In this episode of Good Job Podcast, Beth Roars talks to musical actor Dan Buckley, who has starred in shows such as ‘The Book of Mormon’, ‘Loserville’ and ‘Eugenius’. Dan discusses his career from scrubbing dirty dishes to combating body image issues and what it takes to perform in West End shows. Dan’s insights also include his experiences coping with performance anxiety and how to decide whether or not a career in music or theatre is right for you.
“Be open to educating yourself, don’t get stuck, listen and learn from everybody around you, take criticism as well as you can and always believe in yourself. You always have to believe in yourself, you have to deep down actually believe ”
Episode Highlights
Beth Roars introduces the second podcast guest of the series, Dan Buckley
What was Dan’s worst job?
What was it like for Dan working in a kitchen?
Has Dan ever had any doubts?
What is it like going to many different jobs as an actor and having to build friendships with different people each time?
How does Dan find the unpredictable nature of being an actor?
Dan discusses the highs and lows of building a career in performance
Does winning an award guarantee you other work and success?
How has Dan Buckley supported himself in-between jobs?
Dan opens up about feeling nauseous and vomiting before an audition that he cares about
Did nervousness affect Dan’s performances in The Book of Mormon?
Is it different to be part of a production as a lead role compared to an understudy?
What performance situations make Dan Buckley the most nervous?
What was it like for Dan Buckley performing in Eugenius and how did he come to be in it?
Dan talks about struggling with confidence
How has Dan come to play the outsider a lot and how does he feel about it?
Dan discusses his body dysmorphia surrounding his weight
Beth and Dan talk about fighting physical stereotypes in casting and the importance of having a diverse range of body types for different roles
What type of presenting work has Dan done?
Dan Buckley speaks about working alongside Scott Paige and the raport they have
What have been Dan’s greatest moments up until this point?
Why was playing Ferris in Eugenius so influential on Dan’s life?
Could the younger Dan imagine that he would have made it this far in his career?
What made Dan Buckley want to be an actor?
What motivates Dan to keep moving forward?
Beth Roars speaks about being inspired by Dan Buckley for setting an example and moving to London to train as an actor and realising that was possible for her
Dan discusses growing up in a rural town in Scotland and what it was like moving into London
Does Dan enjoy going back to Scotland now he’s become accustomed to the city?
What advice would Dan give to up-and-coming performers?
How to be resilient and not let rejection get you down
Drama school gives skills not just for performance but for life in general
Dan advises not to be afraid to go towards ‘your happy,’ whatever that might be.
What is next for Dan Buckley?
Is taking time out ever a good idea for an actor?
Key Points
The performance industry is about persistence and absolute belief in yourself. If someone doesn’t think you’re good enough to do something, prove them wrong. You will get rejections and it’s important to keep pushing through.
A consistent fear as a performer is the insecurity of knowing a job will end and worrying where the next job will come from
Don’t put all your hopes into one audition, there are other opportunities available to you
Find the people you naturally gravitate towards and keep close friendships with them, whilst not stressing about not being best friends with everyone. You can be nice to them without having to stay in touch beyond the job and that’s ok
We must seek to get away from a weight stereotype in lead roles, particularly love interests. Anyone can fall in love, anyone can be the centre of a story.
Find your happy and go towards it. If in this moment that’s not in the performance career you’ve been striving for, try and make circumstances work so you can take a break and come back when you feel strong enough.
Quotes
“If you’ve always got a carrot dangling in front of you, which I always do, then you always got something to work towards. As soon as that goes, that’s when it’s hard to find the motivation.”
Dan Buckley
“Nerves are great. I love the feeling of being really prepared and nervous, that’s fine with me. But when you are nervous because you’re unprepared, that’s when I vomit.”
Dan Buckley
“Even when you’re in the really awesome jobs you have doubts. You get imposter syndrome. But as I get older, I can look around the room and try and make myself aware that I am meant to be where I am”
Dan Buckley
“Actors meet new groups of people all the time. So, I think one of the biggest worries and fears I had when I first started out was always trying to make everyone my friend.”
Dan Buckley
“All I can do is be the nicest person I can be”
Dan Buckley
“You don’t ever go backwards because you’re always learning and developing your skills, but you can go from being the lead in a huge west end show to being ensemble in another show”
Dan Buckley
“Regardless of awards, it’s always knowing your worth, that’s the most important thing. When you’re working in a bar or all these other jobs that support you and pay your rent - it’s knowing your worth and knowing you wouldn’t be doing these in between jobs if you didn’t have that work to come”
Dan Buckley
“Being seen for work is a privilege, booking work is even more of a privilege and continuing to work is the most amazing feeling”
Dan Buckley
“A lot of people feel like they can’t make it in musical theatre because of weight when they can. It’s now the time that we need to break through that”
Beth Roars
“I like to try and encourage people of all different shapes and sizes being considered for different types of roles. It’s not just the fat guys who can play the geek or the loser, it’s not just the thin guys who can play the love interest. Everyone falls in love, all different shapes and sizes have these traits”
Dan Buckley
“That moment where I pulled out of my family home to go to London, I’ll never forget how heartbroken I was. I was so excited, my Mum was upset and I was like ‘don’t worry’, then I got in the van and started driving and I was like ‘oh my God, this is happening’”
Dan Buckley
“Follow your gut, but always be prepared for what you perceive as rejection of failure and use that to light a fire in your belly. Every knockdown, that’s what this whole industry is about, being resilient, getting back up again, using it every time. Once one door closes another one opens”
Dan Buckley
“Be open to educating yourself, don’t get stuck, listen and learn from everybody around you, take criticism as well as you can and always believe in yourself. You always have to believe in yourself, you have to deep down actually believe”
Dan Buckley
“If at the moment it’s not working for you and it’s making you unhappy; find something that makes you happy and do that for a bit. Find your happy again and then get back into it once you feel strong enough”
Dan Buckley
“It’s important sometimes to spend some time working on yourself and then you can give yourself to the job properly”
Beth Roars
Resources Mentioned
Beth Roars: YouTube Instagram Twitter Patreon BethRoars.com
Scott Paige - Dan and Scott’s Youtube Channel
Dan’s Shows: Eugenius Book of Mormon Loserville
