The Actor's Life: A Survival Guide by Jenna Fischer

The Actor's Life: A Survival Guide by Jenna Fischer

252 pages

5/5

Jenna Fischer’s Hollywood journey began at the age of 22 when she moved to Los Angeles from her hometown of St. Louis. With a theater degree in hand, she was certain everything would fall easily into place. Never mind that she didn’t know a single person in the entertainment industry. She was determined, she was confident, she was ready to work hard. So, what could go wrong?

Uh, basically everything. It would be eight long years before she landed her Emmy-nominated role of Pam Beesley on The Office—nearly a decade of failure, struggle, rejection and doubt. 

If only she’d had a handbook for the struggling actor. Or, better yet, someone to show her the way—an established actor who could manage her expectations, educate her about the business, and reassure her in those moments of despair.

Jenna Fischer wants to be that person for you. 

This book is adorable, and if I were an aspiring actor, it would be SO helpful.  It's less memoir and more instructional manual for someone new to show business.  As such, a lot of this was not directly applicable to me personally, but I found her stories unique and uplifting.  Jenna is extremely honest about all of the ups and downs she has experienced throughout her career, and sprinkles those stories throughout the practical advice about getting work as an actor.  It made me want a full-on memoir from her; she's so engaging!  My favorite chapter was the one on headshots.  I learned a lot about headshots in general, but hearing Jenna bemoan her early headshots (she's holding her first in the cover art) was hilarious.

Also - please go for the audiobook.  Jenna is the narrator, and it's awesome. 

"A Load of Hooey" by Bob Odenkirk

I like Bob Odenkirk's acting; he brings a great comic touch to characters who could have been one note stereotypes, most famously Saul Goodman/Jimmy McGill on "Breaking Bad" and "Better Call Saul", so I was looking forward to his quirky and sarcastic humor in this audio book.  Unfortunately, I barely chuckled.  Lots of topics were covered, some of which were not familiar to me, but most of it just was not funny.  Several other people make appearances reading sections, but they were even worse.  The best part of this audio book was that Odenkirk read most of it, and I do like the raspy and exasperated tone to his voice.

Audio:  approximately 2 hrs. 30 min.
Print:  112 pages.

"Noah" by Cara Dee

I read Cara Dee's story "Aftermath" a few years ago and really liked it, so I wanted to read another of her books.  Noah is having a very bad two days.  First, he catches his girlfriend of four years cheating on him, and the next day, the plane carrying his parents, sister, brother-in-law, niece, and nephew crashes killing all on board.  He's never been so depressed or felt so alone.  However, his 23-year-old step-nephew is left, and when the young man moves in with Noah, things start to look up.

This book was very different from "Aftermath" but was still a compelling read.  Julian and Noah don't really know each other but they bond while trying to get through the tragedy.  My only complaints are that big chunks of time were glossed over (one chapter started with "Nine months later"), and there was too much cussing for my taste.  I'm no prude but I found it distracting and too crude for the characters.  259 pages (Kindle edition).

"Not My Father's Son: A Memoir" by Alan Cumming

Alan Cumming survived a horrible childhood with an abusive father in Scotland to become a very successful actor, writer, singer, producer, and director.  (He won a Tony Award for Cabaret in 1998 and is now a regular on TV's The Good Wife.)  This memoir tells parallel stories from Alan's memories of abuse and his journey as an adult to find out more about his maternal grandfather who died in Malaysia in 1951.  He did the latter for the television show Who Do You Think You Are?  His mother's family were never told the truth about his grandfather's death, and at the same time as filming, Alan's father drops a bombshell on him after more than a decade of silence.  So there are two mysteries that he's trying to solve, and both are bound to cause emotional upheaval for him, his mother, and his older brother.

This is an excellent, well written, and riveting memoir about secrets, lies, misconceptions, and mental illness, and what they do to families.  It is not a complete autobiography of the author's entire life but about how he survived his childhood as well as two enormous revelations that happened in his 40s.  I admired Alan Cumming before I read this and that admiration is even greater now.  Highly recommended.  294 pages.