Film Courage: How does an actor come up with a quote unquote game plan for their career,
maybe they're fresh from Minnesota?
Michael Laskin, Actor, Acting Coach, Author: That's where I'm from yeah
I think you have to make a game plan so how they come up with it
the basics are I need to get first of all I need to have enough
funds where I can exist for a while I need to get a day job I need to get an agent I need to get a
manager I need to get a commercial agent because that's easier to get and if I get a big commercial
that pays a lot of money so you there's a short-term game plan there's a long-term game plan
I think the short-term game plan is what I just described people there's no shortage of people
still coming here still with the dream and and it still is the center it's still the
center of the talent business Los Angeles, New York as well New York is is similar in that way
and so I think the game plan is originally the the initial game plan is survival get a job
get a place to live get a car get a and and call everyone who knows anybody and see if I can get a
toe hold find a class find a teacher find a coach whatever and that ends up sometimes just being
the only game plan people have because they can't they can't move off from that there are those who
it's like I'm going to do another golf analogy like they're people who hit balls on the driving
range and there's people who play golf so people who are class rats who are always in class have
been in class for 10 years 12 years and I have some of those and they but the ones I have work
they also work they're in class for a while they they're not in for a year or two they come back
for a year or two that's different but the people who never venture out of that bubble of class
they're hitting balls on the driving range but they're not playing the game of golf because
the game of golf requires oh there's a downhill lie oh there's a water hazard there oh I'm in
the sand what do I do so it's different so that the short-term plan is getting all those things
together the survival stuff the long-term plan is I'm a believer and you have to make the plan set
the goal and and the goal posts are often moving and fluid because things change you either get
some people get very lucky there are people I know a lot of them
bless them got very lucky if something happens and they just fall into it and some people we all know
pardon me we all know really talented actors brilliantly talented actors
who've never gotten any traction in anything I know people like that
and it's hard it's hard for them it's hard to see some of them give up some of them don't and
see people of very modest mediocre talents who who do very very well whether they have
a game plan or not I always think you have to have it you have to create it and have it and
know that it's changeable because only thing that's constant in this endeavor is change the
amount of changes that I have seen starting in my early early career to now are just mind-blowing
and at a certain point you go I don't want any more change I wanted to stay the way it
is but it never does of course so you have to adapt and you have to adapt to what's
new what's fresh what people are interested in what people are looking for what people
what about you will resonate in some way that you never thought of before so having the plan is
important but also knowing that the plan is very fluid and changeable is also important because
most plans don't work most plans have to be adapt you have to be adaptable and
and when I when I first bought my house I was working a lot and then all of a sudden nothing
and I had this guy this great guy next we had these next door neighbors who were
Vaudevillians they were a Vaudeville dance team oh wow phenomenal just amazing people
and he had been an actor and he knew I was an actor I didn't know him very well and he knew
I was an actor and he kind of he came up to me I had been in the house three four months and
all of a sudden working just dried up and I had a house payment to make and we were starting family
and all that stuff and he said and he was like a really like almost like a Damon Runyan character
he was an old-timey New York guy great guy and he said how's it going kid I said eh not so good
really that's all right it'll get better it's like a straight car a new one always comes by
and he said you need anything I said what do you mean you need a touch do you need a little money
he hardly knew me wow I said no but no no thank you but no he said well do you ever need anything
you come to me kid I said that's on the level kid it was like I'm talking to a Damon Runyan
character but his was the guy who had been in Show Business his entire life he was in his 80s at that
point and he started as a kid and had been on Broadway had been on The Ed Sullivan Show and
have been and so he knew that the long trajectory of the career he knew stuff that I didn't know I
was freaking out because I just bought a house and stopped working but so that that plan is is
it's as valuable as the paper it's written on which is means it's you got to have it but you
have to also have to understand how it moves and shakes and you've got to be adaptable and
reinvent reinvent reinvent reinvent that's what it is are there any don'ts you've mentioned a lot
of wonderful dues on the game plan what about don'ts stay away from this be cautious of this
don't fall under the influence of a guru because there's a lot of that which I think
is really hurtful and harmful how do they're a guru though well when you get into what
this is a good question because many of the people who are gurus are also quite brilliant
and they attract followers and they're a guru when let's just say in an acting class but they're
it happens in other areas too when it becomes about pleasing the teacher and not about your
own personal growth you're in the presence of a guru you're in the presence of a narcissist
this is very common very common I have seen it I've seen people who've been involved with some
acting studios that won't be named where I've had to I won't use the word deprogram but like
I had one guy who was a fantastic actor and he was with this place for two years and he said
I don't even know how to act anymore I've just I'm destroyed I don't have I've lost whatever
it is I had well then you're in trouble right that's that's not good so you have to understand
you have to have a judgment is like who's throwing the BS and who isn't and what's the truth what's
the emis the truth which is Yiddish for truth you've got to be after the emis the truth and so
some people have bad judgment and they don't know and they they they learn the hard way
or they get stung or they get abused or whatever there's a lot of that so
it's really important to surround yourself with people who understand what you're about
so don't fall under that influence the other don'ts are like don't sell yourself short
don't decide that you're only you're only worth being at this level
when I was talking to this young woman yesterday who I'm trying to help out with maybe finding a
new manager she's brilliant she's I don't throw that word around she's brilliant and I said
you deserve that you deserve somebody really good because you are outstanding you're an uncommon
talent and so and I think she needed to hear that I said do that about yourself quiet said know that
about yourself that's important because you are that way and you deserve somebody great and so
you don't deserve there's a lot of bottom feeders who are agents managers whatever
and so know your worth don't fall under the bad influence and stay interested stay interested I
often ask people what do you like what are you are you watching something that interests you
who are your Heroes who do you like who's great why don't you like that person that's interesting
what to sort of develop a taste level that's high the great Ira Glass quote that quote it's about
writers but it's really about anybody who's doing anything creative he based I'm going to paraphrase
it but it's a brilliant quote he basically says that when you start doing something creative
you have a taste level that's really high that's what got you into it because you you understand
what's good but for the longest time your work isn't as good as what your taste level is
and the only way to get there is to just do lots and lots of work to just continue
to do work to fail upward a little bit let's say so that at some point
your level of talent and skill matches your level of taste so I can see things like I'm watching The
Morning Show right now which I think is brilliant and I go wow I would love to be in that and
I could play in that playground when I did big little lies it was like I hadn't worked for a
little while because I've been doing other things I've been teaching writing books doing all that
stuff I went oh I've been invited back to the grown-ups table that's what it feels like and I
was nervous but as I was nervous for no reason it was great it went great and it was fun and it was
I felt validated in that way and so I think it's understanding what you're worth and
a lot of that is just who a lot of that is who you are what everybody's got some
bad stuff in their background that holds them back an abusive parent or whatever we've all got
something but it's understanding your story what's your story who are you that worldview exercise who
are you what's your story and do you deserve that if you don't think you deserve it you're in the
wrong line of work you've got to believe that and sometimes you get lucky and you and you get you
get to play with people at a very very high level and whenever I've been lucky enough to do that
it's been just like it should feel logical that you're there oh this makes sense that I'm here
with Robert Duvall or Paul Mazursky or somebody else that just makes sense because that's what
I've been working toward that's how I see myself so it's a lot of self actualization and really
and and positive thinking and my mother used to say I'm going to give you a Dutch uncle talk and
she would tell me she would build me up she was a little nuts my mother but she would build me up
in ways that were really helpful and it's it's important to build yourself up and have people
around you not to shine you on not to tell you how great you are when you're not but to really
share the dream that you have with you as much as they can it's it's only going to be your
dream but to share it with people like-minded people whether it's a partner or a community.