Unlike "nepo babies" (and "nepo parents"), aspiring stars who come from humble origins have worked as waiters, bartenders, chauffeurs and even manual laborers while waiting for their big break. Although many long to become famous actors, rockstars and models, few make the cut. But those who have made it can pinpoint what may be considered a “Hail Mary” moment in their careers — that moment when they pushed all the chips in and wagered their last bet on themselves.
Longtime journalist and author Paul Salfen's new book, Going For It!, captures over two decades of interviews with the stars about that moment that came for each of them. With a foreword written by Dallas Cowboys receiver and NFL Hall of Famer Drew Pearson, Going For It! is a survey of stars' best tips for advice on how to navigate the system in which they’ve thrived. Actors such as Tom Cruise, Daniel Craig, Juliette Lewis and Kate Hudson give their spin on the topic, as do musicians Butch Vig, Rob Zombie, Ozzy Osbourne and Vinnie Paul.
Going For It! works as an entertaining read and a pro-tip manual for those interested in rolling the dice guided by those who know how to win the game. Salfen says the book got its start almost a decade ago after he had a near-death experience.
“The book started because I had been doing interviews for years,” Salfen says. “I was hit by a drunk driver and then sideswiped by an 18-wheeler. I came out of the accident without a scratch, and so I decided I must have something left to do here.”
In 2013, Salfen started compiling interviews for the project. He had already clocked several hundred interviews, having started his career in high school before going on to study Business Arts at Pennsylvania State University. As more of his interviews were published, Salfen noticed a peculiar trend.
“With editors and producers and so many extra hands touching my work, I noticed that some of the good stuff would get edited out,” Salfen says. “Three-minute clips just isn’t long enough to take you on their journey. Once, while interviewing Hugh Jackman, we had a great conversation about all he went through to get a role and what he had learned. Then, all that made it to the segment was a clip of him talking about his fitness routine.”
Salfen found this a bit frustrating because many of his famous interviewees had much to say and great advice to offer about the entertainment business.
“The most useful thing we talked about wasn’t what they were promoting at the time,” Salfen says. “It was what was in their heart. Having been around celebrities for so long, there really is something special about them. They have a presence that’s just undeniable. Bill Clinton has that; Jack Black has that. They are recognized as special for the light that they give off to others.”
Salfen started over two decades ago by making friends with musicians. Early in his career, there was one musician who inspired him to push forward with his work as he knocked on backstage doors and tour buses to get his interviews —Robert DeLeo of Stone Temple Pilots.
“Robert DeLeo was hugely instrumental in me seeing that these guys were really worth talking to,” Salfen says. “I met Robert when STP was opening for Megadeth, so it was right when [Stone Temple Pilots' album] Core came out in 1993. He gave me a CD, which I still have, and let me sit in on an interview they did with Spin magazine. They were all very nice, and on that tour the crowds really were not nice to STP. Back then, they were just the opening band.”
As Salfen compiled material for Going For It! including some of his earliest interviews, he noticed all the different formats he used to capture 20 years of content, which added another element of difficulty to the project.
“I’ve got these things on just about every format from the dark ages to now,” Salfen says. “I’m a packrat and have kept everything, so I have cassettes, floppy disks, Betamax tapes, and I just now was able to put it in a digital archive. It’s awesome to go back to my college tapes and listen to my interview with John Paul Jones from Zeppelin and Mick Taylor from The Rolling Stones, or even a young artist I made friends with before he was famous named Kid Rock.”
Of his many interviews, Salfen says that Tom Cruise is probably his favorite actor to interview and work with.
“Tom Cruise is one of my favorites because how he makes you feel,” Salfen says. “He never forgets a name, gives you the best answers, asks you if you have a phone to take a picture with him after the interview and thanks you for coming. He may have a tight schedule, but his eyes never leave you."
Through his interviews, Salfen has come to realize the fragility of fame and everything that can potentially come with it. As much as the public likes to idolize celebrities, they also enjoy watching them on the downturn. Television shows like TMZ and Celebrity Rehab are just two examples of some of the pitfalls of being famous — and of viewers' appetite for celebrity messiness. The cameras never stop for some, which is something the author has learned and documented in Going for It!.
“There’s always that struggle to become and remain relevant,” Salfen says. “Fame is a funny thing; it doesn’t always seem to last, and even the biggest people have ups and downs. The dark side is that it hurts. We are all creative and sensitive people and have a fear of rejection. Celebrities are no different.”
Stardust
While Going For It! can be seen as a field guide of advice from the stars, it may also serve to inspire others to chase their dreams and be on the lookout for their own Hail Mary moment in life, which may not have anything to do with being famous at all. Drew Pearson, who wrote the foreword to Going For It!, had a different take on what it meant to be a part of the project. Salfen and Pearson have enjoyed a great friendship over the years working as colleagues, starting out on FOX Sports with The Drew Pearson Show in 2012 and currently on the video podcast The Ultimate Hail Mary. Pearson’s take on the project is that it serves as inspiration, as he was also inspired early on by Salfen’s work.“For him to have that kind of confidence in me to write the foreword, shows what kind of friendship we have,” Pearson says. “I call him 'The Entertainment Guru' because of the guests he brings to the shows. It actually freaked me out at first. He started compiling all these different moments in the book and I was totally impressed with it.”
Pearson knows the ropes of celebrity status and is even partially responsible for the term “Hail Mary” itself, catching the first "Hail Mary" pass thrown by Roger Staubach on Dec. 28, 1975, in a Dallas Cowboys playoff victory against the Minnesota Vikings.
“My Hail Mary moment was about going for it, overcoming circumstances and odds, and being inspired by teammates,” Pearson says. “In life, you’re going to run into obstacles. If you’re smart you use those moments to get to bigger and better things. Getting through those key moments successfully, no matter what you do, propels you to the next steps to achieve other things. You’ve got to get past certain Hail Mary moments to reach that next level, and hopefully these moments inspire you to do so.”
Going For It! is on bookshelves just about everywhere, and the feedback Salfen has received from the publication inspired him to write Volume 2, which he turned in to his publishers just last week. The author has no plans to slow down, and that’s one thing he was able to pick up from all the famous people he's worked with throughout his career.
“The thing is, if you ever think that you have made it, that’s when you’re done,” Salfen says. “The sweet spot is always looking for more and moving to the next thing.”
