If you’re going to reach your full potential as an actor, it’s important nothing gets in your way. 1. Don’t make what’s in the way…the way. If you want to get to the Golden Globes or any other awards show, you don’t get there by talking about how you’re not there! That’s what’s challenging aboutRead more
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Gearing up for pilot season, actors always have hundreds of questions. Here are a few with some simple, straightforward answers-answers that always bring us back to self and what it is that we have to contribute as artists, storytellers, and people. The most important thing to remember is that it all comes down to trust.Read more
I think being an artist is inherently risky. It’s dangerous. To create is to face what scares us-step into the unknown and be brave enough to tell stories that no one may be interested in hearing. Since the new year is upon us, what better way to take inventory of what we can generate moreRead more
I was recently teaching at David Lynch’s Master’s of Filmmaking Program in Fairfield, Iowa when someone asked me if I had ever heard of Shadow Work. I hadn’t, but apparently, that’s what I was doing with the graduating class of directing students in getting them to understand how to work with actors. The groundbreaking therapist,Read more
“Acting is a lot like dating,” I’ve been known to say. I mean, it’s true. When it’s good, it’s really, really good. And when it’s bad…well, if we’re willing to get the lesson, it can also be good. But even if in the short term, it feels really bad. New studies (from San Diego StateRead more
The image of the Phoenix rising from the ashes is powerful. It’s about transcendence, transformation, overcoming obstacles, victory. But you can’t rise above your circumstances without being in your circumstances first, and you can’t be in your circumstances if you don’t allow yourself to feel through them. And not pick-and-choose feeling. I want toRead more
It’s show business. It’s not just show. I think actors sometimes feel that if they focus only on the creative side, things will fall into place. But sadly, we’re not living in a meritocracy where the most talented or creative person gets the job. There are so many factors at play that influence why oneRead more
Sometimes, half the battle in life-and in our acting-is to become aware of when we get scared and how fear actually stops us from really going after what we want. I’m not talking about the kind of fear that one experiences while watching “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.” I mean more subtle forms of fear thatRead more
Morgan Freeman says, “Acting is reacting in my book.” That’s really what it is. We hear someone say something to us under different circumstances and it makes us react. We cry. We lose our shit. We laugh. We express feeling. We follow an instinct. Sometimes our reactions-when they aren’t planned and controlled-are surprising to us.Read more
Why are we so scared to say what it is we want? A student recently expressed what his intentions were for his career and he was unspecific. He said something like, “I want to get into rooms.” Now we understand what that means at one level. He wants to get opportunities. He wants to beRead more