Meet Michael Pierce

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Michael Pierce a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Michael, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?
That is such a personally topical question. I am not unlike everyone else in the fact that I have moments, or even a day when I might lack self confidence. However being in the entertainment industry it is filled with rejection. So much so, that it could rip a person apart. However when you are passionate about something or want something bad enough you are challenged to rise above and in this case rise above self doubt. It would be very easy to just walk away from something that is hard. But how much more gratifying would it be to continue along and achieve success and bypass the self doubt of never getting to the end of the road? I developed my confidence and self esteem by looking at life like this; even when your self esteem is low, you must realize that everyone is on a different path down the road. Some may get to the finish line or end of the road sooner than others. It may feel like others who have already gotten to the end of the road is more successful, but that is not the way to look at it. Each road we turn on is a destined part of our predetermined life journey and it builds character. I like to always use that mantra “manifest what you believe.” I remain confident because I know what my skill set is and what my transferrable skill set is. I remain filled with confidence because I know when I do get to the end of the road it will be so gratifying. I remain filled with confidence because that puts me in a position where others (manager and agents) also believe in your abilities.

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?
I have been in some avenue of the entertainment industry most of my life and certainly the majority of my adult life. As a kid, I studied and worked with local San Diego legend Marie Hitchcock, for whom the Puppet Theater in Balboa Park was named; I studied magic and performed shows locally. I took dance classes in jazz dance, tap and disco dancing which led to competing in the California State High School Dance Championships. I went to Santana High School, and studied theater, performed in school productions, and competed in speech and debate tournaments. After High School I attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Los Angeles. My first television acting job started on “General Hospital” in the 1980’s as a club disco dancer, and my first legit theater role was in San Diego Repertory Theater’s legendary production of Mother Courage with Whoopi Goldberg. I have always maintained a Monday through Friday 9-5 job just to make sure I could pay the bills. I have had careers in the Food and Beverage Industry as well as being a Director of stores or Vice President in retail for companies such as Rand McNally, LEGO Toys and No Fear.

During Pandemic when acting slowed down, I started writing again. I wrote a few short films and put them on film. One of them, ‘Memento’ won eighteen film festival awards. During that time I also wrote a project, called, ‘A Barman’s Aperitif’, which I wrote, acted in, produced, directed and edited which is now available on YouTube. I just finished writing the final season (season two) and that is currently in pre production. Over the past year or so I filmed the Showtime pilot Coercion which stars Sydney Chandler and is based on Rebecca Benders’ book “In Pursuit of Love” about her personal experiences with sex trafficking, directed by Susannah Grant. I played General Mills in the upcoming Netflix comedy Unfrosted, co-starring Melissa McCarthy and Amy Schumer, and directed by Jerry Seinfeld; I was in the ION TV holiday film, Dognapped – Hound for the Holidays directed by Fred Olen Ray; and also filmed Road to Terzetto directed by Brian Shakti and Lions Game directed by Travis Brown. The past few years have been busy and fulfilling.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Great Question and I will probably echo a lot of other people in regard to my responses.

1. Never Give Up.
Why would you want to? If you have a desire or a passion, build upon it. Allow it to grow in your heart and mind. Study and learn about it so that you can fulfill that passion.
.
2. Manifest what you believe.
It is probably such a contrived saying but it is true and certainly my reality. When I want something bad enough I think about it daily and do everything in my legitimate power to make it come to fruition and I make sure that those around me are cognizant of my desire so my discussions about what I am passionate about or what I desire for myself are not a surprise when it does come to fruition.

3. Study.
When I was younger and first starting out in the professional world of entertainment, I didn’t have the greatest family support. So I made decisions based on what I was told and not what I desired. In no way did this get me any further in life in any profession. All it did was frustrate me. So I had to take it upon myself to learn as much as possible about whatever interested me. I have discussed this before but I had a very influential High School Teacher who basically said, do what you want and what makes you happy. So I grabbed and learned as much as I could about the entertainment industry at such a young age so I could discuss it and talk about it intelligently so I could become the best at what I wanted. That is why I studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. That is why I have always held a 9-5 job. That is why I have always held my head up high in the face of rejection. That is why I remain confident and have a clear self esteem. I have made sure that I am able to articulate what I want and why I want it, through research, studying, training etc. Over the past few years I have studied Acting with two well know Acting Coach’s; Carey Scott at the Rehearsal Room and Corey Parker at The BGB Studio. That aspect of my education will never end.

Never give up
Manifest what you believe
Study

Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?
This is not a one person answer. There are many and they all have equal weight in what they have done for me. So here are four.

I remain very close with a High School Teacher, Norma Basgall. She was my Theater Coach and taught me speech and debate. Through my entire post High School life she has challenged me. We talk almost weekly (she lives in another state) and our conversation can start about the entertainment industry and end with politics. Our conversations at times go very deep and are always meaningful.

I have a dear friend named Chris Keith. He is a highly sought after Personal Trainer in San Diego, who owns his own gym. We have been friends for nearly twenty years. He actually started as my personal trainer during a time in my life where I had lost my confidence which was a rare thing. He helped me adjust and refocus and to be honest I was in the best shape I had ever been in my life. Our conversations also circled a vast amount of topics. People skills, management, relationships and work ethic. He is one of those rare persons that I can talk to and he WILL NOT offer unsolicited advice. He will just listen, which is such a breath of fresh air in this crazy time where everyone feels like they know how to run your life better than yourself. He will give advice if I ask but usually he will just say, so how are you going to deal with it or handle it? And again he will just listen. I hold his opinion in very high regard.

Finally I have to speak top my two recent acting teachers. They are high Caliber having studied with Stella Adler and at the Acting Studio. Carey Scott and Corey Parker. As an actor when you are training and on stage so to speak, you are almost naked, in the fact that you lower your brick wall, allow for emotions to flow, have permission to make a mistake, be human and just bring a story to life. During this process when you are rehearsing you tend to discuss personal situations you might be drawing from or emotional situations you might be drawing from and you don’t feel like you are in a position where you have to protect yourself. Your classmates and your coach are your safety net. Carey Scott will tell you, he is concerned with one thing, the Truth. The truth of the moment. So I love that about studying with him, that you can just tell the truth. Corey Parker provides me with a safe and supportive acting session so if I dive too deep into an emotion that I haven’t brought out before or recollect something that catches me off guard and it stops me from being affected by the other actor or not able to stay focused, his resolve is calming and supportive.

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