Life & Work with Jim Meskimen

I didn’t always plan to be an actor. Originally, I set my sights on becoming a cartoonist or illustrator. Later, I worked professionally in that field, but always did plays and created characters in any capacity I could. I also had a penchant for accents and voices and did celebrity impressions from an early age.

(I’ve noticed that there are quite a few cartoonists who are voice actors and vice-versa. It’s apparently a related skill.)

When I was in college in Santa Cruz, CA and doing plays, I was also busy studying classical drawing and painting, and eventually was invited to go to Spain to study fine art with Spanish realist painter, Miguel Argüello. I spent about two years in Galicia, Spain studying classical painting technique, and worked very hard at it.

Then, one afternoon in Madrid I had an epiphany that changed the course of my life.

Up to that time, I had been a “recreational” user of drugs for many years, starting in high school.  I started smoking weed because I was nervous about relationships and my future, like most high school students are.

Unfortunately, I had slowly become dependent on drugs. They were the best solution I could find at the time.

My friend and teacher Miguel had been studying Scientology and recommended it to me. I trusted his judgement over any bad press or rumors, and read Dianetics, by L. Ron Hubbard.  It showed me that drugs were part of the problem, not the solution, and handling my fears and insecurities could be acheived without marijuana, alcohol or any other substance.

In 1983, while in Spain, I completed a drug rehab program using the technology of Scientology (the Purification Rundown), and was unusually clear-headed. I happened to walk down a street near the Parque Retiro in downtown Madrid and ran into actor Harvey Keitel, who was there shooting a movie.

After a brief conversation, I had a sudden moment of clarity and became aware that I was meant to become a professional actor.  I was able to make a clean decision, where in the past I had been confused.

I still love painting and still paint today, but the painter lifestyle was far too lonely for me; I saw that acting was far more social and might be every bit as satisfying as painting.

So, after many years of struggling with the decision of which path to take, my mind was finally unclouded enough to see the answer very clearly, and I made immediate plans to move to New York City.

Once there, I financed my acting career with my illustrating and cartooning.  I worked for King Features syndicate, and Rankin/Bass productions, eventually becoming senior character designer for the animated TV show, Thundercats.

At the same time, my wife and I were studying improv and performing live with several improv companies, and also auditioning for commercials and voiceovers.

Within a few short years I had quit my day job as a cartoon character designer, was an established voice actor for radio and TV commercials, and had a busy creative life on weekends performing improv.

I had many “lucky” breaks and a lot of exciting experiences in New York and became very confident in my ability to create with or without a script.

I also got married (to actress and acting school founder Tamra Meskimen) and had a daughter, Taylor, now 31, who is also an actress and award-winning voice artist.

In the early nineties, I had offers to work in television in Los Angeles, based on the work I had done in improv (including guest appearances in the British “Whose Line” show.) I moved my family from New York back to my hometown, but not before shooting a role in a movie. Ron Howard’s The Paper, my first time in a major feature film.

I would go on to work with Ron Howard, whom I first met on the Happy Days set in 1974, on four more films, including Apollo 13 and The Grinch.

I guest-starred in series television on such shows as Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Friends, The Parkers, Cold Case, Lie to Me, Malcolm in the Middle, and Dharma and Greg.

In 2011 I launched a one-person show in Hollywood, Jimpressions, showcasing my skills as a celebrity impressionist. To promote it I made a little YouTube video, Shakespeare in Celebrity Voices, which went viral and propelled me into a new phase of my acting career.

My impressions got me onto America’s Got Talent in 2013, and onto my own TV series, Impress Me, starring Ross Marquand.

Today, I continue to work on TV shows and in films, as well as voices for animation, radio, video games, and audiobooks. I have a recordings studio at home where I have stayed busy thru the pandemic. Among my many fun assignments is providing the voice of Colonel Sanders for the KFC brand, which I have done since 2016.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I’d love to meet anybody who has had a smooth road. I don’t know if it exists, but I doubt it. I’ve made many mistakes and miscalculations along the way, and I expect to make many more.

All in all, I would say I’ve been very fortunate.

The early struggles mainly had to do with finance; how to get enough money to stay in NY and pursue my career, while learning the ropes.

Then, once I had some financial stability, I struggled to balance work, relationships, and acting opportunities.

After that, my struggle was in staying focused on what I really wanted to do, apart from just working for the best paying jobs. Then, raising a family while continuing to pursue better work as a performer, making sure I was in excellent communication at all times with my wife and daughter.

Each job or role contained the kind of struggles we actors hunger for; doing something meaningful, amusing or unique, that would be satisfying to ourselves and to whichever kind of audience was on the receiving end.

I had experiences working with my improv group, Interplay, in which I would get singled out for opportunities not offered to other members. I think this is fairly common. I can’t say those moments were very comfortable or ultimately productive.

I had several production deals that I tried to include my friends in that proved to be not a good match, and they fizzled very unsatisfactorily and created quite a lot of drama.

I learned many such lessons the hard way, with the result that I no longer let myself put into situations like that anymore.

Now I try to take as much responsibility as I can, while not forcing any potential client or production to take on anything they aren’t interested in. Give them what they want, not what I wish they wanted.

Now, my struggles are mainly in getting better roles, being a better actor, finding more nuance and richness, and truth in the characters I portray. And passing all the Covid tests!

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Professionally, I am probably most happy with the series I did, Impress Me. It was written and directed by a man who became a fast friend, Ben Shelton, and was enormously fun to do, and very special. There were many talented actors who do impressions who contributed to the show including Ross Marquand, Dana Delorenzo, Christina Bianco, Melissa Villaseñor, Piotr Michael, and others.

I’ve done a lot of fun work in games and animation as the Blue Genie for the Disney Aladdin franchise, which has been an honor to voice.

The movie Apollo 13 was especially wonderful to be a part of since the story is so inspiring and elegantly told.

I feel very fortunate that I’ve been able to do a lot of performances of my one-man show, Jimpressions all over the world.

My continuous uploading to YouTube of creative projects I think sets me apart from many of my peers; it’s a way for me to always have a creative outlet and to make new friends all over the world.

I’m going to be seen and heard in a lot of new shows, games, and films in 2022, and as soon as I am allowed to publically be proud of my work in them, I will.

I enjoy staying constantly busy as an artist and I feel extremely lucky to have been able to earn a living at it for so long.