M. David Christman
For actors trying to rise up the ranks in Hollywood, one such conundrum revolves around the demo reel. It goes something like: you can’t get roles without demo reel footage, but you can’t get demo footage without booking some roles.
This is the premise for the new comedy web series “Character Flaws,” created by and starring M. David Christman and now playing on YouTube. Originally from Indiana, Christman based the 6-episode show on his own struggles and turned to his friends to get it done.
To find out more, M. David Christman recently answered some questions for FanPop:
Tell us about the premise of your new web series “Character Flaws”.
M. DAVID CHRISTMAN: The show is centered around the absolute bottom-rung of the acting career path, an already almost impossible pursuit, and a lead character with no perceptible talent or awareness of his station in life. Matt can’t book a job to save his life, so he has to make his own reel, which is just the minimal tool you have to have to compete. It’s going that badly.
What would you consider Matt’s best quality? His worst?
MDC: Best quality….um… he shows up on time? Tom Hanks said that’s important, and he’s doing pretty great. As for his worst qualities… how much time do you have? He’s completely oblivious to his own behavior. He’s anxious, calloused, and prone to stupidity. Plus, he smokes. People don’t like that much anymore, I’m frequently told. Not a bad dancer, though.
How was it to work both as “creator” and “star?”
MDC: F*ckin’ awesome. I learned a million things from our DP, Joey Krulock - couldn’t have done this without him. I had literally no experience. And it was the first thing I ever wrote. I had to - no one else would do it for me. I found out I absolutely love writing. Plus, the entire cast and crew are friends, so working together was just incredibly fun.
Why did you want to create the show and is it based on your own experience?
MDC: Everything in the show is very, very close to my real life. Shockingly, sadly close. Any sane person would have given up by this point. But with comedy, I think the more specific you are, the more interesting it is. So you’ve really gotta expose some vulnerabilities… for better or worse.
Any interesting stories from the set you can share?
MDC: We shot the final two episodes the week before the pandemic lockdown, so that was in the air. The whole outdoor shoot was a goddamn disaster. We blew the power to the house and that took hours to fix. Then there was a surprise outdoor wedding party next-door that killed our audio. Then it started raining, then we blew the power again… all of this with a hard deadline to get the hell off the property. Joey shot four pages in like forty minutes and it looks great. I still can’t believe we pulled it off. But, that’s what makes it fun.
And, now just for fun:
Who’s your favorite actor?
MDC: I really dig the older guys… Pacino, De Niro, Nicholson, Beatty. From this generation, I think Christian Bale, Joaquin, Fassbender all obviously do amazing work. Bobby Cannavale - love him.
What role from the past do you wish you could’ve played?
MDC: Well, you remember those roles because the people who played them did so perfectly and you could never imagine anyone else doing the part. I don’t know, Bill Murray’s character in What About Bob? seems fitting. He’s just a complete pain-in-the-ass. Or Bale in American Psycho. Absolutely hysterical.
Favorite movies from childhood?
MDC: the Police Academy movies. 100%.
Tell us one thing that would surprise our readers to learn about you.
MDC: I won a trip for two to LA from peeling the Batman thing off the side of a Taco Bell cup when I was a kid. In retrospect, I think that was the moment I peaked.
How can fans keep up with you?
MDC: Just swing by the house. I’ll make you tea.
Watch now on YouTube: youtube.com/channel/UCrsAz45rhtwmmxyx0YVI4vw link
Visit: Character-Flaws.com link
Instagram: @character_flaws link
M. David Christman stars in "Character Flaws"
"Character Flaws" created by M. David Christman
