David Alan Basche (www.DavidAlanBasche.com) is starring as Debra Messing’s ex-husband Kenny on the hit TV show The Starter Wife on USA Network, Fridays at 10pm. He is also playing the recurring character of Mike Harness on Lipstick Jungle, and he appeared in the movies United 93 and The War of the Worlds. He is expecting his first child with his wife, Alysia Reiner.
1) When did your Inner Critic first rear its ugly head?
Oh this is a good one, it was at age 6 and it was absolutely horrible. My Father had just died of a sudden, massive heart attack. And I kid you not, a little voice inside my head said “If you had been a better little boy, God would not have had to take your Father.” Oh yes my Inner Critic made quite an entrance, and yes it DID say that. No shit, it really did, the bastard.
2) What’s the worst part of having an Inner Critic, or what’s the worst thing it’s ever said to you?
See above, but even after that, I mean, come on, what HASN’T my inner critic said to me? “You’re so far behind, you’ll never get what you want, it’s too late to reach those levels, too late to make those dreams come true, just give up you piece of shit!” I mean, it will basically stop at nothing to tear me down. And the worst part is that I always think I’m over it. It’s like “Groudhog Day” plays over and over in my subconscious, dammitt! When will my critic be gone? When will I learn how to ignore it perfectly? Um, never…but I keep trying!
3) What have you been able to achieve by smacking down your Inner Critic?
Most importantly, I’ve been able to achieve a life that’s less full of fear, a state of being that’s more present, and an existence that’s freer and lighter and more positive in all ways. And certainly the repeated smackdowns of my Inner Critic have contributed to my career success in a huge way. I deal with a LOT of rejection on a daily basis in my career, and I think learning to smackdown the critic has helped me not take that rejection so personally and therefore made me confident in critical high pressure situations like screen tests, etc.
4) What’s your all-time favorite smackdown?
I say to my inner critic “Excuse me, who the F*&# asked you?” and then try to do a silly little dance while giving my critic the finger. No seriously, I do.
5) What do you do when none of your smackdowns are working?
I Leave… No, really, sometimes just a change of scenery works when nothing else will. A walk on a noisy city street makes it hard to hear my inner critic! And if all else fails, there’s always South Park – watching something insanely funny helps me to not take my self-imposed misery so seriously.
6) Over time, does it get easier to smackdown the Critic? What keeps you motivated?
Practice makes never perfect but certainly easier when it comes to our inner critics. Once you face down an inner critic and win, you always have that victory to recall and feed off for the next battle. Over time it becomes habit to NOT listen to the mean voice in your head!
7) Acting is one of the toughest careers you can have. How do you handle the Outer Critics?
First, never read reviews if you are still working on a piece! In the theatre, even a good review can screw you up onstage the next night. And it’s good to remember the old phrase: “Opinions are like assholes: everybody’s got one.”
Are you scared of raising a kid? If so, how do you smackdown that fear?
Scared? No, I’m TERRIFIED! What responsibility! But I keep telling myself “Just listen to your gut, you’ll be a great Dad, you know you have this in you, you know how to love and nurture and protect and teach, just go with the flow.” Also, bourbon helps a lot.
9) What are your favorite sources of inspiration?
My wife is my single most important inspiration, spiritually and otherwise. Art, books, music, dance, film, really ALL the other arts contribute to my acting inspiration too of course.
10) What advice would you give to someone who was stuck in fear and inaction?
Tell yourself “Get up, get going, DO something!” and then once you start, whatever was scaring you doesn’t seem so bad! The anticipation is worse than the thing itself. I repeat to myself: “Whatever happens, I’ll handle it…”
