Brent and Shane Kinsman: Why The Biggest Mistake You Can Make In Acting Is Suppressing Your Authenticity

As a part of our series about creating a successful career in TV and Film, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Brent and Shane Kinsman.

Brent and Shane Kinsman are talented young actors who have made quite a mark in the entertainment industry. They are well-known for their co-starring roles as rambunctious twins “Kyle and Nigel Baker” in the blockbuster feature film family comedies Cheaper by The Dozen and Cheaper By The Dozen 2, as well as twins “Porter and Preston Scavo” in the hit ABC TV comedy-drama series Desperate Housewives. After taking a break to focus on school, the twins recently graduated from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and are excited to continue their acting careers, being especially passionate about pursuing projects that exemplify authentic wholesome family values.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?

We had a very interesting and unique childhood. We have lived in the Los Angeles area our entire lives and spent a lot of our early days on set because we started acting at just four years old. However, outside of set, we lived the quintessential “American kid” life. We went to school, played anything and everything with a ball, went “TP-ing” (and got TP-ed a million times), and played in the dirt with our buddies. Those same buddies whom we met all those years ago in junior high still remain our core group of friends today. We were both really into our athletics during the time we got into high school and played varsity football and baseball. From there we went on to enroll at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, where Shane studied Agricultural Business and Entrepreneurship, and Brent studied Agricultural Science with minors in Business and Entrepreneurship. On paper, it may seem like we do all of the same things together, but we didn’t plan on going to college together — that is its own story!

Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?

We love telling this story because it was such a “right place, right time” thing. Our careers began with a blessing. Long story short, we were four years old when our parents took us to one of our first Dodger games. We were the exact same kids in real life as everybody knew us to be on-screen — rambunctious, energetic and sometimes out of control. With matching blue and white wigs and foam fingers, we were a spectacle, and our personalities earned us some screen time on the “DodgerVision” big screen. By happenstance, there was a talent agent sitting two rows behind our parents who offered us acting opportunities. Our first gig was a Tylenol commercial and shortly after we auditioned for Cheaper by the Dozen — the rest is history. Just before our teenage years, we decided to take a hiatus from acting to focus on our studies and sports, knowing that we might pick it back up later in life. At some point in college, we decided that we’d get back into the entertainment industry once we completed our degrees, and that’s where we are now.

Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?

Sometimes we get shocked when people recognize us from our childhood work, which happens more frequently than you’d think! A few years ago on a study abroad trip in Rome, we were recognized in a sweets shop (we have raging sweet tooths). The place was slammed and she was making crepes behind the counter — she was a Desperate Housewives fan. We were shocked because we were layered in beanies and heavy winter clothes from head to toe, in a foreign country, and it had been 10+ years since we were on the show. I guess our faces haven’t changed since we were 8!

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?

When we first started out as kids, we were pretty much walking “mistakes”. We did not have any formal acting training and just acted as organically as we knew how. I think that part of our desirability came from the fact that we were raw and unpredictable, which made us authentic. In re-entering the acting world, most of the work we have done on ourselves has actually been undoing the manufactured preconceptions and ideas you collect in adulthood. In other words, the biggest mistake you can make is to suppress your authenticity. Some of the best scenes in films were never written into the script.

What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now?

Originally when we decided to get back into the entertainment industry, we had only intended to pursue acting. Along the way though, we came across some inspiration to write a story of our own. We have never formally written anything before, but it is a story that we feel we absolutely need to tell and we hope we can get it on the screen one day. I wish we could share more details about the project but for now it's top secret. I guess you’ll have to wait for it to hit theaters!

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?

There is no getting around the possibility of failure in this career path, not unlike so many other career paths. The good thing is, there has never been more abundance of opportunity than today. More so now than ever in our industry people of all shapes, sizes and backgrounds are represented. Also, streaming services are booming and are constantly hungry for content. Not to mention, we all have a high-quality camera in our pockets these days — it has never been easier to shoot an audition, or even a short independent film to get started. Social media has become another powerful tool for connections and networking opportunities, which is the name of the game. The takeaway is that, with a little creativity and persistence, there has never been this much opportunity to market yourself in the entertainment industry.

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?

A popular Martin Luther King Jr. quote comes to mind here. “[People] fear each other because they don’t know each other, and they don’t know each other because they don’t communicate with each other, and they don’t communicate with each other because they are separated from each other.” Stories have always been a medium of communication for people from all over the world. Storytelling exposes people to foreign cultures and ideas that they otherwise wouldn’t have access to. We in the U.S. are unique because we are a melting pot of people from different places and have a special opportunity to represent that on screen.

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why? Please share a story or example for each.

1. Trust your instincts. We are learning that in the age of information overload, the abundance of resources out there can be diluting. It is important to put the information you learn through the filter of your intuition.

2. Just get started, you’ll never feel completely “ready”. Sure, there are practical ways to set yourself up for better a chance, but waiting for the perfect time could cause you to spin your wheels. There is a quote by Richard Branson that we love which says: “If somebody offers you an amazing opportunity but you are not sure you can do it, say yes — then learn how to do it later”.

3. Keep written records. Journaling not just about your craft but your life, in general, has many benefits. It keeps your thoughts/ideas organized, and therefore sharpens your articulation. It is also important to keep a record of life experiences — including the mundane — because these are what you’ll reference and take with you into your craft. Acting is a reflection of real life.

4. Invest in yourself. Being in the entertainment industry is like running a business, but the difference is that you are the product. Fostering interests and developing skills outside of acting contribute to your brand and make you dynamic. Learning skills doesn’t just teach you to learn the skill itself, but also teaches you how to learn. For example, we picked up guitar and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu in recent years and developing each skill has helped us become better students of the other.

5. It is okay to say no. Perhaps the most important factor in this career is being self-aware, knowing how you are perceived by yourself and other people. Not every role offered to you will do you and your career justice. In the beginning, double down on your strengths. Then over time step out of the box a bit when you become more experienced.

Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?

Have a realistic timeline. The photographer who took both of our most recent headshots told us a story about one of his clients. She was just getting started in the industry and was there to get her very first set of headshots. She was vibrant, enthusiastic, full of energy, and hungry. Six months later she returned to his photography studio completely burned out. She didn’t have the drive and energy like she did when she first got started due to a slow start. She had unrealistic expectations of what she thought she should have accomplished in that short amount of time. Like any other major investment in life, a career in this industry is a marathon, not a sprint.

Embrace slow seasons. Over the years we have gotten to know some very talented and successful entertainers, and none of them have been exempt from lulls. It can be easy to focus on others’ successes and highlights, but what is less talked about is the downtime. A great mainstream testimony to this is Matthew McConaughey where in his book “Green Lights” he talks about going from the top of his game to a two-year season without work. We reference these examples when we get discouraged.

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. :-)

As cliché as it may sound, we both value the freedom to have open-minded and diplomatic conversations with people we may disagree with politically, socially and otherwise. We believe “Cancel Culture” is a destructive movement because it doesn’t allow any room for healthy disagreement and, therefore, growth. For example, both of us have dear friends with views which we fundamentally disagree with, but often have an uncomfortable yet productive conversation which stretches every mind involved and actually deepens relationships. In our experience, people have much more in common than they don’t and most of us simply see different means to the same ends.

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?

Over the years we have been blessed with countless good influences in our careers and life in general, and we have learned a lot from people of all ages. We are particularly grateful to our parents. They’ve done an exceptional job at walking the line between allowing us to think independently and have the space for life experience, but also intervening with critical guidance and wisdom along the way.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“Can you imagine yourself in 10 years if, instead of avoiding the things you know you should do, you actually did them every single day? That’s powerful.” — Jordan B. Peterson.
Life is a game of compound interest and when you gather momentum by practicing good habits consistently over a long period of time, your success curve actually becomes exponential instead of linear. This is a truth about life that we were exposed to in our adolescent years and found that it applies to almost any endeavor. We recommend a book that we read as teenagers called “The Slight Edge” by Jeff Olson which goes into deeper detail about this idea.

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. :-)

Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni. We are big Sci-Fi fans, particularly Star Wars. If anybody, we’d love to pick their brains because Jon Favreau has been in the game for a long time on both sides of the camera, and we are appreciators of Dave Filoni’s work. We think they’d have a lot of wisdom to offer two young bucks like ourselves!

How can our readers follow you online?

You can find us on Instagram!

@brentkinsman7 @shane_kinsman

This was very meaningful, thank you so much! We wish you continued success!