"I have a friend who once told a very powerful casting director that he would not be able to attend a call-back (or it may even have been a booking, I don’t remember the details) because he was a bartender and the date of said conflict was St Patricks Day – which was the biggest day of the year for his bar. And he didn’t want to miss the mounds of cash he’d make working it.
Big Mistake.
Why?
Because in that one, simple maneuver he communicated to the casting director that bar-tending was more important than acting. Which makes him a risky, even pointless, investment. And a casting director (or an agent, or anyone in the industry for that matter) has a hard time backing a horse that may or may not leave the box when the gun is fired.
But what should he have done in that situation?
For my money, I suggest that he should have told a white lie and said that he had another booking. That, or done what he could to get out of the bar gig for an hour or two. But he should not have mentioned the bar or the fact that his conflict involved his day job at all.
Now, I strive to be someone who speaks honestly and conducts myself with integrity. But every so often a situation like this arises and it challenges my ideals.
One thing I’ve learned in this industry is that if you come across as someone who is not completely and utterly invested in being an actor, you won’t get very far. Every agent I have ever met with has stated “If I call you in for a job I need you to be available. Every time.” If you choose your survival job over any work presented to you by the industry you are directly communicating that your priority is something other than being a working actor.
But, does that mean that we have to ditch our day-jobs for every single opportunity that arises?"
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