Ernie Hudson on his worst non-acting job, auditioning and more!

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Ernie Hudson is probably best known for his role as Winston Zeddemore in Ghostbusters, the warden in OZ or his role in his current series, The Secret Life of the American Teenager.

But, he’s been on stage and screen for years also appearing in Las Vegas, Law and Order, Desperate Housewives, The Hand That Rocks The Cradle and was on Broadway in last year’s,  Joe Turner’s Come and Gone.

In his new film, Doonby, he plays Leroy, a blues musician who quits his life on the road to settle down with the woman of his dreams.

He’s a truly talented guy and gave a wonderfully candid interview. We talk about how he got his start, the worst non-acting job he’s ever had, if he still has to audition (and when he does, his tech savvy way around it), his new film Doonby and so much more!

For the full interview, click onto the audio link above or download from iTunes.

How did you get your start?

Ernie Hudson: I grew up in Michigan in a small town, Benton Harbor. Then through a series of life changes, ended up at Wayne State University and discovered theatre there and just fell in love with it. Started acting back in 67, somewhere around there, and worked in Detroit. I got a scholarship to Yale after I graduated from Wayne State, went there and came out to Hollywood and did a film with Gordon Parks. I went to University of Minnesota for a while because my wife at the time was working on her degree and then when that marriage ended me and my two sons came out to California. And we just got a little place and did what actors do.

Basically, I had got into college and was really trying hard to find– my grandmother raised me and wanted me to find a good job. And I really tried the good job thing and did a lot of different things and never really felt comfortable until I walked in the theatre one night and saw a play and I just felt at home. And I think it was when I did my first play, I just knew how to do that. I think all the jobs I had, I always felt like ‘they’re going to fire me at any minute and if they don’t they should fire me at any minute.’ Whereas, with this I just felt,  ‘okay I can do this.’

What was the worst real job that you had?

Ernie Hudson: Well, probably the worst job I had actually while I was in high school, I was working at a foundry. My brother got me a job there when I was in my senior year of high school and so I would leave school at noon and I would meet him and we would drive up and I’d work from 3 to midnight. And my job was shoveling dirt in a room that was filled with this black dirt that they would use for the molding machine. They had a conveyor belt that just kept going continuously, so I had to shovel through the dirt for nine hours a day, filling these things up. And you never had the satisfaction of filling anything up because the conveyor belt kept going and you were just shoveling all day.

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Mindy Sterling on improv, training and observing

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Mindy Sterling is probably best known for playing “Frau Farbissina” in the Austin Powers movies where she matched wits with Mike Myers. But throughout her long career – which includes The Grinch, Reno 911: Miami, TVs  Desperate Housewives and a slew of other projects – she’s demonstrated that she’s a versatile actress who is totally fearless.

An alumni of the Groundlings, she credits them with making her a “well-rounded” actor.

She works constantly and is one of the nicest people around!

Watch for her in Robert Zemeckis‘ upcoming film, Mars Needs Moms!

For the full interview, click onto the audio link above or download from iTunes.

How did you get your start?

Mindy Sterling:  I came out here because it was really the next best thing, I’m from Miami, Florida, so this is the place. You know, it’s either here or New York. And I came out here to pursue it. Did some local theatre and tried to get a commercial agent. Got a commercial agent and started that way. And, then just hooked-up, with improv and got really interested with improvisation and went to The Groundlings and really that’s where I made most of my connections.

When did you join The Groundlings?

Oh my God, I would say, maybe ’87. Something like that.

Wow, because, back then it wasn’t really the hot thing to do, you know?

Well, there wasn’t as much right now offered to you in terms of improv. I mean, you’re right. It wasn’t such a big outlet for people and there wasn’t very many improv groups and people weren’t so much turned on to it like they are now, but there was always the sketch comedy.

I think when I first joined it was much more improv and less focus on the set stuff. It was more of a balance where now it’s more sketch-written stuff. But I just love the idea of improv.  I love creating, making things up in the moment and not having anybody give you any dialog.

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Grace Park talks about Hawaii Five-O and how she got the part of Kona

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Grace Park is probably best known for her work on Battlestar Gallactica. Or maybe you caught her on Stargate, The Dead Zone or in the Benjamin Bratt series, The Cleaner. Regardless of where you’ve seen her, you know she can hold her own against strong male characters.

Well, she’s about to do it again in the re-boot of Hawaii Five-O.

She plays Kona, who in the original series was a man. We talked at Comic-Con (in a roundtable format so most of the questions aren’t mine) about her character, how she got the part and more!

How has the character of Kona changed from the original series? Can you talk about who Kona is?

Grace Park: I think Kona adds an interesting element because you could have Hawaii Five-0 be a team of four men and that would be great, but it’s always great to be able to have more tools at your disposal. And if you do have a woman on the team there’s things they may or may not be able to access because of the sheer fact that she’s a woman. You can disarm people, that kind of thing.

She is a rookie cop that’s going to join this new forming team and she’s related to Chin Ho Kelly (Daniel Dae Kim) and she gets to meet Danno (Scott Caan) and McGarrett (Alex O’Loughlin) right off the bat. She participates in something she probably wouldn’t be able to on her own because she would be just a rookie out of the academy and into the police force. But, she gets thrust into this world of crime but really cutting-edge, like, at the forefront, and probably not following all the rules but they get done what they need to get done and it’s kind-of the nature of this new team, Hawaii Five-0.

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David Wain and Nick Kroll on Childrens Hospital, working with friends and being the white Jerry Bruckheimer

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Did you get a chance to see Childrens Hospital when it was a webseries? It was hilarious and ridiculous and I loved every minute of it!

Well, it’s now on Adult Swim every Sunday at 10:30 with brand new full length episodes.

I got a chance to talk with producer David Wain and the great Nick Kroll at Comic-Con in a roundtable interview. These two are incredibly funny and if you love comedy, be sure to check out anything these two guys do – especially Childrens Hospital!

The audio portion is a little noisy (there was a bunch of people in the room) but there is more of the interview that I didn’t include here.

How’s it been having a web series go to TV?

David Wain: I think it was just really a great opportunity for–you know, we did these, very short, one-off blasts on the Internet and basically to have the opportunity to make 12… more rounded, full half-hour episodes and just gave us a chance to do a larger scope. More stories, more ideas, tiny bit more budget, and bring in all our talented friends and so many of them, it’s been really fun. Like Nick.

When you guys first did this, did you have any inkling that it was going to get picked up?

David: No, it it was definitely not at all in any way intended as a TV idea. It was just like, this was a fun web series and that it was interesting. And we’re happy to have done it of course.

Nick: I was just a guest star in the show but I was around for some of the filming the first season and second season and the opportunity to work with David and Rob (Corddry) and Jonathan (Stern) who produced this as well, I just think there are a lot of people who are like, “We’ll work with you doing whatever format that you present to us. Because we just wanna be able to work with people we think are funny and to do something on the web was just — it was an opportunity to do wild stuff that isn’t normally allowed on TV. And then I think they proved that it could be funny and sustainable on the web and so when it became a show, they were allowed to continue to do stuff that they might have been inhibited to had it gone straight from a… I don’t know if that’s true or not, but…

David: Yeah. Another thing we’re excited about is the last episode we’re gonna be doing live. We’re gonna be doing it live this fall.

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Daniel Dae Kim: “As an actor, I’m always looking to challenge and diversify”

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For six seasons, you saw Daniel Dae Kim as Jin in Lost. Now, get ready for a totally different character in his new show, Hawaii Five-O.

In this re-boot, he stars as Detective Chin Ho Kelly alongside Alex O’Loughlin, Scott Caan and Grace Park.  When he took the role, he said was looking to play someone different then Jin… and I’m betting he wanted to stay in Hawaii.

I got a chance to talk to Daniel at this years Comic-Con (in a round-table format so most of the questions weren’t mine) about the new version of Hawaii Five-O, Lost and a whole lot more.

Once again you’re filming and you’re shooting in Hawaii. What’s going to be different or what has been different about this experience versus Lost.

Daniel Dae Kim:  I’m not in the jungle.  I’m in climate-controlled situations. Uh, I’m not dirty. [LAUGHTER] And my clothes don’t have holes in them. So, yeah, that’s all…

That’s a good start.

Yeah, those are all very different. You know, it’s a very different sensibility to the show. Lost, was epic in scale, it told a large story with sci-fi elements. This show is more action-oriented. It’s faster, people like to say high-octane. And, you know, it’s a…it’s a familiar kind of story. Cops and robbers. Bad guys, good guys.

In this story, you’re a much more physical actor in this versus what you’ve done in the past. Are you doing your own stunts?

I will do whatever they will let me do, let’s put it that way.  I like doing my own stunts and I’ve done my own stunts as long as I’ve been an actor. And, I’ve had to learn to motorcycle and there will be limits to what I can do on that motorcycle because I have a wife and kids who want to see me come home every day. But other than that, I’m anxious and excited.

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Breaking Bad’s RJ Mitte: “You learn so much from your surroundings. It’s like subliminal messaging”

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RJ Mitte is currently staring on one of the greatest shows on TV, Breaking Bad. He plays Walt Jr., son on of former chemistry teacher turned meth dealer, Walter (Bryan Cranston).

The show was one of RJ’s his first real acting jobs and from the pilot to his work now, you can how he’s evolved into a really smart actor.  He has teenage-smartass syndrome down to a science.

RJ’s also the national spokesman for I AM PWD, SAG, AFTRA and Equity’s joint program to bring awareness to actors with disabilities.

And, he’s probably always the coolest guy in the room. Read how he got the part on Breaking Bad. I guarantee you would not do the same thing if you found out you booked a series-regular role!

How does it feel to work on one of the best shows on TV?

It’s an amazing feeling.  Any actor is lucky to work on any show.  I’m just one of the very few to work on one of the greats. We have an amazing cast; I couldn’t have gotten any luckier to work with the amazing actors I do. It’s one of the best feelings in the world where you have any role, but especially one of these.

How much of you is in Walt, Jr? Because your character is pretty much a smart ass in the show. Did the writers take anything from you in your life?

Yeah … Well [LAUGHTER]. I would say I’m a smart ass but not too often. We mix it up a little bit. We’ve added some of my life into the character. Like, we changed the room around to be more like my room. Here and there, we’re slowly but surely morphing into a new character.

First of all it’s a fantastic cast you guys have got. You work really well with Bryan; what has he taught you from an acting standpoint?

Not just Bryan, but from everybody, you learn here and there, you learn different things. But this show—I’ve never really worked before on a set—so I’ve learned all different kinds of things. I can’t really say, because you learn so much and you pick up from your surroundings. It’s like subliminal messaging.

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Melissa Leo talks acting, auditioning and preparation

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When Melissa Leo is on stage or you see her in a TV show or film, the project is immediately elevated to a different level. She has an incredible gift of grounding every scene she’s in, making everyone around her better.

If you saw her Oscar nominated performance in last year’s Frozen River, you’ll know what I’m talking about. Need more proof? Check out the first 5 seasons of Homicide, 21 Grams and the upcoming Welcome To The Rileys.

She’s currently starring in HBO’s Treme as attorney Toni Bernette. If you haven’t been watching the show, you are missing some great performances. Not only from Melissa, but John Goodman, Khandi Alexander, Wendell Pierce… the list goes on.

I talked to her while she was on set, filming another HBO project, Mildred Pierce.

When I first became aware of you in Homicide, and everything I’ve seen you in since, is that you bring a deep reality to everything you’re in. You keep everyone and everything around you grounded. That’s a big reason that Homicide stunk after you left the show.

Oh my God! I don’t know if I want all that responsibility but that’s quite a compliment. An actor at a festival once handed me a card, and she had written on it “Acting, the art of pretending the truth.” And I use her quote an awful lot, because it is. To me, that’s what it’s about, even when things go into the fantastical realm that they can on stage or in film. That’s an extraordinary compliment. Thank you.

After Frozen River, do you still have to audition now?

The auditioning has waned, some of it by choice. For many years, I recognized that I was used for casting directors to impress directors with their choices, to find out how a difficult part, in fact, can work. So I, as I’ve begun to have work offered to me, have backed away from auditions from time to time.

You seem to take these roles that might be difficult to cast, but you fit them perfectly.

Well, I think that anybody who does any kind of work gets the thing that if you’re going to be working, you might as well be working hard. So, that’s what I do, and I guess my passion and love for it is that acting really is my life. The only other thing really is my son.

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Chuck’s Mark Christopher Lawrence: “You don’t choose acting, acting chooses you”

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Mark Christopher Lawrence has an incredible knack for stealing almost any scene that he’s in. Whether he’s got a couple of lines with Will Smith in The Pursuit of Happyness or yelling at Zachary Levi as Big Mike every week on Chuck – you always remember him.

And he’s not one to sit still and rest on his laurels. He does theater, stand-up, voice over, writing and producing.

He’s a truly multi-talented guy.

You’re currently starring in Chuck. The show has a rabid fan base. Do you get recognized a lot for that?

Yeah, pretty much everyday.

You were in for pilots the year you got Chuck, but Chuck was only a guest star role in that pilot.

Right.

So, was it just a gamble that you took when you got Chuck, that you auditioned for Chuck?

It was no real gamble, it was just one of the things that came across the plate that year. We auditioned for everything that came across. It just happened that Chuck was the only thing I got booked in.

Since it was only a guest star role, did you have a feeling that it could be moved up to a series regular?

No, I didn’t even read it. [LAUGHTER] I actually just read the sides because I was really concentrating on those other pilots, because they were series regular roles. I read the [sides] the night before I went in to audition, and just prepared to go in and get a job. Maybe because I was so relaxed, it wasn’t that important for me.

That happens a lot, when it’s not that important. Boom, you get it.

I think what happened is when you’re at that point—and not that you don’t care because you want to work—but when you’re at that point where it’s not that important, you have this sort of relaxed state that you walk into the room with. That was part of it, being really relaxed. The other was because you know what’s at stake before you go in and read for the network. Because they cut you a deal before you go in, so you know exactly how much money you will or will not get. So, I was just able to really relax and go in and have fun, and go out and concentrate on something else.

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Tony Nominee Stephen Kunken: “Your career is a marathon”

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If you got a chance to see the Broadway show, Enron you’ll know that Stephen Kunken was well deserved in getting a Tony nomination for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his role as Andy Fastow.

I say “got a chance” because the day Stephen found out he was nominated he was also told that the show would be closing later that week.

If that were me, I’d want to jump out a window but Stephen is taking it all in stride.

And why shouldn’t he?  The critics universally praised his work, he and his wife just adopted a baby and he’s such a fantastic actor, the phone is probably already ringing in his agents office.

I got a chance to talk to him while he was sitting in his car about to take a well deserved break.

Congratulations on your nomination.

Thank you so much.

How did you find out about it?

I was watching, because I knew it was important to find out about the longevity of our show – Enron. With how expensive the show was, if it didn’t get nominated, I knew it would probably be a rough road for us. I was curious and watching for a couple of minutes. Then, they let it go and I watched it online. I sort of saw it all happening in rapid succession. They did the 5 big categories first on TV and then they ended it. So I thought that I had missed my category. I was like, “Damn, I can’t believe it!” But then they actually went back to it.

What’s that feeling like, to be one of the top five actors nominated?

It’s crazy. I don’t know that it’s sunk in yet. I was just talking to my wife about it. It’s such an incredible honor and its a thing that you always dream about as an actor, I think. Especially as a New York theatre actor who grew up on the Tony’s and grew up coming to see Broadway shows. I went to Julliard in the city, which is an institution for theatre.

I remember my first Broadway show, right before I went on, saying “Wow, as soon as the first word comes out of my mouth, I’m going to have done a Broadway show.” It was an incredible, huge threshold to walk across. It hasn’t even really sunk in yet to be considered a part of the community in a performance that was noteworthy in this season of incredible actors and performances. It’s kind of mind-boggling. It’s thrilling. It’s such a huge honor. I know these are all the things that everyone always says, but it’s so true. You actually really do feel awed by the attention and awed by people actually caring. There’s nothing that I just said that’s new or exciting, but it’s totally true. It puts all of that work into perspective for a moment. It’s a milestone in your career that you can look back and you can say, ‘Oh, my God, I actually put together a little body of work.’ It’s quite cool.

Is it true that now you can get better seats in a restaurant?

I don’t know. If I won the award, I could walk in with the statue and I still think I would lose instantly to anyone who’s been on a TV show or in a film. Maybe at Angus McIndoe across the street they might say “Hey!” but I think other than that, that’s the beauty of the theatre that unless you saw it, you don’t really know it.

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Performer Track’s Brian Vermeire: “If you don’t treat this like a business, it’ll be treated like a hobby”

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Performer Track is an online tool for actors to track their career. Not only does it give you organizational tools but it also help you track your auditions, workshops, submissions and so much more.

I talked with Brian Vermeire, one of the main guys behind Performer Track. He loves his product and from talking to the people who use it, they love it as well.

We talked for a good while so this is only part of the interview but Brian has a lot of good information to give. Click on the audio portion (or download it off iTunes) above for more.

For more details, go to performertrack.com. And as a bonus, if you use code: FRLC9 you’ll get 2 months off your first year!

You started the company?

Brian Vermeire: Yeah, it started about 10 years ago. It all came out of a need. I was the “typical performer.” Every time I got called by my agent, by my manager, by a random casting director who could get a hold of me directly I would quickly grab a sheet of paper, a scrap piece of paper, or a sticky note—whatever I could write on—and I would quickly jot down where I’m going. When it came to going to the audition, I would lose the information, I would have to call my agent, “Where am I going again? Who am I meeting with? Okay, okay.”

And it never mattered to me. What mattered to me was being the best performer. I’d go in there and give it my all and then just forget about it. I did Meisner for a couple of years, and I was told by other acting teachers that I had to just go audition and then forget about it, which is a huge disservice to your business as a performer. And it’s an awful thing to do for your business. In realizing I was doing everything completely wrong, without ever understanding that it was wrong, I just thought, “No, I don’t want to be bogged down with that information. I’ll just go do it and if I get it, I get it. That’s all I need to know.

I was watching my friend at the time, and every time she got called by her representation, she would always get out the same college ruled notebook and pull it open, she would rattle off  the same questions, have everything in her mind and ask the questions in a very succinct, rhythmic order. And she would put everything in one spot. And I thought that was genius, that’s great, I should do that. So I made myself one and we were carrying those around and it didn’t take too long before our friends started asking us “Hey, how do I get one?”

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