Recommended Viewing
Vanity Fair
Career Timeline Series
YouTube
This Vanity Fair-produced series presents short interviews with professionals in the creative arts. Each creator is given a timeline of their career and asked to comment of the path they have taken.
Everyone has a path. Most are not nearly this straightforward.
While the series is heavily weighted toward movie and television actors, there are also interviews with directors, composers, voice actors, comedians, and musicians. And many of the performers cross over into producing, directing, writing, and other creative roles.
Each of these subjects has taken a unique path, made their own choices-both good and bad-and worked with a variety of other creatives. Along the way they have learned about their own preferences, the things they love and the things they never want to repeat.
One of the most interesting parts in each timeline is the missteps each one has taken: turning down a job that won someone else an award, or taking a job that turned out to be a poor fit. For the most part these are touched on only very lightly - this is meant to be entertainment, after all - or glossed over with a dismissive laugh. But occasionally it is clear that beneath the casual attitude there is a real sense of loss or regret, an opportunity missed or a career misstep that was difficult to overcome, a hard lesson learned.
Another point that emerges now and again is the realization, often long after the fact, that a particular role was absolutely perfect for someone else, a chance to showcase their talents and abilities, and would have been a terrible choice for the interviewee. That lesson alone is worth your time.
Knowing when to say no is a lesson we all need. And we all need reminders of why it’s a good idea.
Each segment is only 10-30 minutes long, just enough to stream on your phone while you're waiting for an appointment, or taking a break. If a particular segment or creator doesn't resonate with you, it isn't a big investment in time and attention.
The subjects are mostly household names, and the depth of each episode depends on the willingness of the creator to share their feelings about their careers. Not all segments are equally introspective; some creators clearly prefer to keep their commentary light, or even superficial. Some of them cover only a portion of their career. But each one has a little something to say about the pursuit of a career as a creative.
Currently there are 47 segments on the Vanity Fair You Tube channel. Not all are career timelines, there are a few episodes about a particular entertainer's fashion choices, and at least one about the performer's injuries (!) throughout their career. (To be clear, that one is Johnny Knoxville, whose entire career seems to center around dangerous and often juvenile stunts. Most of his work seems to be in need of the "Don't try this at home" disclaimer.)
These are short takes on creative careers, and they each have something to offer. Start with someone whose work you admire, or pick and choose from among creators you aren't as familiar with. There is something to recommend each of these episodes.
Vanity Fair/Career Timeline
You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZ2lDrDpOLrs9-GnqElQsdaZgOhSSi0sC