Heroes in Business - Jim Meskimen, actor, voice of Co. Sanders, Gaslit with Sean Penn and Julia Roberts

Episode Date: June 13, 2022

Jim Meskimen, actor, voice of Col. Sanders (KFC), upcoming series “Gaslit” with Sean Penn & Julia Roberts, son of “Mrs. C” Marion Ross, acted in Five films for director Ron Howard, including The Grinch and Apollo 13 (jimpressions on YouTube) is interveiwed by David Cogan famous host of the Heroes Show and founder of Eliances entrepreneur community.  

Welcome back to Alliances Heroes, where heroes in business align. To be part of our super community and find out more about Alliances, visit www.alliances.com. That's right. And thank you again for so many of you listening and watching to the Alliances Hero Show. Also make sure that you check out our past episode when I recently interviewed the founder of Comedy Central. Make sure you go to alliances.com because as you all know, it's the only place where entrepreneurs align. And I'm so excited today. We're going to be interviewing one person, but you're going to believe that we're interviewing probably thousands because he knows how to do so many different roles and so many different impressions. Welcome to the show, Jim Meskimen.

He's an actor, voice of Colonel Sanders. His upcoming series is Gaslit with, well, you may recognize these names, Sean Penn and Julia Roberts. recognize these names, Sean Penn and Julia Roberts. He's acted in five films for director Ron Howard, including Grinch and Apollo. And we're going to talk more about who his famous mother is. Many of you will know who she is. So with that, let's go ahead and get started. Jim, welcome to the show. Thank you, David. Nice to be here. Appreciate it. All right. I got to ask you, my son, you know, he knew that I was going to be interviewing you and he has learned how to do a couple different impressions.

But he says he got to ask him, how do you how do you teach your vocal chords to be able to pick up so many different characters? Oh, that's really nice. Yeah. Well, you know, I play around. It's sort of like a musical instrument to me. So I'm like a guy who messes around trying to strum different chords on a guitar and spends, I've spent a significant part of my life trying to match other people's vocal things. I've sort of trained my ear as well so that I can, you know, hear a little better and pick things out. And so when I'm doing a George W. Bush, you know, I know the recipe, how to make it sound that way. Or if I'm doing Ian McKellen, you know, I know the recipe, how to make it sound that way. Or if I'm doing Ian McKellen, you know, someone like that, then I realize that it's a thick stew of age and accent and viewpoint and all these things.

And Colin Firth, you know, someone like that. It's got a slightly different timbre. And Matthew McConaughey, for example, is another one that we're all we're all used to this kind of laid back cadence, you know. So it's just a lot of practice and a lot of playing around. I'm just in awe. But they say that when we talk, we're we we don't hear the way other people hear us. So, right. You know, maybe can you just share a couple of secrets of how you've been able to develop this amazing skill? Well, that's very true. I mean, most people don't like the way they talk. If you ask them, they go, oh, no, my voice is not good.

If you ask them, you know, do you sing well, unless they're real singers, they say, oh, my voice is terrible. And that's because, you know, early on when we heard ourselves, our recorded voice, it was a big upset usually for for most people, because when you hear your own voice through the chamber of your body, it's always warmer and rounder and nicer and it's mellow. And it's like listening to music through the best possible speakers. Then you hear your recorded voice and suddenly it sounds weedy and brittle. And you're like, oh no, that can't be me. So I think most people get kind of disappointed

in their voice and decide, well, my voice is just not that good. And they don't ever really take the time to get used to it. And you can get used to it by recording your voice and listening to it over and over again. And people who are in broadcasting or people who have been on the radio,

they eventually, they get exposed to their voice a lot. And after a while, you or people who have been on the radio, they eventually, they get exposed to their voice a lot. And after a while, you kind of make your peace with it. You go, well, that's what I sound like to other people. It's not how I sound to me, but it's not that bad. You know what? You're right. I was actually in the car the other day listening to the interview, and I'm like, this is a really interesting interview. I found it was actually me. I didn't even recognize my voice on the airwaves of just very odd in that. So, and again, you could reach Jim by going to Jim Pressions on YouTube. So go to YouTube, look up Jim Pressions. You'll see a gazillion impressions, incredibly well that he's done in that. In fact, what does your mom think of this? And who is your mom?

Well, my mom is an actress, Marion Ross, who's famous for portraying Mrs. C on Happy Days all those years ago. And she's retired now, but she's an absolute treasure. She's 93, will be 94 in October, and a real inspiration to me and to our whole family. And what does she think about it? What does she think about impressions or acting or voice acting? You know, she's- What you've gotten into and how you've been able to pick all this up. I mean, were you doing this as a young child? I was, I was. And really she started me off. So I think she's in favor of it because she's also very good at accents and a good natural mimic. So we used to kind of play that way, actually, in our family, we would imitate people that we

liked and people we heard, people we saw on television to make each other laugh and just for the fun of it, you know? So I think she's definitely made her peace with it. In fact, too, you could hear her interview that I did with her because she's been on the Alliance's Hero Show by going to alliances.com. That's E-L-I-A-N-C-E-S to check out past episodes because you're listening, watching me, David Kogan, host of the Alliance's Hero Show, along here with Jim Meskimen. And he can be reached by going to YouTube and typing in Jim Preshans. You ever call your mom or your

buddies like with another, you know, with one of your impressions? Yes, I do. And I know that it won't create chaos or confusion. I have in the past. I used to do it religiously. Whenever I, when I lived in New York City, I would call my mom occasionally. And my sister at that time was working as an assistant for her. And my sister has now gone way beyond being an assistant to anybody. She's an Emmy Award winning writer, producer. But at the time, she was working for mom. So whenever I called out of the blue, I would try to fool my sister

because that's the kind of relationship we have. And so I would just say, is Marion there? This is Clem. And we met in Kansas City last year. You know, I would make up something on the spot and try to fool Ellen. And then one day I had to stop because somebody called Marion and claiming to be a Swedish sea captain that she had met on a cruise. And my sister would not believe that it was. And it actually was a Swedish sea captain. And she wouldn't put her through to mom. So so I was I pulled back at that point. Oh, my gosh. So interesting. And you've been in so many movies. Let's talk about the latest movie that you're in. Talk to us about really what, can you tell us a little bit more about what it's about, what your role is in the movie? It's actually a limited series. It's called

Gaslit and it releases on April 24th and on the Starz network. And it's about the Watergate period. It's about chiefly about Martha Mitchell, who was the wife of Attorney General John Mitchell and who was a very interesting personality of the time. And Julia Roberts is not just the star, but also the executive producer of this series. And I think she got really interested in this character and rightly so. She's a very significant person in the Watergate, the whole craziness leading up to that. So it's a very cool series. Sean Penn plays John Mitchell, her husband. I've not seen any full episodes, but the trailer looks really good. And I enjoyed reading the scripts and I performed with with both of those fine actors. So I work with Sean and I work with Julia. And I think I think it'll be very eye opening and informative and, you know, above all, entertaining. I don't know how I don't know how true it is. I can't vouch for the overall truth of it.

But it is certainly dramatic and interesting and and well directed by Matt Ross, who I really, really like working with him. And how was it like working with both those stars? as I have had the good fortune to more than a dozen times, I'm always impressed by how professional they are, how easy they are to work with, and how just sort of straightforward it is for them. Because it's their life. I'm lucky if I work three or four days a month,

I'm feeling pretty good about it. They're working over 200 days a year, probably on different projects. And so they get into a rhythm and for them, it's, it's, it's very A to B. It's not very complicated. Usually they're not, usually they're not divas or, or, you know, stressed out people. They're usually, they've built their life around it and they're successful for many good reasons. So it always surprises me that they're pleasant to work with and easy to work with and just sort of straightforward. I work with Daniel Day-Lewis on There Will Be Blood and that famous scene where he's giving that long monologue with his son in the house to all the townspeople. And I was one of the people in that scene. And, you know, I watched him do that speech

over and over again. I thought, well, yeah, I mean, that's, that's the way you do that. That's, he makes it look easy, I guess. And that's what real professionals do. When did you know that you had the skill set and the drive to want to be in films and series and doing all the work that you've done in the entire industry. Well, thanks. I still am working on my drive and my putt. But it was in my 20s, really, when I made a commitment to it. I'd always sort of dabbled around in it. I'd done plays in college and in high school. And I'd even sort of, you know, approached it and done some auditions and stuff in L.A. But I had an epiphany because I was a visual artist first.

I was a cartoonist illustrator and I trained to be a painter, classical painter. And I had an epiphany one time in Madrid in about 1983 when I realized, oh, you know, painting is great and I love it. And it's a, it's a wonderful profession. It's a very lonely way to live. And I wanted to live and work in a more social kind of environment. So I realized, you know, it excites me to work with actors. It excites me to work with directors and to put scenes up. It makes my heart pound when I meet a big celebrity and someone who's a professional and exciting. And so I decided to move to New York from Madrid, where I'd been living, and get into theater and film and TV. And that's what I did. And out of all those films, theater and TV, what do you think stands out the most for you? Which if you could pick, I know it's difficult because you've been in so many, but certainly there has to be one or two that just kind of pop up that you just that live rent free in your brain.

Nice expression. Well, I tell you, when I did a TV series called Impress Me, which was about voice actors and impressionists, it was a story about two guys that that wanted to be professional actors, but were sort of always being asked to do impressions because they were good at it. who is in The Walking Dead and became quite famous from that show. And he's a really, really great impressionist, it turns out, which I don't think has been exploited in The Walking Dead. I haven't seen every episode,

but I think they were more concerned with just staying alive. And that was a great experience. It was written by a guy named Ben Shelton and it was slightly improvisational. It was very creative. It was semi-autobiographical. And I knew that people would really get a big kick out of it because there was no other show like it on

television. So that was really super fun. Also, it was not a big budget thing. So we were using people's houses. We were shooting on the street. We were doing kind of guerrilla filmmaking and nobody was getting paid very much. And I find that that is a, all those things are a common denominator to a really good time and something I'll never forget. I just cherish that, that experience forever. It was really a high point. Well, that's excellent. Again, you can reach Jim by going to YouTube, Jim Pressions, going to YouTube, Jim Pressions. So, you know, Jim, again, you have a wealth of experience. You know, you started in your 20s. What do you have to say to, you know,

the younger adults out there? Like my son, again, he's been practicing doing some of these various impressions and he comes to me in that. But what kind of maybe secrets can you share with them to either fine tune their craft or to really have the drive and have done again? So you've done so many. You do a gazillion different impressions. I do. I do a lot of impressions. I do people that haven't even been born yet. That's how good I am. Well, you know, I'm actually going to be launching within the next week or so a whole online course in voice acting and impressions. So I have been taking a look at this area and I'm definitely interested in helping other people. I get approached by quite a lot of young actors who want to break into voiceovers or whatever and just guys that like impressions.

It's mostly guys, but I do know some very talented women that like it, too. some very talented women that like it too. But I would say kind of related to what we were talking about earlier, before you dive into a whole lot of changes in your voice or trying to be other people, it's a very good thing to know what you're dealing with, what your equipment sounds like just without any bells and whistles. So the idea of recording your natural voice and getting used to your actual, the way you speak and what it sounds like to other people, getting used to

that really early will help you. It would be like, you know, if you were trying to sell something that you'd never actually taken out of the box, you know, you want to take it out of the box. You want to take your voice out of the voice box, if you will, and listen to it a lot and get used to it and make your peace with it. And then you can say, oh, well, I kind of know, because we're trying to match something, right? If I'm doing an impression of, let's see, who could I do an impression of? Nick Offerman of Parks and Recreation. If I'm trying to do an impression of Nick Offerman, I first have to sound like, where are the differences between my voice and Nick's voice? Well, there's a whole different rhythm, of course, and there's a different timbre. And I find by keeping one

eyebrow raised, it helps. But if you don't know where you're starting from, very difficult to make the leap into a different character. Absolutely. Well, Jim, you entertain so many, you bring joy to so many you've been in voice doing so much various work. Make sure that you check out Jim Meskimen at, by going and also to checking out Gaslit. That'll be coming out. It's with Sean Penn, Julia Roberts. So make sure you check that out. Jim, thank you so much. You know what?

For bringing joy to so many. That's a hero. Thank you so much. This has been David Kogan with the Alliance's Hero Show. And make sure you go to YouTube after this interview. Go now and check out Jim Pressions on YouTube. Thank you so much. This has been David Kogan again with the Alliance's Hero Show.

Thank you, David. I love it.