The last post gives birth to this one.

There's a lot of discussion in professional articles (Hollywood profession, that is) about "branding". Like any commercial endeavor, the brand you're marketing is critical. I had been accepting of this precept up till now, however a bit dubious of it as well.

I didn't want to limit myself, which has been what branding seemed to me to be. I want to do whatever comes my way.

I think yesterday and today (especially that spiffy audition) turned that skittishness on its head.

Everybody loves to play characters with levels, complexities and conflicts. It's what good drama is all about...I like, I've discovered, going a little farther than that. The criminal minds attract me. The aberrant, the twisted, the dark and labyrinthine people that might seem normal enough at first, but wind up soulless or downright creepy underneath. It's the people that do heinous things that interest me. I want to understand. I want to build the logical (or fatally illogical) bridge that takes them where they go. I love the challenge of getting into these people...the kind of people that everybody loves to hate...and giving them life without judging them. Hitler didn't wake up in the morning thinking, "How can I be a little more evil today?" And while we can certainly understand that he was a dark stain on history, I don't mind (read: I love) going there and messing around with the kind of personality that can advocate the death of millions.

There's a safety in it, playing pretend. With terrible, believable antagonists on film, we can learn from our mistakes before we make them.

Also...as an addendum, I believe I'd like to stay up in this area, even if (hopefully when) I'm working more and more. I find I like the half-hour to and from Hollywood. It uses a little gas, certainly, but that's nothing fuel efficient driving doesn't soften, and it gives me a fabulous chance to focus going into a job and reflect coming out.

The Santa Clarita Valley is probably home for a good, long time.