Michael Laskin

Biography

Michael Laskin has been a professional actor for 40 years, with scores of film and television credits including, Seinfeld, Eight Men Out, NYPD Blue, From the Earth to the Moon (HBO), The Grifters, Hill Street Blues, Passion Fish, Tracey Takes On, LA Law, Poodle Springs (HBO), Winchell (HBO), The Man Who Captured Eichmann (Showtime), Disclosure, Big Little Lies and Curb Your Enthusiasm.

He was a company member of The Guthrie Theatre under Michael Langham’s artistic leadership. Michael also starred off-Broadway (The Basement Tapes), and at many leading regional theatres including The Actors Theatre of Louisville, The Mixed Blood Theatre Company, Seattle Repertory Theatre, The Geffen Playhouse, LA Public Theatre, The Empty Space Theatre, among others. He played "Matt Friedman" in the Canadian premiere of the Pulitzer-Prize winning play Talley’s Folly at the Manitoba Theatre Centre, and the role of Richard Nixon in Tea With Dick and Gerry at the Edinburgh Festival, which was awarded the coveted Fringe First Award and went on to subsequent run at London’s Roundhouse Theatre.

Michael teaches and coaches actors at The Michael Laskin Studio (www.michaellaskinstudio.com) in Los Angeles. His recently published book, The Authentic Actor – the Art and Business of Being Yourself has been widely praised as a fresh and newly examined approach to the work and the life of an actor. He recently spoke of this synthesis of art and business in a TedX Talk at Chapman University.

Michael is a graduate of Northwestern University’s theatre program and earned a Master’s Degree from the University of Minnesota where he was awarded a Bush Fellowship and a Distinguished Alumnus Award. He's taught Master Classes at the University of Minnesota, Kennesaw University, and The Hawaii International Film Festival. In addition Michael has taught acting for the camera in the MFA progam at UCLA’s School of Theatre, Film, and Television, and at USC's School of Dramatic Art.