There Is Only One Certainty About An Acting Career In Hollywood by Chad Lindberg
Film Courage: Chad, I understand you moved to Los Angeles in 1995?
Chad Lindberg: 1996.
Film Courage: Do you think you worker hard now than you did in 1996? Or is it the same but a different type of working at it?
Chad Lindberg: It’s a different type of working at it. Like I said, when I first moved here I had blinders on and you don’t realize what you’re getting into, what this means. And so I worked very hard to break into the business and I got lucky that it happened at a very early age. You have to work just as hard, if not harder, once you do get some success.
I think you have to keep working to hopefully keep that success although this business is up and down and it doesn’t seem to be anywhere in between. At least for me it seems like you have those good years and then you have years where you don’t work. You have to ride it out. A lot of actors will ask “What do you suggest? What’s your advice?” And what I say is “Persistence is key. Don’t leave.” “Be the last one standing” is what my acting coach said to me. Be the last one standing. So you have to. Don’t give up because if you give up that might have been the next day where you got that audition that is going to change your life. So if it’s who you are, don’t give up. You can’t. As much as you might want to….as much as I have days where I’m like “Aaaargh!” I just want to say “Peace Out” and run and go the other way but then I would be miserable because it is who I am.
“It’s being comfortable with being uncomfortable which is pretty much all the time. And then you’ll have a couple great months where you work and you go on location.”
Film Courage: I know we talked about this a long time ago in 2012 where you said you knew that this was the choice you were going to make. Maybe you can revisit this for us where…do you remember the exact moment where you said to yourself This Is What I Want! Where you weren’t going to be o.k. if you said to yourself “You know what, why don’t I get a job” or go back to a vocational school and try to get a desk job or something? When did you know that this was for you?
Chad Lindberg: I knew….I knew in high school that is what I wanted to do at a very early age. Nobody was going to tell me differently. You know, looking back I don’t think I’m…I’m not the guy to sit behind a desk at an office. Not that there is anything wrong with that. It’s just not who I am. I’m kind of used to the uncertainty now and sort of crazy off life it is to be an actor. It’s not a regular thing. There is no certainty in this business. There is mostly uncertainty. So you kind of have to roll with that.
Film Courage: Interesting….so being comfortable with being uncomfortable?
Chad Lindberg: Exactly. Yes. It’s being comfortable with being uncomfortable which is pretty much all the time. And then you’ll have a couple great months where you work and you go on location. The last movie I did, I went to Bulgaria for a month and a half and got to work with Antonio Banderas and Sir Ben Kingsley. It was amazing. And then you return and it’s back to reality. So…[laughs] it’s a very weird business. It changes on a dime and that is what I love about it! You just never know. You just never know.
QUESTION: Tell us about the moment you decided to pursue an entertainment career.
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