Peter Crysdale

Host

Chris Lucas on Acting and Writing to Celebrities

Mar 27, 2013·22 visitors

Chris Lucas

Cohost

Stage· 91 messages

Mar 27, 2013

Peter Crysdale · 3:05 PM

hello?

Chris Lucas · 3:06 PM

Peter Crysdale · 3:06 PM

Hi Chris and welcome!

Chris Lucas · 3:06 PM

Thanks for having me

Peter Crysdale · 3:07 PM

You can enter text by scrolling down to the bottom of the page

Chris Lucas · 3:07 PM

Got it. Thanks.

Peter Crysdale · 3:08 PM

Welcome to the tawk!

Peter Crysdale · 3:08 PM

I wonder if you could start off by telling us a little about your background

Chris Lucas · 3:08 PM

Sure. I'm a Jersey guy, raised right across the river from NYC

Chris Lucas · 3:09 PM

My Dad is an Emmy winning broadcaster with the Yankees, so I grew up around celebrities

Peter Crysdale · 3:09 PM

Have you always lived in the NYC area?

Chris Lucas · 3:10 PM

Yes, I'm now in the suburbs, about 12 miles from New York

Chris Lucas · 3:10 PM

The proximity is an asset if you want to have a career in show business

Peter Crysdale · 3:10 PM

How did your dad's career influence your own career decisions?

Chris Lucas · 3:11 PM

I'm not much of a sports guy, but I saw his curiosity about the process and his love for public speaking, so it fueled my passion for the arts

Chris Lucas · 3:11 PM

Instead of broadcasting, I chose acting

Peter Crysdale · 3:12 PM

Did you idolize any celebrities as a kid?

Chris Lucas · 3:13 PM

Harrison Ford (He's still the only guy I ever got tongue tied around, c'mon it's Han Solo/Indiana Jones!)

Chris Lucas · 3:14 PM

But I did get to see the human side of fame, so it gave me empathy for them and helped me to understand the best way to reach them

Chris Lucas · 3:15 PM

People like Mickey Mantle, Richard Nixon, Bob Hope and George Steinbrenner were friends of my Dad, so I was fortunate enough to get up close and personal. The key was to connect with them on mundane things and not dwell on the stuff everyone wants to

Peter Crysdale · 3:16 PM

That seems like a very common-sense approach

Peter Crysdale · 3:16 PM

But how do you connect with celebrities on a human level when they obviously must lead such different lives?

Chris Lucas · 3:17 PM

wouldn't you get tired of hearing the same five questions and comments each day? Even when people mean well, saying "I loved you in this" etc. is not original.

Chris Lucas · 3:17 PM

You are a breath of fresh air to them if you connect with something else.

Chris Lucas · 3:18 PM

For instance: If you are writing to your favorite actor and you see that they like a certain breed of dog, or your mothers had the same first name, mention that: you'll get their attention.

Chris Lucas · 3:19 PM

common sense things we use with other people, but we seem to forget with celebrities because we treat them like idols

Peter Crysdale · 3:19 PM

wow, those are such small details

Chris Lucas · 3:20 PM

It's the small details that get you ahead

Peter Crysdale · 3:20 PM

Have you ever had a long-term relationship with a celebrity based on just writing them a letter?

Chris Lucas · 3:21 PM

Yes. The first movie I ever saw by myself was "Poltergeist" in 1982. I wrote to the whole cast and got letters back from a few. One of the cast members is now a dear friend, 30 plus years later.

Peter Crysdale · 3:22 PM

Wow

Peter Crysdale · 3:22 PM

Did you tell them you saw it by yourself?

Peter Crysdale · 3:22 PM

That seems pretty scary!

Peter Crysdale · 3:23 PM

Was that the first time you'd reached out to celebrities?

Peter Crysdale · 3:23 PM

If not, what was the first time?

Chris Lucas · 3:24 PM

Yes. I saw it about 50 times that summer. Unfortunately, there was another Spielberg movie that came out a week later and overshadowed it. Something about a little alien lost on planet earth. that sounds much scarier than my film. :)

Peter Crysdale · 3:24 PM

haha

Chris Lucas · 3:25 PM

The first celebrity letter I wrote was to Santa Claus (like most kids) and it developed from there. Ronald Reagan wrote back to me, Christopher Reeve, Jim Henson, lots of 70's and 80's celebrities. It became a daily habit.

Peter Crysdale · 3:25 PM

Daily? Really?

Chris Lucas · 3:25 PM

I try. At least 7 letters a week

Peter Crysdale · 3:26 PM

And how many would you say you hear back from?

Chris Lucas · 3:26 PM

about five to ten percent of them. 40 letters a year or so

Chris Lucas · 3:26 PM

I consider that a success.

Peter Crysdale · 3:27 PM

I think so!

Chris Lucas · 3:27 PM

It's helped my acting career too, just by chance

Peter Crysdale · 3:27 PM

So how does letter writing overlap with your own acting career?

Chris Lucas · 3:28 PM

I get called in for auditions and occasionally the director or producer will have gotten a letter (unrelated to the audition) from me. It tips the balances. I booked a role in Sidney Lumet's last film because of a letter that i wrote to him.

Chris Lucas · 3:29 PM

I don't do it specifically for that, but it can't hurt

Peter Crysdale · 3:29 PM

If you've written a letter to someone, you will bring it up in auditions?

Chris Lucas · 3:30 PM

Never. I will only mention it if they do.

Chris Lucas · 3:31 PM

It's also helped in raising money for charities, as some of the celebrities I get in touch with are happy to send along autographed items for raffle

Peter Crysdale · 3:32 PM

Since the name of our Meetup is "Comedy Tawks" we should talk about comedy for a second

Chris Lucas · 3:32 PM

sure.

Peter Crysdale · 3:32 PM

Haver you reached out to many comedians over the years?

Chris Lucas · 3:32 PM

Comedians have actually been some of the best responders to my letters.

Peter Crysdale · 3:32 PM

Do comedians respond differently to letters than other celebrities?

Chris Lucas · 3:33 PM

They give specific advice because it seems like they go through deeper trenches than even actors have to. Nobody writes their scripts, it's all on them.

Chris Lucas · 3:34 PM

We all understand the unique battles creative people go through, but comedians wear it on their sleeves.

Peter Crysdale · 3:35 PM

What is the best advice you've received from a comedian?

Chris Lucas · 3:36 PM

Jay Leno called me personally after getting my letter and talked for 15 minutes about the importance of having a "real life" outside of show business.

Chris Lucas · 3:36 PM

He said that if all you have to ground you is the need for audience or casting approval, you'll burn out quickly.

Peter Crysdale · 3:37 PM

It seems that actors, comedians and other creative professionals need to be able to handle rejection

Peter Crysdale · 3:38 PM

Statistically, most auditions will not turn into gigs

Peter Crysdale · 3:39 PM

and comedians sometimes have to grapel with rejection in front of a live audience!

Chris Lucas · 3:39 PM

As one comedian said to me in a letter "If you can see yourself being happy doing something else, then go and do that. This is no life for people who want to dabble." I think that applies to actors, artists, musicians, etc. You have to have a thick s

Chris Lucas · 3:40 PM

In my stand up days, I had plenty of audiences reject material live on stage, but it can actually be a leaning tool

Chris Lucas · 3:40 PM

It's all about mind set

Chris Lucas · 3:41 PM

And knowing your strengths. I knew that i was better suited for acting and sketch comedy, so I walked away from stand up.

Chris Lucas · 3:41 PM

Sharing a stage with Lisa Lampanelli, which I did in the beginning, didn't help either :)

Peter Crysdale · 3:41 PM

haha

Peter Crysdale · 3:42 PM

Some of the Tawkers in our meetup group do improv

Peter Crysdale · 3:42 PM

It must take a certain talent to be able to cope with new situations on stage

Peter Crysdale · 3:43 PM

Especially being insulted by Lisa Lampanelli

Chris Lucas · 3:44 PM

Improv is one of the great joys in life. The secret is in always doing the opposite of what the audience expects, and not trying to go for the obvious jokes. Let the situation be funny, not you

Chris Lucas · 3:44 PM

Lisa is a firecracker, but she's a great example of knowing exactly what your brand is and marketing the heck out of it.

Chris Lucas · 3:45 PM

She created her own fame.

Peter Crysdale · 3:45 PM

That's a notable accomplishment in show business!

Chris Lucas · 3:46 PM

Focus, focus, focus. We tend to get easily distracted. One of the questions I ask when I write a letter is "What habit helps you the most" Focus is usually the answer.

Peter Crysdale · 3:47 PM

How does that manifest itself in your own life?

Chris Lucas · 3:48 PM

It keeps me from trying to do too many things at once. Focus on little bitty tasks and the big things fall in place.

Chris Lucas · 3:48 PM

You can't climb Mount Everest at once, you've got to take small focused steps.

Chris Lucas · 3:50 PM

Comedians don't get killer set lists in one night, it takes months (sometimes years) of focus and sharpening on little things to get the results they want.

Peter Crysdale · 3:51 PM

Wow, this is all great advice. Do you have any other advice for people that are looking to break in to comedy or acting?

Chris Lucas · 3:52 PM

I think the biggest advice is to take it seriously as a business. It's not called "Show Art" it's Show BUSINESS"

Chris Lucas · 3:52 PM

The people hiring you take the bottom line seriously, so should you. Don't write it off as non essential. Come up with a solid business plan.

Chris Lucas · 3:54 PM

Thanks David. I have a six step approach to writing to celebrities, which is in my book. (www.celebrityletters.com) I generally don't use the letters to endorse my work, but the side benefit is that I'm making connections I never would have.

Chris Lucas · 3:55 PM

★ Spotlighted from David R Yale

“I'm interesyed in how you approach writing to celebrities. Do you use this to get them to endorse your work?”

Chris Lucas · 3:56 PM

One of the steps, which I mentioned earlier, is to find a personal connection with the celebrity beyond the usual "I like your work" stuff.

Peter Crysdale · 3:57 PM

Well great! I think that just about wraps it up.

Peter Crysdale · 3:57 PM

Thank you so much for taking the time to be with us today Chris!

Chris Lucas · 3:57 PM

Thank you Peter for having me. It was a pleasure.