VAM 235 | Interview with Jim Meskimen, Part 2
Welcome to episode 235 of the Voice Acting Mastery podcast with yours truly, Crispin Freeman!
As always, you can listen to the podcast using the player above, or download the mp3 using the link at the bottom of this blog post. The podcast is also available via the iTunes Store online. Just follow this link to view the podcast in iTunes:
http://www.voiceactingmastery.com/podcast
Welcome to the second and final part of my interview with the master of impressions, the amazing, Jim Meskimen! Jim is well known for his ability to impersonate all sorts of celebrities as he demonstrated in the previous episode, including Robin Williams, Christoph Walz and Jeremy Irons! You may have seen his popular YouTube videos or his appearance as a contestant on America’s Got Talent! Jim can do more than just impersonate people, he’s also an accomplished actor! He’s been in films like Apollo 13 and How the Grinch Stole Christmas, as well as TV shows like The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Landman. In animation you may have heard him in shows like Family Guy, Avengers Assemble, and Avatar the Last Airbender. Some of the games he’s worked on include Five Nights at Freddy’s, the first and second versions of Baldur’s Gate, and Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth II. Disney also hires him to play both the Genie from Aladdin and Merlin from The Sword and the Stone!
In the previous episode, Jim shared with us how he got started as an actor. Initially, Jim thought he wanted to be a visual artist and studied painting in college as well as abroad in Madrid, Spain. While he was in Madrid, he happened to bump into the actor Harvey Keitel who was shooting a film there. Jim approached Harvey to ask him some question about acting, and Harvey was kind enough to spend some time talking to him. Jim was so elated after his conversation with Harvey that he knew then and there that he wanted to become an actor. Two months later, he was in New York pursuing his acting dream while supporting himself working as a character designer for secondary characters on the Rankin-Bass animated show, Thundercats. After 10 years of improv and performing in New York, Jim made the move to Los Angeles to expand into film and television roles and has been working in the industry ever since!
In this episode, I ask Jim what inspired him to become an actor at all! His experience with Harvey Keitel was the catalyst that made him change career paths, but what was it about acting that held fascination for Jim in the first place? He shares with me the exhilaration he felt when watching theater as a child. His young body would come alive with excitement when he would watch characters in a story and he wanted to be a part of that as well. Jim also has a fascination with people, a trait both he and his mother share. She can walk into their favorite restaurant and not only remember the names of everyone on staff, but she’s also curious about how their families are doing and what they’re up to!
Jim put his fascination with other people into action by learning how to imitate them, an impulse that he thinks is common among creators when they’re trying to understand someone else. This is especially true of musicians who often try to mimic the sound and style of artists they admire as they attempt to improve their own skills. During our conversation, Jim and I also bemoan the fact that the younger generation doesn’t always get to have the experience of interacting with other people face to face as much as we did growing up, because so much of how people interact today happens via technology, especially through smart phones and social media.
After that, Jim also shares with me his advice for the aspiring actor. He believes there is a natural flow of creativity that is rooted in what someone is truly passionate about. He encourages aspiring artists of any type to nurture and indulge that creative flow as much as possible. This also aligns with the philosophy of the acting school his wife helped found, The Acting Center in Los Angeles. At that school, they encourage students to repeatedly practice their acting with no criticism from others. Actors are encouraged to learn through repetition while allowing their own unique artistic approach to develop and mature.
It may surprise you to hear that Jim was initially suspicious of acting as a career. He observed the fame and fortune that his mother experienced as a result of being on a hit television show, and he knew instinctively that on some level, he had to find a better reason for being an actor than simply wanting to be rich and well-known. Jim wanted to discover for himself what he found most worthy about acting, and it turns out, I resonate a lot with his conclusions! But I’ll let Jim express them for you in his own words!
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