Last month, I tuned in for some fraction of the Emmy Awards. Truth be told, I’m a bit of an award show junkie, so it was really bizarre that I had absolutely zero interest in staying home to watch the Emmys this year. Not only did I not cut short the afternoon plans I had, I actually extended my plans to include a dinner meeting with a colleague rather than racing home to catch up with the show. Call it The Ryan Seacrest Factor, if you will. But I’m not even sure that’s what turned me off to it. I just kind of wasn’t in the mood.

Still, when I got home from my dinner date, I turned on the Emmys and joined the show in progress (actually, it had been over for hours, but we get that lovely tape-delayed version here in LA which just really pisses me off, seeing as every tease from the news anchors includes shots of the winners backstage in the press room. I’m like, “If you’re gonna force us to watch on tape-delay, then for the love of all that is holy, you should be forced to do spoiler-free news teases on the same channel.” But I digress).

I found myself pausing the TiVo to let the show get in the system for ten minutes or so, then watching the last hour of the Emmys by fast-forwarding through all of the “bits” (except for the brilliant impromptu award acceptance by Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, and Steve Carell), fast-forwarding through the host’s intros, and even fast-forwarding through some of the clips of nominated shows. I wanted to watch the acceptance speeches (well… some of them. Some were just… too much. I’m lookin’ at you, Gidget). I wanted to hear who these fine actors — actors at the top of their game and at their happiest career moment — listed among those who helped them get to this point. Was it their friends, their family members, their agents, their show’s producers, their co-stars, their personal trainer? Who would they choose to honor in that seconds-long moment they are given to do so?

What’s always interesting to me is how many people — during the press room portion of the night — add on all of the thank yous they either forgot or couldn’t fit in when at the mic during the award ceremony. So, that got me thinking about all of the actors out there who may never even get that fraction of a minute behind a mic. Who would those actors thank? For every actor who wins an award or has a mic thrust in her face by some reporter craving a soundbite there are hundreds of actors whose faces we know but whose careers might not look as impressive to folks outside the 30-mile zone. They’re working actors. And just who would these actors like to thank, for the impact they’ve had?

Friends? Family? Acting coaches? Casting directors who gave ’em a shot at roles just beyond their grasp? Student filmmakers in whose films they got their first footage? That first agent or manager who signed them, when no one else would even take a meeting?

I realized — while watching the Emmys — that there’s a lot of gratitude swarming around with no outlet for it. Very few people ever even get that instant in front of the mic. If actors are lucky, they’ll have some opportunity to publicly share their gratitude for those who helped, nurtured, and inspired them along the way. But usually gratitude is shared quietly… or not at all.

And if that’s the case, it’s likely that you have helped, nurtured, and inspired someone and you don’t even know it! Think about it! You can’t possibly know whose lives your fingerprints are on.

This hit home for me recently when someone from grade school reached out to me through MySpace. I hate to sound like I was a part of “the in crowd” by saying this (and believe me, I was anything but in “the in crowd” throughout most of my school years — it’s why I always say: “If I had known how popular going into casting would make me, I would’ve done it in high school”), but I didn’t even remember this girl. She, on the other hand, had vivid memories of me. Of our interactions. Of my words of encouragement over something forgettable in my mind but life-changing in hers.

You can’t possibly know whose lives you’ve touched, who might silently be feeling gratitude for you or your words or your actions. But what you can control is whether those for whom you are grateful get to hear about it!

So, this is my challenge to you: This week, reach out to three people to whom you’re grateful. With no agenda whatsoever, pick the top three folks you would thank at that moment behind the mic before the orchestra starts playing that dreadful “get off the stage” music. Thank ’em now. You don’t even have to say WHY. Just, “thank you,” is enough. And it’s a moment no one will want to fast-forward through. It’s one we’ll want to hit pause on. Because sometimes it feels really good just to know you’re doing something right.

Bonnie Gillespie is living her dreams by helping others figure out how to live theirs. Wanna work with Bon? Start here. Thanks!

Originally published by Actors Access at http://more.showfax.com/columns/avoice/archives/000783.html. Please support the many wonderful resources provided by the Breakdown Services family. This posting is the author’s personal archive.