Attention to Detail
The night before her 1979 job interview, Sermak read Davis’ autobiography, The Lonely Life, in which the actress detailed her need for perfection, even when she was as a child. You see, Davis was very focused on details. When she would go to the circus as a young girl, the elephants would walk down this carpet to the ring, but the carpet was all crooked.
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She couldn’t focus on the performance – “the carpet infuriated her.” The documented attention to detail is what helped her score the job with Davis. She assured her that she would be able to cook the three-minute egg she requested every morning. But beyond her perfectionist streak, Sermak learned a lot more than she ever expected from the aging Hollywood actress.