I love commercials. I truly do. I hate to admit it, but I actually only ever watch the Super Bowl for the ads. Well, maybe not entirely, but still… many actors denigrate commercials, and either refuse to even pursue them, or look down on other actors who participate in them. Well, stand back…

One of the best ad campaigns in recent memory is the Geico commercials "So Easy a Caveman Could Do It"#–and apparently I’m not the only person who thinks so. It looks as though ABC is developing a sitcom based on those characters from the commercials!

Still think commercials aren’t worth your time?

So the first commercial I did for MGD is online… go to www.mgd.com, enter your birthday (you have to be over 21), and click on "Experience the Commercials".

That’s me! Yes, I know, I am super-awesome and seem to be the world’s most amazing sportsman. It’s because I am. No, really. Check me out. You’ll see…

The other day, I had an audition for Heineken beer at Telsey + Company… and I learned something NEW!

After you sign in (write your name, union status, etc) you look over your copy#–the text you will be speaking in the audition#–and when your name is called, you enter the spooky room of audition doom (or the audition party, however you’re feeling on that particular day). Now, sometimes, the auditioners have included a handy dandy cue card so that you can work without sides, and sometimes they have not. You never know which is taking place, so I’ve always erred on the side of preparation (I bring my sheets of paper into the room with me).

So I booked that commercial… :) Here’s some photos from the shoot, and yes, I know I look hot in this outfit. The entire thing was motion capture, so "I" will not appear in it#–just my actions. No voice, no figure, etc. But the character being animated? All me…

So I heard back about the commercial I’m on hold for… they accidentally erased the audition tape, and they needed to show the producers their final selection for actors. What does that mean? An unexpected callback!

My manager called me just before closing (of course, it always happens that way#–not their fault, but the client always has these kinds of disasters late in the day) and told me that I would need to be at another audition the following morning at 11:55AM. Audition times are always exact like that. But they rarely run on time. When you get an audition on a "five" (11:35, 12:55), you can count on it being even further behind. I’m not sure why this is, but it’s almost a universal truth.

So if you’ve been following my blog for any time, you’re probably wondering: "why doesn’t he post more often?" And to you, I say: "why don’t you comment more often?"

I’ve been spending my time of late working on a couple of things, most notably representation (someone to send me on more auditions) and commercial auditioning (through said representation). Last week I started working with a manager here in New York (Ingrid French Management) and have been freelancing with commercial agents for a few months. In New York, you can work with multiple agencies#–in LA and in most other markets, this is a major no-no. I have a great agent in St. Louis (Diane at Talent-Plus), but it’s hard to get auditions in one market through an agent in another. That’s just the way things work.

So I got the best commercial audition the other day…

Most of the time, in order to land an audition, an actor (or his agent) has to submit a photo and resume to a casting director. This usually happens after the actor (or his agent) has seen a breakdown (description) of the role, and decides he’s right for the part. If the casting director agrees, the actor gets a phonecall (there are other ways to get an audition, but none I’d tell my mother about).

So I got the best commercial audition the other day…

I get a call from a casting director I’ve never met, and there is an audition set for me to attend. It’s a bit short notice (next day), but that’s not uncommon, especially with commercials. The sides (audition script) are emailed to me, and when I read them, I start to get a bit uneasy. It’s for the Brawny Man.