Dear Me

Dear Tim:

Hey it’s future you, what you don’t believe me? OK, well, look in your closet on the back of the door, you have that tiny cut out of the Actor’s Vow taped near the handle that you didn’t think anyone else knew about? Yeah, told ya, oh and first things first, don’t stop reciting it everyday.

OK, now here’s what I want to tell you. You ARE gonna get there, but for now, relax. Not every agent hates you, and guess what, they are people too. I know it is hard to believe, but some of them are just as worried about their careers as you are, can you believe that? Also, you will not be rich and famous tomorrow or next month, so stop worrying/counting on it. Enjoy this moment of struggling, it will last for a while, but it will get a little bit easier each year. OK, here’s the bad news; you will not be able to afford that apartment in Midtown, but here’s the good news: you will soon realize that you don’t want to live there anyway, so it’s all good, Brooklyn is your place.

OK, I know you think waiting outside of AEA from 6 am on is a waste of time. And guess what you’re right, that you’re probably not going to get cast in the Broadway show it’s for, but wait wait wait, come back, you should still audition. Yes, you should, I know it seems like a waste and 99.9% chance you will NOT get cast, BUT, and this is big, BUT that casting assistant who’s in the room right now, ends up being a casting DIRECTOR on a show you will be PERFECT for in a few years, and guess what, she calls you in, many times. Yeah, seriously.

Also, guess what? You actually ARE a commercial type. Yeah, you will book like 10 or 12 of them in the next few years so stop thinking you aren’t right for them and relax. Oh and you will also not have to try to get every girls number and awkwardly ask them out. You can also erase your online dating profile because guess what, one of those commercials, you actually meet your wife, yeah dude, nuts!

OK, I gotta wrap this up pretty soon cause future you has to go sign up for an EPA (yeah you get your card) and work on a new monologue, (yeah, you WILL have to do that for awhile), but let me tell you this: it’s a marathon. Chances are you won’t really hit your stride till you’re in your mid-late 30s, if then. You gotta love it man, if you don’t, you’re going to be miserable. Also, start writing that play, work on that comedy routine and exercise. Get yourself in better shape man, it will pay off. Most importantly, enjoy the ride. Extraordinary years are made up of ordinary days. Oh, and floss.

Sincerely,

Wiser, older, handsomer you.