Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Strauss.
Hi Michael, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I’m a theater nerd, well, ex-theater nerd. Or maybe born-again-theater-nerd is better. I grew up in New York, we grew up seeing broadway plays, I was enchanted, entranced, have you ever been in a trance? It’s hard to know because, you know, you’re in a trance. Alas, the magic of theater! You sit in a dark room and really believe, with all your heart, that what’s happening before you is in fact real. That’s what hooked me in.
I’ve been blessed with incredible teachers who pushed me into the realm of avant-garde and devised theater, which I resisted with all my might. Once I acquiesced – everything my teachers gave me became an intrinsic part of my character…when it comes to creation and collaboration. Being the theater nerd I am, I had what we call ‘conservatory training’ from the Stella Adler Studio of Acting in New York. I love Brando and every once in a while someone says I look like Mark Ruffalo’s little brother or something, both students of Stella Adler. After a summer at the Williamstown Theater Festival, a beacon of theater and one of my favorite places to see art, I decided that I had no choice and would become an actor. And so I have. Joined the union for stage and screen and booked featured to leading roles in film and theater alike.
Here in Los Angeles, I’ve spent years working in production alongside my performing career. I made copies at every major studio in Los Angeles county and lugged a lot of gear across backlots before becoming a producer and director.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Struggles are abound…what’s not to suffer from when working in Hollywood? The hours for one, the rejection on the other hand. The isolation permeates the entire population – since no one seems to be from Los Angeles anyway.
I have family and mentors that are extremely supportive. When you realized that your art, your truth, your own bull shit, etc. is the ONLY thing you can do – you have to go through a pretty painful metamorphoses to make it work. It helps to have good people behind you.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am most proud of my patience. I was certain that I was the exception to the rule; insert platitude about relentless hard work being the only method that pays off. I thought this was going to be easy. I am amazed not that it is in fact the hardest thing I could try to do but rather that I have somehow stayed the course. BJ Novak once said, “They say a guy who can act, and sing and dance is a triple threat. To me, that sounds like the least threatening guy I’ve ever met.” And I can only sort of dance. Not sure where that puts me.
I’m an actor, musician, producer, and director. A theater actor who plays in a band while also embodying comedic roles in film/tv. I was recently in Sony’s “The Unholy,” as Max – a conspiratorial blogger who sends Gerry Fenn (Jeffrey Dean Morgan ) to rural Massachusetts on what turns out to be a wild ghost chase. Seeing myself on screen with some of my favorite actors was one of those weird, ethereal, I’m smiling-way-too-much moments. How strange a pleasure to perform alongside folks like William Sadler or Katie Aselton. He’s in ‘Bill and Ted’s Bogus Journey’. She’s in ‘The League’. I was in a film with the Grim Reaper. That I am very proud of.
I produce and perform comedy and teamed up with talented comic friend Richie Doyle to create Sunday Morning Digital. We take the best of up and coming digital sketch comedy and turn it into a short variety show featuring comics and music. I’ve performed in a bunch of our sketches and have directed and produced even more. A highlight was directing and co-writing ‘Mad Mensch: The Story of Don Drapeberg.’ Co-writer Jake Reiner played a Jewish version of Don Draper. Don brings his dad in to prove to Schweppes that ginger ale ought be the drink of the Jewish people. Naturally Rob Reiner, Jake’s actual father, fit the bill. I’m lucky to have met Jake through some agent friends, he’s a guy you can kibitz with. No one really does kibitzing right anymore or has such an extensive knowledge of eclectic ginger-based sodas. So yes, I am proudly Jewish connecting to my roots with the Reiner family in a Jewish comedy and also on stage.
This summer, I performed in new musical, “Abraham’s Land”, where my Jewish identity met real-life socio-political turmoil. I play Yitzhak, an Israeli sergeant who mistakenly shoots and kills an unarmed Palestinian protestor. Featuring music from pulitzer nominated opera composer Roger Ames, I had the blessing of performing on a stage in a theater this summer in Seattle, which is where the play has mainly been workshopped and produced.
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
I won a pie eating contest in college. I also inadvertently cheated at that contest. For some reason, my pie had no custard and only had whipped cream, so it was just a pie-tin-full-of-whipped-cream eating contest that I really won.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: michaeljosephstrauss.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/airstrauss/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SundayMorningDigital
- Other: sundaymorningdigital.com
Image Credits:
Derrick Lee (blurred culture) Michael Strauss (sunday morning digital)
