\u0027We are all just scrambling to keep our heads above water\u0027
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This is not the life he imagined when he moved here from a small town in Georgia in 2009, following the path of so many others who have been drawn to the Golden State by promise of celebrity. “The glitz and glamour is what the general public sees,” Hooks said. “The reality is anything but.”The dual strikes have highlighted a vast and growing inequality in Hollywood.
The strikes, which have already taken a toll on the local economy, could cost California billions, a blow that would be particularly painful after the state reported an estimated $32 billion budget deficit. This week, the office of Gov. Gavin Newsom offered to help broker a deal between the studios, the writers and the actors, a sign that state leaders are concerned about the ramifications of a prolonged work stoppage.
“It is a very uncertain life,” he said. “And the sad thing is because the public only knows the famous people, they think everyone who is an actor is doing well. But the vast majority of people are really just out there scraping by one job to the next.”Hooks grew up in rural Southern towns in the 1980s and 1990s. He played college baseball, tended bar and watched his friends take jobs at factories. All along, he wanted to be an actor, but it took him years to admit it and even longer to commit.
Hooks returned to Los Angeles this year, hoping to replicate the success of his self-tape studio and land enough clients to avoid picking up another side gig. Two friends loaned him $25,000 to convert the living room of his lofted apartment into an audition taping studio with professional lighting and sound equipment.Article content
But his ambitions are modest: Hooks would like to be a television series regular. No more side projects, no more survival jobs. A dream career, he said, would be like that of Barry Pepper, a respected and versatile character actor whose long track record includes roles in “Saving Private Ryan” and “True Grit.”
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