Young Hollywood Actors Young Hollywood Actors How They Got Started, How They Keep Going: Stories & Advice from Your Favorite Performers The Hometown to Hollywood Interviews Volume I Bonnie J. Wallace Copyright © 2018 by Bonnie J. Wallace All rights reserved. Published in the United States by Hollywood Parents Press. ISBN 978-0-9863511-2-9 ISBN 978-0-9863511-3-6 1. Performing Arts. 2. Acting and Auditioning. Library of Congress Control Number: 2018913788 Hollywood Parents Press: Los Angeles, California www.bonniejwallace.com Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the author of this book. 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For Claire, Chloe, and Bobby You fill my life with love and inspiration And For all the dreamers And those who support them Individual Cover Photo Credits Cameron Boyce ©Cameron Boyce 2018 Dove Cameron ©Dove Cameron 2018 Thomas Doherty ©Thomas Doherty 2018 Sarah Jeffery ©Sarah Jeffery 2018 Jessica Marie Garcia ©Jessica Marie Garcia 2018 Booboo Stewart ©Booboo Stewart 2018 Brenna D’Amico ©Brenna D’Amico 2018 Garrett Clayton ©Garrett Clayton 2018 Joey Bragg ©Joey Bragg 2018 Victoria Moroles ©Victoria Moroles 2018 Dylan Playfair ©Dylan Playfair 2018 Luke Benward ©Luke Benward 2018 Used with permission. Cover design ©Bonnie J. Wallace, 2018 Contents Gratitude xi Introduction xiii 1 When Did You Know You Wanted to Be an Actor? 1 2 How Did You Get Started? 25 3 Finding an Agent or Manager 48 4 Training 74 5 School 101 6 Challenges 127 7 Rejection and Haters 150 8 Audition Advice 166 9 Surprises 193 10 The Disney Channel 213 11 What’s Important for Success 229 12 Advice for Young People Who Want This Life 243 Epilogue 263 Mini Bios of Actors 269 Social Media Links (All verified accounts) 273 About the Author 275 Gratitude THIS BOOK WOULD not exist without the incredible generosity of the twelve young actors who took time out of their busy lives to speak so honestly with me for the Hometown to Hollywood podcast and then gave me permission to share their words in this book. Their success is a testament to their passion, creativity, and hard work. A huge thank you to: Luke Benward Cameron Boyce Joey Bragg Dove Cameron Garrett Clayton Brenna D’Amico Thomas Doherty Jessica Marie Garcia Sarah Jeffery Victoria Moroles Dylan Playfair Booboo Stewart xii BONNIE J. WALLACE Special thanks to Roberta Raye, Kate Carruthers, Anne Wilkinson Ellis, Lisa Skelly, Catherine Kennedy, Debra Gilmore, Lorene Harriman, Cheryl Schneiderhan, Dana Wells Boyd, Tay Brumit, Bob Wallace, June Wallace, Kristin Wolfram, Graehm Wallace, Sandy Wallace, Sarah Wallace, Pamela Fisher, Harry Abrams, Domina Holbeck, Fatmata Kamara, Jennifer Davisson, Phillip Watson, Patti Felker, Corey Barash, Scott Felcher, Alex Schack, Betsy Sullenger, Andy Fickman, John Beck, Ron Hart, Kenny Ortega, Gary Marsh, Steve Vincent, Suzanne Goddard-Smyth, and Dinah Manoff. Very special thanks to Robert Bellospirito. Most of all, my greatest love and deepest gratitude to my two daughters, Claire Hosterman and Dove Cameron (Chloe). My days, and this book, are dedicated to you. Introduction OVER EIGHT YEARS ago, my youngest daughter, Dove, and I packed up everything we owned and drove from Bainbridge Island to Los Angeles to give her a chance at her dream. When we landed in LA, I was stunned by how little effective, trust- worthy help there was for parents of young actors trying to navigate Hollywood. There was plenty of hype, but helping Dove get her start in the entertainment industry felt overwhelming, challenging, and frustrating. When Dove reached a clear level of success, I knew I wanted to give back by helping other families. I began a blog; wrote The Hollywood Parents Guide; started the Hometown to Hollywood podcast; and began consulting, speaking, and teaching workshops. My mission is to educate and inspire. Education helps you make the best decisions for you. Inspiration helps you persevere when the going gets tough—as it can for everyone. This book shares that mission and is the first in a series based on the Hometown to Hollywood interviews. I’m excited to bring the xiv BONNIE J. WALLACE thoughtful, honest, and raw words of twelve extraordinary young artists to you in these pages. If you enjoy this book, I encourage you to subscribe to the podcast. You can find it on iTunes, or on my website: https://bonniejwallace.com. The website’s player works on all major platforms, not just Apple, and you’ll get the show notes there. As of this writing, there are over eighty episodes published, with more to come. It’s my hope that the authentic and intimate stories shared in this book will both shed light on what it really takes to become a success- ful young actor and inspire you to follow your own dreams, whatever they may be. Bonnie BONUS: You can download the unpublished bonus chapters from this book at https://bonniejwallace.com/bonus-chapters/! These incredible chap- ters couldn’t be included in the final manuscript due to length issues. Find out what it was like for these young actors to land in Hollywood, who inspires them, what they would do if they weren’t actors, how they stay focused on their dreams, and more! 1 When Did You Know You Wanted to Be an Actor? WHEN DO YOU know you’ve discovered your life’s path? Some people know what they want to do before they even have the words for it. As Dove Cameron said, “I don’t know, it’s like—do you remember when your first word was? I was just kind of always speak- ing. I was just kind of always wanting to be an actor.” Other people discover their true calling in the course of pursuing something else. Dylan Playfair was focused on hockey until he was nineteen and realized that he wasn’t going to make it professionally as a hockey player. Only then did he begin to think about pursuing acting…and his hockey background actually helped him find an agent and some of his first roles. Brenna D’Amico and Thomas Doherty discovered their love of act- ing through taking classes when they were young. Victoria Moroles, Cameron Boyce, and Sarah Jeffery discovered performing through dance. Luke Benward and Booboo Stewart had parents in the enter- tainment industry, which gave them early exposure and opportuni- ties. Jessica Marie Garcia fell in love with movies, and Joey Bragg fell in love with stand-up comedy. Garrett Clayton began his career in 2 BONNIE J. WALLACE commercial modeling and then pursued musical theater before mov- ing into film and TV. For every one of these young stars, the path was different, but a few things were shared: a belief in themselves, perseverance, and strong parental support. Two of those three things are available to anyone. And while parental support is helpful at any age, once you are eighteen, you can find a way to pursue your path on your own if necessary. Dove Cameron Dove: I don’t know, it’s like—do you remember what your first word was? I was just kind of always speaking. I was just kind of always wanting to be an actor. There was defi- nitely a time where I had a bigger melting pot of career options, as you know, I thought maybe I want to do fash- ion design. There was even a time where I thought I might want to be a lawyer. When you’re younger, the possibili- ties of doing all three are totally viable. I was going to be a fashion designer lawyer, actor on the side (laughs). There was a time when, honestly, I went through a bit of a…childhood to teen-hood depression. Which I think a lot of creative, intelligent kids go through because it’s just really difficult to grapple with all of your feelings plus all of the new lessons, plus all of the hormones and the changing…that moodiness, that can dip into depres- sion sometimes, and I’ve seen it a lot in young kids. I would just stay up all night watching films, and that was the only thing that interested me. I would only watch films, or television, and a lot of my cultural references YOUNG HOLLYWOOD ACTORS 3 and life lessons that I would talk to you about, you’d say, “Where’d you learn that?” And I’d be like “Oh, this show” or “Oh, that movie,” and I just started to notice that that was literally the only thing that I cared about. That was what took up 100 percent of my brain, and that was what I wanted to take up 100 percent of my life. I don’t think it was ever a decision.