We were lucky to catch up with Stephen Sherman recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Stephen thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

Recently I worked on Steven Tralongo’s Apple Spec Spot. It has had some great traction in a few commercial festivals, notably it was short-listed at The Cannes Film Festival last month. It even got caught up in the annual Super Bowl commercial week frenzy. It is a very touching and beautifully shot commercial about family, losing a parent, and growing older. I am so proud of it! Steven is a wonderful and collaborative director, and I was so pleased he chose me to help tell this story.
Here is a link: https://www.advert.ge/commercials/apple/hey_son.html

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.

In my entire academic career, I never had a teacher give me any direction for my post-educational life. I had no idea what I would do for a living; I pictured myself wearing a suit and carrying a briefcase (what an out-dated image). My middle school English teacher had our class memorize Abraham Lincoln’s ‘Gettysburg Address,’ and then revealed we were all to recite it in front of the class. I was terrified. While delaying it as long as I could, I found myself studying other’s “performances,” taking notes, and allowing it to help me shape how I would do it, and feel calmer. I went up second to last. Afterward, my English teacher, Mr. Martin, came over to me and said, “You’d make a good actor.” And that is how this all began.
I didn’t start auditioning until half-way through high school. I moved around a lot, and I was starting my 4th high school my junior year. My first audition came out of the desire to make new friends. By the end of that year, I had booked my first professional job, and I decided I would move to New York City after graduation. I’ve been pursuing this career ever since, and even with all the rejection, and the ups and downs, and learning how casting is completely out of my control other than how I present myself and my work, I have never regretted it. I am also lucky to have incredible support in my personal life.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

My business is all about resilience. I have multiple stories about getting to final callbacks for a role, and then receiving a message that reads, “…went in a different direction.” I serve, and sometimes that means helping casting decide on the other person. Sometimes I book a job. It is so subjective. Oftentimes, I show up to work, and I am told something like, “yeah, we knew you could do it (cry on cue, for example), but also, you just seemed like that character. I work very hard to be natural and fluid in my work (example: Robert Downey, Jr. is a master at this), and yet, at the end of the day, I go in the audition room prepared, ready to change everything I prepared, and hope for the best. Most times, I am not in the right room, and these people are not my match. Sometimes, I am in the right room. And when that happens, it’s great. Both are fantastic learning experiences.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

The most important mission in work and my creative journey is, I love what I do. The odd thing about my career is that I am always looking for the next gig. Someone once said, “When you’re unemployed, when you wake up in the morning, you’re already on the clock.” And that is true for me. I hustle. I submit, submit, submit. I send multiple emails to which I never receive a response. Jack Lemmon was being interviewed, and asked, “How has your life changed since winning The Oscar?,” to which he replied, “It’s become a lot easier for people to return my calls.”
But when I book work, it is exciting- every time! I love what I do. I love being on set, constantly working with new people, collaborating, and creating something always feels so exciting. I love the travel, the hotels, the early mornings, the challenge to figure something out when a shot isn’t working…I love it all. I am never happier than when I’m working. How often do you hear a person say that?

Contact Info:

• Website: http://www.imdb.me/shermtheactor

Image Credits

Photographer: Jim Manley