The Pandemic Lands a Role in Hollywood

Another sunrise in sunny Hollywood is on the way as quarantined actor Jon Klaft prepares to start his work day in search for any possible new roles. Klaft opens his laptop as he is barely opening his eyes. In search of potential job auditions and checking up on pending auditions, Klaft checks emails to see any work that has previously been sent. Every week for Klaft looks the same these days. He wakes up, checks emails from his agent and auditions for countless roles.

Weeks and months without any work seemed to be the new norm in Hollywood during the pandemic. Movies, shows, and some media outlets had been shut down and out of work, causing many to experience job loss with unpredictable answers as to when they would return.

Recently, studios have been opening up under strict regulations, and actors are able to audition for roles from their homes. Klaft, a Detroit native and now Hollywood resident, is one of the many hopeful actors trying to get a job or two to pay his bills and make a name for himself during this global crisis.

Klaft, 34, started acting in high school in Detroit, Michigan, and later realized he had to make the move to Los Angeles in 2011.

“I knew there was more opportunity for T.V. and film for younger people,” said Klaft, who has been acting for 10 years now. In addition to acting, he also works an office job, and is a residential DJ at a popular bar in West Hollywood. The pandemic took away all three of his jobs, making it even more difficult for him this past year.

Actors and media production employees had to turn to unemployment benefits, which was not guaranteed. When the Coronavirus pandemic hit the globe March 2020, most people thought it would only last a couple weeks.

In February, Klaft finally booked a gig among all of the hectic pandemic shutdowns. His agent had him audition for the TV show “Dear White People,” which is in its fifth and final season. Auditions started again in the fall, once rules were regulated, and he auditioned via email and sent in a self-tape for the role. Usually, Klaft said, an actor will get a script and practice until they audition in person. This time, everything was flipped upside down and done online due to the virus. Klaft booked a role on the series and started to film early 2021.

“I had to let them know I was in Los Angeles because they didn’t want anyone from any other city, like New York or anywhere else. They didn’t want to deal with traveling and quarantining because of the quick turnaround time,” he said.

Auditioning and getting tested were just the first few tasks required to get onto a set. Once on set, Klaft dealt with more COVID instructions.

“I got a COVID test beforehand, I got a COVID rapid test when I arrived on set, and masks were mandatory. Masks were mandatory at all times,” Klaft said. “I had to wear my mask when I was on camera and not in the scene. All of us had a set chair spaced out from each other, and each had a zip up plastic so we were not in the same bubble space. We were all in bubbles and it was so weird. I felt very safe and everyone in the crew was also extremely safe. It was definitely a crazy experience.”

Actors all over Hollywood are all going through the same precautions and regulations. Brian Dare, a 36-year-old Hollywood actor, also had the same experience when he filmed the TV series “Shameless” during the pandemic. The episode was filmed during quarantine so even scenes had the actors up to date wearing masks while they filmed scenes in public places.

“I think Hollywood and sets have everything under control with every guidelines they were given. Series have ordered less episodes lately because of budget loss due to using their money on COVID tests. They found a way to make this work,” said Dare. Although it will probably take years for precautions to come to an end, actors still have their place in Hollywood.

Related posts:

Sono felice di ospitare qui su Lavoro con Stile Michela Luoni e Selvaggia Fagioli per parlare di uno strumento che è soprattutto un percorso da intraprendere per centrare il proprio obiettivo di…

Storytelling is such an important part of raising brand awareness, and it is an area I see a large number of people in the creative industries (people in general) struggling with, especially…

A shadow dog chased my shadow car around a shadow block, when the light shifted the dream catapulted me to the front of the bus. Oxygen dripped like blueberries in fog, conversations drifted from…