1:49 pm - Tues 12.15.2009
2009: The Best Year Yet?

Well, as I just told Jane in an email, it looks like I didn't book the Emerald Nuts commercial or the True Jackson VP guest-star.

And that's disappointing - It would have been nice to pull off one more "win" in the waning days of 2009.

But that said, it's been a pretty stellar year, career-wise, so I can't be too "down in the mouth" about it.

Someone asked me, as I was in the middle of my run of good fortune (In the second half of the year), "Is this the best year you've had out here?".

("So was it?", you're wondering?)

Well, in terms of "number of bookings", it wasn't (I'm assuming things are all done for this year, though I guess True Jackson could still be "in play"): I booked six gigs in 2007, and five gigs a year or two before that.

And in terms of "earnings", I don't know yet...but having shot two national commercials that could start running any time now, I'm hoping the answer, in the long run, will turn out to be "yes".

But considered in terms of the quality of bookings, this clearly was my "best year yet".

I booked The Mentalist, which is far-and-away the biggest show I've booked.

And I booked Mad Men, which is far-and-way the most critically acclaimed show I've booked.

And I booked I'm In The Band, which, beyond just being fun to do (And there's a lot to be said for that), might help "open up" kids shows for me (Not to mention the possibility of my role becoming "recurring" - It's a vague possibility, but hey, a possibility's a possibility).

And in terms of the two commercials (For Kayak.com and FedEx) - While I don't know how things are going to play out financially, with two national commercials running at or around the same time, which I've never had before, I feel like there's every reason to be optimistic.

And beyond whatever money the commercials generate, they could end up helping me in a way Propel (The reigning commercial earnings champ) did not; I was basically a glorified extra in the Propel spot, while I'm definitely a principal in the Kayak.com and FedEx spots.

So it's hard to imagine, if the commercials have a good run and are successful spots, that the resulting "visibility" won't help me - Certainly commercially, and maybe even theatrically.

But beyond the bookings, I'd say this year was "the best year yet" because of the opportunities I started to get; the same day guest-star audition for Three Rivers (Which led to an audition for a possible "recurring" role on the same show), the possible "recurring" role on Eastwick, my first audition for a genuine supporting role in a movie (Priest), and the guest-star I just went in for (On True Jackson).

It's hard-bordering-on-impossible sometimes to gauge my progress out here, and I always want more than I'm getting at any given time.

But that said, it's hard to argue that some progress isn't being made, because the auditions I just mentioned are not auditions I was getting a couple years ago.

It may not be going as quickly as I'd like, but clearly, things are going in the right direction.

I just have to keep doing what I'm doing...and try to do it a little better.

And have faith that, with a little luck and a lot of perseverance, it's going to happen for me.

Cause it kind of already is.

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