Episode 2: The Beginning...cont.

I figured I should probably start this whole thing off by giving a little background about where this all started for us. Our family is not originally from Los Angeles so the fact that my son has been fortunate enough to have worked in the industry as much as he has is really kind of crazy. But it just shows that it can be done.

Acting is not something that he has always wanted to do. When he was younger, 5 or 6, he was involved with a small playhouse theater that was located in our neighborhood. We put him in it for several reasons: we were new to the neighborhood and thought it would be a great way for him to meet other kids, we wanted to expose him to a variety of things growing up, thinking that he would eventually favor one over the others and that would become his focus (which is what ended up happening), there was also an arts and craft school at the theater, they also offered tap dance lessons, it was in the neighborhood so it was really convenient. They would perform some sort of play every few months and always had a really nice Christmas program. At the same time, he was also always playing some kind of sport. Basketball mostly but he also played baseball and football.

He kind of got away from the playhouse theater when he was about 8. No particular reason. I think he just kind of out grew it. He was still playing sports and it was at this time that he got involved with the student council and video club at school. The video club produced the morning show and he really liked being involved with that. Especially the days that he was assigned to on-air duties! We always encouraged and supported whatever he wanted to do. My wife and I have always thought that it was important for us to teach our kids that they can do whatever they want and they would always have our support.

At the end of his 4th grade year, he expressed to us his desire to do something other than sports for the summer. We found an acting school that was offering classes for kids during the summer and asked if he would like to try it. He did and found that he really liked it. He took classes once a week and always wanted to do any extra workshops they offered. We were happy because he was having fun and being introduced to something new. It turns out that he was pretty natural and as time went on, we started having to travel out of town for him to participate in showcases and meet agents. This is when things began to get interesting.

By this time, we were smack dab in the middle of the country's financial meltdown. Things were tight. Growing up, my parents didn't have a problem telling us that they couldn't afford to do something for us. "You think money grows on trees?!" was a common phrase in my house. My wife and I never wanted it to be that way for our kids. We worked hard to be able to provide them with the things they needed and wanted. Our son was a good kid. Very respectful, a great student. Why shouldn't he be able to do something that he was passionate about? So when he said to us that he wanted to be an actor, we said that we would do whatever we could to help him achieve that. This meant making tough financial decisions and sacrifices.

Over the next couple of years, we would travel up and down the east coast and out west in pursuit of his dream. Taking time off of work, spending bill money, putting our own dreams on hold. As of right now, my wife has left her job of ten years and I have given up a business that I started a few years ago so that we could be together as a family and help our oldest son pursue his dream. We have no doubts or regrets. We love our kids and would do anything for them. I just want people to understand that not all showbiz parents are raving lunatics. Some of us, like many other parents I suspect, simply love our kids. Stay tuned...