Ser'Darius Blain Quotes

I know a lot of times you don't even get the opportunity to audition for people you really want to work with because there is a business angle involved.

You get callbacks, and they either give it to what they call a 'name' performer, or they decide to go in an entirely different direction.

Luckily, I have great agents who are sending me out for great stuff.

Tell me who you want to see on the Left, and I'll hire them. If you give me a big name that's out there, that's floating around and wants work, I'd be happy to hire them.

My advice after thirty years in the business is sign with an agency of reasonable size.

My brother's friend worked at a TV station, so we went in; the producer of a show asked if I wouldn't mind taking some photos for his wife, who was a talent agent. Next thing I know, I'm enroute to the agency.

I got an agent when I was 16 up in Vancouver, Canada.

I told my parents I wanted an agent, and they decided to let me have a go at it. Then I started working right away. I was 12.

CAA has a great history of representing fantastic talent, many of whom are my heroes in film and television.

My hope is always to be able to find well-written, interesting material with good people and then actually be able to get those jobs.

Even if I wish to work with somebody, they should be willing to cast me first.

Some people come to you because if you're in their movie, it'll help them raise money. And some people come to you because they think you're the person to play the part.

If the careers want me, let them find me.

I don't have an agent. I don't take meetings or anything like that, so I don't really know what's out there. I'm not closed off to anything, but I'd just have to ask myself at every step if it's worth it.

I've recommended girls for jobs that I had a different part in, and agents have been like, "No, don't ..."It's so surprising to me.

It was easy for me to show the films to the studio and the network and say, "This is who I'm hiring."

Search for role models you can look up to and people who take an interest in your career. But here's an important warning: you don't have to have mentors who look like you. Had I been waiting for a black, female Soviet specialist mentor, I would still be waiting. Most of my mentors have been old white men, because they were the ones who dominated my field.

I've always had an easy time directing actors because I always hire ones that are great before I get my hands on them.

I don't really understand the concept of having a career, or what agents mean when they say they're building one for you. I just do things I think will be interesting and that have integrity. I hate those tacky, pointless, big, fluffy, unimportant movies.

I had the good fortune early on to cast some really great people that were not just characters, they had character.

I went to Los Angeles, because I have a manager, and - I can't remember when, but we met in London maybe six months or a year beforehand, and he said, "Listen, if you really want to get a job out of L.A., you really need to come." And I was like, "Well, can't I send a tape or something?" And he was like, "No, no, you need to come."

One of the best ways into the business is to get a job with a production, which you can do by cold-calling or by getting your résumé out there, and also through contacts. That's where nepotism really helps.

Unbeknownst to me, two readers of the posts, both published authors, contacted their agent, Bill Jensen, within 24 hours of each other, encouraging him to drop me a line. Which he did. He shared his extensive publishing background with me, and prayerfully offered to work out a proposal and to see if God opened any publishing doors? I never get over the unexpected ways of God.

It's very difficult to juggle two careers, unless you're going to have someone put it all together for you. Because you're on TV, somebody just gives you a record deal - that's not how I'd want to get it, because it's just not real.

To lunch with the important ... that should be the daily goal of those for whom life is not a playground but a ladder.