Eric Close (Actor/Director) – Persistence And Being Ready For Opportunity [Podcast]

This week Kevin and Paul are joined by Eric Close.
Eric is an actor, director, and writer. He has had the privilege of starring in a number of series for television and MOW’s during his 30-year career including hits Without A Trace, Nashville, and Suits. 

Highlights from the show:

• Eric realized that pre-med was not going to be the direction for his life
• How he wanted to get involved in the film business in some capacity. Finding a mentor who helped him navigate the business of acting.
• Always wanted to do the thing that he was told to not try
• Taking a chance with Tom Cruise on the backlot
• Taking a last-minute chance with acting teacher Howard Fine in front of an entire class
• The contrast between seeing a billboard of himself in Times Square to a year later being soaked to the bone in the rain running late for an audition
• Creating a friendship with Clint Eastwood starting at a brief encounter encourage by Eric’s wife at The Golden Globes
• Directing lessons learned while observing Clint Eastwood on set
• Don’t be afraid to initiate conversations when the opportunity presents itself. They’re people just like you and me
• A cool story about Clint Eastwood’s directorial debut
• Eric’s experience breaking into directing by working on a second unit for the television show McKenna
• How he broke through to direct on Without a Trace by persistently showing his authentic interest to learn. It took 5 seasons before he got the chance to do it.

Click here to watch the full video of the show with additional content