Garrett Kruithof was managing a hotel in Louisiana when a conversation with a guest convinced him that it was not too late to pursuit an acting career. He took an acting class, got connected with the actors in his community, and went on a number of auditions across the country.

After landed a recurring role on the Starz series Magic City, Garrett was able to turn acting into a full-time career.

Some of his other notable projects include Bonnie & Clyde, which was the third most-watched basic cable miniseries of all time, and Deepwater Horizon, where he played Karl Kleppinger Jr., one of the 11 workers who died when the rig erupted.

Some of the things we discuss include

• What goes into researching a historical figure
• Techniques for finessing a performance that isn’t working
• How getting connected to an acting community helped Garrett find success
• Building rapport with colleagues when you have just a few hours to make a connection
• The lore around Bonnie & Clyde and the fascination that continues to this day
• What it’s like playing a real-life character who has died and meeting his family
• Learning how to be comfortable in your skin, onscreen and in reality
• Exploring a life of crime on screen

If you’d like to hear another interview with an actor and acting coach, you can listen to my interview with Laura Cayouette, who you might recognize as the sister of Leonardo DiCaprio’s character in Django Unchained. We discuss her approach to acting and instructing other actors, her collaborations with Tarantino, and more.

Show notes for that episode are here:

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Films & Shows Mentioned

• 48 Hrs.
• Bonnie & Clyde (2013)
• Burn Notice 
• Common Law
• Deepwater Horizon 
• Devil’s Acid
• Free State of Jones
• The Iceman 
• Magic City
• Mr. Right 
• Shakespeare on the Range 
• St. Jude’s Crossing
• Underground
• Ya Albi 

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Book Mentioned

• The Organic Actor: Insider’s Secrets to Auditioning for Film and Television

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