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

Michael, appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?

For what it’s worth, I have a bachelor’s degree in Theater Arts from UC Santa Cruz. And what is it worth? I was under no illusion that the piece of paper I’d been given upon graduating would cause doors to flay open; I knew it would mean little or nothing in the industry, but I believed the training that came with it was invaluable.

After graduating, I moved to Los Angeles and did all the things an actor has to do: I got pictures taken, created a resume, and started trying to get a foothold in the industry. One of the ways I tried to get myself out there was with casting workshops, these are events at which an actor pays to be seen by a casting directors or agents. They can cost a lot of money, but the damage done can go beyond one’s bank account.

It took me a few years to realize was that I was not a very good actor. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t suck at every role I attempted, but my range was rather limited. I would occasionally manage to get an audition, and sometimes I would even get a role. More often then not, I found myself playing geeks and cult members… and in the case of Dude, Where’s My Car?, a geeky cult member.

The revelation that I wasn’t that good came to me after blowing an audition in spectacular fashion. One can only blame having an “off day” so many times before it becomes apparent it’s not just an “off day.” And so I signed up for five days a week of acting classes, and I did this for over a year without missing a single day. I was introduced to the techniques of Stanford Meisner and Michael Chekov, which spoke to me far more then the since memory and Strausberg techniques I’d learned in college. So much of my training had been academic, but there is no substitute for hands on experience.

Fast forward a few years: I was a teaching assistant at the acting school where I had learned these new techniques and we had an agent come in to see some of our advanced students…. he was one of the very same agents that I had done a workshop with years earlier. And he did remember my lackluster performance. The point top get is don’t put yourself in front of people until you are ready… they will remember, and they won’t want to wast their time giving you a second chance.

Today, I’ am a self-critical actor that doesn’t like to watch myself. So how do I know that I am not still that young diluted actor that came to Los Angeles fresh out of college, thinking he was much better then he was? I’m not going to make that call. I know a number of extremely talented actors who I am fortunate enough to count among my friends, true friends that will tell me if I’m not good, so I defer to them. And when my filmmaker friends put me in their films, that speaks even louder then words.

Michael, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

A graduate of UC Santa Cruz, it was over a decade ago that Michael first moved to Los Angeles to work as an actor. He has acted in well over one-hundred projects across film, television, commercials and stage an has played everything from a serial killer, to a mentally challenged man-child, from God, to the devil, from a peeping pervert, to a romantic leading man.

As happens to many creatives living Los Angeles, over the years Michael slowly started adding other filmmaking skills to his repertoire: writer, editor, producer and director. He is the Los Angeles On-Site Coordinator and Performance Lab Coordinator for the film collective We Make Movies.

Most recently, Michael produced his first feature film, “The Hitchhiker Effect,” in which is also the lead actor. It is currently in post production.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

About thirteen years ago, I discovered the film collective We Make Movies. It’s a group or writers, actors and filmmakers that get together once a week and share their work. No one in the group is looking for a fast track to fame, and if they are, they don’t last because that is not what it’s about. It’s a supportive community that have a lot of wisdom to share.

The group have a list of values, and one of them is “Helping the community is helping yourself.” This is true.

Thirteen years later, I am one of the people running the group, and I do my best to get new people in, so they can discover this incredible resource sooner rather then later.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

Non-creatives struggle to understand why i do what I do. Anyone that does it for money or fame is an idiot as those things might never come. Probably will never come. So why keep doing it? Because I can’t not do it. The one piece of advice I give anyone thinking of pursuing acting is this: If there is anything you can be happy doing in life other then acting, do that thing instead.

Being a creative does make dating hard. I once went on a date with a woman and she asked me mid-way through the date what my “backup plan” was. She could not fathom that there is no back-up plan, I am an actor, and I have no intention of ever doing anything else. Though that was mid-way through the date, it was really over after that.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.MichaelBeardsley.com
• Instagram: @Michael.Beardsley
• Facebook: michael.beardsley.794
• Linkedin: michael-beardsley-LA
• Twitter: @MikeDBeardsley
• Youtube: @ThatActorGuy