The Authentic Actor by Michael Laskin

Ivan Magrin-Chagnolleau

Finding Your Authentic Self

Very inspirational and motivational. A must-read for all actresses and actors who are serious about their career.

Michael Laskin has been for many years a working actor, an acting coach, and an acting teacher in Los Angeles. He has thought a lot about the craft and the career. And his insights have great value. The book is full of useful and practical tips about the craft and the career, mostly for film and TV. According to Michael, this is all about finding your authentic self, which he calls the indelible self or the blink-of-an-eye factor. To make it short, we all have something unique about ourself that makes us stand out. By cultivating that unique feature, we are able to provide something that nobody else can. And when this unique feature corresponds to what the casting director/producer/director is looking for, we get the part.

The book is divided into 7 parts. The first part, “Today’s Authentic Actor”, is dedicated to defining what it means to be an actor in today’s business. The second part, “Who Are You”, is a journey in self-discovery. The third part, “What Do You Know”, reflects on how to get the knowledge necessary to the acting career. The fourth part, “Success Factors”, tries to handle that notion of success and explicits what stands in the way and what can help. The fifth part, “The Audition”, investigates on the necessary gate that actors have to go through, and give some tips on how to handle it. The sixth part, “The Art of Career”, explores the topic of managing the acting career on the long-term. And the seventh and last part, “The Business of Life”, puts the acting career in perspective with leading our life as a whole.

On top of being an amazing book in term of describing and giving useful practical tips about what the essence of being an actor and leading an acting career is, Michael Laskin’s book is very well written, right to the point, and very pleasant to read. I highly recommend that book for any aspiring, beginning, or professional actor, as well as the people, in the business or not, who want to know more about actors and their life/career.