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Follow-up with Reed Birney [Members Only]

Published October 22, 2018 | Last Updated October 23, 2018 Leave your thoughts »

Hello members!

Here’s one of the first exclusive “behind the scenes” posts for your eyes only! This was a great quote that wasn’t part of the episode and too good to leave out.

A few weeks after I recorded the interview with Reed (and while he was in London performing The Humans), I asked him the following:

What do you believe shifted so that you could have the career you do? 

 

Reed responded:

“Things changed when I did BLASTED in 2008. It both empowered me as an actor, showing me I was capable of a kind of work I had never been asked to do before, and it exposed me to a whole generation of directors and playwrights in their 30s who hadn’t known of me and were suddenly inspired to work with me. That was the shift. It wasn’t anything I decided or did. The work led me there. It was like I was an idea whose time had come. The depression I had experienced up to then also abated, which let me know it wasn’t a chemical thing, that I was incapable of joy, the depression was a result of feeling undervalued. Once I felt my work was recognized it became much easier to do the work. A little recognition goes a long way.”

I really appreciated him taking the time to share all that (especially during his busy schedule). The “time had come” feels so important—that patience and waiting are so integral to one’s life as a creative. I was just emailing with a podcast listener who worries (in her 30s) that she’s running out of time to be successful.

 

And once the episode went live, I connected with Reed again and he shared:

“I don’t know how one judges the success of these things but it’s out there now for eternity so who knows what poor, benighted actor might listen to it someday and feel encouraged in some small way. It’s a great thing you’re doing, thank you from actors everywhere. And I am glad to have some of my oral history out there for my kids and family. I think my story is pretty clearly stated. It’s me telling it, after all, it better be!”

His comments mean a great deal to me, and to some extent, having the project be personally rewarding and affecting the guests in this way is success enough. He also discovered my secret goal: the preservation of those who were here is important to me, and I’m honored to play a role in sharing his life’s story with all who listen.

 

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Join The Working Actor’s Dispatch!

Download the FREE Guide Keys the Pro’s Use to Unlock Any Script

Keys the Pro’s Use to Unlock Any ScriptPlus 2 other FREE guides: 10 Ways to Stop Worrying and Start Working, and 12 Top Acting Tips from Season 1!

Get your copy of this online guide of the actual questions, approach, and PROCESS the professionals use when working on ANY material: plays, scripts, audiobooks, and more...⁠from actors who've been there!⁠ Go beyond acting theory and hear from professionals that have worked for 40+ years...where the rubber meets the road.

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Acting the Role Discussion: UNCLE VANYA with Tony-winner Reed Birney – play by Anton Chekhov, translation by Annie Baker, at SoHo Rep in 2012

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