Ep 1: Mastering Self Tapes with Nick Launchbury

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Welcome to Go Pluck Yourself: The Actor’s Pursuit. Because no one’s coming to pluck you out of the crowd, you have to pluck… yourself.

In this first episode, I’m joined by my very good mate Nick Launchbury. He's an actor, teacher, and co-founder of Promptside Actors Collective.

We talk about what separates the actors who book from the ones who don’t. Things like turning up with a strong idea, getting comfortable in front of the camera, and learning how to self-direct without overthinking. Sometimes "doing nothing" is the most powerful choice you can make.

Nick shares a bit about his journey as a teacher and what he’s building with Promptside Actor's Collective, a space that supports actors without spoon-feeding them. It’s a grounded, honest chat between two actors trying to make sense of it all, and maybe help a few others do the same.

If you’re navigating auditions, trying to find your voice, or just looking for a bit of clarity in the chaos, I hope this one resonates.

Like. Share. Comment. Support.

Thanks for listening. Let me know what you think.

🎵 Theme music by Nick Gun: soundcloud.com/nickgun

Send us a text

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hi, I'm Nick and you should go pluck yourself.

Speaker 2 (00:15):
Hello, my name is Chris Gunn.
Welcome to Go.
Pluck Yourself.
The Actor's Pursuit.
Thank you so much for beinghere.
The voice that you heard at thetop of this episode was my very
good friend and fellow actor,nick Launchbury.
Nick was actually one of thefirst people that I told about
doing this podcast.
About a year and a half ago.
We were sitting in a pubdrinking lemonades and I told

(00:37):
him about this idea that I hadto start this podcast.
I think it was the same nighthe told me about this idea that
he had to start an acting schooland, look man, we've both
started our things.
I've started my podcast,finally, and he started his
acting school, promptside ActorsCollective, which we'll get
into.
I always said that he would bemy first guest.
So here we are.

(00:58):
It's taken me a very long timeto get this thing together and
it had gotten to the point wherethe only thing stopping me from
pressing record was myself.
So the day we recorded this, Iliterally called him out of the
blue and I said hey, man, if Idon't start this thing right now
, I don't think I ever will.

(01:19):
Can you come over and just bitethe bullet with me?
And graciously, he arrived atmy house 20 minutes later in.
I wasn't even home when Icaught him.
He was waiting at the front ofmy house when I came home so I
had to like set up the wholestudio while he sat and watched
me set this up.
So I was very unprepared forthis first episode, but it's a
really good chat, I mean.
I'm really happy with it.

(01:40):
We talk about self-taping, wetalk about getting comfortable
in front of the camera.
We talk about the importance ofturning up to set or turning up
to an audition with an idea.
We also talk about his actingschool, promptside Actors
Collective, which I forgot thename of during the chat because
I'm a great friend.
Now, I'm not affiliated withPromptside at all.

(02:01):
This isn't like some paidpartnership or anything.
We're not up to that.
But I do wholeheartedly supportwhat they do over there at
Promptside.
Nick and his business partner,brett Archer, who's also another
very talented local actor.
They've built something reallysolid over at Promptside Actors
Collective.
So you know, make sure youcheck them out, show some

(02:23):
support and hit them up if youneed a self-tape done or need
some coaching done or anything.
In fact, I had a fairlycomplicated audition which was
due at the last minute just theother day and had a lot of like
physical choreography in it.
There's a bit of a fight sceneand stuff, and nick saved the
day at the last second and I wasin there for half an hour and
we recorded three scenes in halfan hour and it blows my mind

(02:46):
Like the way he can just pick upthe crux of the scene and
understand it and really take onyour ideas and understand
exactly what approach you'regoing for in the scene.
Yeah, he knows what he's doingand, aside from that, he's a
really good friend.
He's a really nice guy like thebest guy.
He's just the best, you know.
He's just really nice guy, likethe best guy.

(03:08):
He's just the best, you know.
He's just an extremely givingscene partner and collaborator
and he really cares about thisindustry and he cares about his
fellow actors.
So check him out.
Check out Promptside.
You can check his Instagram outat Nick Launchbury or
Promptside at Promptside Actors.
So check them out.
Now.
Please take anything that youhear on this podcast that sounds
like advice lightly.

(03:29):
Just because something worksfor one person doesn't
necessarily mean it's the rightfit for you.
Although if there is one personthat I trust to give really good
advice, that would be Nick.
There's also plenty ofunsolicited advice from me in
this episode, but hey, you knowwhat, it's my podcast and I can
do what I want and I got stuffto say.
God damn it.
But eventually I'll probablyrun out of advice and then I'll

(03:52):
actually let my guests speak,because I realized that,
listening back to this episode,I did speak over Nick quite a
lot.
So apologies for that, nick, Iwill have you back on and I'll
let you finish your sentences.
Lesson learned First timehosting.
All right, give me a break.
And hey, if you're enjoying theshow, you can support it by

(04:12):
hitting follow or subscribe onwhatever platform you're
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it to your story.
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Emphasis on positive.
If you don't like the show,just send me a DM.
You can abuse me in private.
I can take it, it's fine, butleave a positive review.
That really helps get thepodcast in front of the right
people.

(04:32):
Please follow us on Instagramor TikTok at gopluckyourselfpod.
I'd really love to hear fromyou.
I'd love to know what you guysthink of the first episode and,
hey, if you really like what I'mdoing here and this podcast
fires you up creatively or makesyou feel a little less alone in
your creative endeavors and youfeel like buying me a beer well
, I don't drink, but you can buyme a hypothetical beer by

(04:56):
signing up to the Patreon,patreoncom slash,
goplikeyourselfpod.
But a quick heads up if you'reon an iPhone, please don't sign
up using the Patreon app.
Use a browser, because Appleare greedy bastards and they
will take 30% of yourcontribution like they need it.
And when you do sign up, pleasepress C membership options,
don't press join for free.

(05:16):
Joining for free doesabsolutely nothing for you or
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It's just a way for Patreon tocollect your data.
So press see membership optionsif you want to join up to the
Patreon and support the podcastfor as little as $5 a month.
And thank you so much inadvance.
Your support means the wholeworld Right.

(05:36):
Nick Launchbury is one of themost committed and generous and
hardworking actors that I know.
He teaches because he loves toteach and he genuinely cares
about this acting community thathe's in.
He's also an extremely talentedworking actor.
So you know, put him in yourfilms.
Get this man some roles, andthank you so much for being here
.
I'm really honoured that you'relistening.

(05:57):
Now.
Please enjoy my wonderful chatwith the very talented and
generous Nick Launchbury.
I look very bald.

Speaker 1 (06:11):
Because, well, you do have no hair.

Speaker 2 (06:13):
I am bald, so that is the Well.
Thanks for coming, man.
Thanks for having me.
I first met you only maybe twoyears ago, yep, and before, like
, I'd seen your name around theplace and I'd seen I think I
followed you on Instagram and Iknew like of you, but I was like
really intimidated by you forsome reason.
Oh, really, yeah, I think it'sbecause you're so handsome and

(06:37):
so tall, you know.

Speaker 3 (06:38):
But no, you're like this name that kept popping up.

Speaker 2 (06:41):
I'm like, who is this guy?
Who's at all the auditions?
He's obviously a really goodactor.
And then we did a play together, the Wonderful World of
Dissocia, which was the mostbatshit crazy out there play,
but it was so much fun becausewe played these two characters.
We were the insecurity guardsand it was like Tweedledum,
tweedledee vibes, but it was somuch fun because it was like so

(07:01):
over the top and ridiculous andso slapstick and overplayed
right, wasn't it so good, veryfun yeah, it was like really
dark as well and really intense,and we were like these kind of
maniacal we're doing reallyhorrible things to to nadia girl
yeah, I got to grab the back ofher hair and hold a drill to

(07:22):
her eye, but talking so nicely.
So you were at your studio today.
What were you doing at thestudio?
Just doing some admin.

Speaker 1 (07:30):
You know what, when I started this acting school with
Brett, I had no idea how muchwork it would be.
It's not just teaching, it's90% admin.

Speaker 2 (07:41):
And if you had known, you wouldn't have started it
all right.

Speaker 1 (07:43):
It's not worth it?

Speaker 2 (07:43):
Probably not.

Speaker 1 (07:44):
It's not worth it at all I could just work for
someone else and get paid, yeahand great, and have like do the
teaching, which is what I lovedoing, but no admin and like the
marketing and selling thecourse.

Speaker 3 (07:54):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (07:55):
Ah, yeah.

Speaker 2 (07:58):
I just want to teach people, you just.

Speaker 3 (08:00):
Yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2 (08:01):
Tell us about the studio.
What's it called?
It's called Promptside Acting,promptside Actors Collective,
and so you guys run a self-tapestudio.

Speaker 1 (08:10):
No, we're an acting studio.

Speaker 2 (08:12):
Right.

Speaker 1 (08:13):
Why don't?

Speaker 2 (08:13):
you tell me about it and I'm going to stop guessing
what it is.

Speaker 1 (08:16):
All right.
No, I want you to guess onemore time.
No, I haven't done any research, Okay great, we teach the
Howard Fine slash Uta Hagenmethod, yeah.
And eventually we want to bevery similar to the Howard Fine
studio and do class in place.
So you know we'll have akitchen bench and we'll have a

(08:37):
table and a fridge and cutleryand you know a bed, yeah.
And you set the scene and thenyou just exist within your
circumstances in place like youwould on set.

Speaker 2 (08:48):
And what would be like the benefit for an actor if
they had a setting where theyhad props around them and felt
like they were in the realsetting.
Like what would be the benefit?
Well, just less to imagine.

Speaker 1 (08:56):
You've already got enough to imagine.
You have to imagine imaginarycircumstances, right, but how
much better is it Like?

Speaker 3 (09:06):
on set you don't do that.

Speaker 1 (09:07):
You're in place for the most part.
You know, sometimes you'retalking to a dot on the wall,
but for the most part you're in.
You're in place, yeah right,and then you can just exist
within the circumstances inplace.
So it's it's just closer to thework that you're actually going
to do, rather than an emptyroom and a chair yeah yeah, but
we don't have the space for thatright now.
That's the pipe.
You know, that's the futuredream, so for now it's um very

(09:28):
much focused on self-tapes,which is my thing anyway, you
know, I'm the self-tape guy, Isuppose.
Um, so we've just got this, youknow, essentially self-tape
room, that's set up for that andwe just teach the how I'd find
technique um in regards toself-tapes, I suppose and you're
getting like a fair bit ofsuccess with the self-tapes as

(09:50):
well.

Speaker 2 (09:50):
I'm seeing a lot of bookings that that have gone
through you.
Yeah, um, what, what do youthink it is that like sets you
apart?
Just in terms of like takingthe pressure off an actor,
knowing they have somewhere togo to, um, to take their
self-tape.
You know, invest in a, in alittle bit of money just to make
it easier for them.
Have a reader, right.

Speaker 1 (10:08):
Yeah, look, I think, like you said, it takes the
pressure off of you.
All you have to do when youcome is be prepared, have an
idea, but really I have a lot ofideas and I may have taped
someone already so.
I know the scene a little bitmore perhaps, and then I can
just set everything up.
I don't have to worry about thelighting or the sound.

Speaker 3 (10:30):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (10:31):
I'm going to give you the best read I can.

Speaker 3 (10:33):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (10:34):
And then we're going to work it together.
Nice and you know you're goingto have someone else there
that's going to give you anobjective eye.

Speaker 2 (10:49):
Yeah, I think that's really helpful.
It's one of the big thingsyou're missing since we started
doing self-tapes is havingsomebody there just having an
objective eye and giving you abit of direction for each take.
I mean, I don't think it'snecessarily a bad thing the way
we're doing it now, with thefact that we have to sort of
self-analyze and self-direct,which is important, by the way.
Yeah, absolutely, we have tosort of self-analyze and
self-direct.
You know, watch your which isimportant, by the way, yeah
absolutely yeah, but having areader there to you know, having

(11:10):
another actor there tobrainstorm ideas and see what
pops out for each actor, it'slike really helpful, I think.

Speaker 1 (11:21):
Yeah, I try not to treat it like a coaching session
, totally.
Yeah, it's like we are just twoactors collaborating and trying
to get the best take possible.
Yeah, and really what I'mtrying to do is like go, what
would you do in thesecircumstances?
Because that's what a castingdirector wants.
They want to see you in thesecircumstances, that is it.
And the only way to do that isto be comfortable within the

(11:41):
setting, and I'm really justtrying to bring them out.
Bring them out.

Speaker 2 (11:49):
Yeah, because when a casting director is casting, I
feel like you wouldn't want tobe giving too much to your
client because really, what thecasting director is looking for
is an actor that has the agencyto come up with their own ideas
and their own interpretations ofthe script.
If you're doing all that workfor your client, then really

(12:11):
it's your creative mind thatthey're getting there not the
actor, and sometimes I might bewrong, Totally.

Speaker 1 (12:17):
Yeah, you know, when an actor comes into the studio
and this also this sets actorsapart.
And the second I see this Iknow, cool, we're going to be on
for a good tape they come inwith an idea and don't just go.
What do I do now?
Because, like, my idea might bewrong.
It might be.
I'm going to give you my idea,but you need to come in with

(12:37):
your own, and then I'll give youmy idea, and then we've got two
different versions.
I call it.
You know, once we've nailed onedown, I say great, let's do
another version.

Speaker 3 (12:47):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (12:48):
There's no point doing that thought process again
.
Yeah, you've got it.
You're not going to send twotakes of the same thought
process because the castingdirector is going to go.
This is the same thing, butslightly different.
Why am I wasting my timewatching this?
So you really want an actor tocome in with an idea and nail
that in and I'll just help youshape it, your idea, and then
I'll go okay, cool, now I thinkI've got an idea, let's change

(13:09):
it up yeah then you get to, thenyou can send two takes.
Yeah, because if you have anactor coming, in that's, that's
going what.

Speaker 2 (13:16):
What should I do they ?
Haven't done the work.
It's not going to work on a setbecause a director's not going
to hold your hand throughthrough day of shooting.
They're going to go all right.
As the director I don't exactlyknow, I don't know everything
I'm hiring you for your creativeideas, yeah.
So if you come in with nothing,then you're wasting a lot of my

(13:38):
time because I need you to comeprepared and we can tweak on
the day as well as we go, justlike you're doing in the studio.

Speaker 3 (13:44):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (13:48):
I used to feel like that when I first started acting
.
I would like come into anaudition and kind of have them
have the mindset of like, ohwhat, what do you want me to do?
What do you want from me?
And I didn't book for years andyears and years because I
didn't really understand thatwhat they wanted was my own, uh,
my own nuances, my own ideas,my own like version of that
person's reality.
You know, when I started reallyputting my own myself into the,

(14:08):
into the characters, thenthat's when I started booking
roles because they saw somethingindividual and interesting.
Yeah, a lot of actors stillhave I would say like new actors
still have that mentality thatthey're not really sure what
they, what they should do beforean audition.
They just learn the lines andthat's it.
So what is it for you?
What do you find works for anactor, an actor that books,

(14:30):
compared to the actors that justkeep getting rejections.

Speaker 1 (14:35):
I think what sets them apart is one is playing an
idea of what they think acasting director wants.
The other one is just existingwithin the circumstances that
they were given.

Speaker 2 (14:50):
So tell me about playing an idea.
What does that mean for you?

Speaker 1 (14:54):
It means it's not from a place of truth, it's not
fuelled by anything.
And this is from your firstquestion what do you do to
prepare?
The last thing I do to prepareis learn my lines.
Yeah, because if all you do istry and learn the lines, then
what do you do?
All you're doing is sayinglines.

Speaker 2 (15:14):
You're just saying lines yeah, it's like right,
right, yeah.

Speaker 1 (15:17):
And that is playing the idea, because you're acting
on the lines.
Yeah, or it's an intelligentread, which is also boring yeah,
or it's an intelligent read,which is also boring 80%.
But if you do the work of likewhy?
What does this mean?
You know, investigate.
What am I not saying here?
What's not being said, you know, fuel with some memories from

(15:37):
the past that mean something toyou.

Speaker 2 (15:44):
That affect you and then come from that place.
I mean, I think this is areally common thing.
People are going into anaudition with the objective that
they have in their head is Iwant to win this role, or I want
to do well in this audition orget it right, whatever that
means, and so they're so farremoved from the actual
character's objectives or thecharacter's reality.

(16:04):
And they're not.
They're not connected to themat all, because all they're
thinking about is is that right?
And like I'm I'm guilty of thistoo and like I did this for
years and years until I sort ofrealized like, oh it's, I don't
have any control over that.
I just want to go in there andmuck around, you know, and play
and just be loose and take allthe pressure off myself to try
to get it right and try not toeven overthink what I'm trying

(16:27):
to achieve here.
Just go in there and just livemoment to moment.
It's like when your readerdoesn't know you've started yet
right, yeah, yeah, like, oh,you've started, yeah, yeah, yeah
, because it's just, I'm, just,I'm not trying to do anything it
shouldn't look like acting.
I'm not trying to do anything.

Speaker 1 (16:40):
I'm just saying, I'm just talking, I'm just getting
what I want from the person infront of me.
Yeah, yeah, they're like ohshit, we're acting now.

Speaker 2 (16:46):
Yeah, yeah, that's what we're doing.

Speaker 1 (16:48):
I think, like just on that more, like I think that
one of the and I do this too,man, just overthink it, you know
, I think actors have a tendencyfrom intuition.
Yeah, and if you do the workand load it in and understand
who you are, what you want, andthen just use your intuition,

(17:10):
yeah, just make it human, justbe.

Speaker 2 (17:13):
You, do all that work and then just like, forget it
all and make it and reallysimplify it for yourself, like
what do you want just in thatmoment?
Like right now, I just want tohave a drink of water.
That's all my character caresabout right in this moment.

Speaker 1 (17:26):
Yeah, you're not drinking.
Yeah, sometimes we want water.
Yeah, but it's not the righttime Until it is.

Speaker 2 (17:37):
Yeah, man, yeah, I totally understand what you're
saying.
Yeah, yes that makes sense yeah,but but keep it, keep it simple
for yourself.
You know, like it's even evenall the backstory stuff like I
find that totally clouds.
Yeah, it helps in justunderstanding, like, who this

(17:57):
person is, and that's all thesort of really preliminary stuff
that you do right at the startof the process.
I think, yeah, and you shouldjust sit with that knowledge in
your head.
But a mistake that I often see,especially with, like, newer
actors or students, is when theyhear a bit of backstory and
then they go and do theperformance and they really try

(18:18):
to show the camera this thing,this like heartbreak that they
have from their past orsomething.
Like you say to them like, oh,you're someone that who's a
uncle died or something, andthen they just like drop some
exposition about their uncledying when they're ordering a
cup of coffee.
Yeah, but you don't need to showany of that stuff, you just

(18:40):
have to know it, it's, it'sthere, it's if, if it, if it
comes up, it comes up, but itcomes up.
But it's just knowledge thatyou keep in the back of your
mind about your character, butyou don't need to explicitly
relay that to the audience allthe time.

Speaker 1 (18:54):
You know actors always want to show it, but
humans always want to hide it.
Yeah, yeah, actually this cameup in class on Thursday because
the scene was so internallydriven and you have to have all
of these feelings, all of thesefeelings have to exist inside of
you, but you can't show it, andso you have to be not okay, but

(19:19):
trying your best to be okay,and that's so much easier said
than done from an actingperspective yeah it's really
hard to do.
It's really hard to teach thatas well yeah but to have this
internal turmoil like thesimmering pot and you're just
trying to keep the lid on yeahand and then just trust the
audience will see it yeah, yeahin you yeah, and you see it in

(19:42):
the eyes.
You just see the cracks in theeyes.
Yeah, nothing has to happenwith your face.

Speaker 2 (19:45):
You don't have to do anything, yeah.

Speaker 1 (19:46):
You just have to have that.

Speaker 2 (19:48):
You don't have to worry about what your face is
doing.
You don't have any control overthat at all.
Yeah, it doesn't matter whatit's doing.
Because I also like to thinkabout trusting the context of
the moment.
Like, you are just one shot inthe scene, right, you are just
one character.

(20:08):
You know, if you're shootingthis one little moment in a film
, the audience already knowswhat's happened up to that point
.
They can put the piecestogether.
You don't have to show them thewhole story in any given moment
.
This is why I sort of bang onabout just doing nothing, which
is not my idea.
It's not an original idea.

(20:31):
But doing nothing is okay,because if you have a shot of
someone else screaming at you,the audience already knows what
I'm feeling.
They can empathize with that.
They don't have to see you go.
Yeah, yeah, I could becompletely deadpan or, you know,
crying or whatever.
But like whatever I, whathappens in that moment, the
audience knows exactly what I'mfeeling before the camera even

(20:53):
goes on me.
You know and I feel that takesa lot of the pressure off you
know, I don't care what my faceis doing, as long as I'm just
listening to my scene partnerand I trust that the audience is
going to already know what I'mfeeling, you know.

Speaker 1 (21:09):
I find that when you say that to a young actor or a
newer actor, do nothing.
They literally do nothing andhave no thought.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, and you canjust see that their eyes are
dead.
Yeah, and it's in your eyes andit's so apparent when there's
nothing going on behind the eyes.
Yeah, we can just pick it up.
We're like you're dead, yeah,okay.

(21:30):
You're an empty shell of ahuman.

Speaker 2 (21:32):
So it's a fine line.
Well, that's why.

Speaker 1 (21:34):
I like it.

Speaker 2 (21:35):
It's like doing nothing is okay.
It's okay to do nothing.
Don't literally have nothinggoing on.

Speaker 1 (21:40):
Yeah, you have to like have you have to be still
within circumstance.
Yeah, but don't show it, don't,don't do anything.
Yeah, you don't have to showhow you're feeling.
Yeah, just feel, yeah, like ahuman being.
Yeah, if, if feelings come up,they come, yeah, yeah, and don't
force them out, yeah it's socomplicated.

Speaker 2 (21:58):
Like every time I sometimes I feel real good about
my acting and then I just likeI realize this shit is so
complicated Like I'll neverreally understand what it is and
like even talking about it andtrying to analyze it all, I

(22:18):
always sort of end up comingback to this perspective, which
is like there isn't really a wayto do it.
It's just none of it makessense.
Yeah, no shoe fits every foot,you know Totally.

Speaker 1 (22:33):
You create your own acting language?
Yeah, and whatever works foryou, you figure out what works
for you yeah.
You do that I think you've gotsomething worked out with you.

Speaker 2 (22:41):
But I don't know what to I couldn't articulate it To
me.

Speaker 1 (22:44):
It looks like you have a level of comfortability
within yourself, like that'ssuch honestly, it's such a big
thing to just be comfortable.

Speaker 2 (22:54):
That was the big thing for me is, yeah, being
really comfortable, and thatcomes with the experience of
being really terrified.

Speaker 3 (23:02):
Do you?

Speaker 2 (23:03):
know what I mean.
Like even right now, this isour first episode and I'm very
aware of the cameras.

Speaker 1 (23:09):
Yeah, hello Right, yeah, yeah.
But this is more terrifying tome than actually acting.

Speaker 2 (23:19):
In the back of my mind right now, all I'm thinking
about is do people give a shit?
Am I making sense?
Is this actually the message Iwant to be relaying to the world
, to our listener?
But yeah, what was I talkingabout?
Comfort, comfortability, right?
Yeah, I'll tell you a big shiftfor me, like a big shift in my

(23:40):
sort of attitude towards thisthing was.
I did this commercial 13 yearsago, a campaign called Crazy K.
Look it up, it's hell funny.

Speaker 3 (23:50):
It's really funny, I'm not even on the camera.
Look it up.

Speaker 2 (23:53):
But I played this.
Okay.
Well, I won't go into it, butCrazy K, it was like huge.
Huge for me because it was umone of the first roles that I
booked and I'd been going forauditions.
This is when I was well howlong was it?
13 years ago I was like 21.
I've been going for gigs forfor years, since I was a kid and

(24:14):
like up until that point I justkind of done extras, work and
stuff and like a few plays.
But I was I would get reallydespondent about not getting
auditions.
And I got to this point where Ihad this audition coming up and
I was playing this like tryhard rapper that loses his
license right.
And because I'd been rejectedso many times from auditions, I
got to the point where I waslike I don't, I don't even give

(24:34):
a fuck anymore, I don't, I don'tcare if I get this or not, I'm
just to walk in there and fuckaround.
And I put on my trackies.
I put my hat backwards becauseI had long curly hair.

Speaker 1 (24:45):
That's back when you auditioned in the room too.

Speaker 2 (24:47):
Oh yeah, in the room as well.
But I walked in there and Iwasn't completely in character.
I wasn't going to be a dick tothe heathens and be like, oh,
what's going on.
But it was the idea of notgiving a fuck really set me free
.
And I got it because when I wasdoing the audition I was just
mucking around and I was justhaving fun.

(25:08):
But it was a huge revelationfor me because I was like oh,
and at the time I was like, oh,stop giving a fuck and you'll
get auditions.
But it's not as simple as that.
It's very reductive, like don'tgive a fuck about certain
things, right?

Speaker 1 (25:22):
But you know, just don't need it.

Speaker 3 (25:26):
Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1 (25:27):
Yeah, yeah, but not so much that if you don't get it
you'll die.

Speaker 2 (25:31):
Well, it was the freedom of not thinking that
I'll get it.
That's what set me free fromthat.
Yeah, thinking like I'm notgoing to get this anyway.
I might as well just and I'mnot going to go in and be like,
oh, whatever, like.
I don't even want this, I wasjust like I'm just going to go
in and play, yeah.
And then I was like, oh, that'swhat I should do every time.

Speaker 1 (25:50):
Yeah, yeah.
See, I don't treat it likethere's an outcome after anymore
.
Yeah, and then I just do my joband then I put it away.
Yeah, that's done now.
Yeah, there's no more to do.
Yeah.
And when you get a job, I treatit like a job, so it's like if

(26:15):
I'm in the room, it's my timeand.
I'm going to play.
Let's play together.
Let's work the scenes I'm goingto play.
Let's play together.
Let's you know let's work thescenes.
This is my time in the room andthe same with the self-tape.
I'm going to play with theself-tape and I'm just going to
give you my ideas.

Speaker 2 (26:26):
Yeah, yeah.
And once it's sent off, I'mlike cool, my job is done.

Speaker 1 (26:36):
It's finished.
Yeah, I may not have got paidto the next?

Speaker 2 (26:39):
Yeah, exactly, and there'll be more, there's always
more, there's always more, andeventually you sort of do so
many auditions you're like Iwouldn't be able to do all these
anyway.
But the thing is like withrejection, like I think about
that and people get real upset.

Speaker 1 (27:00):
Like they're like oh, I didn't get that gig.

Speaker 2 (27:03):
I'm get real upset, like they're like I didn't get
that gig.
I'm like, well, it was neveryours, it wasn't yours in the
first place.
Can't believe you got that gigI went for.
Yeah, I'm sorry, well, I yeah,that was mine.

Speaker 1 (27:08):
Yeah, no, fuck you man there's a bit of truth in
that.
Eh, we literally went for thesame role and you got it sorry
um that's fine.
It wasn't my role wasn't yourrole, mate.
Also, I tested like six otherpeople for that role.
Yeah, my studio that I'm alsogoing for.
But you know like I reallytried to get them to do good
work in the room, even thoughessentially they're my

(27:31):
competitor.

Speaker 3 (27:32):
Yeah, but I don't view it like that.

Speaker 1 (27:34):
We're all just doing a job.
The words just were all thesame, absolutely.

Speaker 2 (27:38):
Absolutely, it's a small town, small city.
Yeah, and yeah, it's not acompetition, it's just.

Speaker 1 (27:46):
I would have liked it better if someone that taped
with me booked instead of you.

Speaker 2 (27:50):
Yeah, yeah, For sure man.

Speaker 1 (27:52):
But I'm also very happy that you booked.

Speaker 2 (27:55):
It doesn't look good for you, mate, jesus.

Speaker 1 (27:57):
Christ.
All those people and you,bloody booked Didn.
Good for you mate Jesus Christ,all those people and you bloody
booked, didn't you?

Speaker 2 (28:04):
do that out of the country.
Yeah, yeah, see you know, whatDo you?

Speaker 1 (28:06):
know what beats lighting and sound and flashy
camera.
Acting, fucking, acting.
That's literally number one isthe acting.
Yeah, acting wins.

Speaker 2 (28:18):
Yeah, always.
You know, having a nice camerawith a nice lens and a nice
light, with a good soft box anda nice microphone, they're all
good, but they're only importantfor the actor.
They only give me confidence.
Yeah, the casting directorsdon't give a shit.
They might go oh well, theyobviously care enough to invest

(28:39):
in that but it doesn't meanyou're going to understand the
character that you're portraying.
And doing that audition wasactually really refreshing for
me, because I've been doing myauditions in here for so long
now with my nice camera and mynice light and it still works
because I feel good about how itlooks.

(28:59):
So I can stop thinking aboutthat.
That.
That only helps me.
Yeah, right, but I was in nepaland I'd been trekking and I
didn't have reception for daysand then when I got back from
the mountain I was in themountains, the mountains I was
very burnt.

Speaker 1 (29:17):
Imagine getting burnt in a snowy mountain yeah yeah,
don't think about that, do you?

Speaker 2 (29:22):
you don't, um.
But I came back and my agentwas like dude, do this audition
already?
Were you?
I'm like, oh sorry, I didn't.
I didn't know I was there.
So I was.
It was really last minute.
But all that was so freeing forme because it took all the
pressure off.
I just slapped my phone up onthe windowsill and I recorded
the lines on my girlfriend'sphone just to space it out,

(29:45):
because I was like I've got todo this in like half an hour,
we've got to go somewhere elsenow.
But because it was so rushed, Iwas just like, whatever, I'm
not going to get this one, and Icould just again just play
around and just be free and belike, ah, whatever, like if I
get this, I get this.

Speaker 1 (30:02):
It's like you didn't have time to overthink.

Speaker 2 (30:04):
Yeah, no, overthinking, it's just a quick
interpretation of the characterand luckily I seem to get it and
yeah you don't always get it,you don't always understand, you
don't always.
Sometimes you just miss the mark.
But in circumstance I was likeoh yeah, I think I know this guy
and I slapped the slap thing onthe window and I did a few
takes and I was like, yeah,that's pretty good, send it off.

(30:25):
I'm like yeah, done.
But removing myself from allthe fancy shit really helped me
because I went back to basicsand just being like this is not
about how it looks.
I've got an iphone, it's got agood camera on it yeah, they can
see me, they, they can hear me.
I've got good lighting with thewindow.
Like someone was asking me theother day, oh, should I invest
in what camera should I investin?
What light should I get?

(30:46):
Should I get a backdrop?
And I was like, if you want,like, I can give you
recommendations, but save yourmoney.
Do you ever?
Do you have a phone?

Speaker 1 (30:57):
You know, I think, like I think it is important to
remove distractions from acasting director's mind, like
really harsh shadows and stuffif you can get away with it
Definitely Like there are stillparameters or criteria that you
have to hit, you know, but it'snot hard to not have that on an
iPhone and a window.

Speaker 2 (31:18):
Yeah, yeah, totally, or a ring light, a cheap, a $20
ring light.
They're fine, they still work.
They just need to see your face, they need to be able to hear
you.
All that's fine.
And if you want to go hard andinvest in some nice equipment,
that's fine.

Speaker 1 (31:34):
Yeah, but save your money.
I say Not everyone has the room, you know no, not everyone has
the room, you know no.

Speaker 2 (31:40):
Yeah, or just come to me or go to Nick.

Speaker 1 (31:42):
Sorry, yeah, I keep forgetting.

Speaker 2 (31:44):
This is not a sponsorship, but I do recommend.
Well, again, it takes thepressure off and sometimes you
get a casting brief or you getan audition, like right at the,
it's due the next day, right,and you don't have.

(32:05):
You don't like you've gotguests over or something, or you
don't have the time or thefacilities to do it.

Speaker 1 (32:10):
And I see.
Yeah, like we said earlier, butI see it.
As you know, you come to me toget a decent reader.

Speaker 3 (32:16):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (32:18):
And don't have to think about setup.
Yep.

Speaker 2 (32:21):
Also.

Speaker 1 (32:21):
I edit it.
Yeah, I make it ready forcasting.
It's at the right.
I mean, I file, I shoot in 4K,but the file size ends up to be
like under 100 meg.
Yeah, depending on the size ofthe scene, it's always under 100
meg.

Speaker 2 (32:41):
And then I label it accordingly correctly, and then
Dropbox it and you can justdownload it and just submit it
straight away.
That's pretty huge, man.
I feel like there's so muchadmin with self-tapes now and it
makes it really hard becausereally all we want to be doing
is thinking about the characterand the scene.

Speaker 1 (32:54):
Yeah, Working in a room.
Yeah, I was going to say I missthat?

Speaker 2 (32:59):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (33:00):
Yeah, I'm not good at that anymore I had to do a call
back and I was like holy shit,dude.

Speaker 2 (33:06):
I like I've forgotten how to do callbacks.
I was.
I was back to like beingnervous as hell.
Yeah, people in the room arestill now.
Yeah, of course I got the gig,brother yeah, it's a fucking
awesome man, honestly yeah.
I was still really nervous LikeI was, you know, I'm going
straight back to those oldthoughts of like I'm on round

(33:30):
two now, you know, Now I want it.

Speaker 1 (33:32):
The stakes are higher Now.

Speaker 2 (33:33):
I really want it.
And then I go home and I'm like, fuck, I really want that gig
now and I'm breaking all myrules, you know?
Yeah, oh, that's right, I don'tcare.
But yeah, try not to care, trynot to care Checking your phone,
checking your junk mail.
It's about being like mindfuland calm and comfortable, you
know, even during the auditionor between the takes of the

(33:54):
audition, just bringing yourselfback to your body and just
being you know groundingyourself again.

Speaker 1 (33:59):
I feel like in the room you can sell yourself and
that can get you the job.
Yeah, that's true.

Speaker 2 (34:04):
You can't do that in a self-tape.
Well, they want to know if theycan work with you.
They want to know if you'regoing to be good to work with on
the day.
Are you going to be pleasant tobe around for a day of shooting
?
And?

Speaker 1 (34:14):
are you malleable?
Yeah, do you take direction,yeah, yeah exactly?

Speaker 2 (34:21):
Are you stuck on your one idea that you brought into
the room?
Or, if me, the director haslittle tweaks or ideas that come
up, are we going to be able tohave a creative and
collaborative conversation aboutthat and see if you can
actually apply that to themoment?
You know that's what they'retesting out for right.

Speaker 3 (34:41):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (34:42):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (34:43):
I think so.

Speaker 3 (34:43):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (34:44):
Yeah, we're stuck with self-tapes.
Yeah, but I do like self-tapestoo, because.

Speaker 2 (34:50):
I think self-tapes have become something for me.
They've become a moment To me.
That is the rehearsal for me.
That is me doing my creativeideation for the role, like I'll
do.
I'll do so many takes, but myfirst take is literally me, like
reading it for the first time.
Do you know what I mean?
Like I'm because I might aswell I might as well be like

(35:13):
I'll come in there and I'll turnthe camera on.
I'll be like all right, what isthis thing?
you work it out in front of and,like I've got all this footage
that I won't use, I just deleteit.
But eventually I'm like I startto figure out where who this
guy is and when what thesituation is.
The more I play, it's just likerehearsing, you know yeah and I
think self tapes give you theopportunity to do that and in,
you know, in the old days, thatwould be the stuff you do before

(35:34):
the audition, the in-personaudition, all that work, you
know, all the rehearsal that youdo on your own, just reading it
, reading it, reading it, I justmight, I just feel I might as
well record it, you know and andbe in the space.

Speaker 1 (35:44):
You know I'm the same .
The second I get it if I'm free, straight to the studio.
Yeah, and just work it.
I might not hit record.
Yeah, to like the read.
But I like to hit record earlybecause usually my first ideas
are the right ones.
Yeah, like my instincts usuallywin.

Speaker 2 (36:01):
Yeah, I usually use like the first or second take.
I do that to 20 takes.

Speaker 1 (36:04):
I only do like three or four takes yeah.

Speaker 2 (36:07):
I would not recommend doing 20 takes.
But this is, and siftingthrough like.
That's because, I've got thetime you know Fuck.

Speaker 1 (36:12):
Which one am I going to do?
I don't look at them all.

Speaker 2 (36:15):
You just know, I just filmed them and I'm like that
was shit.
No, I'm not there yet, I don'tknow what I'm doing yet.
Yeah, but I might as wellrecord them.
But again to me, they're nottakes, they're rehearsals.

Speaker 3 (36:24):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (36:25):
I'm just recording them.

Speaker 3 (36:26):
Well, so it's reps in front of the camera, exactly.

Speaker 1 (36:29):
And it's different when you know it's recording to
when it's not recording.

Speaker 2 (36:31):
Yeah, environment as well, and you're building the
world around you in that, inthat moment, you know, then I
know like, okay, my coffee tableis over here and, um, the
kitchen's, there's sinks overhere, or whatever, and I'm and
I'm understanding theenvironment that I'm imagining
around me just by being in thespace and and even if the,

(36:54):
whether the camera's recordingor not, you know yeah, I love
your self-tape.

Speaker 1 (36:57):
So because you you're not afraid to break, to break
the rules yeah, you know you'llgo down to the beach and you'll
have tennis balls thrown at you.
Yeah, again, again in thelounge room.
And yeah, dude, there's norules.

Speaker 2 (37:08):
And there was another thing is I gotta really be
careful with advice in terms oflike break the rules, because I
don't think you should justbreak the rules for the sake of
breaking the rules, totally Ithink if it works for the scene
and it's not going to distractyou, if you're not going to be,
if it's not arrogant, you know,yeah, it's a bit of a balance.
There's a fine line between like, oh, look at me, I'm going to

(37:28):
take this huge risk for the sakeof taking a risk, and if it's
something that actually One linea roll and it's set in a
farmhouse like and it's set in afarmhouse.

Speaker 1 (37:41):
Like don't go driving to a farmhouse to film it in
there.
That's not getting you the role.

Speaker 2 (37:44):
But if it builds character like your Noel
Gallagher, well yeah, and withNoel like the script said, he
walks through his labyrinth of aliving room and I was like
there's a moment in the scriptwhere I'm like, okay, this is
where I'm walking in this sceneand of course it was going for
Liam at the time and, like Liamhas this iconic walk, I'm like,
well, they're going to want tosee that and they're not going

(38:04):
to see that if I'm in thislittle mid shot.
I might as well use this momentto do the walk, and I'll do it
at the time where the scriptsays he walks through his
labyrinth of a living room andthat's done, and that's breaking
a bit of a rule.
But again, self-taping is sonew.
What are the rules?

Speaker 1 (38:22):
You know, I love that they put their rules in there.
Yeah, you know what I hate?
I hate when they say they wanta long shot slate.
I hate that too, because thenthey find out how tall I'm not,
but who can do that?
So I just do a pan down.
A pan down, pan up.

Speaker 2 (38:39):
Yeah, I put the camera in this corner and I
stand right in that corner andyou do it like hi there, I'm
Chris Gunn.

Speaker 1 (38:45):
Look at me down here.
Come down here, I'll fight you.
I never do, and I've got room.
I've got room to do a full bodyslate.
Yeah, no, it's unreasonable,Stop it.

Speaker 2 (38:55):
Please stop it.
There's one rule I want tobreak, but.

Speaker 1 (38:57):
I'll pan down, but if I'm on my own and I need to do
a long slant, how the fuck am Igoing to pan down?
Yeah, so I just don't.

Speaker 3 (39:05):
Is that going to knock me in the role?
I've kind of stopped doing that.
Oh no, he didn't do a longslant, he's out.

Speaker 2 (39:13):
If they ask for like a still full shot, oh, totally
feet, look like you know.

Speaker 1 (39:17):
And also sometimes I'm wearing the top half of the
costume but not the bottom half.

Speaker 2 (39:21):
I'm never wearing pants.
I'm not wearing pants now.

Speaker 1 (39:23):
So then they pan down .
It's like this business shirtand my jocks yeah, do you?

Speaker 2 (39:27):
remember that Heeson workshop where I was doing.
What was it, roy from?

Speaker 1 (39:32):
I did a workshop with the Heesons, the cop, the
police officer.

Speaker 2 (39:34):
No, no, no, it was from Succession.

Speaker 1 (39:37):
Oh yeah, that was it.

Speaker 2 (39:38):
yeah, I had my suit jacket in my bag, but I was
wearing like baggy jeans, yeah.
And Lou was like, are you goingto wear your like casual
t-shirt?
I'm like, no, no, I got thisout and I put like a suit top on
, yeah, but like if you hadpanned down, it was just like
these like Baggy jeans 2001.

Speaker 1 (39:56):
Baggy jeans, you fantastic Another.

Speaker 2 (39:57):
I'm fishing for that one as well.
You're right, it was Thank you.
Fantastic Thanks for that.

Speaker 1 (40:02):
That's very nice.
What a shame.
Like the footage quality wasn'tquite good enough.
You know that's one of thereasons why Nicky Boy here
shoots 4K.
You know, anything you do withme and my studio will be, it's
top quality.

Speaker 2 (40:19):
The best quality.
It looks awesome and I thinkyou're right.
I think if it's going todistract the casting directors,
the bad quality is going to be adistraction and you don't have
the facilities to do it.
Go to someone like you or hitup a friend that does have the

(40:39):
facilities.

Speaker 1 (40:46):
No, I'm not Go to you .
No, I'm not trying to plug this.
No, I know, I know, but it'slike, I mean just like in class.
Yeah, you know, if you doreally good work in class,
that's the self-tape you coulduse for your real yeah, yeah
yeah, but again, like withworkshops, like they're not
about getting it right, they'renot about getting right, they're
not about the footage.
They're about growing as anactor.

Speaker 2 (40:59):
But if you happen to get some footage that works
really well like I stillwouldn't go into a workshop with
the intention of gettingfootage for a reel If you happen
to, that's fine.

Speaker 1 (41:09):
Or if you feel it's good enough to put online for
socials, do that you have to gointo a workshop like that with
the intent to grow and not getfootage Totally.

Speaker 2 (41:23):
Yeah, workshops for me were.
The first workshop I'd done fora long time was the Teresa
Palmer workshop.
Did you do that?
Yeah, you did that, weren't you?
And Lou was there.
Lou'd been away for a while.
I hadn't seen Lou for ages,right, and Teresa's amazing.
She gives you so much.
She's so present in a scene.
She's an amazing reader, right,and it was such a privilege to
work with her.
And Lou came in and Kicked ourasses.

(41:44):
She kicked our asses, but inthe best way.
I needed that so much, man,because at that point I felt
really, I guess, complacent inmy abilities.
I wasn't in a place where I wasgrowing as an actor.
I was becoming a little bitarrogant about my skills, right.
I was like, yeah, I got this, Iknow what I'm doing.
And I think as soon as you getto that point where you're like

(42:05):
I know exactly what I'm doing, Iknow how to do this, like, no
one can tell me how to do thisanymore, I've got it.

Speaker 3 (42:11):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (42:11):
You're fucked because you stop growing Totally.
You're not available to take innew information or learn from
anyone.
There was so much that I stillhad to learn at that point and I
feel like I've grown so muchsince this day because I was
like, oh, I don't know, fuckinganything.
She came in and I was reallyreaching for a certain outcome

(42:37):
in this scene and planning in myhead like I'm going to yell on
this line and do all thatrubbish right.

Speaker 1 (42:40):
Yeah, pre-shaping the fuck out of it.

Speaker 2 (42:42):
Totally pre-shaping.
And she came in and she knew,and I didn't really understand
even what that was at that pointI just thought I was like doing
a really good job and I waslike what's wrong with it.
I don't understand what's wrongwith this scene.
Yeah, she came in and she'sjust like come on, chris, like I
know you can do better thanthis, and I'm like what's better
?
I thought it was already good.

(43:02):
Yeah, but it was such a goodlearning curve for me, you know.
And then I came out of that andI was like, yeah, I totally
needed someone to be like, no,you'd never stop learning.
You've never reached that pointof like you've made it, you
know exactly what you're doing.
That never happens.
Like you've made it, you, youknow exactly what you're doing.

(43:22):
That never happens.
Yeah, and it turns out I had somuch to learn still, and I, I
don't ever really want to lookback on a on a job and go.
I knew exactly what I was doingat that point.
Every time I look back on a on ajob that I've done, I go I had
no idea what I was doing.
Totally me too, you know.
And I, I want that because Iwant to.
I want to look back on all myjobs and go I've learned so much
since that day.
I'm only going to be as good asI am at that point, but I don't

(43:47):
want to look back and be likeI'm the same guy.
I want to be like, wow, I'velearned a lot since then.
Even if it was a good job, itdoesn't mean I'm going to do a
shitty job on a set, but I wantto make sure that I'm growing
all the time, you know.
I want to look back and be likeI had no idea what I was doing.

Speaker 1 (44:01):
I hope I never stop learning, you know, and that's
what's so good about this actingthing.

Speaker 3 (44:06):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (44:07):
Is that humans are so fucking difficult to work out.
Yeah so there's alwayssomething to learn.

Speaker 2 (44:12):
Yeah, and we change as people all the time, you know
, yeah, our values change andour experiences change.
Our values change and ourexperiences change, yeah.

Speaker 1 (44:18):
Yeah, yeah, I still feel like I'm at the very
beginning of my acting journey.

Speaker 2 (44:22):
Definitely as an actor.
Yeah, me too.

Speaker 1 (44:24):
Teaching aside.
You know, as an actor, I feellike I'm just beginning.

Speaker 2 (44:35):
But when I teach like I'm not, I don't have the
authority or the experience toteach, like all that craft, like
there are certain things I cansort of put out there as ideas
and be like you could thinkabout this, you could try this.
But a lot of like and I knowthat if I teach someone I'm not,
there's a point where I'm likeI can't teach you anymore now
because this is all I reallyknow.

(44:56):
I can teach beginners, but allI'm teaching is how an adult can
go back to that childlikementality to be able to play and
let go of all the inhibitionsthat we develop as adults
throughout our life.
That's all I teach is trying toshake off all the fear that is

(45:19):
instilled on us throughout life,reasons why you should be
self-conscious.
That's really all I can do.
And teaching like breaking downall the misconceptions about
what acting is, which is, likeyou know, pre-shaping and
copying or mimicking.

Speaker 1 (45:36):
Trying to be like someone who's already done the
scene.
Yeah, yeah exactly.

Speaker 2 (45:40):
I basically just teach people to stop doing
anything.

Speaker 1 (45:46):
Just stop doing things, stop trying.

Speaker 2 (45:48):
Stop trying to stop acting on a how you know.

Speaker 1 (45:53):
It is hard to be an actor and a teacher, I think
sometimes because that's why Ionly teach one class a week.
Just because I'm articulatingwhat acting is and how to do it
doesn't mean I can nail it.

Speaker 2 (46:10):
No, you know, but not every role.
You're not right for every role.
I'm not right for every role.
You know Some people, and it'snot even about whether you have
it or not.
Someone might be really perfectfor a role because just their
situation and their life andtheir values, all the things

(46:31):
that have turned them into theperson they are, just happens to
make them suitable for thisparticular role.

Speaker 1 (46:37):
Well, there's a difference between good casting
and bad casting, right?
Yeah, I mean you can be miscastand that's not your fault, and
you just weren't right becauseyou don't fit those
circumstances.
Yeah, it doesn't fit and youcould be a great actor yeah you
just, you're just not right forthat role.
You know, a lot of times I getauditions and I go I am not this

(46:58):
person.
Yeah, yeah, I cannot.
I like if they cast me.
They fucked up.

Speaker 2 (47:02):
Yeah, you know, yeah, um, and then I've got an
audition coming up now and I'mlike I don't know, I don't know
if this is me, yeah, but I'll doit because it's because there's
no yeah, there's no wastedopportunity, like, even if it's
if I'm not right, I'll do myversion of it, and you know it's
getting in front of a newproducer or casting director or

(47:23):
whatever, and that's allimportant.
But I'm not going to take it toheart if I don't get it, because
I don't think I'm right forthis role, right, but that's
what I was sort of going to talkabout before with rejection.
It's like, as we said, likeit's never your, it wasn't ever
your role.
If you don't get it, it wasn'tyour role.
And like okay, role, if youdon't get it, it wasn't your
role.
And like, okay, sometimes youmight.
It might just be like you twoare both perfect, but like we

(47:45):
want a blonde guy, not a baldguy, right?
So they always pick the baldguy because there's wigs, man,
they've never put a wig on youever put a wig on they have put
a wig on your head.
No, they didn't.
They did it for the for thehair and makeup call.

Speaker 3 (47:59):
Oh right, yeah, but I had to grow my hair out for
noel.
Did noel?

Speaker 2 (48:02):
yeah, but my, I wasn't as bald then, but it was
going.
They put little tufts of hairhere.
That's a fucking wig, man.
That's not a wig, that is theyglued hair under my hair.

Speaker 1 (48:11):
That's two little mini wigs.

Speaker 2 (48:14):
Yes, I wanted to keep them oh shit, can I keep um my
two?
You can just leave those there,just staple them on, keep them.

Speaker 1 (48:26):
You'd be like, just do it we forgot the glue Just do
it, just leave it there.

Speaker 2 (48:30):
Super glue Actors man , but with rejection.
I think you also have to trustthe casting directors.
And trust the directors thatthey know more than you do about
this project.
They know more than you doabout this project.
They know more than you doabout this role.
And if you're not right for it,don't take it to heart, it's

(48:53):
just they know.
I mean, I just try, even ifthey see that, oh, this person
is not ready.
Yeah, that's so important tolisten to because, yeah, there
are certain projects that I'mlike I couldn't do this thing
yet, I can't do that yet.
Yeah, you know, and that's whyI feel like I'm.
I just want to embrace the stepsthat the slow ascent that

(49:16):
happens in this career.
It's a grind, you know.
Start off as an extra fine, geton a set, observe the other
actors, see what they do, seehow the set runs, start early,
start low, that's fine.
And then keep doing theworkshops, keep building up your
confidence, keep building upyour skills and your
understanding of what this is.
And then, you know, get to thepoint where you're like a line,

(49:36):
or even just like a, a featuredextra, or like just no lines but
a character you know, and thena line, and but just don't to,
there's no point in rushing yourhead to like Don't try and skip
the steps, yeah, don't gostraight to like a lead.

Speaker 3 (49:48):
I see that all the time yeah.

Speaker 1 (49:50):
Like you know they want to.
People want to skip the stepsand go straight to the lead on a
feature film.
Yeah, you, just you wouldn't beable to do the job.

Speaker 2 (50:01):
No, it's not.
I don't think.
Yeah, you'd be kind of shootingyourself in the foot.
You know, and casting directorsknow that that's why they look
at your credits and they go.
You know what's on his resumeor what's on their.
You know what experience dothey have?
Are they able to lead a cast?
you know, because it's a bigresponsibility being number one
on the call sheet is a big is abig job yeah, yeah it is a big

(50:23):
job, yeah I, I think, just puttrust in the casting directors
and put trust in the producersthat they're not going to put
you in a situation that you'renot prepared for.
I think that's really important.
So don't take it as a as arejection.
Understand that where you arein the industry, in your
trajectory, and keep doing thework outside of the jobs.
Keep going to the workshops,keep listening to the podcast,

(50:46):
whatever.
Keep reading the books, keeplistening to this podcast, keep
listening to this podcast inparticular, and go to what's it
called Promptside.
Promptside Actors CollectiveCollective yeah, I did have that
written down somewhere.
I feel like what's your thingcalled?

Speaker 1 (51:07):
It's the worst paid gig I've ever done.
Oh yeah, it's just paid right.

Speaker 2 (51:10):
Yeah, send me an invoice.

Speaker 1 (51:11):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (51:12):
Talk to my people.

Speaker 1 (51:14):
My people will talk to your people.
Yeah, yeah, and we'll just,we'll work it out in the mud.
He even charged me for thewater.

Speaker 2 (51:21):
Oh yeah, yeah, that's , that's high-class water, aqua,
yeah, aqua, aqua, ph8.

Speaker 1 (51:30):
From the mountains, from the mountains, yeah.

Speaker 2 (51:32):
I collected it in my pockets.

Speaker 1 (51:36):
This is a tough game, man, you know, like the reps
and the training and the smallgigs, the big gigs.
It's just a part of the job ofbeing an actor.

Speaker 2 (51:45):
Yeah, we've talked about this before.

Speaker 3 (51:47):
You just enjoy each step you say I'm an actor.

Speaker 1 (51:49):
And I say what have you been in?

Speaker 3 (51:51):
It's like I don't know, man Not much.

Speaker 1 (51:55):
It's not just about that.

Speaker 2 (51:56):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (51:57):
Although it is.

Speaker 2 (51:58):
I do a lot of workshops.
I have a podcast.
It's a lot of workshops.
I have a podcast, it's myentire life.
Yeah, yeah that's it.

Speaker 1 (52:07):
That's it like being a full-time actor is just and my
hour work and my only thoughtprocess like, yeah, it's the
thing that consumes my, my,every thought.

Speaker 2 (52:14):
That's what makes me an actor but what have you been
in?
I don't have to do it toactually tell me what you've
been in I just have to callmyself an actor.
It's like check my imdb.
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, you're right, like it's.
I don't say that now, I don'twant to see what you've been in.
I just have to call myself anactor.
It's like check my IMDB.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, you're right.

Speaker 3 (52:27):
Like it's.
I don't like listing my resumes.

Speaker 2 (52:29):
It's boring, it's very boring for both parties.
Yeah, not much.

Speaker 3 (52:35):
What have you done?
Not much.

Speaker 1 (52:37):
You just say oh, I was in that ad.
But, like oh my God, you'reamazing yeah.

Speaker 2 (52:44):
I don't know.
It's like we hate ads.

Speaker 3 (52:45):
I have to prove myself.
You just pay money.

Speaker 2 (52:46):
Yeah, it's a paycheck .
Yeah, Ah, some ads are fun.

Speaker 1 (52:52):
You had a good ad recently, right?

Speaker 2 (52:54):
Yeah, that was really fun.

Speaker 1 (52:55):
The one in the house and the roller door.
Yeah, yeah man.

Speaker 3 (52:58):
It was sick.

Speaker 1 (53:00):
Have you been in an ad?

Speaker 2 (53:02):
Oh yeah, I've been in an ad.

Speaker 1 (53:03):
I'm an actor.
That's so cool.
Are you an actor?

Speaker 2 (53:06):
Sometimes, yeah, I also clean toilets.
Nice Shit job, I heard, butthat's all right, that's nice.
Oh, no, not that button, Idon't have it, I want to hear it
.
I've got a drum kit just thereyeah.

Speaker 1 (53:28):
Look, we've got to support ourselves with jobs and,
you know, to pay the old bills.

Speaker 2 (53:35):
Yeah, that's why I think it's awesome what you're
doing with Promptside, becauseyou can't be a full-time actor,
not in this city, no, I'm tryingto make my job that pays for my
acting an acting job.
Yeah, okay, makes sense.

(53:55):
Yeah, I know what you mean.
It keeps you in the industry.
It keeps you connected to otheractors.

Speaker 3 (54:02):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (54:02):
It shows people that you're dedicated to this craft,
even when you're not doing thejob.
Yeah, but again, we're alwaysdoing the job because the job is
waiting and just the researchand the workshops and study and
whatever you do Watching movies.

Speaker 1 (54:22):
Watching movies yeah.

Speaker 2 (54:23):
It's a tough job, man .

Speaker 1 (54:25):
It's really hard.

Speaker 2 (54:26):
Sometimes I'm watching a movie.
I'm like I just want to relax.

Speaker 1 (54:29):
I watched last night.
We Live in Time.

Speaker 2 (54:31):
Have I seen that?
I watched it.

Speaker 1 (54:33):
Florence Pugh, florence Pugh, yeah, and Andrew
Garfield.
There's this scene in therethat I wanted to use for class,
yeah, and I thought if I usethis for class, I will need to
know the context of the film sothat I know the circumstances.
It helps.
It was a gut-wrenching scene,really close to my heart,
because of the circumstancesabout the film Right.

(54:53):
So it jerked me a little bit.

Speaker 3 (54:55):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (54:56):
But the film was really weird.
It jumped in time.
It showed snapshots of theirlife outside, um, at different
times.
Right, she's pregnant, theyhaven't met yet.
Um, the kid's born, you know,oh nice, she's going through
treatment.
She's, you know, being a chef.
Like it's everywhere.
Yeah, because of that, the theemotional scenes didn't take you

(55:20):
and like I felt like if it waslinear, the audience would
invest more in the situation.

Speaker 3 (55:29):
But that scene on its own is like ooh yeah.

Speaker 2 (55:32):
You have to check it out.
Just check that scene out.
I'm so just the scene out ofcontext.

Speaker 1 (55:37):
But their chemistry was amazing.

Speaker 2 (55:41):
Yeah, great, I've heard good things about it.
I'm so behind though.
I'm so behind on films.

Speaker 1 (55:47):
Yeah, honestly, I don't watch many.
I watch films now to get scenesfor class.
Yeah, it is an endless, endlesspursuit.

Speaker 2 (55:55):
I was on set the other day and one of the lead
actors is in some really bigprojects and one of the other
actors was talking to him and Iwas kind of standing there
trying to be part of theconversation.
Yeah, and they were talkingabout this project that he did,
and then they turned to me andthey're like oh, have you seen
it?
And I'm like nah sorry, oh,does it.

Speaker 1 (56:16):
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, oh yeah, yeah, what was your?

Speaker 2 (56:18):
favourite bit, chris, great bit, oh yeah.

Speaker 3 (56:21):
You know the bit where you were.

Speaker 1 (56:21):
Where the man spoke to the girl yeah yeah.

Speaker 3 (56:24):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (56:25):
Yeah, good stuff, yeah, really powerful.

Speaker 3 (56:28):
What's that?

Speaker 1 (56:29):
Oh, I think I've got to go.
Yeah, I think I'm being called.
The director's calling me.

Speaker 2 (56:33):
Yeah, I haven't seen anything.
I always get called out whenyou bullshit.
No, I never lie about the factthat I haven't seen enough films
.
I do, I'd have done it before,and then they'll like test you
on it.

Speaker 1 (56:46):
They'll say a line and they'll be like you know
that film.
I'm like, oh, what's that?
And then they say it and you'relike, ah, yes, man that film,
man that film.
Anyway, what's for lunch.

Speaker 2 (56:59):
I don't know where people get the time to do it,
but there's so many films outthere, there's so many series
and stuff.
I just don't have the time I do.
But I don't, I'm not caught up,okay.

Speaker 1 (57:07):
That's okay.

Speaker 2 (57:08):
Do you have any?

Speaker 1 (57:09):
good scenes you can send me.

Speaker 2 (57:11):
What do you mean?
To act yeah?
Mate you would know I don'tknow what have you got.

Speaker 1 (57:18):
I've got thousands of scripts.

Speaker 2 (57:19):
Yeah, send me some shit.

Speaker 1 (57:20):
I have thousands of scripts.

Speaker 3 (57:22):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (57:22):
Like a Rolodex.
It's like male, female, female,female, male, male, male.

Speaker 2 (57:27):
I'm too busy doing auditions.
Mate, Female, male.

Speaker 1 (57:31):
Yeah, yeah, shit, yeah, dog, yeah, dog.
You know I keep the auditionstoo, and then, when it comes,
out.

Speaker 2 (57:39):
that's a scene I can use.
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, I've got abacklog of things I can't wait
to share.

Speaker 3 (57:42):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (57:43):
And also, I haven't updated my show rule in years.
Yeah, maybe two years, I reckon.
I use self-tape reel yeah,because I've got all these
things that haven't come out yetand I'm so annoying I haven't
really done anything interestingto update, you know the show
rule.

Speaker 1 (57:58):
yet it doesn't seem to matter because you're booking
yeah, I don't know.

Speaker 2 (58:01):
I don't know about showreels are people watching
those or what?
I think, if you're not known,yeah to them.
Yeah, I'm not gonna send ablanket rule out, there being
like don't worry about your showI think they do it definitely
need a show like they'll watchyour tape, right?

Speaker 1 (58:15):
yeah, oh, we like him .
Let's watch his reel.
Let's look into him.
Yeah, let's look at his IMDb.
Yeah, okay, great, if you'resubmitting on Showcast or
Casting Networks, they're goingto it's on there.

Speaker 2 (58:27):
Yeah, yeah, we'll look there.

Speaker 1 (58:28):
We'll look here Like okay, cool, so he's done some
work.
We know he's workedprofessionally.

Speaker 2 (58:33):
He can do the job.

Speaker 1 (58:34):
Yeah, confidence.

Speaker 2 (58:36):
Yeah, absolutely.
If you don't have a show reel,if you can't even tick that bit
of criteria, you know there'stwo reels you need.

Speaker 1 (58:44):
I think One reel is like the actor's reel where it
shows your acting, and the otherone, the demo reel, is like
proof of you workingprofessionally.
And if you can have the proofof working professionally and it
has good acting scenes, thenyou just need the one.

Speaker 2 (59:04):
Wait.
So what's an acting reel?
It's like your best work andthe difference between that and
a demo reel.

Speaker 1 (59:11):
Sometimes your best work isn't from a professional
shoot.
Okay, so that's like theprofessional shoot stuff is.
They watch that and go oh, he'sbeen in that show and that show
and that show I see Great, he'sworked professionally, that's
great.
It's not necessarily your bestacting work.

Speaker 2 (59:27):
And it's not essential, like if you don't
have that professional work yet.

Speaker 1 (59:32):
don't let that you know, deter you from going for
it.
A couple of decent self-tapeswill show your acting.

Speaker 2 (59:38):
Yeah, yeah, it's great, but even still like, no
matter how much work you've doneand no matter how good your
show reel is, you still have togo through the same process as
everyone else every time.

Speaker 1 (59:49):
Yeah, look at Teresa Palmer saying you know, still
auditioning for everything.
It's gruelling.
I mean, I hear stories.
You know I watch a lot offamous people talking about
acting.
My Instagram, that's all it isyou know acting content.
Yeah, and you know some of thebiggest actors you know are
saying I feel that auditionprocess is gruelling and I still

(01:00:11):
have to do it.
Yeah, you go.
Wow, like it's only that realsmall percent that don't have to
audition anymore.

Speaker 2 (01:00:16):
I mean, auditioning is really important.
It's not like oh, I want to getto a point where I don't have
to audition anymore, because theaudition is you would have to
be Tom Cruise, yeah, yeah, andat that point you just have to
be a good runner, right, I thinkso Just running jumping yeah,
yeah, I mean I can run Jumpingon couches and stuff, yeah.

(01:00:39):
But yeah, auditioning is reallyimportant because it's an
opportunity to show the directoryour interpretation and what
you bring to that character.
It's not about like, can I getthis right?

Speaker 1 (01:00:49):
and look how good I am.
Do I fit in your movie?

Speaker 2 (01:00:51):
or not.
Yeah, yeah, it's not about likeI need to prove how good of an
actor I am.
It's about can I relate to thischaracter as this person?
At that point, you don't haveto.

Speaker 1 (01:01:00):
They're not proving they're good actors anymore.

Speaker 3 (01:01:02):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (01:01:03):
They're just proving that they fit for your movie.

Speaker 2 (01:01:06):
This character is right for them?
Yeah, because we're not rightfor everyone, totally yeah, and
that's why, again, like with therejection, I don't even like
calling it rejection, it's justyeah, it wasn't your gig, you
know.
So you can't beat yourself upif you don't get a gig because,
well, at a certain point, likeif you're on hold for like three
months and then you know youlose because your hair's the

(01:01:28):
wrong colour or whatever whatcolour is your hair again?
Oh, it used to be Skin colour.
It's skin colour.
Yeah, Mate, I think we workedit all out.

Speaker 1 (01:01:38):
Yeah, yep, I think so .
Dude this is really good.

Speaker 2 (01:01:42):
Thanks for being on my first episode ever, yeah
thank you.

Speaker 1 (01:01:45):
And last, I don't think I'll do it again.

Speaker 2 (01:01:47):
I fucking hated it.
This wasn't fun for me.

Speaker 1 (01:01:50):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (01:01:51):
I'm embarrassed.

Speaker 1 (01:01:52):
You can't see the gun pointed at my head.
That's just here.

Speaker 2 (01:01:55):
No, I think it's just out of the shot.
Oh you look great man, look atyou.

Speaker 1 (01:02:05):
Man, look at you, man , my head's so white I didn't
dress sort of accordingly to apodcast.

Speaker 2 (01:02:08):
But I can, I can live with this nah you're good man
keep it cash.
I didn't do my hair thanks, man.

Speaker 1 (01:02:12):
It's just, it was on the wrong, it was going the
wrong way.

Speaker 2 (01:02:14):
Yeah, thank you, that's so.
I was like that the whole timeyeah, but it's so embarrassing
man.
Yeah, I think you'll be allright.
All right, where can we findyou?

Speaker 1 (01:02:26):
Why don't you plug yourself on socials?
Yeah, you can find me onsocials.
My Instagram handle isnicklaunchbury.
Or you can find me onPromptside Actors Collective on
Instagram or Facebook.

Speaker 2 (01:02:45):
Facebook.
Oh see, that wasn't that nice.
I told you Love that guy, soinsightful.
Hey, next week I have ConnorPullinger on the show.
He's a really fantastic actor.
He's very prolific, he'sworking so hard, he's in
everything, he's winning someawards, he's the best, and we
have a really nice chat.
So please don't miss out onthat one.
Subscribe or follow whereveryou're listening or watching, so

(01:03:10):
you don't miss out on thatepisode with Connor Pullinger.
The music that you're listeningto right now was written and
produced by my cousin, nick Gunn.
It also features a little cameoby my sister-in-law, muskan
Shrestha.
She's the best, but you canfind Nick's stuff on SoundCloud.
I think he's got an album onSpotify too.

(01:03:30):
You know how I feel aboutSpotify, but make sure that you
check out Nick Gunn's music.
He's awesome.
Hey, thank you so much forwatching or listening.
I'll see you next week.
My name is Chris Gunn and, hey,go pluck yourself.