LOS ANGELES, July 08, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Professional actor and impressionist Jim Meskimen is known for his recurring role as Martin Housely on NBC’s Parks and Recreation and for a career built on uncannily accurate celebrity impressions, including a widely admired take on Robin Williams. But that career nearly didn’t happen. Speaking recently on the podcast The Melting Pot with Lucas Stein, Meskimen described the anxiety that gripped him as a young performer testing out impressions in front of anyone outside his closest friends.
“Before you’ve really attained some professional status and gained confidence, the whole field of creation is very tender,” Meskimen said. “I froze because I was so cautious and so unwilling to have someone criticize what I was doing.” Meskimen said the turning point came when he read the book, Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health, by L. Ron Hubbard.
“Dianetics breaks down why people get anxiety, and gives you methods that can help you handle it,” he said. “I put that book to work, and within a short time, I was comfortable with performing, eager to perform and working as a professional.”
Dianetics identifies the reactive mind as the hidden source of fear, self-doubt and irrational reactions. This unknown part of the mind stores mental images of painful or emotional experiences, triggering them without warning long after the original moment has passed.
The shift Meskimen describes, launched a career that would go on to include roles in Apollo 13 and How the Grinch Stole Christmas, along with a recurring role on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and a finalist spot on America’s Got Talent, where his improvised celebrity impressions earned a standing ovation at Radio City Music Hall.
For Meskimen, understanding the reactive mind was what turned a paralyzing fear of judgment into a career he could finally step into with confidence.
Bridge Publications, Inc. publishes the nonfiction works of L. Ron Hubbard. Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health is the all-time bestselling book on the human mind.
For more information, visit dianetics.org.
Sara Lucatero
Bridge Publications, Inc.
[email protected]
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