Danny Binstock on Acting and Mindset

Danny Binstock joins us on this week’s episode of the podcast. Danny is somebody I have known since elementary school and he is always doing a million things at once. As Danny has gotten older, he’s really focused on his craft of acting. Danny was also a three-sport athlete that ran cross country, played ice hockey, and also played lacrosse. He is someone who has always been good at whatever he puts his mind to. Danny is a New York City-based actor from the Washington, DC area that has worked at different theaters throughout the country, and he has also appeared on television. Danny is in the middle of his journey, and he has a vision for himself of bigger things even though he has already had a successful career thus far. In this episode, we discuss his last seven years of grinding in the acting world (8:10), what desperation felt like for him (9:30), how he thinks about comparisons (16:10), how massive vulnerability is in his world (21:10), what he has shifted intentionally with regard to how he thinks about auditions (28:10), how empathy plays a role in his profession (35:20), how empathy impacts his life off stage (40:00), what he does to be successful in an audition (46:10), how he thinks about acting as a team sport (49:50), the emotions he feels when he’s on stage (54:30), his experience in a performance when he didn’t have time to study the lines (1:00:10), why a play is called a play (1:04:30), his thoughts on the preparation vs. performance mindset (1:06:00), how his sports experiences impacted him in his career today (1:09:05), what works for him with motivation (1:14:30), why he’s so passionate about acting (1:15:40), the habits/routines he does to keep himself sharp (1:22:20), what he does if he isn’t able to connect with his teammate (1:28:05), how he creates confidence moving forward for himself (1:31:00), the dialogue he has with himself before his performance (1:35:10), and how he’s not afraid (1:37:40). Thank you to Danny for joining us on this week’s podcast. He was just on Blue Bloods, Madam Secretary, and Elementary so you can find him on CBS. We encourage you to check him out on Instagram @dbinstock. Lastly, if you liked this episode and/or any others, please support us at Patreon or follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers. Thanks for listening. -Brian