The actor in Los Angeles comes in so many different forms, each with their stories about their brushes with fame or lack thereof. It’s a part of our culture that we at LAIY don’t really care about we do understand that it’s a part of our city therefore part of our lives. And some stories are truly very interesting and tragic and inspirational. Take the quick documentary The Hands Of Hollywood by Ryan Palmieri which tells the rise and fall of Steve Hershon, one of the most successful “hand insert models” in the business.

Hershon’s career in Los Angeles started with him doing extra work, appearing on Happy Days and Star Trek as a featured extra and eventually becoming a stand in. By way of the historic Central Casting, he got his “big break” doing hand acting, where he started as the pre-Hulk hands, when Bill Bixby‘s hands were still that of a normal guy. Hershon went on to do Knight Rider and other shows but eventually fell from success after minor tragedy. It’s a pretty sad story about how Hollywood can work but also how wonderful it can be: it’s a beautiful monster.

The video is about five months old and very recently has picked up a lot of attention, appearing on Selectism and on the Vimeo Documentary front page. Definitely check it out and give any actor friend you know a pat on the back.