John Wells is one of Hollywood's most successful writer/producers (ER, The West Wing, Shameless.) Meryl Streep is… Well, she's Meryl Streep for heaven's sake. John Wells recently directed Meryl Streep in 'August: Osage County,' in theaters now.
At this point in her career, Meryl Streep could roll into the first day of any production half-drunk in her pajamas and people would give her a standing ovation. But she doesn't. Quite the opposite, in fact. Here's a video of John Wells talking about something she did at the first read through of 'August: Osage County' that raised the all-star cast's level of professionalism for the rest of the shoot. (And these are no slouches in the professionalism department.)
For guest actors, this is a great lesson in preparation. You may have a non-speaking role in one tiny moment of one episode of something that gets cancelled before it even airs. But if you walk into the audition or on to the set with a level of confidence and preparation that tells people they're dealing with a serious professional? They will remember. You will have done your reputation a great service. And you will have something in common with Meryl Streep.
I don't know about you, but that's going on my 2014 Resolutions List.
A bonus Meryl link… A recent 'roundtable', hosted by The Hollywood Reporter, in which Julia Roberts talks about working with Meryl. (I don't remember when in the hour-long video that happens, but the whole thing is well worth watching, as is almost every roundtable THR does.)