Actor tells students be bold not timid

At 7 p.m., Tuesday, Chadron State College was graced with the presence of Jeffrey Tambor, a widely known actor and inspirational speaker. Tambor gave a talk titled, “Performing Your Life,” to a very receptive audience in Memorial Hall Auditorium.

Tambor grew up in San Francisco and found his love for acting while watching college students perform at San Francisco State University, the school of which he would eventually become a graduate after studying acting. He went on to receive his Master’s degree at Wayne State University, Detroit, Mich.

He began his acting career doing repertory theater in Milwaukee, Wis., but eventually moved to Broadway in New York City, N.Y. and started being more known in the acting world. He moved to the screen with his role in the movie “…And Justice for All” acting as Al Pacino’s half-crazy law partner. Tambor is best known for his work in the television shows, “The Larry Sanders Show,” as the character Hank Kingsley and in, “Arrested Development,” as George Bluth Sr. and his own twin brother Oscar Bluth. You may also recognize him as The Mayor of Whoville in, “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” or from the Hangover movies in which he played Alan’s father, Sid. He has played some voice characters as well in some widely known cartoon productions. He voiced the King Neptune in, “The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie,” and the Big-nosed thug in the Disney movie, “Tangled.”

When asked if he preferred acting on screen or being the voice of a cartoon character, “Acting is acting is acting is acting, it’s all the same,” he said.

He also said that while he loves doing on-stage acting. Now that he is a busy father of five, four of which are under ten years old, he prefers the silver screen.

While acting is his true passion, Tambor has come to find that he loves speaking to students about living life to the fullest and finding a purpose for their lives. Working as an Assistant Professor at Wayne State University, he encountered many talented young people that were not reaching their full potential. Tambor used examples from his life, both darker and more comical to inspire the audience Tuesday evening. He had the audience laughing throughout, but also created some very touching moments when he called individuals up on stage while telling stories from his youth.

His focus was asking the audience, “What’s keeping you?”

He wanted the audience to ask themselves why they stop pursuing their passions; he called this finding their story. He wants students in particular to find this story and try to over come it because everyone has a destiny, a calling to become the people they are meant to be, and that they should not fall into what society wants them to be.

Tambor was very adamant about students being proactive and being bold enough to network with people to better their careers. He even gave out his personal email to certain individuals from the audience in order to foster this idea.

When asked what advice he would give to an aspiring actor, he said, “You need to not be afraid of contacting people, don’t be stupid about it, but ask and be bold!”

He also states that the hardest part of acting is the rejection. His way of stating it was much more entertaining.  “The hardest part?” he said, “No no no no no no no no no no no no yes no no no no no no. Estimate the number there, but that is the hardest part.”

The evening with Tambor that CSC got to experience was very uplifting and inspiring. He used his childhood, acting career, and fatherhood to connect with the audience and inspire everyone to find their purpose and overcome anything getting in the way of that purpose.