Interview: ACTOR DANIEL GREER

Daniel Greer is a very busy and easygoing actor.

MCL:When and where did you start acting?

DG: In 2003 I began taking voice over classes/training from Toni Silveri here in Buffalo and she is responsible for getting me started in acting. Toni emphasized in just about every voice over class that the key was not having a good voice, although that is needed, but the key was "acting" and being able to be believable when doing a commercial voice over. Toni encouraged taking adult acting classes which led me to taking an acting class from Deb Cole. While walking into the second class with Deb Cole she turned to me and asked, "How would you like to be in a play?" This was in mid-October of 2005 and I actually thought the play would be sometime in May and I'd have about ten lines which I thought it would take me the six or seven months to memorize. Well the play, "The Butterfingers Angel," was actually beginning rehearsals in a week and opening in seven weeks; and I was going to play Joseph who was one of the leads. After the run I enjoyed the experience so much that I started attending auditions for other theatre companies in the area and have been acting since that time.

MCL:What made you want to be on stage?

DG: I recently stopped trying to answer this question for myself. I would have half-jokingly, half serious tell friends and family that after I did that first play, "I had drunk deeply of the Kool-Aid," but I really am not sure nor can I pinpoint all the reasons. I asked NYC and South Buffalo/Clarence native Tom Todoroff, acting coach/teacher this same question recently and his advice was to not try and figure it out, just accept that you enjoy acting and follow that drive.

MCL:Any local mentors?

DG: I do not want to mention one or even a few specific mentors and actors who have influenced me for fear of leaving someone out. Let me say that the entire Buffalo area and WNY theatre and film community has been "mentors" to me and each other.

MCL: Best advice you were given you still use on stage?

DG: Much advice but one I latched on to early on is "the moment before." Asking and creating the moment before in my character's life before I first step on stage. The moment before can and, in my case, needs to extend all the way back decades in the character's make-up.

MCL:What roles turn you off and what kind do you look for?

DG: No roles turn me off and I always seek to do an evil character; just much more fun for me to be a villain.

MCL:What role do you dream of playing and haven't?

DG:Seriously I do not have any dream roles. I am intrigued by getting cast in a play I am not familiar with and working to find out "who is this guy" I am portraying.

MCL:What's your next project?

DG: One of my theatre superstitions is to not say publically. I live under the delusion that Martin Scorsese will read it and think, "Oh, well, I was going to cast him in my next film but I see that he is booked already."

MCL:Tell us about some of your favorite roles?

DG: I enjoy acting in any Shakespeare play because there is so much to learn and uncover with his choice of words and what those words meant in his time and how to present that to an audience today. I must admit that I have had the great joy of performing in two Ray Cooney farces and it is a real pleasure to have to wait for the audience to stop laughing before the cast can continue.

MCL:Do you want to repeat any of these roles?

DG: Yes, I would like to do Ray Cooney's "Funny Money" again.

MCL:What's some advice for those new to acting?

DG: I heard this from Bob Rusch: "Acting is like golf. Both activities can be taught to you in one day. But then it will take you the rest of your life to master it." So be honest with yourself-is acting a hobby for you or what drives you internally? Do you want to play a few rounds each summer or do you want to get so good you are asked to play at all the country clubs? Same with acting-I think your goal should be to get asked to "play" at all the local theaters! Also, take all the acting classes and workshops you can.

MCL: Who do you admire in the theater world?

DG: The actors I admire generally are from films that also do theatre. That being the case, I am angry with Philip Seymour Hoffman for dying before I could see him perform live.

MCL: What's Buffalo, New York Theater like?

DG: I have always joked that Buffalo Theatre is like the Mafia in NYC in The Godfather: There are five families-Niagara University grads, Fredonia State grads, Buffalo State College grads, University at Buffalo grads, and then everyone else. My overall experience is that almost everyone involved in Buffalo Theatre is supportive and helpful to one another.

MCL: What are some of the good and bad changes in local theater since you started?

DG: I am discouraged by everyone who has heard me to NOT sing along with the radio in my car when I am driving by myself; my singing ability is that bad. That being the case for me, I am encouraged that more theatre companies are producing musicals but it does shut me out from auditioning.

MCL: Finally, what's coming up for you 2018?

DG: Bad luck to say publically. Also, just when you think you're booked or your calendar is completely wide open, a show comes around and you get to audition and join the cast!

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON DANIEL GREER:

https://www.facebook.com/daniel.j.greer.5?ref=br_rs

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