So I’d moved out to L.A., no agent, no manager, no life. I was screwed. I owed everybody money. I was really in a bad place. I was hanging out with this really great friend of mine, Greg Dulli, from Afghan Whigs. I was living on the couch of the guys from Bullet LaVolta. They were recording a record in L.A., and then they were like, “Okay, dude, we’re going back to Boston next week!” And I said, “Well, what about me?” They’re like, “Uh, you’re an adult. Tough shit.” [Laughs.] “We’re not your parents.”
So I found this place to live, taking care of dogs in South Central. I quit drinking, because I was out of my mind, and I got a job as a janitor at a drug and alcohol center, and I didn’t care about acting or… anything, really. For the first time in my life, I was like, “Oh, man. Thank you, God, for this turkey sandwich!” [Laughs.]
People were talking shit about L.A., my friends in New York, but I was like, “To me, L.A. is Tibet!”
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The great, great Donal Logue talking Random Roles over at the AV Club. I always love reading, and will never get tired of hearing, “I moved to LA and was broke and struggled and still struggle” stories, especially those of people you admire.
We’re all in this together.
As Donal Logue continues:
I’ve also found over the years that those environments are usually welcoming. People want people to do well. You can get focused on the bitter side of it, like, “Everybody wants you to fail, everybody’s keeping the door closed to you,” but that’s not true at all. Everybody’s kind of in the same boat. Everybody’s kind of a freelancer. If Phil Alden Robinson doesn’t keep writing hit scripts or big movies, then he goes somewhere else. The same with the executives and stuff.
