Euemeros’s Weblog

I was a stage actor who was a member of the Screen Actors Guild, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG/AFTRA).  I also achieved Equity Membership Candidate status.  I quit acting because I now have what is called Central Auditory Processing Disorder.  It is an inability to completely understand speech. 

I saw the movie Underdog which I was in.  I was a gardener and on screen for a minute or so as Underdog flew above me.  Although my fellow actors were friendly and helpful knowing of my hearing disorder, the Assistant Director was not so nice.  I’m 38 now and started acting since I was 11.  I performed at such venues as Harvard University.  The assistant director had the gaul to tell us (and there are some very talented stage actors here in New England who are members of SAG) to shut our yaps and that there are people who are being paid big money who know what they are doing.  Well, with my acting credentials and those of my fellow Boston Regional SAG members, I think we know what we were doing.  For some egotistical reason, Hollywood thinks that the only people who can act are living in LA or NYC.  50% of SAG membership actually lives outside of those two cities.  The Union continues to discriminate against half of its members by not allowing us non-LA/non-NYC residents who are members of SAG equal opportunity in performing major roles in film.  The age-old excuse as paraphrased from a speech Boston SAG President Dona Sommers is "It’s always been done that way".  The only reason she could think of to justify the constant discrimination SAG allows is that it’s always been that way.  Why can’t things change?  As Obama is fond of saying, "It’s all more of the same". 

I had lunch with Underdog ‘s star and talked with the girl cast to play Molly (Polly Purebred’s owner).  The kid was a total moron with only three years of acting experience behind him.  When I was his age, I only had three years of acting experience, but because I lived in New England, Hollywood would think that the only parts I could play would have been Extra Parts.  The only difference between a star and an extra is that the stars live in Hollywood or New York City and the extras live elsewhere.  Believe you me, there are plenty of well-credentialed actors outside of Hollywood and New York City who are getting the shaft.  Another thing that bothers me about SAG, is that the more you make, the less dues you have to pay per centage.  If you earn more than $100,000 you don’t have to pay dues at all.  It’s absolutely criminal.  The only way to make $100,000 or more as an actor is not to have a lot of stage experience.  The only  credential you need to be paid that much is to live in New York City and LA.  I could have over 20 years of acting behind me in Ivy League Universities as an actor-in-residence (as I was at Brown University since 2003 until my Artistic Director died and a new person was put in charge and decided not to pay it’s ‘in-residences), that doesn’t matter.  For as long as I live outside of Hollywood and New York City, I will never have the chance to shine in a major role in a unionized film.  I refuse to sell out and move because I feel that the system is totally unfair.  If I had my way, I’d arrest all of the Union leaders in Hollywood and New York City for location discrimination.  I’d also have all Producers who feel entitled to discriminate against 50% of the SAG membership arrested.