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“When nothing seems to help, I go and look at a stonecutter hammering away at his rock, perhaps a hundred times without as much as a crack showing in it. Yet at the hundred and first blow it will split in two, and I know it was not that last blow that did it, but all that had gone before.” Jacob A Riis When I haven’t booked for months and nothing seems to help I rely on something relatively simple to pull me out of the funk. I’d like to tell you about something called the Swing Shake. In this…

“If voting made any difference, they wouldn’t let us do it” annonymous I have now sent this newsletter to you on Monday mornings, Wednesday mornings and Friday mornings. Out of curiosity, which do you prefer? I prefer reading it on Monday mornings. Wednesday mornings. Friday mornings. Once you choose you’ll be able to see what your fellow readers prefer too. Now for your tickets… IMAX UPDATE It’s happened. The Odyssey tickets for the BFI IMAX are now on sale and selling out. But if you want…

“Making money is art, and working is art, and good business is the best art.” Andy warhol share the online version You voted to see an actor’s payslip. Today we’ll do just that. This is Part 1 of 3 in a series called “Htf do I get paid more?” Step One: Gaining Clarity If our goal is to make a sustainable living acting, it stands to reason we should probably know the what, why and how we are being paid. I didnt have a clue. For years I mistook, “I don’t want this to be about the money” for “I…

“Make it all up – but make it up so truly that later it will happen that way.” Ernest Hemingway The vote ends this week: Do you want to see a breakdown of an actor’s payslip? Yes please. Nonsense – something different please. A question I think about a lot is what is our responsibility to the truth? What is an actor’s relationship with truth? wtf even is truth? Very big subject. I am quite uncertain about it. what does “being a truthful actor” (an aspiration i hear being dished out…

“Fall down seven times, get up eight.” Japanese Proverb Good morning cheeky monkey Parenting and filming has left not too much time for writing this week, so today we’re just going to jump straight to the best part of this letter – your wins. and also a video with Christopher Nolan. But first Next week I’m thinking about diving into what an actor’s payslip on a tv job really looks like. I’d love to hear if this is something you’d find useful or if it is, in fact, a nonsense idea by a nonsense…

“Absolutely no amount of experience or success gives you a free pass from the daunting level of doubt that is an unyielding part of the process” Brené brown A few weeks ago I finished an audiobook. It was a fucking slog. It was hard work. It was gruelling. Towards the end it took everything in my power to haul myself back into my homemade sound booth that is really just a sweaty cupboard with an ikea stool in it so i could finish recording the fkn thing. I didn’t want to be in there. It…

“Do not let your soul die, you will need it.” Kaffe keating Last week I asked you for a simple rule that would help an actor who’s just starting out. The readers of this newsletter delivered. Here they are in one place A growing doc of things you probably won’t hear a famous actor say on a talk show. Things your drama school won’t tell you. Honest things from working actors intent on making a life from our art. Thank you to you if you sent yours in. Here they are: notes from working actors…

“Everything should be as simple as it can be, but not simpler.” Einstein Was this forwarded to you? Subscribe Here Happy Wednesday you cheeky monkey. I love Isaac Asimov’s 3 laws of robotics. Here they are: I love their simplicity and logic. Clearly Asimov did too – he spends most of the Robot’s series stress testing these laws. A few years ago I thought I would try my hand at making some Asimovian laws that might be useful to me on set (I was filming at the time), and this is what i came up…

“The trouble is, you think you have time.” Jack kornfield When I wake up at 3am worrying about where I’m at in my acting and i’m thinking about stuff like: the fact I haven’t booked something in months or my peers getting jobs when I have barely had a self tape or more genrally feeling like my time is running out. I often think about the following: I am 36. I have been acting professionally for about 18 years. I respect and admire Anthony Hopkins, he’s still having a great time at 88. All…

“Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you” Anne lamott Was this forwarded to you? Subscribe Here Don’t worry if you are feeling a bit blurgh at the moment. If you are feeling overwhelmed or brain foggy. If you have had a rejection-filled week. If you have been made to feel small in an audition. If you’re getting fed up with hearing nothing back. If you feel creatively drained or demotivated. If you are uncertain about where you will be in the next…