When I was a kid, I desperately wanted to move to Hollywood and become an actress. When I closed my eyes at night, I saw my face plastered all over Big Bopper and Seventeen magazines, and I often had dreams of Patrick Swayze saying, “nobody puts Dani in the corner.”
What’s creepy is that I was only 10 when Dirty Dancing came out . . . and Patrick Swayze was 35.
Of course, I grew up on the other side of the world from Hollywood on a little island called Singapore, so it became clear early on that this dream of mine was going to be hard to achieve.
But my Mom didn’t raise quitters.
So I signed up for choir, tried my hand at a couple of dance shows (fail!), and starred in a few plays, all in an effort to gain some exposure and get myself noticed. And when I turned 13, my Dad decided it was time to hook me up with an agent.
Within a week, I landed a part in a Chinese soap opera.
I was going to be famous!!!
Sadly, my first day of work didn’t start off so well:
- My agent never showed up.
- My eye make-up was about 3,000 times heavier than Avril Lavigne’s.
- My waist-length hair was teased and sprayed to epic proportions.
- My top resembled more of a bra than an actual shirt.
- My shorts were so short, I couldn’t sit down without crying.
- My sandals were at least 4 inches tall.
- No one spoke English.
But I already knew not all parts of showbiz are glamorous, and I wasn’t going to let a little wardrobe drama get me down.
So I kept going.
When we finally made it to the set, which was located on a golf course, I was introduced to a lovely English-speaking woman named Sabine who was dressed just as ridiculously as I was, and was going to appear alongside me in my first scene.
Phew.
While we were exchanging pleasantries, someone handed each of us a large duffle bag and indicated for us to move to the 9th hole.
As we started walking, I confided in Sabine that my agent hadn’t shown up that day and I had no idea what I was supposed to do. Did we have any lines? Was this my only scene? When was this going to air on TV, anyway?
When I finally shut my mouth long enough for Sabine to answer, she asked how old I was.
Me: I’m 13.
Sabine: And your agent didn’t tell you anything about the part?
Me: No, but I’m so excited! I’ve always wanted to be famous!
Sabine: Dani, honey, we’re supposed to be hookers. We’re going to carry these duffle bags over to those 2 men in the first scene and, well, I’m just not sure this is the right role for you.
When I looked over at the men she was talking about, one of them winked at me.
He couldn’t have been a day younger than 65.
It was in that moment that I realized there are some things I’m just not willing to do to make myself famous.
Pretending to be a hooker for that man was one of those things.
And that, my friends, is why I never made it to Hollywood.
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