Scarlet Jei Saoirse

At the beginning of the pandemic shut down, FOR A SHORT WHILE-AND AS AN AMBIVERTED INDIVIDUAL-i FOUND SOME SENSE OF RELIEF HAVING TO SLOW DOWN AND TAKE A FEW STEPS BACK IN MY LIFE. but like most artists and entrepreneurs, I also had to find new ways to stay active, progressive and maintain a forward-thinking mindset.

"In the Midst of Chaos, there is also opportunity"-SUN TZU

i WAS SITTING IN ALOT OF ONLINE MUSIC AND FILM SEMINARS, LEARNING AS MUCH AS I COULD ABOUT MY CRAFTS TO CONTINUE TO HONE MY SKILLS. I took a voice acting class with Nicole Porche at Such a voice, I did a lot of the "Learning on lockdown" acting classes organized by Anthony Joiner, with FEMALE actors like Teri j. Vaughn, Christine HORN, eSSENCE ATKINS AND SO MANY MORE. eVENTUALLY, I CAME ACROSS Michael's CLASS WHERE THERE WAS ALOT OF HANDS ON ACTING; even through zoom! Michael is brilliant and his acting methods are memorable and life-changing. Don't laugh at me, but I remember thinking, "Omgoodness, I must be highly favored to come across all of these amazing opportunities during a time like this." (ok laugh). but honestly, his class was the icing on the cake, with the cherry on top and the candles lit. I made new friends, I learned so much, and I was inspired in so many ways, even outside of acting. I feel so lucky to have had some really amazing people participate in my life's journey as my Mentor (the Late Floyd Cooper), TEACHER (mICHAEL sIMMS), BUSINESS AND LIFE COACH (tONYA mARTIN), AND EVEN FRIEND (the late dmx). 🙏🏽 I feel abundantly blessed.

I had a chance to interview michael about his life as an actor and coach and here's what he had to say:

10 QUESTIONZ W/ MICHAEL DAVID SIMMS

1. How did you get into acting?​​​​​

Wow.

How much time do you have?

I was actually transitioning into commercial real estate in Phoenix, Arizona after an uneasy exit from my last job, (another story for another time) and I had a buddy that I worked with at the last job that brought me over to the real estate firm he was working at...We became inseparable. And I would tell him how I wanted to be an actor and have had the lead in my high school play (what a cliche huh?) and one day he comes in and says, “I am so sick and tired of hearing you bitch about how much you wanna' be an actor, so you have an audition tonight out at Mesa Community Theatre.” Ruh Roh. Put up or shut up.

Turns out his wife was friends with the secretary to the President of the company she worked for and directed the community theatre on the side. She was evidently from L.A. And had “dabbled” in the industry. So I go out there and audition for the play “Accommodations” -which I believe was the inspiration for “Three's Company.”  

I was on stage one waiting for my cue, and basking in the laughter and connection of the audience, when suddenly everything just faded and stopped, you know, Like the scene in “Westside Story” where Tony meets Maria, where the lights go down and the music stops and changes.
The thought hit me like a bolt of lightning...”I fucking love this!” 
But then the next thought was, “Yeah, but you can't make a living at it.”
I knew in that instant that I was looking at the biggest decision moment of my life. If I didn't honor that challenge, somehow I knew that I would regret it for the rest of my life...

I continued the performance, but everything had changed. The next couple of months were a blur.. I sold my place, put most of my things in storage, and so many things fell into place to help me on my life journey that it seemed almost too easy.
There's a quote by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe that goes: “At the moment of commitment the entire universe conspires to assist you.”
He also has one about burning your bridges behind you that I think goes hand in hand with the 1st quote in-that it defines commitment that way...

And it was like that...

I was working with a client who lived in the L.A. Suburbs looking at multi-family homes-when I told him what I wanted to do; the next thing I knew I was staying with him while I looked for an apartment in Studio City.
He was so caught up in my excitement that he introduced me to a friend of his who worked at Paramount Studios and also got me an interview with the head of casting at the studio...
It came to nothing, but his assistant went out on her own, and about 6 months later, she called me in to read for other actors in a project she was casting for, and from then on, I was her reader for every movie and tv show she did.
This is how I built my resume.
Because I was better than most of the actors that came in to read, I eventually got hired for a part in all the shows she did.

And it all flowed from that decision onstage in Mesa.

2. Who or what are your biggest inspirations and influences?

There are many, but if you're asking specifically about acting, there're different categories...
If you're asking which actors have influenced or inspired me, I'd say, Anthony Hopkins, Meryl Streep, Marlon Brando and, James Dean...
But there are many others that inspire admiration. Some that I just can't take my eyes off when they're working, like,  Denzel, Samuel L. Jackson, Viola Davis, Brad Pitt... lots of 'em...
I saw the birth of a lot of these actors in their first-ever roles. I remember seeing Brad Pitt and Michael Madsen in their first big roles on Thelma and Louise...
I was still working with the casting director who helped me; when they came on the screen she leaned over and said, “There's a movie star.”.
Andy Garcia was another one.
They just came on the screen and “Pow!”
Dustin Hoffman, Margot Robbie are others...
There are soooo many...

If you're asking about my personal influence and most inspiring life-changing force; That's Darryl Hickman. When I hit Hollywood I was 38 years old. If I had a nickel for every agent that told me I was too old, I coulda' retired. But I had some success in the business world, and I wasn't a kid anymore...and I was in a hurry.
I was damned and determined to learn how to do this “acting thing.”
At the time, Milton Katselas had just come off from directing Goldie Hawn in her first big movie role and he was the hot teacher in town. He had 3 separate programs 'cause you couldn't just start with him, you had to audition to get in...Which I told them was kinda' silly, 'cause if I knew how to do this in the first place, why would I need you?
But..
I went...
And it was so exciting!
This was of course before the internet so I spent hours in the USC film library, copying scenes to do.
Anyway, after about 3 months I still didn't know what the hell I was doing.
The critique of the teacher I was seeing at the time was..”That was great, but...I would like to see more."
I had a meeting with him and I said, “More what?”
He was a great guy and I loved him but it was clear he didn't know how to teach me what I needed.
He offered to send me to Milton's class and I asked him, “Is Milton gonna' teach me anything you haven't?”
Of course, he said no, and I was gone. 

So I started searching...
I audited the 5 top acting classes in L.A. and actually signed up for 3 of them; I had no idea which one I was gonna' take. At the time I was in a play, (a really awful production of Equus) and the guy who played one of the horses, says to me, “You gotta' study with Darryl Hickman.”
And I'm thinkin', Yeah, I'm gonna' go study where the horse studies. 
But then I thought, I'm lookin', why not?
When I went to his class I was blown the hell away!
There was Darryl; and then there were the rest of them....way, way down below.
It was the only class I ever saw that dealt with the actor's physical instrument; voice, body, and emotional life, as well as a structured A-Z plan for building a performance that works every time...
It was what I was looking for. 
I'm a control freak...so I need to know it's gonna work...not hope it's gonna work.
If it works 5 times, but not 6, that's not a process, That's talent with a bullet. And Darryl was it.
I stole everything from him...It's what I teach now Because it's the only class I ever saw that taught a process that works.
Darryl Hickman changed my life. Love that man...
He's 90 now. And still formidable.

3. What was the toughest role you've ever had to play thus far?

Easy. A Father and a Husband. Failed at both regularly.

4. What inspired you to become an acting coach?

That's another long story, but it started when my fellow students started asking me to direct their scenes in class and then direct them in plays they produced. I learned so much about acting by essentially teaching them through the directing process, and I loved seeing the results of that collaboration...
I was dealing with  actors trained by Darryl; absolutely fearless so...that helped. When I came up here, (On the advice of a director friend of mine) my agent asked me to coach some of his other actors in their auditions, and one of them, in particular, pressed me to get into teaching auditioning techniques. He brought a bunch of his friends into class and some of my fellow actors came to help, and that created the first “Own Your Audition” class.
While I was teaching it, I quickly realized that for most of the students, virtually all, the issue wasn't their audition skills, they didn't know how to act. So I talked to a core of them about starting a full-on acting program and we started the first “Foundation” class in Michael DeSadeleer's photography studio. Before I knew it, I had 4 full classes with 20 plus students in each one and the top professional program in Vancouver. Every casting director and agent in town sent students to our program. They still do. They'd never seen anything like it.
Then I quit the business for 12 years and moved to Hawaii...
But I'm back. And it was Darryl's process that inspired everything I did as an actor and especially as a teacher. It's been very interesting to me that when people see how the process works, they're so blown away. It's really quite stunning. But that was my reaction when I first saw it as well.

5. I remember asking you this before, but do you think it takes a certain level of maturity to be an actor? This is what I mean; with acting, you have to sometimes act foolish, ridiculous, or even embarrassing at times, I find it hard to let go of what I think people will think about me when I'm stepping out of character in order to get into character.

Yes, you do have to have a certain level of maturity, but that's not the big key...
I've found maturity in 15-year-olds; two actors in my adult program that were 15 – obviously with their parent's approval-that were more mature than most of my full-grown adults. I think one of the main things an actor has to have is intelligence, closely followed by “awareness.” Awareness in my mind is defined as “the non-judgmental observation of what is.” It's one of the hardest and most important things for an actor to do- stay in a state of complete awareness in each moment.

Will Smith said something like- "You have to clear your own personal blocks, you have to be able to be vulnerable in front of anybody. You have to be comfortable being silly, making mistakes and you have to break the thing inside of you that doesn't want people to see." What are your thoughts on this?  

OK. This is it. This is the seminal question. This is what every actor who walks through my door is concerned with, afraid of, looking for, having trouble with, is being driven crazy by, and needs more of than any other single thing.
It's not maturity. It's access to our own human emotions. We are at war with our emotions. We've been taught to suppress them in the cradle. "Good girls don't cry, good boys don't cry, use your inside voice, be quiet, shhhh". Learning these things were all necessary to survive and prosper and take our place in an ordered society...
But then you get into this crazy business and walk through my door and now I'm telling you that you have to go back to being able to access the emotions you effortlessly expressed as an infant. 
Nobody has to guess how a 2-year-old is feeling. They let you know it full out.

In my class, Do you remember learning about the numbers exercise?

Yes.

This is the core exercise of our program where you do 10 counts of happy, 10 counts of angry, 10 counts of sad, and 10 counts of happy again. And I mean as happy and angry and sad as you can be. You put that energy in your voice and in your body...and when done correctly, it looks like an adult is having a full-blown tantrum or seizure. It's fucking scary. And wonderfully freeing. It saved my life. I watch actors come in and are blown away when they see the exercises, but then they try to be “cool” when doing them. They quickly abandon that, once they know they're safe.
Darryl used to say that a child actor that couldn't cry on cue was next seen in the unemployment line... I pretty much say the same thing. Or if anything, you're not gonna be considered for the good parts. It's about being vulnerable; emotionally naked.
I make every one of my students do a personal monologue. They sit on a darkened stage and tell the class something they've never told anyone before. It invariably leads to tears and/or rage. Everyone's carrying some shit...We, as actors, get paid to let it out. It's great. But not easy to do. You have to commit. So to answer your original statements, you have to let everyone see who you are. And the result is the opposite of what we expected if we did show everyone who we are. In every case, the class has warmed up even more to that actor who bared their soul. There's a cohesiveness and camaraderie in my class that's amazing and heartfelt...
After class, no one wants to leave. It's wonderful to see. I've had actors confess to alcoholism, drug addiction, rape, incest, even suicide attempts. I've had 3 actors write and tell me that class saved them from killing themselves.
Miracles... 
Getting rid of all that crap we're carrying around is life-saving. If you don't, it just cements and cuts you off from your best life. We create a safe place for an actor to find their way back to gain control of their emotional life. It's the engine that drives all good acting.

6. What is your mental resolve right before you go into an audition?

I'm fearless. I love to audition because it's a chance to act. I worked with the late Brian Dennehy on more than one occasion and he had that same attitude...When I'm leaving the audition, I'm actually thinking of texting my agent on the way back to my car asking why they haven't already booked me. And I have Darryl Hickman to thank for that. I learned his process. I know it works. And I do my work before I go into that room. And I never worry about wondering if I did OK. That doesn't mean I haven't failed in auditions. I've got some of the most hilarious stories you've ever heard. But..not anymore. I know my process works. Every time. That confidence is what really makes auditioning a different experience.

7. With my experience in your class I felt like you were a great coach.

Thank you

You seem to have developed a true understanding of the mental obstacles a lot of actors face and have broken it down to a science with steps to excel.

I think that's because I'm still an actor first and a teacher 2nd. I've walked in their moccasins and gone through everything I'm teaching them. And again, I'm teaching Darryl's process. I can't emphasize that enough.

I've also noticed that your teaching style is also a form of acting therapy. The way you coach is also like therapy when getting an actor to where he or she needs to go mentally in order to become a character.

Well yes, I think that getting in touch with your emotional core and dealing with whatever has been blocking it off to become a better actor, and healing yourself are inseparable.

Has there ever been a time that you couldn't get through to an actor and if so why do you think that is?

I can't remember a single actor I couldn't get through to in some degree. Many can't handle it and quit before the work is done because it scares the hell out of them and they really don't want to be actors all that bad, but they're human and do respond on some level. Some come to me to be movie stars and I don't know how to do that. But I can make them better actors if they're willing. There have been 5 occasions that I've actually thrown an actor out of my class. That was a real growth lesson for me and never happens now. But they crossed lines and had to go and I didn't know enough at the time to handle it more gracefully. But I'm proud to say two of them came back and committed in full and became really good.

8. What kind of person do you think you need to be to become a successful actor?

One who is ferociously committed and on fire with the love of acting.

9. Darryl Hickman is obviously your mentor, what is the biggest lesson you learned from him?

Darryl had done over 100 films by the time he was 12. He was a child star – worked with Henry Fonda as a kid in “The Grapes of Wrath,” worked with every great director of the time, Howard Hawks, King Vidor, John Huston..
He was at the Actor's Studio with Lee Strasberg in the director's program, had coffee with Uta Hagen before she wrote her books, knew Stella Adler, Meisner and Viola Spolin. He was head of daytime programming at CBS and worked with Norman Lear developing sitcoms in L.A. Not to mention doing over 400 performances of Bob Fosse's “How to Succeed In Business Without Really Trying.”
He did it all. And he was, as an actor, searching for that perfect teacher or program that could give him everything he needed. They used to tell him his Grandmother had died when they wanted him to cry on cue. Because that was the person he loved most. Can you imagine? It put him in therapy for a while. But that's why he developed this process. He's a control freak too, and it led him to develop something he could count on. At 89 I got him on a ZOOM class and there were 75 people on it, including a lot of his old students...He taught 4 time Academy Award Nominee Marsha Mason, Jerry Seinfeld, Bob Saget, and lots of others.
He was that same old Darryl, Mr. Magic, pulling the humanity out of people he just met...everyone loved him...I had him observe the class the week before and I was so nervous, because there he was, the master, watching me teach his process. But he loved it and has been very encouraging and supportive in me carrying on his legacy. I'd love to bring him up here to Vancouver. Man changed my life.

10. I used to think that acting was easy or could be easy until I actually went out and tried it, and even did some auditions, but I quickly learned that it's not and the competition is fierce. What advice would you give someone just starting out?

There was a director friend of mine, once said to me, “You need to go live a while at the “Bodhi Tree.” It was a well-known, self-help, enlightenment bookstore. (Don't know if it's still there or not) and he was right. I was also in a book store before I made the move to Hollywood and there was this book literally waving at me – all about the self-actualization of your thoughts. It was instrumental in making my decision to move and go for my dream. Your mind really does create your reality. Everything that exists in the material world was first, a thought. This business is more failure than success, you're always looking for your next gig. Auditioning is fraught with rejection, and no matter what anyone tells you, it's personal. They're saying they don't want “you.” So being strong in your belief in yourself is not easy. I think it is so important that actors work on the mental aspect. It's almost a cliche  that the very people who love us most are the ones that cause some of the most intense negative pressure for us to “get a real job” or get a reality check. Which creates incredible stress. Well, acting is a real job...and a hard one, so you have to be strong in yourself.
It's part of the deal and you have to find things to help your mental attitude.
Breathe. 
Darryl's big on breathing and so am I. I see actors holding their breath in the warm-up and In their lives. The repression of our emotions and not paying attention to what's causing the stress in our lives and finding ways to release it, causes huge problems with anxiety and depression in today's young people-more so in actors. I assign all my students to sit quietly 5 minutes a day and just breathe. With no other goal or responsibility for those 5 minutes. It's about reconnecting with their instrument and quieting that inner “noise.”
Love yourself.
Work hard.
Don't let anyone tell you you can't.
No one has the right to take your dream.
Commit.
And above all, believe in yourself.

To learn more or sign up for Michael Simms classes click here.

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