Last Saturday (21st Sept) saw Richard E Grant’s talk & Q&A for aspiring actors and it was amazing!
The week before hand was a crazy whirl of logistics and marketing. The biggest of the MMTO challenges – by far – always being the fact that it seems too good to be true. So much so that I was even told by some people that they wouldn’t have signed up for the event if their friends hadn’t been going already.
So after phoning 30 drama schools and working with everyone from The Actors Guild to Ideas Tap, there was obviously a clear divide in the reaction to the event…
On one side there were those who thought it must be sold out and were delighted it wasn’t and on the other hand there were those who didn’t believe an event of that calibre would really be £1 only.
Fortunately the very wonderful ‘Skint London’ got involved and really got behind both MMTO and the event. Janie Lawrence – founder of Skint London – not only publicised the talk but also put me in touch with Gail Porter and Westendproducer who both put it out to the world of twitter and finally people started to take it seriously. From Janie herself…
“Skint was delighted to publicise Million to One, it’s a fantastic idea. An organisation that gives skint actors an opportunity to go to a great bargain event in addition to helping such a worthy cause is a no brainer. We will continue to publicise MMTO and help it in any way we can.”
By Friday, Richard’s talk seemed to be being tweeted non-stop by actors who had already joined and who had been to previous MMTO events and that was what created the tipping point to pack out the event.
So Saturday morning dawned & I scooted over to Ealing Broadway at 7am to meet the fab Greg, who was not only lending me his 5d camera but coming along to the talk too. By 10.15 we were at the Courtyard Theatre and people had already started arriving. By 10:30 the venue was buzzing and the atmosphere was brilliant.
Richard, like the absolute professional that he is, arrived on the dot and only minutes into the event it was clear that it was going to be something special.
The energy in the room was warm & excitable. Richard read the first chapter of his ‘Withnails’ book and then opened the floor to questions.
Here’s a pic that’s been tweeted to me…
What made the event so special to me was that it was immediately obvious that people were there to really use the opportunity to get advice and push ahead in their careers. Every question was practical and insightful and I’d like to take this chance to thank Richard for how he treated every single person in the room… I have known Richard for a while so it wasn’t a surprise to me, but for anyone who didn’t know what to expect, it was apparent very quickly that every person who asked a question was listened to with great respect and kindness and that every answer was well considered, practical and helpful.
This became especially apparent when Katie asked for advice on how to approach casting directors and the conversation was opened up to the floor.
If you were at the talk & reading this, I don’t know about you but that’s when I thought, “Yes, this is what MMTO’s about. No gimmicks: just people making it happen.”
Anyhooo… The event ended at 12 and Richard bounded out the door to rush to his Radio 2 interview, leaving behind a load of very happy people, most of whom went to a nearby bar in Hoxton Square and chatted until the evening.
Instead of rabbiting on much more, I’m going to paste in lots of screenshots of the social media reaction. MMTO’s about the members really (and of course the children in Africa) so it makes more sense that I use their words, not mine.
The last thing I want to say is THANK YOU! Thank you to Richard, to everyone who helped me put the word out about the event, to Greg and Alex and Chris who helped me film and take professional pics and to everyone who came and has the guts to be going for their dreams. You are all handing these kids a home and setting an example in the process.
Here’s a 7 minute edit of the hour long event… Some of my favourite bits!
- The whole event will also be transcribed for any MMTO members who weren’t able to attend or for any members who want a record of the advice Richard offered…
Just to top the day off, it got flagged up to me later on that Richard gave a mini mention to MMTO in his radio 2 interview…
Swapping dreams to build a home 
A great talk and fascinating to hear Richard’s start to his professional career. A genuinely thoroughly lovely and thoughtful chap, I think a lot of people will have been inspired!
A very helpful talk, inspired on how to think about the Industry and approach it. Mister Grant was certainly very kind, thoughtful and generous. An old school gent!
This was excellent; what an inspiring talk! It was also great to listen to questions from the audience on how other actors are faring with the acting profession and industry. Grant’s advices were amusing, helpful and inspiring – exactly what an unemployed actor needs. Apart from a job.
Keep up the good work, My Million to One!
As ever it’s a real pleasure to meet such a fantastic actor and to find him to be a genuinely humble person, generous and eager to share his knowledge and help all of us aspiring to follow into the industry.
Huge thank you to MyMillionToOne for this great experience.
Hearing about Richards struggle to get his big break was really encouraging. Knowing that an actor of Richard’s standing went through exactly the same struggles as I am experiencing now was really encouraging and helped boost my enthusiasm for chasing my dream. Thank you Richard
Really entertaining and informative talk. Thanks, Richard & My Million To One!
Alana, it was a brilliant occasion! Although Dave & I are not thesps, we both found it inspiring and thought provoking, and Richard’s thoughts and comments very much apply to us as well. Here’s a pic of the man himself from my tiny Samsung compact XXX http://twitpic.com/deo8i2
Thoroughly enjoyed the Q&A session. Richard E Grant was very funny and honest about his experience of making it as an actor.
I learnt from the session that many people have advise, however it is for you to chose your own destiny. Very inspiring!
Thank you SO much for this amazing event! Richard was so inspiring and so lovely! I ordered his book that evening and I’ve been hooked ever since….about to go watch ‘Withnail & I’ this evening through new eyes!
Thank you Alana & Richard!
Kate x
A lovely review of what was a fabulous day from start to finish. Richard was quite simply perfect. He was super genuine and incredibly pleasant. Offering wonderful advice that I have actually already put into use!
A wonderful experience thank you so much MMTO
I thoroughly enjoyed this fantastic opportunity for young actors like myself. Not only did I find this talk fascinating and insightful – my friend who isn’t an actor came along and said she felt completely inspired! Richard’s talk was amazing and as a big fan I do feel like one of my dreams has come true (as Alana mentioned in her talk).
Thanks to Richard for his time and words. Thank you very much Alana for organising such a great event – your charity work is marvelous with such a great cause.
Holly
Absolutely inspiring event! Thanks so much to Alana for putting together such a great event 😀 x
Like many people who come to London frm somewhere else, you come with a dream, a hope, a vague idea. You believe its a city where things could happen, that couldn’t happen elsewhere. And like many people, the gleam of hope can gradually become tarnished with cynicism and disappointment. You start surviving rather than living, clawing rather than climbing, frowning instead of smiling. And you don’t even realise its happening until the moment where something or someone makes you smile, where there is an honest interaction without a secret agenda, and the thing you thought was too good to be true turns out to be true. That’s what happened for a room full of young hopefuls on Saturday. I’m sure many sparks were reignited. Thank you to Alanna and Richard and your team.
What a lovely testimonial/comment Clare Joy Langford. I so wish that there was a team, but at the moment it’s just me slogging away and amazing, inspirational people like Richard volunteering his time to help. I’m very pleased that you thought there was a team though! Hopefully that means I conveyed an impression of being organised and efficient, which can sometimes definitely be an illusion!
Thanks again, Alana
Ask and you shall recieve Alana, if ever help is needed 😉
That’s very kind! And it’s funny you should ask…. 😉
What a lovely blog. I took a lot not just from the Q n A, but also from the amount of ambitious and interesting people I met at the event, who some I have gone on to speak to since. Alana, you’re a true inspiration and please, feel free to spread my blog, (well, the bit bigging up your AMAZING challenge!) Lets keep spreading the word, people. I was lucky enough to fire not one, but quite a few questions Richard’s way. Not only did he answer them well, but he answered them with true sincerity. Richard is a hugely successful and respected Actor and it was refreshing to hear such honesty, which I think is lacking in this industry.
K x
A brilliant talk. It was inspiring throughout. The ease and humour with which Ricahrd delivered a few chapters from his book (now a must read for me) and his incredible sincerity and wisdom during the Q&A session left me in awe. A number of times Richard questioned how useful his replies were. Mr. Grant I feel all your pieces of advice were incredibly valuable and reassuring! Thank you very much and many thanks to Alana for organising the event and transcribing the talk!