I received a particularly nice check the other day. Just about any check you receive is a nice one but this one falls under the "particularly nice" category because I wasn't expecting it.

The check came through SAG and was for a Gillette callback that I attended several months back. I wrote about it here. It was an extremely long callback that was made all the more enjoyable by the tight quarters and excessive body heat given off by 100 of my favorite sweating actor friends.

At the time, I overheard several actors grousing and talking about how much it was going to cost the ad agency in fines. SAG has strict guidelines about how long actors can be made to wait before they're compensated. I hadn't heard this before and made sure that I signed out (in pen) once I was done auditioning.

I checked the SAG website about the compensation rules and decided not to pursue it. As I recall, the compensation didn't sound like very much and it hardly seemed worth it to make a stink and potentially get a casting director angry with you.

Well, flash forward six months later and the check I received for the long wait was for almost $200. Huh. The compensation was more than I had thought it would be. Keep me waiting for a couple hours anytime. I can only imagine how much that scheduling disaster cost the agency (and ultimately the client). $10,000 - 20,000? Yikes. AD AGENCYAUDITION ACTING ACTOR AGENT CLIENT HOLLYWOOD LOS ANGELES CALLBACK GILLETTECOMMERCIAL SAG

It's always nice to have unexpected money in your pocket. I'm thinkin...new outfit, dinner and a movie...of course you may be thinkin..new headshots and a mass mailing. Fall shows are coming up you know.