A month before graduation I got an off-Broadway job. Then I did some commercials, including one for MCI. You can only see half of me, but it paid well. Thank God for commercials.

Pace is describing the pragmatic, piecemeal way many actors build a career right after training: a small theatre job, then commercial work that may be unglamorous or anonymous (“only see half of me”) but financially stabilizing. The punchline—“Thank God for commercials”—underscores how advertising can subsidize artistic ambitions, paying rent and buying time to audition and take lower-paid stage roles. The quote also lightly punctures the myth of instant discovery, emphasizing that early professional life often involves taking whatever work is available and being grateful for it, even when it doesn’t showcase one’s full talent or face.