Bern Cohen On The Five Things You Need To Shine In The Entertainment Industry
An Interview With Edward Sylvan
Don’t act. Just be authentic. Memorize everyone’s lines because that helps you memorize your own lines.
As a part of our series about pop culture’s rising stars, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Bern Cohen.
Bern Cohen has major roles in over 100 movies and TV shows, and while he appeared in four New York City musicals in which he sang solo songs, Malibu Baby is his first recorded single. On TV, he is currently the Pastor/Funeral Director in the TV series, POWER, as well as Rabbi Krinsky in THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL and Natasha Lyonne’s Teacher in RUSSIAN DOLL.
Bern’s MOST recent movie roles include AFTER CLASS, starring Fran Drescher and TANGO SHALOM for which he received Best Supporting Actor nominations.
Bern graduated Adelphi and Columbia Universities and retired 15 years ago as a High School Principal. During that time, The NY Times and amazon published three books by Cohen about education practices. Since then, with a change in focus, he has acted movie and TV scenes with such celebs as Sean Penn, Richard Gere, Elizabeth Rodriguez and many others. He also had a successful one-man Off-Broadway show in which he played Sixties Activist, Abbie Hoffman.
“You’re never too old to start a new adventure if it’s a happy, fun effort,” says Cohen, now in his seventies. Is he looking for a new musical career at this age? “I’ll ride this pony until it doesn’t want to run, and then there’ll be some other fun.” But Cohen has several tunes ready as follow-up to Malibu Baby which is now on Spotify, apple, and 160 digital music platforms around the world.
Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?
I had an unusual childhood environment growing up as an Anglo in New York City’s Chinatown.
Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?
I attended Adelphi University on a full scholarship for acting. That told me I had the chops to be in the entertainment field.
Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
I have had many wonderful acting opportunities on TV and in movies to do scenes with some of the major acting celebs such as Sean Penn, Richard Gere, Elizabeth Rodriguez and many more.
It has been said that mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
During the intermission of an NYC musical in which I had a lead singing role, I got lost under the stage and yelled out to somebody, “Where the hell is the Men’s Room,” only to hear the entire theater laugh because I forgot to turn off my microphone.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?
Malibu Baby, my first single, is very exciting.
You have been blessed with success in a career path that can be challenging. Do you have any words of advice for others who may want to embark on this career path, but seem daunted by the prospect of failure?
I fail every week. I get about 3–4 auditions a week and score only 10% of them. Failure is not considered the end in this business. There are many fails and you need to develop a thick skin.
We are very interested in diversity in the entertainment industry. Can you share three reasons with our readers about why you think it’s important to have diversity represented in film and television? How can that potentially affect our culture?
When I was in education, I was President of The NY State Association for Multicultural Education. Having grown up in Chinatown, I live multiculturally and know first-hand, how much better life is when you are open to live diversely. One of my grandchildren is African-American. Two are Asian-American. Education is the key to promoting diversity and TV and movies being diverse in characters is part of that education.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why? Please share a story or example for each.
- Don’t act. Just be authentic.
- Bring food to shoots that are sugar-free because the set is loaded with sugary foods.
- Wear good shoes because acting puts you on your feet more than expected.
- Memorize everyone’s lines because that helps you memorize your own lines.
Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?
Have a life outside of the entertainment field.
You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
Multicultural education and Bilingual education would bring us to better understanding and a better world.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
I was singing in a club in Nyack, NY. When I finished, the emcee said, “would you believe that guy was a high school principal?” Director, Jonathan Demme, was in the audience. He grabbed me and said, “Is that true.” I explained I was retired and looking to go back into acting. He gave me my first role in The Manchurian Candidate. Penny Templeton became my acting coach and taught me how to “not act.”
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
My father told me to always dry myself after a shower by starting at the top. Since then, I have always been a planner, thinking ahead, getting it right the first time.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. :-)
Singer Paul Simon.
How can our readers follow you online?
I am very active on Facebook.
This was very meaningful, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!
