"When you have an ego and care about what people think, it's deadly; you can never be comfortable having both. But when you don't care what people think, you fly."
Maurice Benard is a movie and TV veteran and Emmy Award winner who recently starred as John Gotti in Lifetime's acclaimed "Victoria Gotti: My Father's Daughter." Maurice has worked on major hit studio films, like "Nightmare Cinema," with Mickey Rourke and "Joy," with Robert De Niro and Jennifer Lawrence. He also starred in indie films like "Hold On, "The Ghost and the Whale," produced by his wife, Paula, and "Equal Standard," alongside Ice T, and on several TV classics like "General Hospital" and "All My Children."
Maurice also dealt with mental health issues throughout his career and is a massive mental health advocate. He lent his face and voice to multiple organizations, like the International Bipolar Foundation (IBPF), the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI), Mental Health America (MHA), and Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services, to name some of them.
In this episode, we have a fantastic conversation about mental health, the humbleness needed to tame an actor's ego, acting and rehearsal techniques, and vulnerability. Maurice also gives his thoughts on self-tape auditions and advice on mental health.
In addition, he shares a beautiful story of how he turned a bad relationship with a producer into a flawless character, explains how he earned the right to be "let alone" when acting, and much more.
Tune in to Episode 80 of Hollywood Dream Maker to hear more about this extraordinary actor and tireless mental health advocate.
In This Episode, You Will Learn:
Connect with Maurice:
Let's Connect:
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
