Eps 17: Raymond Lee (Actor - Quantum Leap, Top Gun: Maverick)

Where Working Actors Talk

The first episode of season 2 is here!! This week we talk to actor and SKS alum Raymond Lee. He walks us through his entire career, from moving to LA, getting his SAG card, the importance of a strong actor community (which he found at SKS!), booking his first series regular role, working with Tom Cruise on Top Gun, and his incredible experience as the lead on Quantum Leap. There is so much amazing advice for actors in this episode and we are so excited to share it with you!

WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT TO HEAR:

1:05 How Ray got his SAG card acting in a Verizon droid commercial

3:11 Acting in theatre in LA and what led him to create his clown troupe, Four Clowns, and the opportunities that followed because of it.

7:46 Auditioning for TV roles in LA and the huge difference between theatre training and audition training. Discovering SKS and how it helped in train his audition muscle. “And it was so important at that time to learn how to audition, because auditioning is such a strength and a skill in and of itself. Once you’re on set, it can feel a lot different. But it was important that we had to figure out how to audition, which is where SKS case came in.”

10:04 At SKS I took away the most important lesson of all, which is to stay positive, to stay hopeful

10:24: You don’t rise to the occasion. You fall to the level of your training.

12:56 Demystifying the audition process in classes at SKS

15:46 You didn’t come to LA to sit on the bench……

18:19 Relocating to New York after being cast in the play Vietcong and how the role helped transform him into a true leading male actor.

19:47 How Colleen helped bring the leading man out of him during and audition coaching.

24:07 When actors say “I want to make this different”. It’s already different – YOU make it different. Embrace what you bring to the role.

25:21 The process of auditioning and booking the Alan Ball show Here and Now.

30:01 How becoming a dad changed Ray and changed the types of roles he was playing.

34:23 Ray shares his epic audition story for Top Gun: Maverick.

40:09 Life lessons from Tom Cruise on set of Top Gun. “as an actor, you can never know enough. I can do everything now at my age, because I was interested in doing everything. You need to be good at everything, because you never know when you’re going to use this stuff.”

44:05 INSIDE STAN KIRSCH STUDIOS SEGMENT (our ode to James Lipton) 48:17 How Ray took care of himself during the long hours of shooting Quantum Leap.

51:14 Colleen and Ray working together on Quantum Leap and how special it was to watch the first episode.

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