Photo © John Ganun
“Imagine if you had nowhere to live and some girl you didn’t know said you could stay with her. Would you?” Sebastian Siegel looked pensive as he gestures ever so slightly to the two girls seated across from us, his eyes motion in their direction. It’s a sunny day in Los Angeles, and as we sat on the patio of Urth Caffe in Beverly Hills, I can see, in that earnest stare, just how impassioned Sebastian Siegel is; about life, his career, the people he has met and finding his way.
Although I knew this question was rhetorical, I still maintained my curiosity. And as the waitress interrupts us with his food, I wait to see — to hear — and to learn more about what this actor turned model turned actor has to say about sacrifices, choices, goals and why so many people lack self esteem.
STEFAN PINTO: “Is that going to fill you?” Sebastian has ordered a green salad with a side of extra chicken, which the waitress has forgotten to bring.
SEBASTIAN SIEGEL: “Probably not. Are you going to get something?”
SP: “No, I’m doing a story on healthy meal replacement energy bars, and I just had one. Hey, do you want this bread-cake thing?” It’s a piece of corn bread that comes with my green tea espresso. Both taste wretched.
SS: [laughs] “That’s all yours.”
Our chat lasts for over two hours, and although the City of Beverly Hills chose to ticket me for parking in a broken meter, I remained auspicious in that sometimes life opportunities will knock, albeit softly; few people are fortunate to find a sage of wisdom, and if you’re really good at impersonating the Governor of California, people will stop what they’re doing and turn around to look.
Here is an excerpt of my interview with actor and fitness model, Sebastian Siegel.
SP: You’ve been quoted in various ways about your physique as being “strictly a byproduct of my love for pushing physical limits, igniting emotional highs and disciplining mental will.” Indeed, life is about the journey, but this enjoyment is seldom appreciated--or even understood. How would you coach people to realize this intangible facet?
SS: Get lost in it. Exercise, love, relationship, work, adventure – whatever it is, that’s the only way to the core of it all. We’re all going to a box in the ground – there’s no need to rush to get there. Eternity exists in the moment.
SP: Remaining fit is challenging. It takes tremendous discipline. What (and/or who) motivates you?
SS: I’m hungry, hungry for life, hungry to feel, hungry to do. It just feels right. If you look at your hands, these hands, they were meant to DO things with – to work, to play, to struggle, to fight for it, to care. Like the sun shines, we are born each day to do – I just like giving in to it, heeding that call to live. Sweat is evolutionarily integral to that call, it’s part of our makeup. Animals just run sometimes, even when they’re not hunting or fleeing, they just run. We are people, and before that, beneath that, we are animals. That thought excites me, and so exercise excites me in that way – like honoring the progress of time within my biological being; expressing its manifestation in this physicality by playing the instrument, by pushing it to the limit. In terms of discipline, discipline is freedom. Giving in to whatever you want, to laying around, to eating garbage, to not treating people with care let’s say, that is slavery, slavery to our weakest, lowest being. Discipline breaks us free from that. It is the freedom to decide what we want to become, and the commitment to become that. A slave does only what is required. You’re a free man or woman, the moment you step beyond.
SP: Let’s talk about goals vs. dreams. The proverbial “dreams do come true” has become cliché, yet so many people maintain this desire while remaining uncertain on how to make it a reality. How did you make your dream into your goal? What was/is your dream?
SS: I’m just doing what I love doing. In terms of manifesting, I think it’s important to schedule, and then get lost in it. Assertiveness is important. Decisiveness is important. I want to devour the day, but we’ll never get anywhere without knowing what we want to achieve. And faith is important, because often, we’re not going to succeed. And tenacity is important, because following dreams requires a bit of insanity. And courage is important, because when we’re original and when we make mistakes, we’re going to get laughed at. And so love, for the process and even for the struggles, is important because outcome will always vary. And, of course, there’s a lot of magic in making it fun.
The entire interview on PintoFactory.com
Comments