Marcus Hart (00:00)
All right, Linda, let's get right into it. You've seen the industry from every angle. I would like for you to take us back before AI, before all the current chaos that we see, and what was the beginning or biggest challenge for an actor trying to build a career with longevity back then.
What was the core belief or frustration that like, kind of drove you to put those words on paper?
Linda Ann Watt (00:29)
There are so many unskilled actors who they think
Marcus Hart (00:35)
Mm-hmm.
things? Yeah.
Linda Ann Watt (00:37)
100%. And also,
new
Marcus Hart (00:40)
Now let's talk about the game changer. I brought it up earlier, but we didn't go into it, is ⁓ AI. The recent agreements from the SAG,
Linda Ann Watt (00:48)
Yeah.
If I understand your question correctly, the biggest fear that we have is that it is going to snowball, take a life of itself. We haven't targeted all the loopholes, so then the actor misses out. The production company or the producer owns the rights to the likeness of the person
Marcus Hart (00:55)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Linda Ann Watt (01:15)
⁓ So there are times when I think it's very valuable and it's usable if there is a flashback, but then I question also, why is it being used?
Marcus Hart (01:29)
Yeah, and it's that buzzword we hear all the time online, know,
Marcus Hart (01:34)
What if the biggest threat to your career wasn't another person, but a line of code designed to replace your life's work? In Hollywood, what's happening right now is not a movie plot that you've been talking about. It's absolutely reality. Actors who have spent decades perfecting their craft or are looking over their shoulder because of AI, they're fading to black. Or are they rewriting their final act?
So welcome back to the Transform You Live show where we get into faith, fire, takes on urban chaos. I'm your host as always Marcus Hart and today we're gonna be pulling back the curtain on Hollywood with someone who has lived it and breathed it. We're gonna be talking to the legendary Linda Ann Watt in the house. She's a renowned acting coach, ⁓ SAG, AFTRA member and producer and the author of the Actors.
Manifesto, which I got a chance to read and I love it. I'm in love with it. So she's here to talk about navigating a brutal industry, building a lasting legacy and fighting for your soul in an AI driven world. Linda is going to be an honor to talk to you today. Let's get into it.
Marcus Hart (03:00)
Before we get into talking to Linda and dive deep, I want you to think about something. Linda, she helps actors build authority so they can stand out. What if you could do the same? What if one simple shift could help you cut through the digital noise and become the go-to authority in your niche? We're to be breaking down that exact blueprint for faith-filled creators in my upcoming masterclass.
So you stay tuned, right? Because this conversation is the perfect example of why it's so critical. See you on the other side.
Marcus Hart (03:40)
All right, Linda, let's get right into it. You've seen the industry from every angle. I would like for you to take us back before AI, before all the current chaos that we see, and what was the beginning or biggest challenge for an actor trying to build a career with longevity back then.
Linda Ann Watt (04:01)
The biggest challenge was being able to get the parts that would show the actor's talent. And it was a stepping stone. So you would start with a little, maybe under five role, and then you would graduate and then your career would increase. ⁓ So that was before AI. I think it's still that way now.
Marcus Hart (04:24)
Hmm, okay, that's interesting. Yeah, I mean, I never thought about it that way. ⁓ And so that's definitely a different angle that I would like to dive deeper in, you know, especially since you wrote the actor's manifesto, you know, ⁓ the manifesto was a powerful puppet decoration. What was the core belief or frustration that like, kind of drove you to put those words on paper?
Linda Ann Watt (04:26)
Yeah.
There are so many unskilled actors who they think it will go a certain way. And then they take classes with very inexperienced acting teachers who they might have gotten theory of theater or acting, but they're not really teaching the real thing. So the actor unfortunately is taught bad habits of memorize the role.
Marcus Hart (05:01)
Mm-hmm.
Linda Ann Watt (05:24)
and stand on a mark. So they have great stage presence, great camera presence, but nothing is believable. And I've seen it happen so many times, so many years that I couldn't take it anymore. So I decided to write the book. I studied with the best in New York and Los Angeles, and I felt I had to compile it so an actor could take it, digest it.
Marcus Hart (05:32)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Linda Ann Watt (05:53)
and have the tools for the craft.
Marcus Hart (05:56)
Yeah, it definitely speaks to me. ⁓ I ⁓ have appeared in musicals. got another upcoming musical that I'm to be appearing in December. ⁓ Yeah, ⁓ it's a Christmas ⁓ musical that's going to be tracking the life of ⁓ Mary from her lands of the whole birth, from the birth of Jesus all the way up to his death. So, yeah.
Linda Ann Watt (06:07)
Great! What is it?
wow. Where is it
going to be?
Marcus Hart (06:27)
It will be in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, where I live at the church I attend, Discover Church. ⁓ So yeah, that's one road. But I am looking, I'm going to be looking for other roads too in the middle of ⁓ doing that. And like I said, the manifesto, it speaks to me, I got to go back and read again thoroughly because I I kind of like kind of briefed through it. like, mean, from the way it's written is exactly what you just said, you know, and. ⁓
You highlighted something that sounds like an injustice or a lie in the industry. Do you feel you have to stand up against that ⁓ in writing this book and just other things? Yeah.
Linda Ann Watt (07:06)
100%. And also,
new actors do not know about the business of acting. And there's a lot to it. ⁓ I am on the board of Atlanta Local SAG-AFTRA. I'm a delegate for their convention 2025 through 2027.
Marcus Hart (07:12)
Yeah, that's right. Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Linda Ann Watt (07:31)
I feel that the union is needed for actors. It's very important. ⁓ It would be a fast race to the bottom if we didn't have a little support to speak out on the actor's behalf. So ⁓ in the book, I try and include all of that, including discrimination, what actors have had to go through in the past, the Me Too movement. So I...
incorporate everything that's ever been in my brain put into that book to help actors. So I'm happy that you're reading through it and that you like it. There's also a neuroscience to acting and I try and target in on that so you understand the exercises, you understand what you want to achieve as an actor.
Marcus Hart (08:03)
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah, that really speaks to fighting for integrity. That's very real. And the neuroscience behind that, actors do get lost. They get lost in the glamour to get lost in just trying to land the road. And we read the script and hope we can memorize it.
Linda Ann Watt (08:57)
No,
you don't want to memorize it. You actually don't want to memorize it. You want to work on it to the point that you feel it in different parts of emotional places in your body, and then you memorize through that. You shouldn't memorize before you've worked on it. Because once you do memorize it before working on it, then it's in your mind in a particular way, and it's stilted.
Marcus Hart (08:57)
But yeah, yeah, exactly. Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Linda Ann Watt (09:26)
when it comes out because it'll never be the way it is in your mind before you do it.
Marcus Hart (09:31)
Yeah. And like speaking from just when you brought up the Me Too movement, ⁓ the racial injustice, I mean, we even see sometimes ⁓ sexuality injustice and gayism injustice. ⁓
Linda Ann Watt (09:38)
Yeah. yeah. All of it.
ages of injustice, all of it, and
disability injustice. know, there should be, more doors should be open. It shouldn't be such a closed-minded business.
Marcus Hart (09:51)
Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah, the exclusivity is like, you know, really like damaging to the overall image of the industry. ⁓ I'm sure you got your own faith or personal convictions that like kind of you like navigate the sharks, ⁓ you know, in those early Hollywood waters. How did you do that?
Linda Ann Watt (10:22)
Everybody has a moral code. Some people's moral codes are here. Some people's moral codes are here, but you have to follow what is right for you. So, so like you mentioned the me too movement. Hmm. If it's not right, don't do it. Don't go there. You know, if you were, if your antenna.
Marcus Hart (10:24)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Linda Ann Watt (10:48)
comes up as, there's something strange about this, trust your instincts. ⁓ I have one student who really doesn't want to, he studied with me for many years and he doesn't like to do our, hard R auditions. So he told his agent, I am for hallmark and religious.
Marcus Hart (11:01)
Mm-hmm.
Linda Ann Watt (11:13)
projects, please do not submit me for something that is not within what I feel comfortable doing. And I tell all actors, do what you are comfortable doing. Don't go out of what is right for you.
Marcus Hart (11:29)
Yeah, yeah, that's real, you know. ⁓ There's so many people who will forget what their values are, forget what their morals are, they will... Yeah, that's the main factor. Yeah.
Linda Ann Watt (11:44)
Or they're so, they need money, you know, they're not going to eat, you know? And so you
have to really say to yourself, is it worth it? No, it isn't.
Marcus Hart (11:54)
Mm-hmm. No,
it's not. It's absolutely not worth it. Now let's talk about the game changer. I brought it up earlier, but we didn't go into it, is ⁓ AI. The recent agreements from the SAG, AFTRA, ⁓ they include AI. A lot of actors I talked to, they still terrified.
Linda Ann Watt (12:08)
Yeah.
Marcus Hart (12:21)
⁓ From the insider perspective, what's the one hidden danger of loophole in these new deals that the average actor is completely missing out on?
Linda Ann Watt (12:32)
If I understand your question correctly, the biggest fear that we have is that it is going to snowball, take a life of itself. We haven't targeted all the loopholes, so then the actor misses out. The production company or the producer owns the rights to the likeness of the person for whatever they want.
Marcus Hart (12:36)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Linda Ann Watt (12:59)
for AI. And so we're trying to, let's say I do a film and let's say they want to do a flashback of when I was younger along with now, that's fine. But compensate the actor for that, have very specific rules of when that's going to be used. Can't be used willy nilly for other things.
and really compensate the actor for any AI that is used. ⁓ I feel very strongly about that. Also, I think that to take an actor, let's say Robert De Niro, and say, okay, we're gonna make a film ⁓ of Robert De Niro as this character who is 35 years old. So let's, the whole entire film is going to be.
Marcus Hart (13:42)
Yeah.
Linda Ann Watt (13:56)
him 35 years old, then my feeling is, well, why not then get a 35 year old? You know? ⁓ So there are times when I think it's very valuable and it's usable if there is a flashback, but then I question also, why is it being used?
Marcus Hart (14:19)
Yeah, and it's that buzzword we hear all the time online, know, authenticity, you know, being authentic, you know, especially in the age of like AI deep fakes. And you so right about the digital de-aging and authentic acting. Does it even exist anymore? What does it even mean, you know, when we have the ability to take, you know, maybe a famous actor, you know, like we've seen it with Will Smith. We've, you know, we've seen it with 7-Year-Old Jackson, I believe. Yeah. And
Linda Ann Watt (14:47)
Yes.
Marcus Hart (14:49)
You know, does it become authentic acting anymore once when they do that?
Linda Ann Watt (14:55)
You can still, no, actually I agree. It's not authentic. You can also, when I look at the clips of what they've done, and it's leaps and bounds and it's phenomenal, but you can still see it looks a little plastic. It doesn't look 100 % authentic.
Marcus Hart (14:58)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
It does. Yeah.
Linda Ann Watt (15:22)
my whole thing in my book and everything that I'm about. Reality, being authentic and really touching the emotions and being. know, voice over actors can capture the emotion and I guess that's what's used for AI that will get you as close to as possible. But I think it's a slippery slope and we shouldn't go there.
Marcus Hart (15:50)
I agree. Your book speaks a lot to life experiences as like the ultimate weapon. ⁓ How can a veteran actor like leverage that against the machines?
is there a way that they can leverage that in this industry so that they're not wiped out?
Linda Ann Watt (16:14)
absolutely, absolutely. I believe that if an actor or a person in any endeavor stays current and believes they can and they look for the opportunity and if his opportunity isn't there, they make it themselves, you will never age out. We are in ⁓ an aging population.
Marcus Hart (16:39)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Linda Ann Watt (16:39)
People want
to see older people because there are older people watching. So, ⁓ I think if, if the integrity is there for the project being good, I don't think there's any limit in age at all. And we just have to be proactive and this thought process that you age out. If you have that thought process, yeah, you're going to retire. But if you don't.
Marcus Hart (17:05)
Yeah.
Linda Ann Watt (17:09)
You'll be working.
Marcus Hart (17:10)
Yeah. I believe a lot of people want to work, you know, till they can't no more. And yeah, yeah.
Linda Ann Watt (17:17)
Well, because we love it. I love it. We love
it. And when you love something so much, it's not work. It's your passion, you know? You have to do it. It's, you know, even you yourself, you know, in your musical that you're going to be in. Does it bring you passion?
Marcus Hart (17:23)
All right, exactly.
Mm-hmm.
yeah,
it brings me absolute passion, know, like to the point where I don't even think about the money after that. I just, you know, it's a great outlet. I'll look for outlet for me. ⁓ Very healthy. Yeah. Yeah. Mm
Linda Ann Watt (17:47)
And that's why we need unions, because the actors love it so much that they'll do it for free. So we
need, ⁓ you know, equity, need SAG-AFTRA, we need to help us because we are so passionate that we'll work for free. Yeah.
Marcus Hart (18:02)
Yeah. Yeah. This
is fascinating because, ⁓ you know, what this is speaking to that is it's not just about acting ⁓ in the sense it's personal branding and legacy. ⁓ people, especially actors or entrepreneurs for that matter, they can feel like the world is moving on without them. And you just you just really identified ⁓ a niche market that, you know, maybe the industry should like kind of tilt into more with, you know, giving people that look like us or Asian like us.
⁓ to ⁓ reinvent what we think about ⁓ film and having youth ⁓ be the front runner for some of these films. So what's the first step they can take from your playbook to kind of reinvent themselves without losing who they are?
Linda Ann Watt (18:49)
Oh, absolutely. So, so first of all, an actor has to embrace their type. So if you were, you know, the leading man when you were 35 and you're 70, you have to embrace your type now. The minute that you do that, then you're, you're a sellable commodity. You, you will work. Um, and then the other thing is, is if the phone isn't ringing and you're not getting the calls that you want,
Marcus Hart (18:53)
Yeah.
Linda Ann Watt (19:20)
Do your own project. Get out there. There's enough equipment now that's accessible to the actor that wasn't when I was 20. I ⁓ purchased ⁓ broadcast quality video equipment in 1987, and it was quite a penny. Now you don't need that to make a project. ⁓ So I say for all actors, whether they're 90,
Marcus Hart (19:30)
you
Wow.
Yeah
Linda Ann Watt (19:48)
or whether they're 20. If you're sitting there and you're not getting the call for the audition, find your own material and do it yourself. There's so many organizations that are film organizations throughout the country that once you say, I'm doing this, I'm moving forward, they'll come on board. You'll get crew, you'll get other talent. ⁓ But that's for the aging actor who isn't...
famous maybe. But for those who have a legacy of a Hollywood career, ⁓ just put yourself out there for the age you are now.
Marcus Hart (20:17)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah, I agree. And going back to Robert De Niro, he was so relatable in Meet the Falkers, that whole film in Sao Paulo. Just seeing someone who becomes a grandpa in real time, those things become very relatable. he has a...
a very interesting way of being able to transition through his years and still be able to like, know, yeah, exactly. Yeah.
Linda Ann Watt (21:03)
He's embracing the grandpa, you know?
He's not saying I'm the 30-year-old, I'm the ⁓ taxi driver guy. He's embracing his age now. And if you do that, Judi Dench, Helen Mirren, Rita Moreno, ⁓ Clint Eastwood, they're all embracing who they are now. And that's what you have to do. ⁓
Marcus Hart (21:12)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Even Morgan Friedman,
he's been he's been an old guy for years. Yeah, yeah, so that's great. It's great. know, so you're talking about a level of self awareness and strategy that's profound. You know, it's clear your book and coaching. It goes just way beyond hidden on the marks on the set. You know, so I think that's that's great.
Linda Ann Watt (21:36)
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, I give Zoom classes too. So anybody out there, don't have to be in my area of Atlanta, Charlotte area. ⁓ I've had students from Germany and Brazil and England and Maine and all over the country. So ⁓ yeah, I train everyone.
Marcus Hart (21:58)
Mm-hmm.
I say, if you guys hearing that out there, you you don't have to be local to get some of that juice, you know, so, yeah.
Linda Ann Watt (22:26)
Right. And you know what's really good
about zoom is that for in-person, you're working with another actor, but for a zoom class, you really learn on camera technique because you are on camera. So it even gives a little bit more strength for that technique.
Marcus Hart (22:41)
Hmm
Wow, hey, I might have to sign up myself. Yeah, I'm going to have to be beating down your virtual door. Yeah. Okay, thank you, thank you. I love that. So let's bring this home for everyone listening. The pressure to reinvent, it can definitely feel like you're being told that your past doesn't matter. How does someone, yeah.
Linda Ann Watt (22:51)
look forward to seeing you in class. Start soon.
No, no, no, no, no, There's always a spot for you.
You know what, and that
is true. Your past doesn't matter. You could be as a 20 year old, 30 year old in a television series that went for five years, have national commercials, be in feature films, and now you're 70. Nobody wants to see your clips from when you're 20 if they're considering to cast you now. You need clips that are present because what
Marcus Hart (23:17)
Mm-hmm. Right.
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Linda Ann Watt (23:45)
they're looking for and what you look like is what they want now.
Linda Ann Watt (23:49)
at the beginning, before we were on I heard him, but I keep hearing the smoke detector. Yeah.
Marcus Hart (23:52)
yeah.
Yeah,
yeah, that's exactly why I got these on because like that, ⁓ my God, that can get terrible. Yeah, yeah, yeah, you just gotta drown it out. Thank God we're moving. Yeah, so we're moving soon. So yeah, because I don't understand. They have changed the battery, but still nothing, so I don't get it. Yeah.
Linda Ann Watt (24:00)
How do you sleep at night with the smoke detector beep? That would drive me nuts.
I'm stranded. ⁓
Marcus Hart (24:24)
But that's amongst the other things that are out of our control sometimes. But circling back to our conversation, and we're going to take it from right here, the need to adapt to a changing world. People got to balance their honor and their legacy, the things they've and been through. Is there a specific way to do that?
or do you got some other ideas?
Linda Ann Watt (24:57)
think every person has to make their own path with their own legacy and what they want to be remembered for.
Marcus Hart (25:05)
Yeah,
I agree. That's a word for somebody right there too. For the creative, the leader, the person listening, they may feel like they're being aged out or maybe irrelevant by new tech. ⁓ Sometimes we see them transition and just starting a podcast, but ⁓ what is one mindset shift though from the actor's manifesto they can apply today to start rewriting their own script instead of like opting to...
You know, I'm going to podcast world.
Linda Ann Watt (25:39)
Even the podcast world, you're promoting yourself, you are staying interested, are being, ⁓ you're bringing important issues. So even that, but ⁓ I think the biggest takeaway from the Actors Manifesto is to get the proper training and to really do the work. And if you're 10,
Marcus Hart (25:40)
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Linda Ann Watt (26:07)
or if you're 110, that applies. So to take the craft seriously, and that will give you your legacy because as you do valuable work, that's laying down stepping stones for your legacy.
Marcus Hart (26:18)
Mm-hmm.
Agree, agree. So last question for you, Linda, you know, before I let you go. I know I took a chunk of your time today and I really appreciate it. can't express. Yeah, I'm a fan. Yeah. So when you look at the future of Hollywood and creative arts, ⁓ despite the challenges with AI and ageism, what gives you the most hope?
Linda Ann Watt (26:32)
Yeah.
Well, it's pleasure being with you. Well, thank you. Thank you.
when you see something that moves you in some way.
That's what gives me hope. When you get the chills when you watch something, when it hits you emotionally, when it says something about what's going on in our world ⁓ socially, ⁓ when it makes a comment on where we are at as a society, ⁓ that's something that will last forever. And that's why the arts started.
Marcus Hart (27:10)
Yeah.
Mm-hmm.
Linda Ann Watt (27:35)
And ⁓ so I hope I just answered your question.
Marcus Hart (27:38)
That's powerful, ⁓ actually, and film or any type of entertainment is supposed to give us that introspective, that walking away with reflection on where we at right now as a society, as a culture, ⁓ and even looking to our own smaller lives with a microscope. And there's been films that's been talked about
over the last couple of years that has just been bombed, just bombed the theaters. But then, like you said, there's others out there that still give you that emotional pull and draw and give you something to walk away with. And I really appreciate those films and I know there's gonna be more that's gonna be coming out. And ⁓ yeah, I hope so too. I hope so too.
Linda Ann Watt (28:29)
I hope so. I hope that
it's not just a formula money driven ⁓ industry. We need to make statements. We need to be creative. We need to honor our creativity in this industry. And if it's there, that's exciting.
Marcus Hart (28:45)
Mm-hmm.
It
is, you know, Linda, I can't tell you enough. This has been an absolute masterclass in resilience, relevance and reinvention. You know, thank you so much for sharing your wisdom with us today. ⁓ Maybe. Yeah, absolutely. Maybe tell us how we can get in touch with you or check out the book and or the coaching.
Linda Ann Watt (29:08)
Thank you for having me.
Sure, okay, so you can go to the actors manifesto org and You can see how to get the book and I also have ⁓ techniques and exercises on audio for you So it gives it gives a lot on that website about the book You can get in contact with me at Academy of acting org or what at Academy of acting org for email
Marcus Hart (29:33)
Nice, nice.
Okay. We will be sure to have both of those, all of those links, excuse me, available in the episode description for those who are watching or listening, ⁓ The fight for being authentic is real and you're giving us some powerful weapons. So to everyone.
watching and listening. If this conversation united something in you, you know what to do. Smash that like button, subscribe to the Transform You Live show and comment below with your biggest takeaway from Linda and Wat. Then share this episode with someone who needs to hear it, you know, or even someone who can be an advocate for those that's in the industry that needs to, you know, get this word out. And listen, if you're a creator, a coach or a leader trying to build your platform or foundation of faith,
Don't do it alone. The principles Linda talked about, cutting through the noise, establishing your authority is exactly what you need to be hearing. until next time, many blessings, peace, and lots of love.
Marcus Hart (30:45)
So, know, once again, if you're a creator, a coach or a leader trying to build your platform on a foundation of faith, don't do it alone. The principals Linda talked about cutting through the noise, establishing your authority. That is exactly what we're to be teaching in my from digital noise to niche authority masterclass. It's happening online Thursday, September 4th. We will give you the blueprint to build a platform that algorithms cannot touch. Go to Marcus.
and click on the link on my homepage to register now. Seats are limited, so don't miss out. Many blessings, peace, and lots of love. I'm truly out this time.
