There is no fast-track to acting success. No microwave. No E-Z Pass. No 12-items-or-less lane. No more references I can google for this.But there are people who can make you believe in yourself, find your voice and move you that much closer to your dream. One of my favorites is Jim Gleason. Stellar actor, rocker, way stellar acting teacher.
Before Jim became my friend, he was my acting teacher. He taught at a very prestigious acting studio here in LA, and now he’s on his own. Details here.
Jim’s methods are bonafide, because he’s also a very successful working actor, with roles on shows like “ER”, “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Cold Case”. He acted opposite Robert Duvall in The Apostle.
Here’s Jim in a nutshell: one day I was struggling with a scene in his cold-reading class. Jim was behind the camera, reading opposite me, when he stopped and sat me down. He said, “I know what’s wrong here – you’re nervous. Stop worrying what the rest of the class will think later when we watch this scene. All you need to do is have fun with this, and at the end of the day, when you get into bed and recap your day, you’ll think, ‘I was good today. And that’s all that matters.’ That’s how you should view acting. In fact, I think that’s how you should view all of your life.”
I haven’t been nervous once in an audition since then.
If you join Jim’s class, give him a big “helllooooo” for me. It’s our thing.
