Michael Teh; A Working Man. ARTICLE/INTERVIEW.
I had the large privilege of talking to Mr. Michael Teh
over the ongoing month or so, a great actor and a great star guest starring in Sleepy Hollow (TV Series, 2013) and more. Like my
previous interviews I questioned Michael on his path to acting, his
inspirations and his future and I was lucky enough to get great straight
forward answers from such talent, here is Michael Teh.
Before talking to Michael about how he got to where he is
now, I first asked him simply; why acting? “The simple answer is that it’s a lot more fun than management
consulting, banking and starting an Internet company - my previous
careers. I simply love using my imagination and playing. I’ve
traded money and security for a more creative, flexible, exciting life, and for
me that was a great move. There is also
(most likely) another more complicated psychological reason stemming from my
childhood, but we needn’t go there”. I love this reply because it shows that your life experiences do not
necessarily have to be too dramatic to help you be creative like some say, you can
generally find your creation, your imagination to save you from the blunt
dullness that is the traditional life routine, go to school, get a job, have a
family and die. Michael shows; you can go to school, get a job and find
passion. The reason why I have rambled on to this point is because this message
is subtly and truthfully in Michaels reply to when ask how did he get to where
he is now; “ My path post high school looks like this: undergraduate marketing
degree, law school, management consulting, business school with banking
internship, back to management consulting, Internet start-up, travel, followed
by 11 years of full and part time acting classes and other investments in my
acting career, scores of student, short and low budget independent films,
followed by representation, that enables auditions for higher budget, higher
profile acting jobs and very occasionally work if you can beat the thousands of
other actors submitted for each role”. Michael is a man who worked hard
and worked high to get where is now, but not just within acting, which is
different and even sort of rare.
With Teh having
such a wide range of skills and experience out of the creative industry, I
wandered if he’d ever thought about widening his knowledge in the industry now,
working in more roles than one. I asked: Have you ever considered doing more
than acting within the industry; I understand you've been an exec. Producer,
how about writing? “I have never tried to write and having read so many terrible scripts, I
know it’s a special skill that in some cases takes years or a lifetime to
master. I’d rather achieve mastery in acting. However, smart actors
don’t sit on the shelf waiting to be picked – they cast themselves. So I see
more producing in my future”.
Knowing now that
Teh has many goals for the future and even for his present we talked of his
inspirations, people and projects his looks up to that keep him such a
successful talent; “I’m inspired by great writers, actors and sometimes
teachers. Some of my favourite actors include Cate Blanchett, Meryl
Streep, Kate Winslet and Judy Dench and of course many male actors and to be
honest, many classmates you’ve never heard of. Great writers touch, move
and inspire and this is what I aspire to achieve in my acting”. As I am a
woman myself I respected Michael’s answer, the fact he mentioned the women that
inspire him, because I feel as film people we can automatically know who the
male inspiration is. Also I respected this answer due to the fact some people wouldn’t
understand a man getting inspired more by women, I say this not just as a woman
but as a film/acting lover so don’t think I’m being a feminist!
What can we expect from Michael in future? Well he told me; “I
have an idea for short comedic parody I’d like to shoot, and for a character
that I’d like to play in a film that I plan to develop. I’ll also look
opportunistically for other projects to help produce. And I’m hoping to
get some acting roles that will touch, move and or inspire”. Well talking to Michael I certainly feel that
these roles he wishes to play will happen, will be created, almost like a
promise of entertainment and like most new projects, that gets me excited. Also
I find that seeing Michael in a comedic short or even situation is refreshing,
new and will really show that he can be whoever and he can be them well.
I have praised Michael Teh in this interview, and why not he
actually replied to me! The reason why I talk so fondly of him is I am fed up
of seeing honest talent in shadows of Hollywood hotheads, Michael Teh is a name
I feel should be more recognised than it already is. Definitely keep an eye out
for this one, I feel a real fighter is among us. Again, like my previous
interviews, I asked Michael for any tips he may have for my audience who wants
to follow his path, here is what he advises; “First of all I’d say:
always be training in a class that inspires you. They say it takes 10,000
hours to achieve mastery at something, so unless you’re a working non-stop as
an actor, you’d better be in class. Secondly, don’t wait years like I did
to build up a decent acting reel. Find a well-written scene or two, that
showcases your talent and pay a production company to shoot it professionally
for you. Ideally find a two-hander and another actor who needs tape and split
the costs. And to get ahead of me on the track… write, produce and cast
yourself in great projects!”
Michael is starring in upcoming indie film 'The Daughter' check out the teaser trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rn6vRh5qVPA
Thank you guys for reading this interview and supporting
Velvet Film, you can check out Michael Teh here:
TWITTER-@ActorMichaelTeh
FULL INTERVIEW WILL BE PUT UP SOON!
VF.
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