Lynn Whitfield's "Mortifying" First TV Shoot

Even the most talented and seasoned actors must start somewhere. For Lynn Whitfield, her start on the small screen was a rocky one that took place on the set of the 1979 television series Dear Detective.

As Lynn explains, she was supposed to walk to her mark and say her line on her first day. "I didn't know how to look for a mark without looking like you were looking at a mark," she says. "I walked into the little table before I got to [a co-star's] desk and knocked stuff off of that. ... It was a freaking nightmare."

The ordeal didn't stop there, even though Lynn's next take had a promising start. "I hit the mark, and I was so excited that I just did that well...I could not remember what I had to say. I went out; I came back in. I could not remember my line, again. It was so mortifying," Lynn says. "I really, really had to build up my confidence after that."

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