(Long Island, N.Y.) Hey soap opera fans: If you tune in to Days of Our Lives Sept. 13th, 14th and 17th–playing the role of Officer Willy Williams will be Spero Dean (Stamboulis). If you’re not familiar with the name–chances are you’ve seen his face–on the big and small screen. With numerous feature film roles under his belt, Spero has also been featured on General Hospital, The Tonight Show and Sex And The City. Adding to his impressive list of credits, he’s currently producing his first feature film—a horror film, tentativly titled Bone Dead. The film will be shot in Trinidad and while he can’t yet disclose what actors have signed on, production is set to begin this February.
Spero chatted with me recently about what it takes to break in to the acting business and what it takes to stay there and succeed. He also discussed the important role his family and friends played in his career and also how parents can help their kids get started in showbiz.
You’ve been in the business for a long time. When did you first realize acting is what you wanted to do with your life?
Well, it depends on who is reading whether it’s a long time or not. I’ve been in SAG (the Screen Actors Guild) for ten years. I’ve been pursuing it just under 13 years. I started late. Some people start when they’re kids. I finished college, took a real job and didn’t really like it. But I got the desire my first year in college. I had taken a communications public speaking class and the teacher said that I was very natural speaking in front of the class and I had a very natural ability to perform. So the next semester I took a basic acting class and that’s really where I picked it up—I loved it. It was exciting, it was fun, and it was make believe it was exhilarating. It was a natural high. That summer I landed out doing a play at college (The University of Connecticut) and then I continued doing plays in college and I continued taking as many acting classes as I could along with my business classes. I graduated with a degree in finance and a minor in theater. So that is how I got involved in the acting business. I left corporate America and pursued my dream. And 13 years later…
Spero Stamboulis
That’s amazing because I know so many people give up in that business so quickly. Were your parents and family supportive of your career choice? Do you think it’s important to have your family backing your dreams?
It is the utmost important thing to have your family and friends support you—in anything you do. To follow your dreams and pursue anything that is difficult or worth achieving, you really need to have your family support. When it came to me I have to say my mom was incredibly supportive. She was my best friend, my biggest fan. Whenever anything was good, she chimed in and made it seem like it was great. And when things were bad she always made it seem that things would get better. She always believed that I would succeed even when I left corporate America.
Was it hard for you to always believe that–and stay driven? Or do you think your drive helped you succeed?
You have to visualize yourself succeeding because it seems—at every corner there is disappointment. Even the people that they say came out of nowhere, like Matt Damon and Ben Affleck. They say ‘look at them, they became big stars overnight’. But before “Good Will Hunting”, Mat Damon pursued acting for TEN YEARS. He had one line in “Mystic Pizza” so even though they say he’s an overnight success and they wrote their ticket….they didn’t. They struggled. Part of it is the journey. Anything worth getting takes work.
Everybody thinks that it’s easy. It’s not—I’m living proof. You can have passion and drive and motivation and connections and luck and still it’s not easy. For me, I think one of the reasons I didn’t give up—because nothing ever came easy for me: I was overweight growing up, I had a learning disability, I was dyslexic, I had ADD, I had a speech impediment. I was told when I went into the special Ed classes that I would be lucky if I graduated high school… But not only did I graduate high school—I got a 3.5 from the University of Connecticut. So nothing ever came easy to me so I realized that I had to work hard to succeed.
What are some of the toughest things about the industry?
Rejection. People will say: you’re not attractive enough. You’re too attractive. You’re not ethnic enough. You’re too ethnic. You’re not tall enough. You’re too tall. You’re not in good enough shape. You’re in too good of shape. And that completely dismisses any of the actual talent. This is just on a physical level and it’s hard not to take it personal. Most of the time you don’t realize why you don’t get a job. I’ve been fortunate enough over the last 12 years that slowly things have changed and I’ve run into people who I have auditioned for and said “I had a great audition. I thought I was so right”—and they would say “Oh, it was just between you and another person and the other person just had something we needed. And it wasn’t because of talent or your look. It was just that someone was better. Someone was more right.”
As an actor you often ask yourself: what did I do wrong? And then you start second guessing your skill and your talent and what you’re doing. You can be your own worst enemy besides the business being difficult.
What are some red flags parents can lookout for who want to support a child who caught the acting bug?
Parents should really be careful. It’s a business that preys on emotion. There are so many kids who want to act or model—and often they’ll run into some people who will say: if you pay this money, we’ll represent you. You should NEVER, ever, ever pay money for a manager or an agent. A manager or an agent has to believe that they could make money off you. That’s what the business is for. So if they believe in you and think that you have something they could market, they work with you… They’ll represent you. Do you have to pay for pictures? Yes. Do you have to take classes? Yes, but to have any representation—and agent or a manager—a red flag should go up if they tell you have to pay a fee for them to get you work. It doesn’t work that way.
Any more words of wisdom for a parent of a child who wants in?
For younger kids, I think it’s easier (not easy) but easier for them to try for commercials. It’s not as much pressure, there’s more opportunities, and you don’t have to have as much skill. Not to say commercial actors are not talented (they can be very talented) but sometimes it comes down to just having the right look.
If you’re on the hunt for an agent or manager, should actors be on the lookout for potential scams?
Oh yes. There’s tons of scams. I got scammed! One of those ‘pay to get on our website’. But these days, on the Internet you can research just about anything. You can go to IMDb.com (Internet Movie Database) and lookup agents and managers to see what kind of clientele they have. There’s some books out there that have lists of all the franchised agencies and managers out there and what they’re looking for. Those are good sources to look at.
And also, make sure the kids are doing it because they want to, not because the parents want them to. If the kids show signs that they don’t want to do it anymore, they should let them stop. Sometimes parents live vicariously through their kids. And it’s a lot of work for parents. To take kids on castings, all the paperwork. And kids should stay in school! You need to have something to fall back on. Some people will say they can’t do anything else but acting. Yeah, okay. Some of the most talented actors, directors, writers, producers, and comedians—are the ones that are well-read. The ones that are educated because a role comes or you’re doing a comedic sketch—the funny people are the ones who are familiar with current events. They’re reading books and know what’s going on in the world.
Do you think having friends in the business or trying to break in, too– is important?
Yes. I’ll describe it as your climbing a ladder to succeed. You reach up one rung and start to pull yourself up and someone’s got their foot on your face trying to hold you down. But if you reach down and you pull someone up, you help each other and give a hand-up—that can happen. That’s why it’s important to surround yourself with friends in the business or trying to pursue it—to help each other—or having your friends and family support you to hold you there—is all good to help you not slip down when someone slams a door in your face. Family and support is so important. If it wasn’t for my mom, I would have given up a long time ago.
