Today we’d like to introduce you to Mark Craig.
Mark, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I started studying acting and filmmaking at the University of New Orleans. Moved to California to further study and work on the craft of acting. I went on to have a successful career in television and film as a working actor for 25 years in the entertainment industry in the Los Angeles market.
I also had a 25-year career working as a Police Custody Officer for a local Police Department in Orange County. I like to tell people I was an “Actor by day and a Jailer by night. My position as a jailer or detention officer allowed me to finance and pursue my acting endeavors.
In 2016 I retired from the police work and relocated back to New Orleans where I continued to pursue my acting and began teaching and coaching actors. I studied with a number of LA actors over the years. Including Ivana Chubbuck, one of the top acting coaches not only in Hollywood but internationally. I trained personally with her to teach the acting technique that is found in her international bestseller “Power of the Actor”.
With my experience as an actor and working in Law Enforcement I have a very unique and insightful understanding of the human condition. This allows me to fully help and guide actors to truthfully bring their own unique selves and personal lives to the characters they play in their artform. I moved to DFW area in Feb 2020 to act and teach.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Pursuit of a career in acting is anything but a smooth journey. You deal with “being judged” on your talent and looks on a constant basis. There is far more “rejection” or the perception of rejection you must come to terms with to be able to succeed in this business. It really isn’t for the faint of heart. Your heart must be invested in the running the race.
Obstacles and challenges come in what we all experience to live a fulfilled life. It’s overcoming those obstacles that make life that much more satisfying. I had to balance wanting to have a financially secure life for both me and my family. A career in acting in most cases does not provide that type of security. Percentage-wise the odds are not in your favor.
If you want it badly enough, you find ways to stay in the fight despite the need to hold onto the many precious primal needs we all desire to stay on course. Love, family, a career. For me, it was holding on to a full-time career job in law enforcement until I my “big break” in acting that would take me away from it. Not wanting to be that “starving actor”.
That road has to be paved with perseverance, commitment, and passion to succeed.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a full-time actor and acting coach. As an actor, I have been cast in mostly in dramatic roles. I have played numerous cops, detectives, and ne’er-do-wells. As well as roles that generally call for having a “voice of authority” and compassion. Such as fathers and clergy.
I am particularly proud of the many police roles I played on episodic television and film. You have to have confidence to walk on a set and stand toe to toe with an established actor.
As an acting coach, I teach actors how to find that confidence in their work. I teach them to look inward to recognize what it is about themselves that power them forward thru life. And what it is that holds them back. I seek to empower them to use that knowledge as a means to overcome those obstacles of self-doubt and insecurities to succeed.
I have a strong sense of being able to encourage others and have always known that teaching others is a strong suit.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out.
The strongest advice I would give is to know that you as an actor are your own boss. You make the decisions that will guide your desire to succeed. Realize that you have the power to say No when you don’t want to do something.
Stop trying to please others. Stop thinking that every opportunity that comes along will be the last. Be the one in control. It’s a tough business, the business of acting. If you allow others to make decisions for you then you give your power away.
Other professionals and artistic creatives respond positively to confidence. Know what you want and go after it. Stop being afraid of what others think. Be the boss. Confidence comes thru constantly working on your craft and training to always finding ways to improve. When you put in the work you gain confidence.
I also give career advice to actors and help them with auditioning in addition to the classes I teach.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://fightingactorscoach.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fighting_actors_coach/
