Interview with Eric Michael Gillett
I had the great opportunity to interview Eric Michael Gillett, who is a friend of mine and not only a professional working actor with an agent and a lot of credits under his belt, but also someone who worked as a teacher for a number of years and taught his students the business-side of acting. The tips and tricks that he recommends in this article are absolutely fantastic, and I highly recommend you listen to this and implement some of them in your own acting career!
Key Takeaways:
Eric's Bio:
Eric Michael Gillett’s film and television appearances include The Producers, Maid in Manhattan, Good God, Out of Order, The Third Testament, The Judge, My Brother, The Mysteries of Laura, The Blacklist, multiple episodes of Daredevil and Law & Order (SVU & Mothership), and Ed. Broadway credits include original casts of Sweet Smell of Success, The Frogs, and Kiss Me, Kate (revival). His other major NYC credits include principal soloist turns with New York City Opera in Cinderella, Pirates of Penzance and Candide, as well as New York City Ballet’s Seven Deadly Sins. Most recently, he appeared in the new developmental workshop, Queen Mother (directed by Lynne Taylor-Corbett), and in Dirty Little Songs at 54 Below.
A MAC and Bistro Award winning vocalist (2012 MAC-Major Male Artist/1995 MAC-Outstanding Male Vocalist), Eric Michael Gillett’s cabaret shows have included Man About Town: The Wit and Wisdom of Noel Coward (Laurie Beechman Theatre), Careless Rhapsody: The Lyrics of Lorenz Hart (54 Below), Widescreen (Feinstein’s), Hooray for Love: Gillett Sings Arlen (Feinstein’s), Nothing to Lose But Your Heart: An Ahrens and Flaherty Songbook (Feinstein’s), Best of My Love (Metropolitan Room), Cast of Thousands-The Songs of Craig Carnelia (Laurie Beechman Theatre), It Takes Two-The Duets of Stephen Sondheim (Don’t Tell Mama), and his critically lauded collection of radio songs of the past forty years, Hook, Line & Singer (Helen’s). The New York Times has called Gillett’s shows “an intimate portrait of a man in the thrall of show business dreams, for whom popular standards are platforms for unguarded confessions.”
Check out his IMDB page.
Check out his reel.
Check out his music reel.
Check out his website.
Check out a modern version of As a Man Thinketh, a book Eric Michael references in the interview.
I had the great opportunity to interview Eric Michael Gillett, who is a friend of mine and not only a professional working actor with an agent and a lot of credits under his belt, but also someone who worked as a teacher for a number of years and taught his students the business-side of acting. The tips and tricks that he recommends in this article are absolutely fantastic, and I highly recommend you listen to this and implement some of them in your own acting career!
Key Takeaways:
- Keep in touch with people. Eventually they will remember you for key roles. We discuss Eric Michael's exact "Keep in Touch" strategy during the interview.
- Live as the character. Being the character for a few days before an audition will give you a much better performance. Learn how Eric Michael used this exact strategy in an audition to land a great role.
- Change your tactics when needed. Eric Michael tells a story of an actress who kept getting callbacks, but never got the roles. He then explains how one suggestion he made to her helped her start getting booked again!
- And lots more...
Eric's Bio:
Eric Michael Gillett’s film and television appearances include The Producers, Maid in Manhattan, Good God, Out of Order, The Third Testament, The Judge, My Brother, The Mysteries of Laura, The Blacklist, multiple episodes of Daredevil and Law & Order (SVU & Mothership), and Ed. Broadway credits include original casts of Sweet Smell of Success, The Frogs, and Kiss Me, Kate (revival). His other major NYC credits include principal soloist turns with New York City Opera in Cinderella, Pirates of Penzance and Candide, as well as New York City Ballet’s Seven Deadly Sins. Most recently, he appeared in the new developmental workshop, Queen Mother (directed by Lynne Taylor-Corbett), and in Dirty Little Songs at 54 Below.
A MAC and Bistro Award winning vocalist (2012 MAC-Major Male Artist/1995 MAC-Outstanding Male Vocalist), Eric Michael Gillett’s cabaret shows have included Man About Town: The Wit and Wisdom of Noel Coward (Laurie Beechman Theatre), Careless Rhapsody: The Lyrics of Lorenz Hart (54 Below), Widescreen (Feinstein’s), Hooray for Love: Gillett Sings Arlen (Feinstein’s), Nothing to Lose But Your Heart: An Ahrens and Flaherty Songbook (Feinstein’s), Best of My Love (Metropolitan Room), Cast of Thousands-The Songs of Craig Carnelia (Laurie Beechman Theatre), It Takes Two-The Duets of Stephen Sondheim (Don’t Tell Mama), and his critically lauded collection of radio songs of the past forty years, Hook, Line & Singer (Helen’s). The New York Times has called Gillett’s shows “an intimate portrait of a man in the thrall of show business dreams, for whom popular standards are platforms for unguarded confessions.”
Check out his IMDB page.
Check out his reel.
Check out his music reel.
Check out his website.
Check out a modern version of As a Man Thinketh, a book Eric Michael references in the interview.
To read a raw transcript of the interview, please click here.