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New Commercials (H&R Block)
Last updated: February 26, 2025
⬆️ (This is me during the callback.) ⬆️
⬇️ (The actual commercials are below.) ⬇️
“Hi, Liz!” I said. The Zoom callback started and I put on my Book Me smile, one part hope, and two parts desperation.
She squinted behind oversized glasses. “What are we looking at here?” As a casting director she’s probably seen some strange auditions. The way she said it told me she hadn’t quite seen this.
I was in the middle of another job, dressed as Ebenezer Scrooge. I was also in heavy prosthetic makeup, not the ideal situation for a callback for a “Secret Tax Prep Company,” as the breakdown had called it.
“Oh, uh…I didn’t have a chance to moisturize this morning…hahaha…haha....”
The director spoke up. “I…I dunno if I can send this to the client.”
“Oh sorry. Seth said he told you guys that I’d be on set today dressed as Scrooge.” Seth is my agent’s assistant, and was the one who coordinated the meeting.
Liz paused a moment. “He did not mention that.”
[I found out later that Seth did, in fact, mention it and it was just a misunderstanding.]
“But, you know what,” the director said, “why don’t we run it a few times and let’s see if it’ll work.”
Maybe he wanted to see me for the role, or maybe he wanted to help me save prosthetically aged face, but I appreciated him throwing me a bone. We ran the scene a few times, adjusting the direction with each take. “This time say it like you’re telling someone a secret.” “This time, like you can’t wait to tell your friend about it.” “This time, better.”
That evening, my agent emailed. “Can you send in another tape? They just want to see you out of the prosthetics.”
So I sent in another audition. The next day, another email from my agent. “Hi! Hope you’re having a great weekend! I’ve got a booking for you!”
I finished patting myself on the back this morning, just in time to see the three beauties drop.
How to get a commercial agent in nyc
Here’s the brief story of how I found a commercial agent in NYC who’s helped me book a ton of great work with great clients like Carl’s Jr / Hardee’s, Autodesk, Regeneron, Get Your Guide, Travelers Insurance, FILO, Prudential, and FanDuel. (Check out my commercial reel here.)
I created a profile on Backstage and started self-submitting to low-paying gigs ($200-$500) to build out my resume and get experience. Those gigs included GFuel, AT&T, Quadrant Homes, Westy Self Storage, Ask Mr. Franchise, Porch and Patio, Magyar Bank, Downs Ford, Hilltop Nissan, Sovereign Global Advisors, At Leisure Licensing (I wrote that script too), Interactive Brokers, and a handful of others… I didn’t know about Actors Access until later, but I’d recommend creating a profile and self-submitting there too.
I took Brooke and Mary’s On-Camera Commercial Intensive class (which I’d HIGHLY recommend). At the end of the class, they gave us a list of 10 agents and told us to mail—yes, mail—them our headshots and resumes.
One of the agents I’d just mailed happened to be doing a Meet & Greet at Actors Connection. I signed up for it. During our meet & greet, he liked my read of the sample script and invited me in for an office visit.
A few weeks later, I went to his office and signed with A3, and have been with them for the past 6 years.
UPDATE!
In February 2024 my former agency ceased operations. In May 2024, a casting director I’d booked the Autodesk gig with—Mary Callahan, of the aforementioned Brooke and Mary—emailed me and asked who I was auditioning with since A3 shut down.
I said no one.
The next day she introduced me to CESD. Two weeks later I had a Zoom with Kirsten Walther and Maura Maloney, and the following week I had my first audition through them.
They’ve since booked me with Naadam, Goldbelly, H&R Block, and, depending on when you read this, a whole lot more. I couldn’t be happier.
I love helping people get started, so if you have questions drop them the comments below. 👇
New Commercials
Last updated: February 13, 2025
(Looking for the H&R Block commercials?)
A new batch of national commercials just dropped for Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s. I’m so so proud of these. It helps when you get a director as funny as Chris Werner, a co-anchor as funny as Oriana Lada, an agency as creative as 72andSunny, and a production team as hard working as Schrom. The whole team did an incredible job. Especially me.
In case you don’t watch TV, you can check them out below.
Oh! And I’m especially proud of my first Spanish-language commercial. I’d like to thank my seven years of Spanish language classes for preparing me to say “Planeros unidos” on national television. You can watch that one at the bottom of this page.
Carl’s Jr.
Hardee’s
En Español
5 Tips For Starting a Career In Acting
Move to New York or Los Angeles.
The first thing you'll need to do is move. Your big dream is too big to fit in your small town. Your only options are acronyms: NYC, LA. Sure, you can find opportunities in other cities, but putting "LA-based" on your resume is way cooler than "Cleveland-based."
Get a headshot.
You've moved to a real city. Congratulations. Welcome to crippling financial insecurity!
Next, you'll need headshots. They have to be professional and they have to be expensive. Can't afford them? Ask your roommates to chip in. You'll pay them back with tips from waiting tables.
Headshots are your way of showing people what you look like because your looks are the only thing that matter. [I am not kidding.]
If you're hot, at least an 8.5 or a 9, you'll have an easier time in the biz.
5 to 7? Be prepared to battle to the death for the worst roles [anything with the Weinstein Group].
If you're anything below a 5, oof. If I were you, I'd practice saying "do you want that with whip?". Unless you have a unique physical characteristic...in which case you could carve a niche as a character actor - [think Doughy White Bossman, or Lithe Porcelin-skinned Corpse]. Don't worry about getting pigeon-holed. That's the only way you'll find work.
When you get your headshots, get 3-4 different "looks" so you can send the right headshot for each role. You'll need one serious look, one smiling, one looking over your shoulder, and one naked.
Any reputable headshotist will Photoshop out your double chin. You might think you can hide your double chin by sticking out your neck and pushing your shoulders back [known in the industry as Gooseing]. You can't. You might think you don't have a double chin. You definitely do.
Casting Directors are trained to look for double chins and, unless they're casting for "Guy/Girl with Double Chin" they'll disqualify you for being ugly.
Sign Up For Acting classes
While you're spending money you don't have, sign up for acting classes.
Here you'll get to meet your competition. On the surface, you'll be working with partners in various scenes to develop your acting ability in pursuit of your dream. But you'll realize pretty quickly [during introductions] that none of you has any acting ability whatsoever and you're all pretty close to quitting and moving back to your parents' basement.
Your goal in acting class is to find ways to undercut and backstab your classmates to ensure you come out on top.
Be Attractive
You might think you're only cut out for such distinguished roles as "dad" or "guy with kids" or "man married to woman with children" [all roles I've played], but unless you're beautiful, you'll have a snowball's chance in hell of landing even those parts.
This applies even if you're a phenomenal actor [which you're not, and will have realized after every audition]. If you're not attractive, be prepared to do a LOT of work as an extra [also with the Weinstein Group]. Extra work is fun because you get to work long hours, earn minimum wage, and your work may not make it to the final cut.
To ensure everyone's on the same page in terms of attractiveness, a midwest 9 is a Los Angeles 6, which is a New York 1.
Sign up for Backstage.com
Okay, so you moved to LA or NYC, had your 12 roommates front you money for your headshot, and signed up for an acting class that you now use as a support group to deal with the impending soul-crushing rejection.
Now it's time to put yourself out there!
Sign up for Backstage.com. You could also use actorsaccess.com. These two websites are where you'll compete with thousands of other actors for roles with pay scales ranging from "Some Pay" to "No Pay, meals provided."
Do not sign up for Nycastings.com. It's a steaming stack of turds. The interface is kludgy, the site is slow, and they charge an arm and a leg to put up multiple pictures and videos. And those are the only ways to show casting directors you're not as moose-ish as the next schlump.
Be prepared to apply for a lots of roles and attend lots of auditions. You'll need to learn how to deal with lots of rejection.
But... look at each of those as a learning experience. Each time you go out, you'll get a little better. You'll earn another line item on your resume [which no one will read].
One of you millions of misguided readers might make it. The rest of us will look at you as an example of what we wish we were: talented and hardworking [beautiful].
Here's a supercut of the first background work I ever did. NOTE: The audio will be difficult to follow since I cut out each shot that didn't have my face in it.