Jordan Ancel - Behind the Lines: What it Really Takes to Make It as an Actor

Published by Jordan Ancel International

ISBN: 978-1-483-50510-7

Copyright 2013 Jordan Ancel

Alrights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including email, photocopying, recording, or by any other storage retrieval system without written permission of the publisher.

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Warning Disclaimer

The purpose of this book is to educate and entertain. The author or publisher does not guarantee that anyone following the techniques, suggestions, tips, ideas, or strategies will become successful. The Author or publisher shall have neither liability or responsibility to anyone with respect to any loss or damaged caused, or alleged to be caused, directly or indirectly by the information contained within this book.

www.BehindTheLinesBook.com

Thank you to everyone who contributed their time, energy, expertise, and knowledge to this book. Without you, there would be no book, and no industry to write about.

And special thanks to my mom and dad for always supporting and encouraging my creative endeavors.

For Brianna, my talented and beautiful wife who is a constant source of love and inspiration.

Whats Inside

Preface

Ive always liked attention. Maybe because I was an only child, or maybe growing up in New York City helped mold my wild imagination, or maybe because my mother was a writer and an artist. Perhaps all of these together made me want to be in the spotlight. I was the class clown, the fast-talker that could get into, and out of, any situation. I loved pretending and performing ever since I could talk. I wanted to be Han Solo.

I attended public school from kindergarten until high school, and then went to a state university. I was fortunate that I was in accelerated-learning programs, and equally lucky that my parents always nurtured my creativity. I excelled in art, so naturally, my parents encouraged me to take the entrance test for the very prestigious LaGuardia High School.

Back in the Early 80s, two major art schools combined into one. When High School for the Performing Arts, or PA, and Music and Art High School, or M&A merged, they moved to a new modern building in the shadows of Lincoln Center. The new unified school provided young artists and performers the best academic education while supporting and nurturing their creativity. Remember the movie (and subsequent remake) Fame? That was literally my high school.

Although strong in academics, the school was designed to foster artists, and I majored in fine art graphic design, painting, illustration but I always hung out with the actors, dancers, and singers.

I should mention now, that my school did not allow students to take classes in disciplines outside their field artists couldnt sing, singers couldnt dance, etc.

However, I did perform quite a bit. But it was usually in math class or A.P. literature, where I often met with unfavorable reviews from the teachers. I also cut almost the entire semester of Art History during the beginning of my senior year because I wanted to attend the Gospel Chorus class with my best friend, Ali, and more importantly, the ber-hot Kara was in Gospel Chorus, so I very much wanted to be there as often as possible.

It wasnt until discussion of the spring concert began, and Ms. Del Valle, our lovely teacher, was going to give me the first solo bit in Verdes Requiem, that a disgruntled singing student in class ratted me out. So back to art history I went. Hey, I have perfect pitch, so it wasnt my fault I had gotten the part.

My other very best friend, Alison, was a drama major, and she and I created some memorable moments all over the city, which we treated as a stage, from going to department stores and pretending we were foreigners speaking gibberish and needing help, to crashing funerals and wakes as guests looking for snacks, to displays of faux-fighting on line at the movies. And sometimes wed park ourselves outside the Plaza Hotel and sing to tourists. I wasnt sure at the time why I was driven to such nutty behavior, but only later did I realize that its because I longed to be a performer.

Although I graduated from an art school, it never clicked with me that I could be an artist for a career, so when I got to college, I declared my Political Science major the first week. I was either going to be an attorney or go to Wharton School of Business and be a real-life Alex P. Keaton.

I had racked up some college credits in high school, so my first semester was fairly light. I also decided early on that I would take a wide range of classes to fill in the general education requirements for my major, and I had heard that acting class was an easy A , and that all the girls took that class. Look, I was eighteen. I had my priorities. So I enrolled in Acting 101 with Dr. Muriel Kellerhouse for one of my second semester classes.

However, when I showed up for my first class at 9 a.m. at the beginning of second semester, two things happened: 1. There were hardly any hot girls because too many guys had enrolled for the same reason I did, and 2. Something clicked during the first acting exercise, and completely changed the course of my life.

All of us students were crawling on the ground while Dr. Kellerhouse called out scenarios of why we were on the ground. Anything from, Youre under fire in Viet Nam and youre crawling to a fox hole, to, youre sneaking out of your lovers house while their spouse comes home, and while everyone else seemed to be rolling their eyes and going through the motions, I felt something real, like I was actually there in those moments. My imagination ran wild as I saw and heard explosions and gunfire, or the jealous boyfriend screaming, Whos here? Where the hell is he, as I crawled to an imaginary window from under the imaginary bed.

In those instances, I was living other lives. And I was hooked! I knew I HAD TO DO THIS FOREVER. And so I auditioned for every play in school and went to summer programs in the City every summer to improve my craft. I garnered the leads in most of the shows I did in school, plus I directed and choreographed all the fight scenes and swordplay in the Shakespearean and classical plays (having been a varsity fencer and martial artist throughout high school). I was truly dedicated. I still held my Poli Sci major for a backup plan, but I knew I was going to act, be in theater, do movies, marry Winona Ryder and live happily ever after in Hollywood.

To be clear, my initial intent in enrolling in that first class was to meet girls. Hey, I was eighteen and I had my priorities. But later, it became about the work. And, truthfully, Winona.

After college, I attended the prestigious New Actors Workshop two-year conservatory program, and had the privilege to be mentored by three legends: Mike Nichols, Paul Sills, and George Morrison. After an article about Mike and his film, Wolf, was published in Vanity Fair magazine, in which both he and the journalist briefly praised me and my work in class, a wave of excitement washed over me. There was my name. In Vanity Fair. With Mike Nichols. And Tom Hanks on the cover. My true destiny would be fulfilled. My reality shifted. Here I come, Winona. Its just a matter of time. Now I had street cred.

In 1994 I co-founded the award-wining Off-Broadway theater company, The Greenwich House Theater Company. After one of the performances of the first play we put up, I secured my first manager. From there, I traveled to Los Angeles to meet with the nephew of a family friend, who, at the time, was president of TriStar Pictures (Sony). I also met an agent who signed me the day before I was heading back to New York, so when I got home, I told my parents that I had to move to LA. They were stunned, sad, and excited. My best friend Dave was also excited because all he wanted was for me to meet Tia Carrere and introduce him so they could get married in a double ceremony with me and Winona.