In the last several years Steve Lichtenstein has been an associate producer and acted in several short films. His producing journey began with the short, Justice, in which I play the lead, Other recent films include Like Daughter Like mother which has been screened at many film festivals and won awards for Best Film. He received a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the Uptown Manhattan Film Festival for his role as Ronald the powerful quirky dad and widower in the film. Steve also can be seen in the festival award winning short Sure-Fire which has garnished much attention all over the country. He is currently in pre-production on a short film called Aaron With 2 A’s. He is the co-writer, creator, executive producer and star of the film. His new production company is called Baby Boo Boo Productions LLC.
PVM: When did your passion for acting begin?
Well…it was very early in my life. I was asked this question quite a bit in my life and it finally occurred to me what the answer was. I guess TV and film was one of my best friends. From the time I was 5 or 6 I got on the floor right up in front of the TV and my mother would say “why don’t you get in it!” She was right. I wanted to be in the TV and in the story. This was the early to mid 60’s and TV was called the boob tube. I loved the stories and actors. Back then they did plays on TV and I saw one of my favorite plays called Slow Dance on The Killing Ground with Rod Steiger. Even at that age, it took hold of me. I remember seeing Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid and walking out in character. I was 13. Even then I realized that it took a while to get over something that had emotion to it or something that grabbed me. I also think I was a storyteller from a young age. I am a sport enthusiast (ok, sports nut). I used to take my pinky or some other such ball, go out in front of my house, bounce the ball off the steps, and catch it or chase after it. All the while announcing the whole game down to the players, the scenarios and the game-winning hit. The crowd going crazy. So, finally, when I was an awkward high school freshman, I was asked to go on stage in a one act called “It’s Cold in Them Thar Hills”. I played someone who crossed the stage with a hat on. I looked down and said Yup. Then I heard the applause at curtain and that was it. A high for all of it. And it has lasted and burns deep inside me still.
PVM: You are the Executive Producer/Creator/Co-Writer and Lead on the incredible film, Aaron with 2 A’s. What inspired you to write this story?
I am super, uber excited about my own short film project. We are currently in pre-production. We are storytellers first and foremost. What inspired me to tell this story, is my own journey at my age. Seeing how an underdog who shifts his attitude can change everything. 3 years ago, I wrote a monologue and started to find a story I wanted to tell. I came up with an idea and got together with Mark Resnik. We started to flesh it out and once I knew the message I wanted to impart, it morphed into a very personal, yet universal and dynamic story that I think will impact and inspire people. Hopefully, they can see some part of themselves in it and see that they can follow their dreams no matter how old or the risks. They may even come to appreciate their own life as it is, instead of the negative of they wish it to be. I never thought in a million years that I could have these many slashes. The film is being directed by Michael Goldburg. It also stars Pamela Jayne Morgan and Anthony Robert Grasso among an incredible cast and crew. The producer is Randi Sloane, and my co-writers are Mark Resnik and Montana Rock. It is about an older man who is an underdog following his dreams and choosing to live his life to the fullest if he can only get out of his own way before he destroys everything he already has. It is quite an amazing thing to have people believe in your vision and want to join. The film takes a lot of effort by a lot of people who believe in the story and message. It has taken hold of me deeply and rooted itself in my being. This and a couple of other recent projects I’ve done have taught me that to make any film is an unbelievable accomplishment that takes a belief in the vision, dedication, hard work, fun and fortitude. I admire all the dreamers who inspire me. We shoot May 22-24.
The project has been delayed due to COVID-19 for over a year. So, it feels like we’ve waited an eternity. Although I’d like it to, the film will not solve the world’s problems…but it is an important film because it brings inspiration, hope and joy into the world at a time when we can all use that!!! I hope that people will take the journey with us and donate to our go fund me drive. Quality Film Making isn’t cheap. I hope people will be part of making this dream come true. We also have pages on Facebook and Instagram. Please feel free to visit, like and comment on posts. Aaron with 2 A’s go fund me link is:
Tell us about your character, Aaron. What challenges you the most?
We are in pre-production right now. The film shoots between May 22 thru May 25. Aaron who I know well (hint: he may be a little like me the story creator) is a person with a life-long dream who has a great deal of experience in life. He began his journey toward making his dream a reality. He loved acting and it was his way of being seen and having joy. As a young person he studied, played many roles, worked hard at it, got his degree in it, and started to live the dream in the “real” world. But he was always insecure. His parents were never very impressed unless he made money. No matter the achievement. Aaron gained some measure of success but always found a way to sabotage it and discredit it. As an adult in his 20’s he was often alone and without money. He was quite depressed and had no outlet for his creativity. He truly was the underdog. So, he decided to veer off the path, make money, find a wife and a “real” profession his parents would be proud of. He got into the computer world, met his beautiful powerful and very loving wife Judy. For a time, Judy and the money brought a security and the life he thought he was looking for. He and Judy also took part in social justice causes and shared everything. Over the years they traveled. But…something was always missing in Aaron. Even though he had moved up to Project Manager, over time things started to ware on Aaron. His creative side began to visit him. With Judy’s urging Aaron called his friend from college who had become a successful agent. He began acting again in plays at little theater venues at first. He started getting small independent film roles and some commercials. As he got older and Judy rose as a partner in a lawyer firm, their time together became less. His needed to retire from his day job, before he became a dinosaur, and the urge became greater. He finally did it. He quit and started to act full time. He was undaunted and knew he wouldn’t quit this time. He started to build his acting business and got educated by some of the best teachers in the world. He had all the talent in the world. Life was wonderful. If only he could see it. But…once again the doubts and insecurity came back to him and the sabotage began. Judy who is also getting older doesn’t really believe Aaron is serious and is growing weary. She has her own dreams and really never signed up for this. I won’t tell you how it ends up.
The real challenge in Aaron for me is doing what I usually do to prepare and yet knowing the character so well, allow myself to unmask the deepest part of me. Also, since I am wearing so many different hats in this project I have to let go and concentrate on Aaron at some point.
Reel:
https://youtu.be/eZ7ZjYKCEKE
What roles are you best known for? What genres do you enjoy the most?
Mel Edison in Prisoner of 2nd Avenue, Frank in Lovers and Other Strangers, Boss Finlay in Sweet Bird of Youth. Most of all Roy Cohn in Angels in America. All of this during Covid. I got a great chance to work with wonderfully seasoned actors doing parts I so wanted to do. I have done a bunch of independent and short films. One of them, Sure Fire has won awards in many festivals and the feature will be made as well. The director, Michael Goldburg is the director in Aaron. He along with Dave Chan and Steve Wisniewski wrote the film, which is brilliant! Another film I am proud of is Like Daughter Like Mother. I played Ronald who is on a blind date, which his son unknowingly, is on the same date, with my date’s daughter. The film was written by the star Devi Morgan and directed by the late Clyde Baldo. It has won many awards and been in over 53 film festivals so far! Both short films are comedies. Yes, I do them as well as dramas. They are such fun. I have been in Evil Lives Here and Shattered on the ID discovery channel. I also produced and starred in a dramatic short called “Justice” written by Dave Chan and directed by the wonderful Michael Goldburg.
The genres I love are broad. I think an actor should be able to stretch in a lot of different directions. Some may not work out as well as others, but the challenge is always joyous. I love different types of comedy, drama, tragedies, romances, classical, etc…But, in order for it to resonate with me it has to have a good story under it. It is always about the story. Comedy is not believable if the story is not grounded in a character’s believability. In comedy the laughter comes from the true pain that we all relate to.
You have been on a journey of success for many years. You have played the powerful, edgy underdog lawyer, judge, doctor, father, and shady businessman. Which roles have been the most memorable and how have you evolved as an Actor?
This is really about my brand/essence and speak to the types of roles I have played and can play. I can throw in a shady congressman or political type as well with a chip on his shoulder. Each role I play is always memorable in some fashion, with exception of a couple that I will not mention. And even those were memorable for the learning they provided. I did a one-man play called Grace at Sea by Rosemary Frisnio Toohey. It took months to prepare and was extremely satisfying. I played Mr. Tridden in the World Premiere of the musical “Dandelion Wine” written for the The Colony theater by Ray Bradbury. What a joy that was! Roy Cohn I will discuss in an answer below. I love that each one is a different side of me and how much I had to dig. How have I evolved? Greatly! Seriously, this is a two-fold question. First as an actor/producer/writer and second as a person who has lived a lot of life. Acting is about the behavior of people and bringing your own different sides to breathe life into a character to tell a writer’s story. I have been acting for over 34 years and another 16 years of hiatus. In those years it was about life, joy, community service, human rights, death, marriage, divorce, a kid and creating. I have been fortunate for the past 9 years to study in New York with some of the world’s best teachers, mentors and coaches including Anthony Robert Grasso, Deena Levy, Jean Louis Rodrigue/Kristof Konrad (AlexanderTechworks), and Larry Moss. I am continually learning how to free myself up and use physicality in my acting. Script analysis is key to finding the clues and given circumstances the writer has provided. Always honor the writer. I have also worked a great deal on Frame of Mind. It is about attitude, abundance, being grateful and not beating up on yourself. I am so grateful to my current wife for her helping me evolve as a husband. My son is 27 and is creating his own film making career and inspires me as well.
When I think of the journey I have been on, well…it’s incredible. Professionally, I have expanded in the last few years doing some things I never thought I’d be doing. Producing and writing as well as acting. I am so lucky in so many ways. I am still learning, growing and curious. I hope I never stop evolving in this wonderful craft.
Tell us about Angels in America. What led you to this project? Why did this character resonate with you?
I had seen a production of it and was taken by the script and intensity of the character. What really resonated about the play was the incredible writing of Tony Kushner. He gives you so much and such a great guidepost of the piece. It always excited me. So many themes and messages about our society. And even though it’s about Aides, there are more themes that apply to us today. At first, I thought of Roy Cohn the way everyone rightfully thinks of him. I have studied Roy for 4 years now. I watched many documentaries and other videos about him. The mannerisms, the exterior Roy we all saw. But what got him to being that Roy intrigued me. I had to go to deep to see the similarities in myself and Roy. To see how someone who felt many of the same things I felt growing up took that experience and twisted it and used it against others. He grew up being bullied, told he was ugly, always sought attention and love from his parents and got little in return. He was an underdog. He was alone. He carried that into adulthood. The more he felt insecure, bullied and needing attention the more the hard exterior came out and the more he used it against people who could hurt him. He wanted people to need him. An actor no matter who he plays always gets a bit defensive of his character because he has to justify the persons actions. I now have a weird feeling of him. I know all of the pain he caused, and I can see the human and his suffering. He was a very complex person with so much hidden and denied on the inside. I love characters who are that are complex. I guess the best example of who he was, that I can supply, is here was one of the most powerful people in the country, a king maker, who slept in a bed with all of his stuffed animals and loved stuffed animal frogs. At times he would play with them. The little boy was always there needing love and approval.
And on top of all of this, he could never accept his own gayness or Jewishness. The he got AIDES and wouldn’t accept that. Playing his stages of dying was a challenge too.
The pandemic didn’t slow you down. During the past 7-months you have played Roy Cohn in Angels in America both parts, Mel Edison in Prisoner of 2nd Avenue, Frank in Lovers and Other Strangers, Boss Finlay in Sweet Bird of Youth and others. Is there synergy between these roles?
During Covid-19 I have been given the great opportunity to delve into and perform many large roles that I have wanted to, as part of what was the Weekend Play Readings. The title does not do the group justice. We put on some amazing productions with professional actors, props and costume changes and a good amount of rehearsing. It has been so successful that Insomniac Productions has been born and will bring these pieces to staged productions in the future. I guess the synergy I see is the families in disarray, search for the right kind of powerful legacy in their later years. Each one has a tragic flaw Each one has a certain need to hang on to their station in life. There is a need for love and support in all of them. They are all in some proportion an underdog with a chip on their shoulder.
Where do you see yourself a year from now? Please share your upcoming projects.
As for where I see myself by next spring…well…David O. Russell or Aaron Sorkin, if you’re reading this, I am available to do a film later this year…I am focused on completing Aaron with 2 A’s, submitting and getting it into Festivals. I see myself being in episodic shows well before the end of the year. In fact, I am close to being in one now. I would like to be in another film and begin on a new project by my film company: Baby Boo Boo Productions LLC. Of course, we all don’t know how things will be with Covid by the end of the year. As an abundant thinker you always know there is more available to you. I look forward to things that even now are in the works, but I have not been made aware of yet! In the meantime, I am so thrilled to see my dream film come to fruition. I am so lucky to get to work with Anthony Robert Grasso and Pamela Jayne Morgan and Michael Goldburg on my film. I would be remiss if I didn’t give a shout out to my Producer Randi Sloane who has been invaluable to me and Aaron with 2A’s
I have also been consistently auditioning for various film and TV roles. So, god willing, and my management team, that will also keep me busy. I’d like to thank my wonderful agents at SW Artists and my fantastic management team at Dream Maker Talent Management. I am so grateful for what they have done for me and their belief in m
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