Testimonials
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I worked with Milton for many years... What I loved about working with Milton was that he prepared actors so that you're a little bit director-proof. You learn to be your own director. He would ask, 'Well, what would you do in this situation?' And you'd say, 'Okay, I would, you know, get up and......' And he'd be like, 'Okay. And what would you REALLY do in this situation?' And that's how he would always get you to second guess your first superficial choice.
- Michelle Pfeiffer on Inside the Actors Studio
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In one minute, I knew I had found the right person (in Milton as a teacher). Milton’s way of teaching is about embracing change…and openly looking for change in your life and in the way you act. There is nowhere like the Playhouse and there is no one like Milton Katselas.
-Anthony Head Buffy And The Vampire Slayer
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I use what Milton and the class taught me everyday.
-Joel Shumacher Director Phantom Of The Opera, Batman Forever
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And that's what it all boils down to for Rick Rosenthal - being excited about films, and getting people excited about them, too. He says it stems back to a conversation he once had when studying acting under Milton Katselas at the Beverly Hills Playhouse. Katselas, who is Greek, decided to explain the etymology of the word "enthusiasm" to Rosenthal. "The 'en' is Greek for 'from', and 'theos' is for 'God,'" he remembers. "So to him, enthusiasm is translated as a gift from the gods." It's a moment Rosenthal has drawn on several times in his career. "I remember being in Chicago, shooting in the dead winter, 20 below zero on a bridge," he says. "It turned out me and the two actors had all studied with Milton. So there we were, freezing, talking about enthusiasm. That's what you need in a moment like that. And that's what you need when making movies.
- Rick Rosenthal Excerpted from an interview
with filmmaker
Westside Today Magazine, August 2005
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Over the years, I filled over a dozen notebooks with insights on the art of acting, directing and ethics.... He was my teacher, I am proud to say.
-Gene Reynolds Executive Producer, Director of Mash, Lou Grant
past President of the Directors Guild Of America
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I’m a pessimist waiting to be optimized.
-Milton
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Milton has been one of the major influences in my life, as a teacher and as a friend. Milton is a genius in terms of what he does, and he has helped to build a very strong foundation of actors who not only learn how to act, but learn how to live and how to be better people and how to create a more profound industry.
-Richard Lawson Dynasty, All My Children
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Like any good mentor, Milton sees where you’re at, and sees where you eventually can be.
-Stana Katic The Castle, Quantum Of Solace
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Milton Katselas is everything you need in a professional acting teacher. Smart and opinionated. Creative and caring. But most of all, Katselas is clear. Of all the teachers I worked with, Katselas was the most clear in his evaluations.
- Alec Baldwin 30 Rock, The Cooler, The Departed
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The Beverly Hills Playhouse is a 100% professional environment for those who strive to truly become a "professional" in their art. It is the most artistic environment I have ever been in. Actors rise to a level of work that rivals anything I have seen in the New York theater.
- Anne Archer Academy Award Nominee Fatal Attraction
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Milton made me understand my casting which gave me a career. His technique is very specific and unique and is skillfully taught by working professionals whom he has personally trained. In my opinion the BHP is the premiere acting school in America today and the proof is all of the extraordinary working talent they continue to produce.
- Beth Grant Donnie Darko, Rain Man
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I came to the Beverly Hills Playhouse as a working actor thinking I needed to "tune" my skills. Almost seven years later I thank the stars I found a school that not only taught me to act, but is an oasis where I can stretch, win and most importantly fail. Anyone who is interested in becoming a working actor and more importantly, anyone interested in becoming a great actor, need only look at the roster of students Milton Katselas has taught over the past 30 years to see that the only place one need study is at the Beverly Hills Playhouse.
- Bryan Callen Mad TV, Fat Actress
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The teaching is not only insightful but also supports and challenges me. It continually inspires me as an artist and has given me ALL the tools I need to create, have and maintain a successful and rewarding career.
- Catherine Bell JAG, Navy Wives
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"I still remember the workshop I took with Milton way back in 1986 in NYC. What struck me was not only the precision of his eye in critiquing, but also a compassion for the actor's process as they faced themselves every class in that timeless search for the truth.
- Chris Noth Sex and the City, Law & Order
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The brilliance and insight of Milton Katselas has changed my life.
- Doris Roberts Emmy Award Winner Everybody Loves Raymond
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The level of the teaching and work in class is very high quality. I take notes during everyone's critique--learning by observing as well as doing. Every class is a gift I give myself. Lifelong learning conquers complacency and infuses my artistic goals with excitement and deep satisfaction.
- Edie McClurg Valerie, 7th Heaven
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In directing Rashomon off Broadway, Milton gave me great advice which has served me well: If you are working with a prop or have a piece of business, explore it thoroughly until it becomes second nature.
- Gene Hackman Academy Award Winner Unforgiven, The French Connection
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The teaching has influenced my life and enhanced my ability to work successfully in the professional arena.
- Giovanni Ribisi Saving Private Ryan, Boiler Room, The Gift
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As a director, there are few places to exercise my craft and continue to grow. I have studied with Milton Katselas at the Beverly Hills Playhouse for over 20 years and been a part of a true oasis, one that has nourished and supported, badgered and pestered, coddled, embraced and cajoled me and thousands of other directors and actors towards successful and fulfilling careers. When I directed the talents of the magnitude of Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Sophia Loren, Annette Bening and Gene Hackman, I can honestly say Milton's teachings were paramount in achieving whatever success I was able to with these people. I urge anyone who has the opportunity: study at the Beverly Hills Playhouse, and grow not only in your profession but in life.
- Howard Deutch Director, The Whole Nine Yards, The Replacements
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I got to the point that I wasn't enjoying the work anymore. I was foundering when i began attending acting classes at the Beverly Hills Playhouse with Milton Katselas. He has an incredible way of zeroing in on each student's needs and because of him I love what I do again. He taught me to listen better. I see bigger pictures of life.
- John Glover Smallville, Batman & Robin
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I know without question that I owe my career to the Beverly Hills Playhouse.
- Jorge Garcia Lost, Curb Your Enthusiasm
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If you study at the Beverly Hills Playhouse, and read Milton Katselas' book, you will know exactly what to do to be the greatest actor you could ever hope to be, and achieve everything you ever wanted.
- Larry Miller A Mighty Wind
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Milton and the BHP teach artists to find the truth within themselves as people, not as actors, guiding them to honest, truthful performances.
- Michael Pena Crash, Million Dollar Baby
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In life there are certain names that become superlatives. In the pursuit of true artistry there is only one in my opinion. He is my teacher: Milton Katselas.
- Miguel Ferrer Robocop, Crossing Jordan
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When a man is so instrumental in developing our technique, nurturing a 'gift' and even the spiritual aspects of the craft of acting – what does one say? Both of us feel that Milton's teachings have played a huge part in setting the standards we live by - not only as actors but as artists in the constant quest for growth.
- Patrick Swayze Dirty Dancing, Ghost
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There are times in ones life when the right people are discovered at the right time. I'm so fortunate to have been able to recognize that the first time I fearfully stepped through the doors of the Beverly Hills Play House. The timing was right. Because of Milton I was able to tap into a whole new world of which I'm still discovering. My deep appreciation to the art of filmmaking, I owe to him.
- Priscilla Presley Dallas, The Naked Gun
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Milton teaches with a master's brush. He teaches actors and directors lessons about their craft - but even bigger lessons about life.
- Robert Townsend The Parenthood
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Milton Katselas' lineage can be traced on a straight line back through Strasberg, Vakhtanov, to Stanislavski. Milton is a consummate artist and pure genius as an acting teacher. His instruction is always insightful and compelling and he pleads, cajoles, threatens, and in every way possible challenges his actors to achieve their greatness. I love the man.
- Terry Jastrow Emmy Award Winning Producer
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Hands down, Milton is the best teacher in America. I haven't stopped working for thirty years and I'm still studying with Milton at the Beverly Hills Playhouse. It works, period.
- Thaao Penghlis Days of Our Lives
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The thing I immediately got from Milton and the Beverly Hills Playhouse was a pragmatic look at acting that this how you got work as opposed to this how I fed my narcissist's need to perform. What's great about the book is that it's a great reference. Even if you've taken the class and read the book it's great to go back and find things that strike you and remind you of what you learned in the class.
- Tony Danza Who’s The Boss, Taxi
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Milton Katselas ran the Beverly Hills Playhouse. He had this amazing ability to touch on whatever it was that was holding you back from your full potential. His whole ethos was that life is filled with choices, and it led to a change of direction for me as an actor. It paid off, and has meant all the choices I’ve made since have been more, shall we say, lively.
-Anthony Head Buffy The Vampire Slayer
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For me, Milton and his acting class at the Beverly hillis Playhouse is my community. It’s inspiring.
-Autumn Reeser The O.C, Valentine
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The insight Milton shared with us while directing my first Broadway play many years ago, leaps off the page of this wonderful book, as fresh and fully in tact as it was then and every bit as helpful. This is a great book for actors, young and old.
-Blythe Danner Butterflies Are Free, The Great Santini
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Milton always makes sure that the atmosphere…supports the work and supports you in doing the work.
-James Cromwell W, The Queen, Babe, LA Confidential
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Milton taught me how to get out of my way. Every job I get, Milton has something to do with it. There’s no way that he can’t have something to do with it. I listen to everything he says because it helps.
-Justina Machado Six Feet Under, 1-800 Missing
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