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Aaron Marcus got yelled at on set as a stand-in in the early 1990s for touching crew equipment. He shares what he learned about set etiquette and how actors can avoid making the same mistake.
Aaron Marcus got yelled at on set as a stand-in in the early 1990s for touching crew equipment. He shares what he learned about set etiquette and how actors can avoid making the same mistake.
Hey, in this video I'm going to be sharing with you how and why I got yelled at on a set, and now you can learn from my mistake. I also have a great bonus video for you at the end, 2 ways that being a stand-in really improved my life, and I know you're gonna like it. Okay, let's get started. Hi, I'm Aaron Marcus, and welcome to the Acting and Modeling Quick Tips channel and the Actor Career Center. So this was a long time ago. It was actually back in the early 1990s, and I was a stand-in on a network television show. Did it for a year and a half. Great experience, really. I learned so much from that experience. And something that I did got me yelled at on the set, which I wish I hadn't done. I learned from it and I will never do it again. And hopefully this will never happen to you. So here's what happened. It was like really within the first week and the show just started. And so people really didn't know each other that well. At least I didn't know crew and other people at that point. And we were shooting out on location. It was at a cemetery and Finished shooting the scene. And as you guys know, sometimes stand-ins, I mean, you get a lot of free time. I mean, you're not working until they're getting ready to set up the next scene. So I was just hanging around and I'm watching crew members carrying tons of equipment from one side of the cemetery to the other side of the cemetery. These people are working so hard. I felt a little guilty, felt a little bad. I'm just standing there, I'm not doing anything. So I noticed there was, I think it was some kind of battery pack. So just to help the guys out, went over, picked it up, started to walk over to give it to them, and some guy, one of the crew members, was not happy. And he came rushing over to me, and I'm going to clean this up a little bit, but essentially he said, hey, you an IATSE? Which is the union this guy was in. I said, nope, just a SAG-AFTRA member. And he goes, well, put it down, and said a couple other things. And I said, man, I was just trying to— he goes, you're not a union member, put it down, don't ever touch it. I said, okay, absolutely. And so, so even though— look, I guess just with the way that I was brought up, you try to help other people, and that's what I always do. Look, that's why I'm doing these videos. But I learned that sometimes you got to step back. Sometimes it's not in people's best interests. Sometimes people don't want help. And, and look, I understand it. I'm not a crew member. I shouldn't be touching their equipment. Now, I could have asked, hey, I'm just standing around, do you guys want me to carry anything for you? And they probably would have said no. That would have been the best move. You know, instead of just immediately picking things up to help them out. So anyhow, I just wanted to share. I know it's a really quick little concept, but you really do want to be aware of your surroundings. And sometimes, you know, people will say things to you for all kinds of different reasons. And look, you just have to be careful so you don't get yelled at. As it turns out, I. I had a great relationship with everybody, and there was one incident happened, won't ever happen again. I mean, I haven't done extra work in a long time anyway. But anyhow, I just wanted to share that one with you. Hey, look, if, if you've ever experienced getting yelled at on the set, please, you know, don't mention the name or the people or the name of the project. But let us know about it. You know, what did you do? How did you handle it? Um, was somebody just being crazy with you? Was it something you could have done differently? Please share it with us in the channel so that we can learn from you as well. If you haven't subscribed yet, do so now. Click the notification bell so you always know when a new video's been uploaded. Uh, if you like it, give it a thumbs up. That's always helpful. And share the link. You know, with fellow actors so we can continue to build a great channel with, you know, other actors learning from each other and helping each other as well. I am Aaron— oh, before I forget, I did promise another bonus video. It's right up here. Just click on the link. And it's 2 ways being a stand-in really improved my life. I know you're going to like it. Now I can say it. I'm Aaron Marcus, and I can't wait to talk with you again soon. See ya. See ya.
