We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Mark Atteberry. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Mark below.
Alright, Mark thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.
It’s an interesting question. Most artist can remember a particular inciting incident that spurred on their desire to do art as a career. I don’t know that any particular incident sticks out for me. I’ve always been inclined to the arts. Although, I do remember getting a Tonette recorder in grammar school and falling in love with the fact that I could make music by blowing into this little plastic thing with holes. Ironically, I also learned that I loved to entertain people with it. So if it started anywhere, maybe it’s there. My grandpa owned a dairy so I used to go to the hay barn and move the bales around to make a stage. Then I would write some sort of play (usually about pirates) and my cousins and I would put on shows. That need to express myself was way too strong to ignore. Music was the first art that took over my life. I started playing trombone at a very young age and eventually I went to college on a trombone scholarship. By then, I knew I was meant to entertain. I played anywhere I could. I continued on as a professional trombone/keyboard player for several years until the acting bug bit once again. In my 20’s, on a dare from a friend, I auditioned for and got cast in the lead of a Halloween show at Knott’s Berry Farm and it was there that my professional acting career began. Soon after, I did a ton of commercials and then eventually worked my way into television and film. From my earliest memories, I’ve been deeply affected by the arts. From poetry to prose. From photography to paintings. From music to movies. I see life in a visceral way so it’s natural for me to want to show the world what I see. It’s not just the applause I seek, it’s that deep, almost spiritual, connection to life that I desire to share with others. I’m very blessed to say that I’ve been able to make my living as an artist nearly all my life.
Mark, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
In order for any artist, myself included, to make an impact and to find success you have to be truly grounded in who you are and what you have to say. I’ve tried diligently to keep that at the forefront of my work. I realized early on how important it was to give the world my unique perspective and interpretation of life. That should be at the core of every artist’s focus. Rick Rubin, the brilliant music producer, once said, “Artist need to express themselves. It’s a gift between you and God. If you’re trying to make something that pleases the audience, that’s not art. That’s commerce.” But, that’s far more difficult than it seems. When I was transitioning from music to acting, I did headshot photography on the side. Surprisingly, I was voted one of Los Angeles’ top headshot photographers. What I learned from that experience is how every individual is unique and how important it is to be completely confident in who you are. I was fascinated by the great actors I met and how different each one was. When they were confident in themselves, the camera loved them. And so did I. As a result of my success as a photographer I started teaching seminars on “Knowing Your Type and Embracing Your Uniqueness.” I still, to this day, do private consultations with actors on those topics. It’s incredibly important that you understand how you are perceived and what roles you’ll play (knowing your type) and what sets you apart from the others in your category (embracing your uniqueness). Far too often we try to be what we think others in the industry want us to be. Actors, especially, do it all the time. That perspective has helped me so much in my own career. Because we can’t be objective with ourselves, I’ve had to turn to fellow experts to help me understand how I’m perceived and what they see as unique in me. Armed with that knowledge, I’m able to market myself as a unique brand. It also helps me as I approach each character in my acting work. I’m able to lock in on what I can bring to that character that no other actor can. It’s amazing to me just how difficult it is to be yourself and to trust it’s enough. But, it’s the key to all great art. If there’s anything I can attribute to my success is that I have worked diligently to bring my unique self to every character I’ve played. That, and a sheer determination and persistence to work harder than anyone else to be the best artist I can be. Persistence, confidence and being yourself, that’s the key to just about everything!
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
One of the most important things for any artist to know is what I call your “What Matters Most?” You need to fully embrace your passions. An artist without passion is like food without taste. In order to do that you need to figure out what matters most in your life. What are you most passionate about in art and in life? What drives you at your deepest core? Why is it so important that you be an artist? Knowing these things helps you to focus in on what’s unique about you as well as giving you an agenda to your art and the decisions you make regarding your career. I’m often asked, “What’s the greatest moment you ever had as an actor?” It’s funny, it’s not working with any of the celebrities I’ve had the privilege to work with. It’s not working with any particular great director, etc. My greatest moment happened on stage. After “Rabbit Hole” won the Tony and the Pulitzer I had the privilege of playing the male lead in one of the first performances in Los Angeles. The play is about a husband and wife who lose their son and how they deal with it. It’s brilliantly written and covers the gamut of human emotion. I played the father. In the third scene I attempt to be intimate with my wife for the first time since our son’s death. After she rejects me, I watch an old video of my son playing in the park. It brings me to tears. My job as an actor is to completely commit to that character and to all those deep emotions my character feels. If I’m truly committed, the audience is on board and can experience the journey with me. One night, towards the end of the run, a woman in the audience began to sob while I watched my son’s video, which was not uncommon. Though she wasn’t obnoxious, she continued through the rest of the play. When the play was over the stage manager asked me if I would come out and talk to her. I did. When we met, she asked if she could hold me. I said yes. She cried on my shoulder for a good five minutes or so. Finally, she let go, looked me in the eye and said, “Thank you for helping me get through something I’ve never been able to get through.” By giving my character everything I had and by allowing myself to go to those deepest, darkest places in my own life I was able to help this lovely woman get through something that she’d previously been unable to process. How incredible is that! That is why I act. I do it in hopes that one day my commitment to the art can help someone on that level. That’s my “What Matters Most.” My deepest desire on this earth is to help those who just need a lift in life, who need help overcoming their struggles, who need a laugh when life’s been tough. That passion and that drive fuels everything I do as an artist. It’s one of my unique strengths.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
When I finally got my first agent I thought my career would take off like a rocket and that I would have huge success in no time at all. I grew up loving movies and couldn’t wait to win my first Oscar. I thought, given my fairly fast success in music, that I would have immediate success in acting. Well, it didn’t happen that way. First of all, it took me almost two years to book my first commercial. And, I was studying acting like a monk! So, I asked my agent what I was doing wrong? He said, “Nothing. The average commercial actor does 50 auditions for every booking.”
I had no idea. So, I went on audition after audition and eventually started booking commercials somewhat regularly. Whew! Ironically, I didn’t want to do commercials. I wanted to be a film and television actor. Even so, it took me almost two decades before I started getting decent theatrical work. Getting a theatrical agent is one of the most difficult things for any actor. Again, no one told me that. I was shocked at how hard I had to work and how relentless the setbacks were. Finally, nearly 15 years into my acting, I got my first great theatrical manager, after I did a successful play. By some miracle I booked the very first TV audition that I got from my new manager. I was so sure that it was finally going to be smooth sailing from there on out. Nope! I think I did another 50 auditions, at least, before I got my next TV job. Over the next several years my booking ratio slowly started to improve. Like I said earlier, persistence is the key. The actors the persist are the ones who make it. Never give up! Failing regularly is just part of the process.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://beaworkingactor.com
- Instagram: @markatteberry
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/be-a-woking-actor-studios-los-angeles
- Other: www.imdb.me/markatteberry
Image Credits
Cameron Radice, Don Hannah, Idyllic Photography