Every parent thinks that their child is the cutest thing since sliced bread. I am no different. When Scarlett was first born I thought she was the most beautiful thing I had ever laid my eyes upon. I knew instantly that she was going to be a movie star.
We all have our ‘thing’ right? Some adore football, others music. My thing is movies. Whatever our thing is we always hope that our children will love it too. From ever since I can remember I was obsessed with the silver screen. Most of my childhood was taken up conversing with my brother and sisters in movie dialogue and going to school dressed as Princess Leia. Pissed off with my brother, I would often give him ’15 seconds to comply’ before battering him. That was our thing.
So imagine my shock and surprise when a mother from school publicly berated me for trying to live my life through my daughter by letting her attend castings for modelling and TV work. Not only had this woman been eavesdropping on a private conversation but she was, in front of the whole school (well, that’s what it felt like), telling me I was a bad mother. A bad mother! I had to refrain from opening a rather large can of whoop ass on her.
She couldn’t believe that I was sending my daughter out to work at her age and that the entertainment industry shouldn’t allow anyone under 18 to work. Just imagine for a minute the iconic roles of these great movies without children: ET, Home Alone, The Karate Kid, Sixth Sense, Harry Potter for crying out loud! According to this vile creature, my daughter would be ‘posing topless and snorting coke before she was 13’. Way to go on the stereotyping there love.
It bothered me for weeks and still does if the truth be known. Was I living my life through her? Making her do what I actually wished I’d have done? Maybe. The fact is though that Scarlett has inherited my love of movies and television, like I did from my parents. Even though she’s 8 she knows her own mind and I have always told her that if she ever doesn’t want to carry on with this she just has to say, and that is the honest truth. The only thing I MAKE my kids do is swimming lessons. They can try a million different hobbies and if they hate it then move on to the next, no offense taken but swimming is a must. No negotiation.
It’s a tough business to break into and a lot of the time is not very glamourous. When and if your child gets a casting call, you can always bet your sweet bippy (whatever that is) that it’s always a long car journey away, in some random warehouse that your satnav can’t find. If they get through the first casting they then get a recall which they may or may not get expenses paid for. If they then get the gig there is often many hours waiting around for your slot to be shot or filmed. We were on the Hollyoaks set once, hanging around for 5 hours, bored senseless with a 3 year old. NOT an easy task to keep them happy and tantrum free. All that is forgotten though as soon as filming begins. The thrill of seeing your child in a magazine or on TV is a proper chest puffing moment. The paycheck that arrives soon after is the icing on the cake too. I wish I earned that now, never mind when I was 8. With the money she earns we buy premium bonds for her, a nice little nest egg for when she needs it later on in life.
Another very important part of this journey is finding the right agent. You could do it on your own but I wouldn’t like to try it. As streetwise as I think I am, in the early days I was ripped off by ruthless companies pulling at my heart strings, telling me that my daughter is exactly what they are looking for. It’ll only cost me £299 to get a professional portfolio done and then a discounted price of £150 for updated shots every year. Blah, blah, blah. Yeah, I fell for it. Idiot!
A couple of months ago my friend, Amy, organised a workshop by the Mark Jermin Management team. Mark himself came up from Wales specifically to find talent here in the Northwest (thank you Media City Salford, no more wishing that we lived in the M25 catchment area). The workshop was an informal but structured session and he made sure he spoke to each and every one of those kids attending. I was very impressed with his manner and his instructions to them were clear and concise. We were thrilled that Scarlett was one of a few children chosen to be represented by him. Mark is obviously very passionate about his profession and the team at head office are just lovely too. I feel confident knowing that my daughter is in good hands.
Back to the playground incident. I chose not to defend myself that day. I chose not to tell her that we like stargazing too. That we’d bought her a telescope and MADE her look at the stars, evil parents! I chose not to tell her that we’d bought a load of ingredients and baked with her the previous weekend, made her follow a recipe. I chose not to defend our life choices that day. Acting is just one thing that Scarlett likes to take part in, just one out of many but one that she actually gets paid for. She is highly motivated to aim high and has Hollywood firmly in her sites, iCarly and Victorious are where she wants to be. She might want to be a vet this time next year but it’s great to have a dream, even better when there is a possibility, no matter how small, of it coming true. It’s great to have a common interest too. With us it’s movies. That’s our thing.
Now, who do I have to sleep with to get my kid a part in the new Star Wars??? 😉
Think big and reach for the stars,
Vix x
