Quit believing in false gods, and start looking up to the folks who lead by example. While it’s nearly impossible to find a mentor in showbiz, I luckily found an amazing one in an acting teacher named Stuart Robinson.
My swagger, my persistence, even my sense of humor come from a very Darwinian place. I didn’t have these qualities as a kid – I adapted them. And it was Stuart, through his direction and story-telling rife with analogies that I became the actor and person I am today.
Stuart’s commercial acting class should be required by executive mandate for anyone who sets foot in an audition room. And I loved his theatrical (TV and film acting) class even more. Before he would hand out scenes for us perform, he went around the room and pointed to each of us, wanting to know what we were up to at that moment to propel our careers forward. No other acting teachers do this.
“Try to get a no,” he would say. If you want a great agent, or a casting director to meet with you, ask them. Try to get them to say no. You’ll be surprised how often they won’t.
He also told us to constantly repeat out loud what we wanted out of life. Once, one of his students stood in line at McDonald’s, and when the guy behind the counter asked him what he wanted, the actor half-jokingly said, “I want a car.” An elderly woman standing behind the student said, “Young man, you need a car? I have a Mercedes sitting in my garage I never use.” She gave it to him for free.
Last year, a big casting office in LA asked Stuart to become their CEO, and he then split his time between overseeing their office and teaching. My Gym Children’s Fitness Centers them approached him to also become their VP of Marketing/Brand Extension. And with that, Stuart unfortunately has to now limit his teaching to just one commercial class each week.
I wrote an email to him yesterday, explaining to him everything he’d done for me, mainly because I wanted him to know that even though he has to now cut down on his passion – teaching – he had a tremendous impact on me and thousands of students who are now driven, happy working actors.
Thanks for everything, sir.
