Meet Mark Pellegrino

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Mark Pellegrino. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Mark, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?

From the theatre company I joined in my twenties. My teacher, Bob Carnegie, instilled a strong sense of craft and a drive to know and do more.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

Well, I keep the lights on as an actor.. This is already an achievement that boggles my mind. When I started on my acting path, at the ripe old age of twenty three, I never dreamed that I would be fortunate enough to work in shows that have world wide popularity and in some cases have become a seminal part of television history. This is, indeed, a blessing. Acting has taken me all over the world. It has enabled me to meet people from every culture. It puts food on the table and keeps the bills paid. But as much as I love practicing the craft of acting, and appreciate my good fortune, it is not my absolute passion.

My absolute passions are teaching and political activism.

Teaching is one of the most important jobs in the world. As a teacher your job is not all that different from a parent: to help an individual realize his/her potential. This is an enormous responsibility that I take very seriously. To give a person the tools to make him/her confident and independent is to essentially give them the world. I can’t think of any job that is more vital to psychological health of humanity.

Political activism is a type of moral activism. This is why I think so many actors tend to engage in it. Actors are, after all, passionate valuers, and political activism is an attempt to elevate and popularize certain values.. The values that I think are vital to human thriving are the classical liberal values of reason, productivity, and liberty. To achieve a renaissance of these values I have co-founded a political party that consistently advocates for individual rights. If you want to explore our platform please visit Americancapitalistparty.org.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Endurance. Self confidence. Student’s mind. These are all integrated qualities, with each quality influencing the other to make a confluence of force that is unstoppable.

Endurance.

Life is a long term project, and so is acting. Sanford Meisner once said it takes twenty years to be an actor. The fact that some actors ‘make it’ quickly doesn’t change the calculus. It takes roughly two years to learn the rudiments of craft and eighteen to get out of your own way. To complicate the process of becoming an actor, your journey will be mined with criticism and rejection, often of a deeply personal nature. To get through those years of struggle you will need to get comfortable with discomfort. That is endurance, comfort in discomfort.

Self confidence.

Proper self confidence, as opposed to arrogance, is tied to reality. You cannot talk yourself into a state of self confidence if you haven’t done the work to inform your mind that you are prepared. Self confidence is not a fearless state. It is a state of inner knowing. It is the knowledge that you are enough and that you have done enough to achieve what you aspire to.

Student’s mind.

The student’s mind is a mind that is constantly active. It doesn’t presume to know everything and doesn’t fear being ignorant. The student’s mind seeks the truth above all else. It is not invested in winning or losing arguments. It does not fear but seeks criticism. Spiritual growth and thriving, not impressing others are its aims.

Courage.

I added this one because it makes all other virtues possible. Acting in the face of fear is what actors must do everyday. It’s what everyone must do if they wish to thrive.

Awesome, really appreciate you opening up with us today and before we close maybe you can share a book recommendation with us. Has there been a book that’s been impactful in your growth and development?

The book(s) that have been most impactful on me are the novels and non fiction work of the philosopher Ayn Rand. Her work elucidated a moral philosophy that is totally empowering and practicable. (unlike the moral standards that dominate society today) Objectivism’s seven virtues have been guiding lights that have given me clarity, contributed to my psychological and physical well being, and improved my acting.

For aspiring artists I recommend The Fountainhead, a book about artistic and personal integrity that is guaranteed to challenge your notions of right and wrong and make you question your deepest held convictions. This is a good thing. Artists, above all others, are the conscience of any culture and have a responsibility to themselves to know what a proper standard of good is and to promote that standard in their work and activism..

Contact Info:

• Instagram: markrosspelle
• Twitter: MarkRPellegrino
• Youtube: Reality Checks

Image Credits

Lucifer. Dexter. A Motel