Today we’d like to introduce you to Mykle McCoslin.
Mykle, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started acting at the age of 5 after my grandmother Elvis took me to see the movie, Grease. I would perform songs from the movie on her living room coffee table for my aunts and uncles and would earn 25 cents a song. I was hooked! My grandma would also improvise with me playing Mrs. Jones and Mrs. Johnson in my “apartment” in the upstairs of her house where we would talk about our babies and families over coffee and tea in my play kitchen. This opened up my imagination and love for make-believe, and I knew “playing” was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. In middle school, I started learning about the true craft of acting and did plays and performed in UIL competitions. I remember my drama teacher gave me a scene from the Betty Davis and Joan Crawford film, “What Ever Happened to Baby Jane.” I was so mesmerized by the depth of its contents and I eventually got to play both characters, Blanche and Jane, but my favorite was playing Jane, the Betty Davis role. She was so bad, and my whole life I felt like the “good girl.” I loved letting my alter ego come out, and remembered taking home a first place trophy for duet acting for the scene.
That was the moment I knew that I really could go far in acting and that I “had it!” I knew LA was where I needed to be and college was the perfect transition for getting there. Luckily, I was accepted and eventually earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theater from the University of Southern California. The training and the instructors that I met there was phenomenal, and I truly was collaborating with professional actors and instructors. I did plays, took solo performance classes and learned about the history of acting and studies all the classics, including my favorite, Shakespeare, for the first time. At the time, I did not know the caliber of talent that had come out of this University and am so grateful that this was the University that I got to continue to grow as an artist at. After graduating, I studied at the famed Beverly Hills Playhouse, under the Direction of Milton Katselas, Al Manchini, and Jeffrey Tambor, and that is where I truly earned my wings and learned what it takes to stand out and take risks as an actor.
After doing background work, I earned my Screen Actors Guild card and became a member of this guild, which was the happiest day of my acting career thus far, as I felt like I had finally made it as an actor, joining a group of actors that I had long admired and respected. I have been fortunate to now belong to SAG-AFTRA,(Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists) and AEA, (Actors Equity Association.) Being protected as an artist is very important to me and I currently serve as the 1st Vice President of the Houston-Austin local branch of SAG-AFTRA. In my over 20+ years of being a professional working actor, I have starred in numerous, Film, Television, Commercials, Theatre and Voice-over roles and am still in awe of the industry I have chosen to dedicate my heart and talents to. The magic still lives in my heart, just as it did as a kid, and I know it always will.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Of course, acting is not smooth, laid out profession where you are guaranteed a job right out of college. There where tones of obstacles along the way. The most important one for me was just believing I was enough. I think this is the one area where artists, especially women struggle in. Am I pretty enough? Good enough, talented enough, sexy enough? I remember coloring my hair blonde in LA, as I waned to be a “blonde.” I was “trying” to be like the actresses at the time who were popular. I remember, one of my good friends at college, Ivan Rivas, told me, “Mykle, you’re going to work when your a mom’s age.” I remember hearing that and being like, but NO, I want to be an ingenue in romantic comedies and be the girl everyone falls in love with and who looks pretty all the time. But Ivan was right. It was after I had had my daughter, and in my mid 30’s, that I finally got in touch with my power and honored my uniqueness. I was a mother, and had become a single parent, and had to tap into my strength and power. No longer was I making my life about making other’s happy or trying to please people, especially my own family, but I started focusing on pleasing myself and following my dreams.
Sometimes, we get sidetracked in life, taking detours towards our destiny and dreams, and have to remind ourselves what is that one thing in life that makes my heart sing. And to me, it’s always been acting. So, I had to tell the Universe and mostly myself that acting was what I loved, and that I was an actress and that I was enough. More than enough, that I was designed to be an actress and wasn’t going to do anything else, or let anything stand in my way, including other’s opinions of me and my chosen career. Most importantly, I had to tell those thoughts of being less than and not enough, to go away. I had to “show-up” as that all in, fully believing artist that I always was. And yes, my career took off when I became a mom’s age.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into your business story. Tell us more about the business.
I am a Film, Television, Theater and Commercial Actor. Some of my latest TV roles include AMC’s Preacher and ABC’s The Astronaut Wives Club. Some of my past films are Bordercross, with Lorenzo Lamas, and Divorce Texas Style. Short films include Alternative Math, which currently has over 2 million YouTube views, and has won numerous awards at film festivals all over the world, Jackdaw, and Ed. Commercials include McDonald’s, Miracle Whip, HEB, Trulicity, LaQuinta. Some of the last two Theatre productions here in Houston include the premiere of, The Boundary, at MATCH, and Equus at Frenetic Theatre.
Proud Member of SAG-AFTRA for 21 years, currently serving as the 1st Vice-President of the Houston-Austin Local SAG-AFTRA branch, as well as a member of the National Commercial Performers Committee. Also, a member of Actors Equity Association.
Proud owner of REEL ACTORS STUDIO here in Houston until 2017, and also am an acting coach to actors.
What sets me apart from others as an actress is my chameleon like ability to completely transform my look to any character I am playing. I have a period looking face and tend to get cast in a lot of period piece projects which I love. There are a certain style and grace about me and after the Houston Press reviewed my performance in the play Equus, they said, ” McCoslin has the beauty of a young Ava Gardner, and lights up the stage with her presence,” which was one of the biggest compliments I have ever received in a review.
I am currently scheduled to start shooting the feature film, “Run with the Hunted” with Melissa Leo in Oklahoma next month.
I am also proud to be half Hispanic and a fluent Spanish speaker. My mother is from Honduras, and as I child we would go there and I got to experience that culture and lifestyle and so fortunate that I did as it has truly shaped who I am today. I have an appreciation for travel and other cultures and was grateful that my Godmother, who was a teacher, took the time to actually to teach me how to read, speak and write Spanish. To this day its one of my most favorite qualities about myself, and I look forward to one day being able to apply this in my work as an actor.
Do you have any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general? What has worked well for you?
I believe that mentors are everywhere if you really are open to finding them. One of my favorite mentors is a seasoned veteran actress, Marianne Muellerleile. We met in Church in LA, and I remember seeing her do the readings at mass and recognized her face from films I had seen with her in them. I looked up to her so much and started getting more involved in my church and we became friends and still to this day she is a wonderful friend and mentor. She is currently known as the Grandma in the McDonald’s Chicken strips commercials. She is amazing and continues to surprise me with all that work she does as an actress and her wonderful volunteer work with Heifner International. I find for actors, that it’s best to find out what other interests, besides acting, that your potential mentors have, and connect with them there.
As far as networking, mixers and industry parties and events are a great way to meet other people in the industry. I just put myself out there and introduce myself to everyone I meet. You just never know who is going to be that one contact who is going to change your journey for the best. I always carry my business cards with me, which have my photo, contact info and all my social media sites where I can be found. To me, that is one of the best ways to network with industry peers you have worked with and those you would like to collaborate with in the future. Social media is the key these days, and as an artist, it is a must to spread your brand and put out to the world the image of how you want to be seen. We have so much control these days as far as our branding and persona to be seen globally.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.myklemccoslin.com/
- Email: mykle@myklemccoslin.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/myklemccoslin/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MykleMcCoslinOfficial
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/MykleMcCoslin
- Other: imdb.me/MykleMcCoslin https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1436538/?ref_=nv_sr_1
Image Credit:
Headshot by Kenneth Dolin, Play photos by Gary Griffin
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