An up-and-coming actor—we’ll call him Jim—got a bit part in a Mad Max movie, but then fifteen years went by without another film role. One day Mel Gibson came into the restaurant where Jim was waiting on tables. Mel remembered Jim and felt bad that he had not had more success as an actor.
Mel had a lot of contacts in the theater world and was able to get Jim a small part in a stage play. Jim had only one line: Hark! I hear the cannon roar.
Jim rehearsed with the cast and practiced during the evenings, and finally it was opening night. This could be a fresh start for him, and he stood backstage muttering over and over, “Hark! I hear the cannon roar. Hark! I hear the cannon roar.”
It was showtime! Jim strutted onto the stage. And then he heard a resounding boom.
“What the heck was that?” he shouted.
