As of today, I've been a professional actor and musician for twenty years. Allegedly.
Doesn't working in the same field for two decades technically constitute a career? If so, I look forward to the sense of security kicking in, both psychologically and financially. However, I know I should at least give myself a pat on the back for managing to stay in an industry so notorious for people dropping out. To still be acting twenty years after my showcase at London's Fortune Theatre is not to be sniffed at, whatever my bank balance/sinus issues say to the contrary.
All in all, I haven't done too bad. My first two jobs - both No. 1 tours for Bill Kenwright - set a high bar in terms of the scale of theatre I was playing and the work I was doing. Being a musician definitely increased my opportunities in the early days, though I risked being typecast in a genre I was determined to not get stuck in. However, it gave me some great opportunities of which playing my heroes Paul McCartney, John Lennon and Buddy Holly are still the most ridiculous. And eight years after graduating, it got me in a West End musical.
The work I'm proudest of, however, was self-generated. The biggie was Mostly Comedy, which was totally accidental, and I would never have anticipated doing standup in the early days, let alone take solo shows to the Edinburgh, London, Brighton, Leicester and Bath Fringe. The show Glyn and I developed with Rob Maskell and briefly toured, 'Glad All Over!: A Sixties Celebration' was another highlight, which we would have kept doing in an alternate timeline (the 1970s?).
Carving a career as an actor is a bit like exploring a high-hedged maze, when all you can do is follow your nose to see where it takes you. Sometimes I wonder if I could have focused a clear path instead of doing things so haphazardly, but you can only explore the opportunities presented to you. I've always felt a bit like a basking shark careerwise: progressing slowly with my mouth wide open to every opportunity instead of specialising. But it is what it is. I hope that if I'm still stalking the planet in twenty years, I'll still be performing, though God knows how I'll ever scrape together a pension.
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| He's a baby. |