The Booker -by Brian Farrell
I haven’t booked a commercial in 6 years. 6 years ago I was the delivery guy in a Pizza Hut commercial which was on the air in random regions of this great country for nearly two years making me a good amount of coin in residuals, but nowadays it’s getting to the point where I’m lucky to still have one of the top agents in town still believe in me. If I kept a log of all my commercial auditions, it’d be in numbering in the thousands for sure. I had auditioned for 80-plus commercials before I booked that Pizza Hut commercial. I get called back all the time, and I get put on avail* often, but for whatever reason, I’ve had the darndest time booking jobs…until now. My friends Jake Johnson and Steve Berg are successful veterans of commercial acting game and they recently bestowed upon me “The Booker,” which essentially is a $100,000 button-down long-sleeve flannel shirt, because both those guys have worn it to auditions and booked many commercials wearing it. (The shirt’s worth being so high based on how much money those guys made wearing it to auditions to jobs they booked.) I am now the proud keeper of “The Booker.”
And “The Booker” worked! I recently worked on three ESPN promos…all thanks to “The Booker.” I’m really not supposed to disclose the creative content of these funny promos, but I will tell you that in one of promos I’m being taught yoga on the beaches of Malibu by the legendary Coach Mike Ditka, so if you watch football on ESPN, look for the Packers fan with the mustache and that’s me.
I look forward to cashing in on more of all that commercial acting money. Hooray for me…but here is my promise to you Faithful Reader: If you are in my good graces, want to act in commercials and have a similar physical build as me, I will one day don you with “The Booker” when the timing is right.
Me in “The Booker”
*on avail is a courtesy call the casting director makes to your agent that lets you know that the advertising agency is strongly considering booking you
