Story & Lesson Highlights with Michael Gurshtein of Hollywood

We’re looking forward to introducing you to Michael Gurshtein. Check out our conversation below.

Michael, so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. What is a normal day like for you right now?
Most days right now are spent at acting school going to classes and rehearsing various scenes for classes. I am usually up early in the morning to do a little homework, exercise, eat breakfast, then head to the studio for most of the day. Once all my classes are done, I typically have more homework and occasionally get away to go see a play. I also talk to my long-distance girlfriend most nights. It’s a busy schedule!

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I grew up in Moscow, Russia, but moved to Colorado at the age of 10. Once I graduated with an engineering physics degree from the University of Colorado, I went into the laser optics industry, where I have been working for almost 20 years. However, my passion has always been writing and acting. I have a published book of poetry that came out in 2023. I have also been performing on stages in the Denver area since 2011. And since the pandemic, I have been actively shifting towards becoming a full-time actor. To that end, I started the conservatory program at the Stella Adler Art of Acting Studio in Los Angeles in the fall of 2024, and I am now in my second year of the program. Once I graduate, my goal is to chase that Hollywood dream! Or New York… or Atlanta… or Vancouver… wherever the acting journey takes me!

Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What breaks the bonds between people—and what restores them?
Trust, empathy, and understanding are they keys. Those three ingredients bind people together far tighter than any bonds of family, religion, country, etc. If those elements are present, any two people can be the closest they can possibly be. When mistrust or misunderstanding enters the equation, people can no longer see eye to eye and distance is created. Their work is then to come back to each other through empathy.

When did you stop hiding your pain and start using it as power?
I have felt like a perpetual outsider for most of my life, which has led to coping skills like code switching and people pleasing. Particularly once I moved from Russia to the US and had to adapt to and integrate into an entirely new culture, my internal sense of who I am clashed severely with my outward circumstances as a seemingly well-adjusted American kid. I would say that only in the last several years have I started integrating the idea that I don’t need to seek the approval of others to stand in my own power into my personal life and into my acting. Fortunately, this idea is also greatly explored at the AoA conservatory program. The acting work we do is to be done without fear and presented without comment or apology. Work done in this manner is the most compelling and moving, and thus the most powerful.

So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. Where are smart people getting it totally wrong today?
Intellectual ability does not correlate well with emotional ability, and I think this is most true in the smartest, wealthiest, and most powerful people. They believe that being smart means they know what’s best for the world, and act from this erroneous belief in all kinds of harmful directions. I am guilty of this belief too for much of my life. It took me a long time to understand that my intellect did not directly translate into my emotional skills. The core truth I have arrived at is that our goal in life should be to make life easier and better for everyone around us, which we can do in myriad ways. And the greatest problem with the people who control the levers of power is that they do not understand this core truth. They do not pursue goals that improve the quality of life of the people with the least power, rather focusing on a continued consolidation of power in themselves. This is why our inequality divide continues to grow, why more and more people suffer and slide towards the bottom of the economic ladder, why minority rights are curtailed. A fundamental shift needs to happen where empathy is centered in the spheres of political, financial, and cultural influence. The smart need to get emotionally smarter.

Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. When do you feel most at peace?
On stage telling a compelling story that makes people think about the world differently.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://michaelgurshtein.com
• Instagram: @zenoshoplite
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/michael.gurshtein

Image Credits
Steve Rausch, Lynn Fleming, Paul Wells