Konstantin Stanislavski remarked that "there are no small parts, only small actors." If you're an actor, you've probably heard that as you and your acting career attempt to achieve liftoff.
I began my acting journey on stage with the Virginia Repertory Theatre and soon after started landing bit parts in regional commercials and film productions. I am grateful I started on stage and received the traditional training. It gave me a deeper appreciation for the craft and a love of theatre! Booking TV and film roles here and there were direct results of my stage work. Local casting directors took notice and hired me. I was 16 years old when this started happening, and it was a cool way to supplement my lawn care side hustle.
I was usually looking for a job, going on countless auditions in NYC, Los Angeles, Richmond VA, and Wilmington NC. I took a ton of acting and improv classes.
As much as I did not want to do it...I registered at Central Casting in Burbank CA, and started taking extra jobs. I had a brief taste of the movie star treatment when I booked a few bigger roles on network TV shows. I felt a bit deflated having to start over. In hindsight, I'm grateful for how it all played out.
Central Casting booked me as a background extra on the CBS hit, "Everybody Loves Raymond", starring Ray Romano and Patricia Heaton. I was committed on set for the whole week as director, Jerry Zaks, blocked the scenes. I wound up in a school cafeteria scene with Ray. Our scene was not fluid enough for writer and executive producer, Phil Rosenthal, so he wound up writing one line for me to deliver to Ray to move the scene along.
That is pretty incredible, and does not happen often. The line producer, Lisa Helfrich Jackson, offered me a trailer, which was so thoughtful. I declined the trailer because we were already at Thursday night's run-through and so close to Friday night's taping, I did not really need it. The cherry on top is that my pay scale went up and, to this day, I continue to get residual payments from this bit part. You never know! Taking that first step, no matter how humbling, and simply showing up and following directions, is half the battle.
After we filmed the show in front of a live studio audience, it is traditional for the cast to take a bow. I mumbled I was going to pass on the curtain call. Somehow, the star, Patricia Heaton, caught wind of this and came up to me and said I must take a bow, stating, "There are no small parts, Phil...only small actors".
Photo left: Phil with Ray Romano/photo center: Curtain call with the stars: Ray Romano, Patricia Heaton, Doris Roberts, Peter Boyle, Brad Garrett, the twins and the rest of us!
Still set photos by Tom Caltibiano / IG @tom_caltabiano_photo