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Working Actor
- Breaking in, Making a Living, and Making a Life in the Fabulous Trenches of Show Business
- Narrated by: David Dean Bottrell
- Length: 7 hrs and 26 mins
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Publisher's summary
Veteran character actor David Dean Bottrell draws on his 35-plus tumultuous years of work in the entertainment industry to offer a guide to breaking in, making a living, and making a life in the fabulous trenches of show business.
Covers every facet of the business, including:
- Capturing the perfect headshot
- Starting (and maintaining) your network
- Picking an agent
- Audition do’s and don’ts
- Joining the union(s): SAG-AFTRA and Actors Equity Association (AEA)
- On stage vs. on screen
- Paying the bills
- Self-promotion
- Late bloomers
When to get out David Dean Bottrell has worn many different hats during his decades in showbiz: television actor with appearances on Boston Legal, Modern Family, The Blacklist, Mad Men, True Blood, NCIS, and Days of Our Lives; screenwriter for Paramount and Disney; respected acting teacher at UCLA and AADA; and regular expert columnist for esteemed acting site Backstage. In Working Actor, Bottrell offers a how-to manual jammed with practical information and insider advice, essential reading for any artist (aspiring or established) in need of insight or inspiration.
Mixing prescriptive advice ("Getting Started", "Learning Your Craft", "Finding an Agent") with wisdom drawn from Bottrell's own professional highs and lows and those of his acting compatriots, this book's humorous, tell-it-like-it-is tone is a must-have guide for anyone hoping to successfully navigate show business.
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Critic reviews
"Witty, candid and compact.... A kind of start to finish-line approach to handling everything from auditions, agents, classes, and networking to self-promotion, self-preservation and self-esteem.” (The Los Angeles Times)
“It’s like practical magic...a deeply personal, yet universal guided tour into the world of acting and the business of show. Loaded with lessons for the beginner and reminders for 'the vet'." (L. Scott Caldwell, series regular on ABC's Lost and Tony-Winner for August Wilson's Joe Turner's Come and Gone)
“A witty and honest peek inside the world of show business, through the eyes of actor/comedian/storyteller, David Dean Botrell, as he recounts his three decades in the business. It’s a must read for anyone pursuing this crazy profession.” (Margo Martindale, Tony nominee, three-time Emmy winner, Justified and The Americans)
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Story
Long before Marty McFly and Doc Brown traveled through time in a flying DeLorean, director Robert Zemeckis and his friend and writing partner Bob Gale worked tirelessly to break into the industry with a hit. For the first time ever, the story of how these two young filmmakers struck lightning is being told by those who witnessed it. We Don't Need Roads includes original interviews with Zemeckis, Gale, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson, Huey Lewis, and over 50 others who contributed to one of the most popular and profitable film trilogies of all time.
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Great for fans - good for others.
- By Pete Johns on 06-25-15
By: Caseen Gaines
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It Takes Two
- Our Story
- By: Jonathan Scott, Drew Scott
- Narrated by: Drew Scott, Jonathan Scott
- Length: 6 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
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It Takes Two: Our Story shares never-before-revealed tales of the Scott brothers' childhood and rise to fame - from starting their first business at seven years old and their years modeling and acting to their first house purchase at the impressive young age of 18. They soon found their true passion in life, combining their natural gifts for entertaining with the skills they learned from buying, renovating, and selling homes.
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Not Worth the Time or $2.95
- By Sharlotte on 03-06-18
By: Jonathan Scott, and others
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Street Gang
- The Complete History of Sesame Street
- By: Michael Davis
- Narrated by: Caroll Spinney
- Length: 8 hrs and 21 mins
- Abridged
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When the first episode aired on Nov. 10, 1969, Sesame Street revolutionized the way education was presented to children on television. It has since become the longest-running children's show in history, and today reaches 8 million pre-schoolers on 350 PBS stations and airs in 120 countries. Street Gang is the compelling and often comical story of the creation and history of this media masterpiece and pop culture landmark.
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An important subject, but hardly gripping
- By Scott T. Hards on 09-24-10
By: Michael Davis
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The Collaborative Habit
- Life Lessons for Working Together
- By: Twyla Tharp
- Narrated by: Lauren Fortgang
- Length: 4 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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In a career that has spanned four decades, choreographer Twyla Tharp has collaborated with great musicians, designers, thousands of dancers, and almost a hundred companies. She's experienced the thrill of shared achievement and has seen what happens when group efforts fizzle. Her professional life has been - and continues to be - one collaboration after another. In this practical sequel to her national best seller The Creative Habit, Tharp explains why collaboration is important to her - and can be for you.
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Awful narration
- By Anastasia Lattanand on 05-14-16
By: Twyla Tharp
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Nevertheless
- A Memoir
- By: Alec Baldwin
- Narrated by: Alec Baldwin
- Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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One of the most accomplished and outspoken actors today chronicles the highs and lows of his life in this beautifully written, candid memoir.
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Embarrassingly petty
- By Stacey Robinson on 09-20-18
By: Alec Baldwin
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The Simpsons
- An Uncensored, Unauthorized History
- By: John Ortved
- Narrated by: John Allen Nelson, Justine Eyre
- Length: 11 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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John Ortved's oral history is the first-ever look behind the scenes at the creation and day-to-day running of the television phenomenon known as The Simpsons, as told by many of the people who produce it.
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Great Content, Awful Reading
- By JH Easton on 03-13-11
By: John Ortved
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Pictures at a Revolution
- Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood
- By: Mark Harris
- Narrated by: Lloyd James
- Length: 17 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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Here is the epic human drama behind the making of the five movies nominated for Best Picture in 1967 - Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, The Graduate, In the Heat of the Night, Doctor Dolittle, and Bonnie and Clyde - and through them, the larger story of the cultural revolution that transformed Hollywood and America forever.
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Would It Be Too Much To Ask?
- By Casey Keller on 12-31-08
By: Mark Harris
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Lose Well
- By: Chris Gethard
- Narrated by: Chris Gethard
- Length: 9 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Let’s face it: we all want a seat at the cool table, a great job, and loads of money. But most of us won’t be able to achieve this widely accepted, black-or-white, definition of winning, which makes us feel like failures, that we’re destined to a life of loserdom. That’s the conventional wisdom. It’s also crap, according to comedian and cult hero Chris Gethard, who knows a thing of two about losing. Failing is an art form, he argues; in fact, it’s the only the way we’re ever going to discover who we are, what we really want, and how to live the kind of life we only dreamed about.
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WHAT A LOSER
- By Amazon Customer on 01-26-19
By: Chris Gethard
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Stories I Only Tell My Friends
- An Autobiography
- By: Rob Lowe
- Narrated by: Rob Lowe
- Length: 9 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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A teen idol at 15, an international icon and founder of the Brat Pack at 20, and one of Hollywood's top stars to this day, Rob Lowe chronicles his experiences. Never mean-spirited or salacious, Lowe delivers unexpected glimpses into his successes, disappointments, relationships, and one-of-a-kind encounters with people who shaped our world over the last 25 years. These stories are as entertaining as they are unforgettable.
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Great Book and Great Story
- By Natalie J. Belle MD on 04-30-11
By: Rob Lowe
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You Might Remember Me
- The Life and Times of Phil Hartman
- By: Mike Thomas
- Narrated by: Corey Snow
- Length: 9 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Both joyous tribute and serious biography, Mike Thomas' You Might Remember Me is a celebration of Phil Hartman's multi-faceted career and an exhaustively reported, warts-and-all examination of his often intriguing and sometimes complicated life - a powerful, humor-filled and disquieting portrait of a man who was loved by many, admired by millions and taken from them far too early.
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I Will Remember You Phil Hartman
- By Roxanna on 12-19-14
By: Mike Thomas
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Rebel
- My Life Outside the Lines
- By: Nick Nolte
- Narrated by: Nick Nolte, Christian Baskous
- Length: 7 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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In a career spanning five decades, Nick Nolte has endured the rites of Hollywood celebrity. Rising from obscurity to leading roles and Oscar nominations, he has been both celebrated and vilified in the media; survived marriages, divorces, and a string of romances; was named the "Sexiest Man Alive" by People magazine; and suffered public humiliation over his drug and alcohol issues, including a drug-fueled trip down a "long road of nothingness" that ended in arrest.
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Great read! No fooling.
- By Action Joe on 05-31-18
By: Nick Nolte
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Robert Altman
- The Oral Biography
- By: Mitchell Zuckoff
- Narrated by: Robert Altman, Warren Beatty, Cher, and others
- Length: 18 hrs and 5 mins
- Unabridged
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Robert Altman - visionary director, hard-partying hedonist, eccentric family man, Hollywood legend - comes roaring to life in this rollicking cinematic biography, told in a chorus of voices that can only be called Altmanesque.
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Enthralling!
- By Wise & Careful Shopper on 10-17-10
By: Mitchell Zuckoff
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Caddyshack
- The Making of a Hollywood Cinderella Story
- By: Chris Nashawaty
- Narrated by: Peter Berkrot
- Length: 7 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Caddyshack is one of the most beloved comedies of all time, a classic snobs vs. slobs story of working-class kids and the white-collar buffoons that make them haul their golf bags in the hot summer sun. It has sex, drugs, and one very memorable candy bar, but the movie we all know and love didn't start out that way, and everyone who made it certainly didn't have the word classic in mind as the cameras were rolling.
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Not Really About Caddyshack Until Hour 5
- By William M. on 07-01-18
By: Chris Nashawaty
What listeners say about Working Actor
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Amazon Customer
- 01-07-23
Informative and Funny!!!
I think every actor should read this book. David gives a treasure trove of information on the reality of an actor’s journey. I wish I would have had this book years ago.
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- Kenneth
- 03-02-19
Why EVERYONE Needs to Read “Working Actor:”
I am on a road trip from St. Louis to Pompano Beach. (Made it as far as Macon, GA, tonight.) I listened to the audio book version of "Working Actor" from southern Illinois to northern Georgia. That may seem strange since I am not a professional actor. Nevertheless, since this book displays a fondness for enumerated lists, here are my Five Reasons Why EVERYONE Needs to Read “Working Actor:”
1) If you have ever thought about becoming a professional actor, this book will provide an excellent guide to what to expect, not just on the nuts and bolts, financial, and training levels, but on the psychological, emotional, and yes, even spiritual levels as well.
2) This book affirmed for me that I made exactly the right choice for myself by NOT becoming a professional actor.
3) David Dean Bottrell as a writer and narrator is warm, smart, hilarious, generous, and quite moving.
4) His observations on what it means for each of us to find out who we are meant to be in this world apply equally to any profession.
5) Indeed, he makes the case more persuasively than I ever have read elsewhere that a life in the arts is a not just a career, it is a vocation.
6) If you’ve got 500 miles and 8 hours on the road, you could not ask for a better audio traveling companion than DDB and “Working Actor.”
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- tyson
- 06-29-19
Take a Decade Off Your Learning Curve
I'm so mad at David Dean Bottrell... for not writing this book when I was starting out as an actor. He's a great writer, full of extremely good information about the lay of the land, and shares a great outlook, too. I've been acting professionally in television for 20 years but I still got a lot out of it, as he shares some great thoughts for established actors as well. I really enjoyed listening to it, too. I don't know what the audio version of a "page turner" is, but that's what this is. I will be recommending this to all of the young actors I know who are starting out.
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- Andrea
- 03-10-19
Refreshing, grounded, solid advice
I downloaded this title after seeing a promotion from the publisher. It’s been a long time since I’ve listened to this kind of “career advice for actors” type book because so many of them are the same. This one though was like a breath of fresh air. I’m a full time actor myself and found myself nodding and saying “yes that’s so true!” as I listened. So much of the lore around how to “make it” as an actor has to do with the kind of magical thinking that doesn’t really help an actor take concrete actions toward specific goals. Bottrell’s message is as simple as it is stark: no two showbiz careers are alike, therefore nobody else can tell you what to do or whether you should even bother. The beauty of it (besides being true) is that it hands the reins back to the actor.
The author, in his engaging performance, tells aspiring actors how to pay attention to things that can make a difference, how to prepare, how to navigate the interpersonal landscape of fellow actors, agents, managers, casting directors etc. and most importantly how to know when it’s time to try something new, to recognize when things are shifting within a career and life, and how to embrace the unknown. The author has given his audience a practical, reassuring and honest guide to being a working actor. What a great listen!
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1 person found this helpful
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- Marcus brown
- 01-13-23
Great book
Great book. I liked it I recommend it to anyone that wants to get into acting
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- Jesus Acosta
- 12-15-20
I highly recommend this to Actors
Working after is a very well written book by David Dean Botrell. The advice in the stories that are told in this book are very moving and gives you information on what actors come across while pursuing a career. He talks about the good the bad and the ugly of course. I love books like this that inform the reader that it's not all sunshine and rainbows. David is not trying to discourage actors from pursuing their dreams. In fact he does the exact opposite but wants actors to understand that is not easy pursuing your dreams and only the ones who truly work hard and never give up will ultimately reach their goals in the world of acting. At least that is my take on what I read. this book has reminded me to stay humble and nice to others especially to other actors who are just starting out because we were all there at one time. I want to be the guy who helps others as well so that other actors can possibly dodge less bullets along their journey as an Actor. Thank you for this amazing book, Dave. I really do appreciate it and I hope to hear more of your stories in the near future.
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- heather lynn
- 03-03-21
Not great
I struggled to finish this one, I feel like it was misleading as well. it's more like a biography of his life when I thought it would be more instructional. The tone was boring; the ending was the best and it had good advice about performing monologues, but that's about all that stuck with me. Also, the first half of the book is about him being a stage actor, so that might be more relevant to you other actors out there.
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