The actor Taylor Negron passed away over the weekend at 57 and he wrote this final piece for xoJane. He had been in tons of things over the years that you’d recognize, but according to him, he was never quite famous –rather he was “famish”:
“After 30 years in show business I’ve given up on the idea that people will know my first and last name together, and I’ve accepted that I will never, ever be actually famous.
Instead, I am famish.
‘Are you the dragon salesman on The Wizards of Waverly Place?’
‘Are you Nacho Butt from Angels in the Outfield?’
‘Do you work at Red Lobster?’
In response to when I ask them a question. Like, ‘Is this subway express or local?’
They reply with: ‘Were you on Seinfeld?’
Being polite, I tell them, ‘Yes, I was on the smelly car episode,’ and before you hear, ‘Stand clear of the closing doors,’ I am 105 blocks past my stop.
Most of the time, however, the question is not specific.
It is simply: ‘Where do I know you from?’
I customize my answer based on age. If you are a woman in your thirties I will most likely smile and respond with assurance: ‘I was Monica’s boss on Friends.’
If you are a man in your fifties, I clap him on the back and say: ‘Ah yes, you might know me as Rodney Dangerfield’s son-in-law from Easy Money.’
That’s part of the fun of being That Guy.
Being fame-ish is comforting to some. I have come to understand that viewers who knew me when they were young grew up with me. Subsequently when I hear, ‘Hey, you’re that guy from so and so,’ it doesn’t bother my ego, it makes me very proud that I am a shape shifter.
Having brushes with fame but realizing that I will always be That Guy, it’s been easy for me let go of my ego.
But my heyday is coming to an end. Parts for the alternative everyman are increasingly scarce. I have had to let go of my dream of being in a Hobbit movie. This will never happen unless Bilbo Baggins orders a pizza and we all know that when a hobbit orders a pizza in Middle Earth, someone is going down a wet, nasty, dirty hole and as I would say if I were in a buddy cop movie: ‘I am getting too old for this shit.’
To read the full piece go here.
The post RIP: The Late Taylor Negron On Being “Famish” appeared first on World of Wonder.