Film Courage: Michael, why do you say that talent cannot be taught?
Michael Laskin, Actor, Acting Coach, Author: I think talent is something that people just have or
they don’t. If I had a script, a six-page audition for a television show or a movie and I gave it to
100 people randomly on the street, a certain number of them would be able to look at it,
read it and kind of make it responsive and somewhat real and many of them wouldn’t.
The base level of talent from my definition is having great first instincts because you have to
particularly in film and television. There's not a lot of rehearsal, there's not a lot
of time to find your character and all that stuff. Your instincts are your first instinct
if it's right about 75-80 percent of the time that to me is the baseline level of
the definition of talent. I don't think you can teach it. You can teach strategy,
you can teach people to be better with what talent level they have, but I don't I think talent is
just something people have or they don’t. You see it in children you see it in little kids so I
don't know if that answers the question but that's how I feel about it instinct sure and maybe give
it full sure so when you're an actor is the is the slave is too strong or where the actor is obedient
to the text the text is everything at least that's how I was taught that's how I was trained and so
the instinct is when you look at something very quickly like if I get an audition for for a TV
show or a movie and there's very little time I look at it quickly and I go because also I'm
seasoned and I've done this a long time it's not like I'm a 23 year old anymore so I could look at
it and instantly have a take on how it's supposed to go for me it's rhythmical and it's outside in
meaning I work on externals and I wasn't taught that fact that that was oppositional to how I
was taught inside meaning thinking about it wondering about it dredging up some old
experience in your life to somehow illuminate it I work with externals and so it it helps me
when you talk about the instinct and having the idea to just look at something quickly
we call that in the business they call that a cold read like here's a cold can you cold
read this in other words you just look at it and you read it and you have something or you don't
that's talent and that's instinct and I kind of don't think that can be taught I think you either
have that or you don't training helps that when you have good foundational training it helps that
because you are in practice and you're getting better at being able to you you get better faster
we have particularly in film and television you have to get better
faster you have to find a way to short circuit and get to the results faster
so let's say how they mention of people certain people have more Street smarts than others or
those in combat certain people just kind of thrive in those situations there's something
innate in them is that similar to being on stage and working with another person in front of you
yeah I think that's actually a really good analogy it's interesting I I had a woman in the very first
class that I taught who was a friend of mine from the voiceover business and she was not an actor
she was mostly a writer and a really interesting creative person highly creative highly imaginative
funny but not a trained actor but she wanted to take this acting class
and she would come in every week with results from the work she was doing outside of class
that were weird and interesting and fun and not typical actor stuff it was off-center a little
bit and I finally said to her I just want to know because you don't have you really don't
have a foundational training that a lot of people have how do you arrive at that what is
your what is your process and she said well I just pretend that what's happening is happening to me
I went okay we can all go home now that's the lesson because that for film acting in particular
I come from the theater originally but for film acting it is a personal identity art form you are
the vessel through which the story flows I don't know if I answered your question you did yeah did
she continue on or she just wanted to be there she just did well she did for a while I think
she was in class for maybe a year and she had fun and it was great for her and it I think it helped
it helps her other work which was voice over and writing because it's all kind of the same
it's different it's in different silos but it's really all the same it's all the same
Instinct it's all the same creative impulse to do something look when you have like I
have two sons who are grown up now and married and all that but when they were little kids
they no one had to teach them to run around the house with a hat on and pretend they were a Power
Ranger or whatever it was they were pretending to be that's just a human hardwired instinct
to play and transform and I don't think that's taught I think it is Vogler and I when I did the
interview with Chris Vogler talked about story also being just hardwired into the species the
hero and all of that and little kids you see them doing that I think with actors in
particular it's getting back to that original impulse to play and transform that makes it
it but a lot of stuff gets in the way life gets in the way and how you're raised gets in the way
and the things you've been taught to behave yourself and get in line and all that stuff
gets in the way and the people were never got in the way are the people who have an open door
I say that with people I can help you if the door is open if the door is closed nobody can
can help you so is that why with comedic timing as well certain stand-ups let's say Robin Williams
it was it was like some other being was inside of him yeah I think it is I think it is I think it is
that's a really good question and I don't really have a nuanced answer for it but I do think I can
remember when I was a little kid making people laugh and not knowing why they were laughing
but I knew how to do it but I wasn't sure why they were laughing but I knew how to be funny
where does that come from I have no idea but it was I I told the story yesterday to a student
of mine who came by for a for a session and I was talking about one of the things I will
not have a second book but if I ever did have a second book it would be called worlds and faces
because I think that's what TV and film is it's all about faces and worlds because everybody
at the professional level is pretty talented so it's not about that it's about where do you
fit where does this fit into that world SWAT is a world NCIS is a world Downton
Abbey is a world they're all different where do you fit it's all about fit so I told her
this story is comes back to your question about comedic timing I had an audition for Seinfeld
that I'd never been up for that show that I always wanted to be on that show because it's such a cool
show it's still a cool show it's still very funny and I had this line first of all I walked in the
room and Jerry Seinfeld was in the room which kind of freaked me out it was exciting because I love
him I still love him I think he's brilliant and my first I'm trying I'm working for the New York Mets
and I'm trying to get George [Costanza] to get himself fired so he can come work for the Mets
and my first line is and it's not to me it's not a funny line but the first line is George the Mets
need a new head of scouting and we think that someone might be you that's the line it's not
really a funny line I said that line and Seinfeld almost fell off the chair laughing and I thought
what just happened here that's interesting somehow I fit in that world he thought that was funny for
whatever reason I don't know I can't quantify it but it's I think it's just genetic when you
talk about Robin Williams or any of these other brilliant comedic minds I do think it is kind of
just when you're a little kid you become the class clown you become the one who entertains everybody
and if you're continue to be crazy enough you become you become a stand-up comedian
I and that scene is on your reel correct I think it is yeah it's very funny you're with
you're in a diet at the diner. We'll have a link to your real down below people can look at it.