TV show was basically admitting you were going to “cap out” at that unless you got INCREDIBLY lucky. Versus staying flexible and potentially becoming a great.