We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Graham Shiels. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Graham below.

Alright, Graham thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Learning the craft is often a unique journey from every creative – we’d love to hear about your journey and if knowing what you know now, you would have done anything differently to speed up the learning process.

I took Drama in high school because I was convinced there would be no homework. At the time I was unaware of the bible of acting, “An Actor Prepares,” by Constantin Stanislavski. The fun our beloved high school teacher fostered in us sparked my curiosity. When I went to university for business administration–because that’s what my Dad did–I was allowed to take a few liberal arts classes as a breadth requirement… Acting 101! I can’t remember now whether that’s what it was literally called but I found that sense of play again that was so easily found in high school only now it was superceded by an introspective mystery. I was hooked.

From there I went on to act professionally in Vancouver for three years before auditioning for the Yale School of Drama and luckily being accepted to a class of 17 from over 1,000 who auditioned.

My advice to a young actor is to voraciously train and never stop your training. Always be acting. Get in a play for free. Do your own short film. When you show up to work, be super positive. Be the person people want to be around. Add something to the party! Everyone has obstacles, ie, for myself I would say the greatest perceived obstacle was the fact that I lost my hair by the age of 22. Every actor has their “thing” they could blame and say “it’ll never work out because of…” Foster a deeper faith in yourself and your calling to push through these perceived limitations. The more you’re you, the more universal you become!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

SAG and Equity member since 1999. Series Regular on the Syfy Network. Recurring Guest Stars on HBO MAX, AppleTV+, Disney XD, FOX, The CW, CBS and ABC. Over 30 network Guest Stars. Regional theatre credits opposite Tony Award-Winners. I have 25 years experience across Film, TV, and Theatre.

At Graham Shiels Studios, which has studios in both New York City and Los Angeles, we offer On-Camera Film & TV acting classes for both the beginner and professional actor alike. Our motto is “Train With the Working!” What I’m most proud of is the fantastically successful team of instructors we boast at the studio who all have significant careers in Film & TV themselves. This is what separates us from other acting studios–our instructors’ resumes. It’s Yale School of Drama training meets practical current industry experience. We also offer audition taping and coaching.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I once entertained the idea of giving up acting. Right after I received my M.F.A. in Acting from the Yale School of Drama I worked professionally. But I didn’t actually earn a living acting until seven years after that. Right before that seven year marker, I interned at Silver Pictures thinking I would like a career in development and this would be a first step. After I had done that for a couple days per week for about a month, within a three month period I landed a very large recurring role on ABC’s “General Hospital,” a recurring Guest Star on HBO’s “True Blood,” and booked a role in “Yes Man” that had two scenes opposite Jim Carrey, all of which provided for me an income to life off of and I never looked back!

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

Speaking negatively about a project you’re involved in (or any project)! Never do this. Never be a monster. The act of creating anything is a beautiful act and takes so much work. There has never been a statue in the history of mankind erected in honour of a critic. Yet there are countless statues of great artists. Just create. Do not destroy. “If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.”

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.grahamshielsstudios.com
• Instagram: @grahamshielsstudios
• Twitter: @grahamshiels
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@GrahamShielsStudios