Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael Karan.
Hi Michael, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I first moved to Los Angeles in the summer of 2005. I had studied both acting and music, but I was really gunning to be a musician at the time. So I had hooked up with a few small studios to session play. Those times were very tough and I had to take on background work. I had acted here and there over the years in theatre. Because of the way Los Angeles has changed over the many years being here, being in a rock band drifted away, and acting took over. I had scored a few roles here in there as leads on short movies, then a couple of small roles on some independent films, eventually onto a Hulu show. It’s been a long process over the years now finally arrived to shooting a few episodes on “All the Queen’s Men.”
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Not at all. I have been homeless a few times over the years. Spending many nights in Santa Monica so I can shower and brush my teeth at the beach showers…with my swimming trunks on of course. There were times I had to pack up and leave Los Angeles to regroup for a few months only to head back. The last time I did that was in 2009 where I finally sold everything I could hopped on an airplane with just a few things and found a make shift room to live in. Even then, I still ended up couch surfing. It’s always a constant grind because these days, if you don’t have credits in Hollywood, no one wants you. It’s been really hard trying to get people to back you and your abilities.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am an actor. I am most proud of my ability to allow myself to be very emotional. I love to play very intense roles as an actor and I love it when I am challenged in the hardest most emotional way. Every character I do I find an animal which most resembles who I want to portray. From there, I’ll research how that animal moves and try to incorporate how I carry myself into the scene. I like to find ticks about that character because everyone has a tick, whether it be tapping your foot during a nervous situation or simply not looking at someone when talking to them due to a lack of confidence. I sit and think for hours about being in that character’s shoes and try to understand with my past experiences how I would feel if I were this in this situation. I try my best to become someone else so when the camera roles you get a complete character. That is why I decided to become an actor. To live in someone else’s shoes.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
Hell yes, I’m a risk taker! Just deciding to be an artist for life is a huge risk, because there are very few that can be an artist for a career. It’s a very hard life. There are very little odds in becoming successful at it, but I dare to be great. I would much rather die an old poor man saying I went after something very few can do than die saying I settled. If I make? Then I wanted to see the looks on everyone’s faces that said I couldn’t.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.MichaelKaran.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/
vicariously22 - Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4024114/?ref_=nv_sr_1
