Hollywood dreams coming true...

[albatros]

Do Character Actors may have any hope in LA or you think that NY may offer better options?

[Michael Coleman]

Characters actors have equal opportunities in all cities.

[caleyjane]

Originally Posted by Nicky

For example : Ellen Page. A young canadian girl from Nova Scotia. Although I haven't seen all her movies ( I have seen a few though ) , she is thought to be very talented. Is she ugly? No, ofcourse not. She's very cute. But is she a "perfect 10" ... I personally don't think so. However, her talent is what makes her stand out so good for her! I am cheering her on

Ellen is definitely inspiration for me too as I'm also from Nova Scotia! (Just started to pursue acting in Vancouver last summer).

[List Lurker]

The part that is missing from almost all of those success stories is the hard work part.

The stories make it seem like all you have to do is show up in LA and *poof* you're a star. They never talk about the classes people took, the casting director workshops they went to, the networking events and industry parties, the image consultants, the dialect coaches and the gym memberships and so on.

Jim Carrey got his start in Canada, not the States. He used to practise different voices and funny faces in the mirror as a teen. He did the rounds of all the open mike nights in the comedy clubs in Toronto and finally worked his way up to the paying jobs. I think there's even youtube video of him. He didn't just "show-up" in Hollywood/LA and become a star. He moved to LA in, get this,1979. He did "Ace Ventura:Pet Detective" FIFTEEN YEARS later, in 1994. He also released "The Mask" in 1994 and *poof* he was a star.

Ellen Page's first role was in the series "The Pit Pony" in Nova Scotia in 1997. She did "Juno" in 2007. She was in the industry for 10 years before coming to the attention of Hollywood. She didn't just "show up" in LA and become a star. Incidentally, Canadians know a good thing when they see it. She was nominated for a Gemini in 2000, a mere three years after she started her television acting career.

My point is, be prepared to do the work and be patient. It make take you a little longer than one pilot season in LA to get the acting career you've always dreamed of. And never forget that all the Stars we see are working hard at their carreers behind the scenes, even the no talent ditzy ones we see on TMZ all the time. Those clever girls always seem to know where to find those TMZ cameras, now don't they?

Did any of you catch the the other hidden point? Both of these folks worked for years in Canada before getting their first American contracts. Think about it.

[Kirt]

Nice post, List Lurker! I've always believed that some of the best raw talent (read: not hollywood) was Second City in Toronto, and other clubs in T.O.

[rose]

{Ellen Page's first role was in the series "The Pit Pony" in Nova Scotia in 1997. She did "Juno" in 2007. She was in the industry for 10 years before coming to the attention of Hollywood. She didn't just "show up" in LA and become a star. Incidentally, Canadians know a good thing when they see it. She was nominated for a Gemini in 2000, a mere three years after she started her television acting career.}

....Actually, it was the role in 2005´s ¨Hard Candy¨ that got the attention of Hollywood producers and then the X-Men 3 movie after that. 8)