Acting in Television Commercials for Fun and Profit 4th Edition » (Original)

SQUIRE FRIDELL is one of the most successful actors ever in television commercials, having performed in more than 3,250 commercials as the principal on-camera talent. His prolific career includes twenty-eight years as Toyota’s spokesman and a six-year stint as television’s Ronald McDonald. In his spare time, he and his wife, Suzy, own and operate GlenLyon Vineyards & Winery in Glen Ellen, California.

The Ultimate Guide to Commercial Success Acting in television commercials is a highly competitive business, but it can also be very lucrative. Whether you’re looking for your first break or want to take your acting career to the next level, Squire Fridell will give you the insider’s edge. Arguably the king of TV commercials, Fridell distills four decades of experience in this comprehensive, humorously written guide that has been indispensable to aspiring TV commercial actors since the first edition hit the shelves in 1980. This fully updated fourth edition gives the lowdown on how online and digital technologies have changed the industry and tells you everything you need to know about:

• Getting a terrific headshot
• Writing a winning résumé
• Finding (and keeping) the perfect agent
• Honing the skills that every serious commercial actor should have
• Auditioning well and getting the job
• Using the best online services for posting your headshot, résumé, and reel

You’ll learn how to launch your commercial acting career and–more important–how to sustain it and be successful.

Barry X. Miller - Library Journal

With a résumé that boasts principal credits in more than 3200 television commercials throughout a 40-year career, Fridell, an omnipresent pitchman who has been on television hawking some product or service virtually every day, is arguably the industry's most prolific and successful actor. Now in its fourth edition and completely updated to include, among other things, obligatory Internet and cell phone ramifications, his guide is the definitive text for both aspiring and established actors seeking commercial work. A cornucopia of practical information is disseminated in two evenly divided sections, the first focusing on preparations necessary to secure an agent (e.g., head shot, résumé, training, unions, agents) and the second on the nuts and bolts of commercials (e.g., auditioning, technique, callbacks, the nature of the work, and money). Written in a friendly and encouraging can-do acting-mentor style (the author is also an esteemed theater educator), Fridell's book offers valuable vocational information and entertaining anecdotes accrued over an extended career that in its longevity is nothing short of amazing. A no-brainer acquisition for every collection supporting the textual needs of neophyte and working professional actors.

Pt. 1 Before Your Talent Agent

1 Your First Headshot 19

2 Your First Resume 36

3 The Publications and Poopsheets 49

4 Your Knowledge, Performance Skills, and Training 58

5 The Unions: SAG and AFTRA 70

6 The Talent Agent 86

Pt. 2 After Your Talent Agent

7 The After-Agent Headshot 109

8 Before the Audition 122

9 The Waiting Room 134

10 Acting and the Script 141

11 The Audition Room 176

12 The Callback 194

13 The Job 199

14 The Money 228

15 The Life of an Actor 243

Listing of SAG and AFTRA Union Offices 250

Television Commercials Using Squire Fridell as On-camera Talent 261

Acknowledgments 264