Paul's Corner

Paul, Paul, Paul...

The first post i read when i found this site was your second to last one, about betrayal. I'd come straight from watching SB, I found myself wanting to shake you and scream. I didn't say anything, cos i realised that was probably unfair - i read the rest of the posts, and i realised that this place is a type of diary, an outlet for you, for lots of positivity and happiness as well as the occassional bout of negativity we all have from time to time. But here i am again. Ready to shake you till your head falls off. (Brief disclaimer: i have become genuinely fond of you and everyone who posts here from reading all that's been said, so please take the following in the spirit of concern it is intended...)

WAKE UP!!!!!!!

So you're not 25 anymore. So you get passed over for a part for a younger model. So you're not the prettiest boy in the room anymore, going a bit squishy round the edges (:-)) Can't speak for anyone else, but this is not a big shock to me. You are not unique. This is a normal condition of the world.

First off, you mention being pigeon-holed. I can only imagine that it must be utterly frustrating as an actor, and if so there is nothing else you can do but fight for parts you want again and again until you either win one or stop. But if you are pigeon-holed, there is a reason for it, a damn good one. You might never be a Hollywood-successful actor. Your might never get the casting people to change their minds. But you have ALREADY HAD an experience that most stars/actors would kill for, in Strictly Ballroom.

I do not mean to suggest you should be happy if all that has followed it and will follow be compared to something you did at the beginning of your career (for although your other movies are great and well loved, they do and must follow on from what is your greatest professional success). I realise it must be as much of an albatross around your neck as a blessing at times. But you have to be grateful, you have to be proud, of that amazing experience. Your performance is iconic. It is a rare movie, but a performance like that is rarer still. Perhaps only those who watch the movie, who know nothing of the work to craft it, can appreciate this (but i hope not). You should be so proud, YOU DID SOMETHING that inspires people all around the world, that will make people happy probably long after you are gone (!). There are millions of people in the world, myself included, who would kill for the chance to be able to say that. BE PROUD.

Second, don't waste energy wishing you could change the system. You can't. Its a sad fact that people judge on appearances, and in the movie industry this tendency is distilled. I spent fifteen minutes this morning blow-drying my hair and putting on makeup, something i resent almost every time i do it, but which i have learned is necessary as a young woman if i don't want people to dismiss me. My point is, everyone struggles to make others see them as they truly are, to notice; really, to like them. If you feel your appearance is holding you back as an actor you are mistaken. There are actors, good and bad, in films good and bad, and they come in all shapes and sizes. Many are over 30, and many were never even pretty to begin with :-) If something is holding you back, that is not it. It may be the type of roles you get presented. It may be the type of roles you want.
If you want to act, act. Don't worry about success. There are poets who never get read and painters who are never seen; your art means that there is always some appreciation in performance. And there are ALWAYS plays, always parts. If you want to act, ACT.

Last of all, cos this is long and i have someplace to go: Don't confuse your work, your appearance, the opinions of others (least of all casting agents, jeez) with WHO YOU ARE and WHAT YOU DO. You are a father. You are a husband. You are a friend. You are an artist. You are kind. You are funny. You are loved, and you are good at loving others. You have done much, and there is more to come, but do not equate the success at the end with the importance of the process. Being an actor does not have to mean you are tossed by the whims and fancy of those with the power to make decisions over your career. Deciding to rise above it does not mean that they will stop. You cannot protect yourself from being betrayed. You cannot stop or alter the behaviour of others. People will hurt you just as you, I, everyone, hurts a hundred different people in ways we cannot predict or perhaps even avoid. Deciding to rise above it is accepting this, with compassion and patience. Be true to yourself, as corny as that sounds. Be who your are. Do what you love to do. Enjoy your family and your heart. This is what it is to be successful.

You say you wonder who you should be for the industry to want you. Stop trying honey. Be yourself. Everyone else can take a flying leap. You may not get everything you want, people rarely do; but you might be happier! If I've offended, i apologise, but like i said, it's only cos i care:-)

Drink another beer for me, and watch the sunrise. C-ya.

Lizzie: Perfect! I have a feeling you put into words what most of us felt after reading Paul's last post.

Boy, I completely understand where you are coming from.

I toyed with the whole acting/modeling idea a few years back (ok, quite a few years back, I'm 34 now) but decided I didn't want the scrutiny.

My husband tells me I'm gorgeous and brilliant everyday. That's all the fanfare I need. But that performing bug is a hard one to beat. If there was just a way to do your craft, get critical acclaim (because lets face it, the feedback is a very important part of that bug), and be paid great money, without being famous?? Guess not. Oh well.

I'm not too worried about you Paul, you have too much going for you to let this drag you down.

Why don't you open that pub you wanted to? Call it "Strictly Beer" *L* Life is too short, we've got to do what truly makes us happy.

It's not fair sometimes, how we know so much about you, and we get to criticize and scrutinize behind the anonymity of a keyboard. But that's very much like showbiz, isn't it? You put it all out there for us to judge and hopefully appreciate.

Just to let you know a little about this fan. I wanted to get out of the rat race, and so did my husband (he had been an actor in Canada and a singer). We now live on a hundred acres of oceanfront in Nova Scotia. I could list the animals we have, but it would take too much time. We home school our kids, and I am writing a book about nutrition, (it's a lot more than just nutrition, but that narrows it down) I'll bit my tongue about those sausages! But my point it, we got as far away from the limelight as possible.

Oh, just to put things into perspective about age, Tom Cruise is 40. Brad Pitt is 39 that new Vin Diesel guy is 35.

You are at the best age right now, the people that have the money these movie makers want are in there 30's and 40's. And we are not interested in watching all those youngins out there. We do want to watch people our own age.

OK, I've started to ramble. Just wanted you to know I appreciate and understand what you said.

Michelle -Nova Scotia

if only beer didn't taste so damn good after a long day's work or on a saturday or for breakfast.

p: you know the score, you know the game. it's in all our natures to have self-doubt, self-pity, self-loathing about how we look or why we put up with the external garbage. good thing you are aware of the good things, too -- read that cuddling with your kid post again.

cheers

Paul, I have five words for ya: Jack Nicholson looks like hell.

So the ingenue parts are no longer up for grabs. Good! Now you get to do the fun parts! Think about some of your own co-stars: Bill Hunter, Barry Otto, Rod Taylor--all of them older and uglier than you, and all of them fantastic talents.

Sounds like it's time for a catchphrase: PARADIGM SHIFT! We all get older. Catch that ball and run with it.

Erm, not that I'm implying you're ugly. ;-)

Paul,

All my screenplay specs and projects call for actors in the age range 35-45 for any of the really good parts. Mercurio Rex is also not a spring chicken and he's supposed to be a healthy weight. I don't write fluff for the 14-18 demographic, maybe that's why I don't seem to get anywhere here lately. But for me it isn't about the fast buck, it's about telling a captivating story. Remember if you are interested in directing, that is always an off camera option, all you need is the "vision." (Which I'm sure you have.)

You sound like Richie actually, grumbling about his "six-pack" slowing turning into more of a pony keg. In the long run the "wrapping" doesn't matter, it's the gift inside the wrapping that counts - and you do have a gift a wonderful gift.

I wish I lived down under and could collaborate with you directly to create a project for you. At least down there there is more emphasis on story than over here, we'd probably haev a better chance getting backing. Although I am inching along on this musical thing. Remember I am keeping you in mind for one of the roles, and we will need a a choreographer if we can get this baby mounted!

If you have any project ideas let me know - I'll burn you out a spec. Who knows where we may go on the wings of an albatross...

And when you look in the mirror just rememeber, be thankful you aren't Marlon Brando.

*hugs* and know that I know how you feel and can empathise.

Charlie

Okay, I gotta admit the other posts were long, so I just skimmed them, so forgive me if there's redundancy.
Paul, what directors want is someone who makes a perfect head to a big consumerist dick so when they tell us consumers (moviegoers, tv-watchers, i.e; MONEY-SPENDERS) to bend over and prepare to be serviced, we'll do it and give them all our money. When you look at the actors who have made it, they're either part of a money-making machine (a big consumerist dick) or they're damn lucky (perhaps Santeria, some sort of special juju?). What's great about you is that you made part of the "servicing" of our consumer behinds much more pleasurable than it usually is. Not as hard to shell out $30 for a DVD when it's got Paul Mercurio in it. Julia Roberts? Piss off. Brad Pitt? I want to know who he sold his soul to, the no-talent ass-clown. They have lasting careers, and you have a lasting truthful experience of life. You KNOW your daughters, you TALK to your wife, you THINK about life. You're doing much better than most of the world. Screw the rest.

Here's your mantra for the week:
"F*ck it."