REPORT
by
Anoray
Note:
I must sincerely thank by best pal, Ellen, for being on
standby to go to the Greenhouse Arts & Media event
. With my brother and his family in town, I didn't think
I'd make it to see Dougie there. However, my relatives
decided to go on a big tour of Beverly Hills, Sunset Boulevard,
etc., so we parted ways on Sunday earlier than anticipated.
Lucky I got the best of both worlds that day! My family
and I met up again for a final hurrah yesterday, all topped
off with Marie Callendar's choco cream pie--what more
could anyone ask for? *slurp*
GREENHOUSE ARTS & MEDIA ~ March 14,
2010
As always,
the journey to get to one of Dougie's events is interesting
in and of itself. This time, we almost got lost in the
hills of Pasadena, but I managed to get turned around
and headed back in the right direction. The Shakespeare
Theater is this beautiful old building near a courthouse
in an otherwise almost completely residential neighborhood.
The houses are all huge, gorgeous and probably date back
to the 1930's at least.
The people
involved with the Greenhouse organization were all very
friendly and welcoming . At various points in the evening,
we spoke with Hans (the charming greeter), Chuck (a droll
fellow who told me lots about their writers group), and
Karen (a lovely lass who gave us lots of info about the
creative teams and how to become a member).
My favorite
part of the evening was seeing Dougie's mouth open in
surprise when he saw I'd actually made it! Oh, and the
welcoming hugs were pretty darn awesome, too. Ellen and
I were both delighted to see Mrs. Laurie had made it and
more hugs were shared. After everyone enjoyed about 45
minutes of meeting/mingling in the very pleasant and decorative
courtyard, it was time for the presentation. The president
and creative director, Shun Lee, first introduced key
members of the organization and thanked everyone involved
with coordinating the event. Shun Lee explained the goal
of Greenhouse is to help its members (such as actors,
directors, writers, poets and production people) answer
the question: "How can I be the most effective artist
I can?" He emphasized they are not about networking,
but community.
Then it
was time to interview a very energetic and amiable Dougie
on stage while cameras rolled. Ellen and I had sat right
behind Doug and Mrs. Laurie, so I had a great view of
his shenanigans and leg kicking antics on stage. Yes,
at one point he did indeed put his leg behind his head
:-) Shun Lee's questions mostly focused on Doug's background
and how he got to where he is today in his career. I won't
go into the more familiar stories we all know about our
dear Dougie, but I wanted to share some tidbits that Fan
Sapiens might not be aware of. For example, he joked about
how when he was daydreaming in high school, he remembers
a time during the Olympics when he fantasized about being
an ice skater in the pairs events and tossing some girl
high into the air.
In regards
to questions about making it in the industry, Doug emphasized
that everyone's road to success is different and there
is no "one way" or "you must do this"
advice he had to give. His own success as an actor has
stemmed from developing genuine relationships with people,
not superficial "networking." He said that most
people who are successful in the industry are constantly
approached by inquisitive people with questions about
how to get in the door. It's not that Dougie or others
don't want to help aspiring artists. It's just that Dougie
has found that his professional colleagues and himself
get weary of talking about "the biz" and would
actually prefer to hear more about other interesting subjects,
such as people's hobbies, children, and other pursuits,
too.
Speaking
of non-show business things, Doug says it is very important
to him that he defines himself not just as an actor, but
in many other ways, such as husband, son, brother, and
"Papa Dougie" to his many Puppies. His question
to himself has been, "Do I have something to live
for beyond show business?" and made sure the answer
remains a resounding "Yes." Doug says he does
not let things like people's opinions of him, whether
it be fan adulation or negative attention, define his
career or sense of self. He certainly does not rely on
the fame he has achieved because "it can last five
minutes." Dougie smiled and said Fame is a fickle
girlfriend and she will leave you for the next best thing.
He mentioned that having most of his high profile success
happen in his 40's after he'd developed more wisdom (instead
of during his more gullible 20's) has made it easier for
him to avoid many of the common pitfalls along the way.
When asked
"What is the most important thing an artist needs?"
Dougie thought hard about it, then said, "Shut out
fear." You need to trust the gifts you were given
and lose the fear of being ridiculed. He said the turning
point for him was when he was sitting in the waiting room
at a producer's office. He was being considered for a
regular role on a new TV series. He sat there with the
pilot script, feeling very strongly that he knew the character
inside and out and he was the right person for the role.
This time, he didn't allow himself to look at any other
actors in the room and negatively compare himself to them,
nor did he worry about whether or not the producers would
like him. He determined he'd just go in that office, be
the character, and hold nothing back. Which he did--and
it resulted in the producers absolutely loving his performance
and casting him for the role. Like so many TV pilots each
season, this one did not get picked up, but Dougie took
that feeling of confidence and lack of fear with him to
auditions and future roles from that point onward.
One audience
member asked Dougie what it was like to work with Nick
Vujicic (the armless and legless actor) on THE BUTTERFLY
CIRCUS. Dougie said he had no idea how influential
and inspirational Nick was in the Christian world when
he met him--he purposely didn't Google Nick so he could
just get to know him on the set first. The two of them
hit it off very well. One day at mealtime, Nick's assistant
was helping Nick get to the table and Nick said he wanted
to be seated next to Doug. Then Nick totally surprised
Doug by saying he wanted Doug to assist him with his meal,
not his regular assistant. Doug felt intimidated because
he'd never had children, so he had no experience feeding
anyone before. He expressed this to Nick, who smiled and
asked Doug to put the handle of the fork in Nick's mouth.
Doug did this, then Nick leaned over his own plate, scooped
up some lasagne, then (with the fork handle still in his
mouth) asked Dougie to open up. Dougie dropped his jaw
and Nick easily and handily fed him a forkful of lasagne.
Dougie chewed while Nick smiled at him in a "see
how easy it is?" way. Dougie figured, "Well,
all right, then!" and he followed Nick's heartwarming
example with no further inhibitions.
Another
audience member asked Dougie a very interesting question
about how does he go back to normal life after being involved
in a special effects film as a creature? Dougie replied
that it isn't always easy to do. In fact, he'd gone into
a little depression after he came back from shooting HELLBOY
II: THE GOLDEN ARMY. He'd been gone for six months
and worked six days a week, eighteen hours a day. He was
totally drained. He'd also been involved in the whirlwind
of the accolades and Academy Award hoopla for PAN'S
LABYRINTH and the industry now viewed him through
very different eyes. At one point, very late at night,
he sat in front of the mirror at his 24 hour gym and found
himself in tears because he realized he didn't know who
he was anymore. He had to reconnect with his non-performer
self, and rediscover the side of him that was still a
brother, a son and a husband no matter what was going
on with his acting persona and life.
In a final question, Shun Lee said Dougie uses the term
"There's Big Love" all the time, but what does
it mean? Dougie said he's been saying this since college.
He says it's a way to let a person know he loves them
without overwhelming them with the words "I love
you." By saying "There's Big Love" or "There's
Love for you" it allows that person to know he cares
about them and he believes love is there for them in their
life from whatever source makes them comfortable.
At the conclusion,
Doug was showered with very enthusiastic applause and
a very long line of people who wanted to chat with him.
Ellen and I got to know the Greenhouse folks a bit more
during this time, then we were able to get some time with
dear Dougie before departing the scene. I was petted and
coddled most satisfyingly by The Delicious One and my
friend caught a bit of that on camera. She absolutely
refused to let me take pictures of her, but I tried! Dougie
and I chatted about his interview (he wondered if there
was anything I hadn't heard before:-) and the upcoming
Anaheim con, then we reluctantly released him to an eager
Puppy awaiting his turn. We squeezed the lovely Laurie
once more before we left, too.
All in all,
it was an engaging and informative evening and I'm very
glad I had the opportunity to see Dougie in this venue.
It is always a pleasure to hear him speak and I've learned
a lot about public speaking from observing the way he
charms and endears himself to different types of audiences.
Thanks for the fun, but mostly for the courage to open
yourself up to everyone, Dougie!
© 2010 Anoray. All rights reserved.
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