Fine, I chose a book about TV. An anthology about “The Office.” Here’s a story from Leslie David Baker, who played Stanley. Man I miss acting:
I went in to meet casting director Allison Jones and I had on my little suit and tie because my character worked in an office. I auditioned, and she said, “Great, I want you to go to the callback in two days, but don’t go in dressed so nicely – you want to look kind of rumpled and crinkly-wrinkled, like you’ve actually been working.” I showed up at the callback, but they had like 50 people there, and I had another audition scheduled that day. I figured I had time to leave and go to the other audition, so I got in my car went to it. That afternoon, school was out and every old person in Los Angeles decided they wanted to come out and drive that day, so there were old people driving slowly, children darting in the street, locusts falling from the heavens, whatever could slow me down, trains stopping in the middle of the track, anything that could happen happened. So I got to the callback and I was sweaty and wrinkled and irritable and grouchy.
Allison Jones, regarding this:
I guarantee you that helped his audition, because he was funny and cantankerous and that was the character. It really is fortuitous when that happens.
