Michael Kostroff is an American actor. He appeared on the HBO program The Wire as defence attorney Maurice Levy. He has worked constantly with respected creators like David Simon and Aaron Sorkin. Michael is one of the steadiest working actors in the business, but is happy to fly under the radar when it comes to celebrity status. He shares his thoughts on the last chapter in our first featured book, Audition by Michael Shurtleff. Michael has lots of stories of working with Hollywood icons, but he is also a highly sought after acting coach/teacher and he shares some of the ways he has found success throughout his career. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0467512/ TheActorsPlace.org RadioRadio.com https://www.auditionpsych101.com/ #MichaelKostroff #MichaelShurtleff
- 12:20 Being disrespected in an audition
- 14:00 Choose gracious strength
- 17:20 Handling audition stress
- 21:13 It’s okay not to book the job
- 23:50 Playing a can of asparagus (and other crazy roles)
- 30:19 Changing a David Simon line
- 34:19 Being typecast
- 36:50 Being cast in “The Deuce”
- 39:20 Were the actors from “The Wire” from the streets? DISCUSSING Audition by Michael Shurtleff
- 41:45 The Audition – Actors decide to be strong or weak in a scene
- 44:09 Playing one line parts (small roles) 46:40 Playing a small part for the good of the production
- 47:23 Playing the small part – “Is it an average Tuesday?”
- 49:40 Charm is useful
- 53:38 An audition is a collaboration between actor and casting person
- 54:00 What do casting agents actually do?
- 56:25 Playing a person with a polish accent
- 58:00 Slating and dressing for an audition
- 1:05:23 Do you mean what you say?
- 1:07:35 Finding humour
- 1:08:10 Humour as it was used in “The Wire”
- 1:10:35 Cold reads
- 1:12:48 Audition and make choices for yourself (sincerity)
- 1:16 Playing a bitch – does your character think she’s a bitch?
- 1:16:55 Reality is never enough
- 1:18:50 The casting director kiss of death (Do something unusual)
- 1:21:17 An important choice from “The Wire” (You people)
- 1:23:45 An obsession with touching hair in an audition
- 1:25:40 There needs to be more floating on air