Plot[]
Dean is a middle-aged construction worker in his 40s, and has been aspiring for years to succeed as a film actor, but has so far struggled to land roles, to the frustration of his wife, agent, and employer, all of whom are frustrated with Dean going to audition after audition without ever landing a role.
The episode opens with a scene from one of Dean's films, where his character is held at gunpoint on the edge of a rooftop by a villain, before going back a year to when Dean was still struggling to make his voice heard. He comes home to his wife, Monica, who is frustrated by the fact that her husband took another day off of work to attend an audition. Things are not much better at the workplace, where Dean is working in construction. His co-workers and supervisor ridicule and mock his repeatedly failed attempts to succeed as an actor, and Dean is once again rebuked by his manager, Vince for having missed a day of work.
To make matters worse, Dean's supervisor informs him that he expects the entire team to be ready to work on Thursday, which just happens to be Dean's next audition. He proceeds to mock and ridicule Dean's ambitions to become an actor, before threatening to fire him for further absences. The only person in Dean's life who is supportive of his dreams is his mother, who once aspired to become a professional singer. She urges her son to follow his dreams, despite the discouragement faced at the hands of everyone else in his life. However, their conversation is briefly interrupted by a call from Monica, who urges her husband to come home immediately to some "exciting news".
When Dean comes home, Monica informs him that her friend, Tina, has offered to give Dean a position at the local bank, which is a 9-5 job with benefits. Dean turns down the offer, preferring to stay in the construction industry, as such a job offers more flexible hours. This displeases Monica, who is frustrated, and immediately hints about her desire to separate from Dean. From this point forwards, Monica's frustration and displeasure only grows, as she sees her husband headed to yet another audition on Thursday, which pushes her to eventually announce her decision to divorce Dean and run off with another man.
In tears, Dean signs the divorce papers and heads off to his audition. His agent also expresses increasing discontentment and frustration with him for not having succeeded in any audition for over a year, and on the morning of his audition on Thursday, his agent calls him, making sure that he has arrived on time, and warns him to not fail. However, upon entering the audition room, Dean performs miserably and fumbles over his lines, prompting the audition crew to dismiss him immediately.
Dean heads back to his car in anger and frustration, having failed yet another audition. He turns on the radio, and hears only a message of encouragement, that one must follow his passion in order to succeed. Irritated in the face of another failure, Dean turns off the radio. Things are not much better the following day at the workplace, when Dean is finally dismissed by his supervisor, Vince, who has grown tired of his constant absences from work. In the face of repeated rejections by everyone in his life, including auditions, his wife, and his employer, Dean breaks down sobbing, but his supervisor and co-workers simply ridicule him and mock him further.
Discouraged, Dean heads over to his mother's place, sobbing. His mother provides reassurance and support, telling her son about her aspirations to become a singer in her youth, only to be discouraged by her father. She had an opportunity to go on tour, but her father was opposed, and she relented. To this day, she regrets not following her dreams, and urges her son to continue pursuing his.
When Dean heads to his next audition, he is faced with even more bad news. His agent, Lisa, has finally decided to drop him over his repeated failures to book a gig, and expresses frustration with her client's poor track record.
However, this audition turns out to be unlike any other. Dean is given a script which happens to resemble the exact same situation he is going through in life, facing rejection at the hands of his wife. His role is simply to play a heartbroken man whose girlfriend/wife has decided to leave him, and in the face of such heartbreak and sadness, Dean performs superbly and the audition crew is deeply moved. This audition turns out to be his big break, and it launches his career in the film industry.
A year later, Dean is shown to be acting in films, starring as a lead character in an action film. The crew is impressed with his performance, and after he walks off set, Dean shows gratitude towards his mother for her unwavering support even when he was struggling to make a name for himself. However, in the face of his success, those who had previously rejected him now want him back, including Lisa, his former agent, who offers him a better deal, in addition to his ex-wife, Monica.
Dean, however, rejects both women, knowing that they are motivated by nothing but greed. He is shown to be in a relationship with a new woman,, and as he is walking to his car, his former construction co-workers and supervisor are seen in amazement as they see their former colleague having succeeded as a movie star, and express elation upon seeing him in the magazine.
Cast[]
Dean - Tarik Lawrence
Monica - Shaunte Massard
Vince - Mark Taormino
Lisa - Colleen Ann Bowling
Liz - IJ Scimeca
Crew member 1 - Elizabeth Kyokuijuka
Crew member 2 - Connor Bond
Crew member 3 - Giri Srinivasan
Producer - Leonel Claude
Actor 1 - Antwon Dupree Mason Jr.
Actor 2 - Umar Sadiq
Actor 3 - Dee Collins
Casting assistant - Kate Bowman
Casting Assistant 2 - Warren Mitchell
Gunman - Alex Christopher Jean
Coworker 1 - Reginald Luckett
Coworker 2 - Mike Mccarthy
Hollywood starlet - Desma Triplett
Leo - Edward Moquette
Confident actor -Jamal Delaney
Director - Stephon Pettway
Casting director - Maricella Ibarra
Casting personnel 1 - Brooke Somer Jones
Casting personnel 2 - Dennis Lopez
Attractive actor 1 - Emmanuel Anthony Brown
Attractive actor 2 - Antonio Fern
Attractive actor 3 - Nathaniel Von Dolteren
Security guard - Walter Rogelio
Photographer 1 - Tom Meyer
Photographer 2 - LaTalya Gaffney
Photographer 3 - Jean-Pierre Giangoli
Photographer 4 - Eliza Turshudjian
Photographer 5 - Hugo Mejia
Radio Show Host - Rafael Siegel
Trivia[]
- The main character's last names "Lewis" are not shown in credits, but shown in the divorce papers.