Today we’d like to introduce you to Juan Teisaire.
Hi Juan, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I was born and raised in Argentina where I worked a full-time job as a carpenter while reading Uta Hagen, Strasberg, and Meisner books in my free time. Along with 50,000 other actors, I auditioned for a free training program lead by TELEFE (Argentina’s largest network) and was one of only 20 actors who were selected. This led to some screen experience on the tv series “Kally’s Mashup” for Netflix and Nickelodeon, several leading roles in commercials for brands such as “Milka,” “Fanta,” and the “Olympic Games” and singing on the famous tv show “The Voice.” From ages 17 to 22, I took innumerable acting classes in Buenos Aires but I knew I was still missing something, so I decided to move to NYC (how original of me). I issued my student visa and two years later, I graduated from the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute.
Earlier this year, I wrote, directed and acted in my film “Cortado.” I won “Best Actor,” and the film won “Best Cinematography,” “Best Director,” and “Best of the Festival” at the Strasberg Festival, where more than 50 movies were screened. Like many of my talented actor friends: I am not an American citizen. Doing unpaid student and independent short films while going to school allowed me to keep learning and helped me put together an acting reel to apply to bigger jobs, agents, and managers once I got my working visa.
Now that I am a working actor, I have gotten the chance to work for well-known companies and have expanded my credits with projects like: “If That Mocking Bird Don’t Sing” with Actor Kevin Corrigan, SAG short film “Before you Go”, “Jungle Rhythms,” “Two Wrongs,” “Personal pizza” and a documentary for Investigation Discovery (ID).
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I think we all agree that 95% of the time acting is the opposite of a smooth road. As actors, we have to get used to the word “No” and learn how to use it to our advantage. A way I used to deal with this was celebrating everything. If the first month was 7 nos and 1 yes and the next month was 6 nos, 1 yes and 1 maybe. That was a SOLID win. If it was 12 nos and 0 yeses? SOLID win too. I was auditioning more. That mentality led to stop worrying about it so much and, eventually, led to getting a lot more yeses than nos. Also, living my whole life in Argentina led to having a beautiful yet strong accent. This came in handy sometimes when Directors were looking for a bit of diversity but was an obstacle when they were looking for an American actor. It took me three years of Accent Reduction classes to start booking “American” roles.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about you, your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am, as I like to say it, an Amateur Hypocrite.
Amateur comes from the word “Amare” which means “To love” and the word hypocrite ultimately came into English from the Greek word hypokrites, which means “an actor” or “a stage player.” Isn’t that cool? The Greek word itself it’s made up of two Greek words that translate as “an interpreter from underneath.” This makes more sense when you know that the actors in ancient Greek theater wore large masks to mark which character they were playing, and so they interpreted the story from underneath their masks. That’s why now they call people with “two faces” hypocrites.
Putting that together: I am an actor who loves his job.
Like I’ve said before, I think being from a different country turned out to be a great asset and something that sets me apart from others. I see this certain energy in fellow alien actors, Bella Koudounaris being one of them, that makes their roles richer and pleasant to watch.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
What I love and hate most about this beautiful city is its pace. It is a city that moves FAST. People don’t give themselves the time to go to Sweetgreen and order a salad at the store. They just order one on the app, pick it up when it’s ready and go back to work. If you walk slowly, someone will, maybe not so politely, ask you to move to the side. And those things might not be ideal BUT, I think that if you use this Fast Pase Energy wisely, it can be very helpful. Most of the time, if you want to relax a little, the city doesn’t allow it. And I like that. I need it. Then, if I want to relax, I can take a trip Upstate. Which I make sure to do so once every two months.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.juanteisaire.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juanteisaire/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/teisaire
Image Credits
For “If that mockingbird don’t sing” (the one with a pink skirt): Dylan Pitanza
