Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Everyone Has to Start Somewhere

Everyone has to start somewhere. Cranking out short stories in small circulation literary magazines. Writing the novel that never gets published but teaches you so much about the craft. Or a guest spot on Gilmore Girls.

Herewith, a younger, skinnier, not-yet-smoldering Jon Hamm (now know as Don Draper of Mad Men fame) on Gilmore Girls in 2002:



Seth MacFarlane (creator of Family Guy and man of many voices) had a two-episode spot on Gilmore Girls. The only link I can (quickly) find is from the WB and it has a commercial in it! So I won't embed the video here, but here's the link if you want to hop on over to the WB website and check it out.

BTW, this episode aired in 2002, while Family Guy was cancelled. For the second time. For three years. And what did Seth do in the face of this rejection? He kept on working.

These little "before they made it big time" sightings are always reassuring to me. I know we'd all love to have that novel on the shelf at Borders right this very second. But perfecting your craft, whether at acting, writing or something else, takes time. Lots of time. At least these guys proved to us that plugging away on the small stuff can result to making it in the big leagues.

6 comments:

  1. Great stuff, Lisa. Motivation while writing is a tricky beast.

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  2. But Jon Hamm was STILL a smooth operator!

    Thanks for this - I love seeing people before they hit it big :)

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  3. Glad you guys enjoyed it. You're right Anna, looks like he was always smooth!

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  4. A good illustration about pursuing art. Assuming you have the basic talents, it's all about staying in the game until something hits. I always love the writers, actors and musicians who have "overnight success" after trying hard for twenty years.

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  5. I love Mad Men, but never found Jon Hamm especially attractive. Then I saw him in jeans and tee, with his hair messed up. Yum. I'm just not a suit and tie girl.

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  6. Thanks for the reminder to keep plugging. Loved seeing Jon Hamm, too.

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