If you look at the early lives of the Hollywood actors we hear about all the time, you’ll notice a pattern. Most of them started living their lives differently from the rest of us from a young age. Larry Laverty is a perfect example.

Born in Berkeley, California and raised in nearby Oakland, Laverty was a gifted student in school, always at the top of his class. He made friends with everyone and was especially drawn to the children in his classes who were different, those who came from poverty, those with European parents, and those with quiet voices.

By the time he was attending Oakland’s renowned Skyline High School, whose many notable alumni include fellow actor Tom Hanks, Laverty had grown disenchanted with school, focusing more on sports and outdoor activities. Despite his involvement with the Boy Scouts, becoming an Eagle Scout at a young age, writing for the school newspaper, playing music in a school jazz band, and participating in the school track team along with other sports, Laverty had spent almost as much time skipping school to be with other longhairs as he had been attending classes. He barely graduated with the rest of his high school class.

Without the necessary qualifications to enter UC Berkeley or Stanford, where his parents had attended school, he reinvented himself by moving to the family farm in Idaho, Kuna, Idaho. There, she immersed herself in rural life, commuting every day to the nearby big city to work and attend college. He earned two degrees from Boise State University, but more importantly, he worked every day to pay his way. It was by doing these jobs that he planted the seeds of a career in acting.

Laverty had no less than ten different jobs growing up, from working in a dark factory to milking cows at a dairy. It was the challenge of mastering each new job that interested him, and despite being offered management careers at several of the companies he worked for, he kept going. Unable to feel good about dedicating his life to a career in the fields of his college degrees, he one day thought he would try his hand at acting.

Now back in Oakland, California, Laverty began doing Shakespearean plays and Broadway musicals at the Woodminster Theater. He had found his calling. He went back to school to study acting. In subsequent years, she studied at the prestigious American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, at the Jean Shelton Actors Lab, and with notable improv groups Second City and The Groundlings.

At the same time, Laverty had not given up on her love of sports, so she juggled her pursuit of a career in acting with an eleven-year attempt to make the US Olympic speed skating team. She lived in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Calgary, Canada, and Butte, Montana during these years, and although he failed to make it to the Olympics, he made lifelong friends in these cities and kept performing.

With his athletic years behind him, Laverty began working as an actor in Hollywood and began regular television work soon after. He appeared on iconic TV shows like The Tonight Show and The Dating Game. He worked in several telenovelas, including “Todos mis hijos”, “Días de nuestra vida” and “Pasiones”. He worked on docu-dramas like “Breaking Vegas,” “Unsolved Mysteries,” “Mysteries & Scandals,” and “America’s Most Wanted.” And he guest-starred in the prime-time dramas “Judging Amy” and “The Practice.”

But Laverty had also appeared in a few independent films at the time and knew the satisfaction that came from working more collaboratively with directors and producers. So despite having established himself in Hollywood, he left Los Angeles to work on independent films across the country. One of his first films was a one-week deal on Gus Van Sant’s 2003 Cannes major film “Elephant.” Shortly after came roles in the well-received horror film “The Hamiltons.” He worked alongside one of his childhood heroes, Rutger Hauer, on “Dead Tone.” And to date, he has appeared in leading or supporting roles in over 100 films.

In keeping with his lifelong tendency to dominate jobs, Laverty approaches each role he plays the same way he approached each job he had when he was younger. Through his research and imagination, he literally becomes the characters he plays. In the process, he alters his appearance, the way he thinks, and the way he talks. You have to look really hard to recognize him in many of the characters he plays.

There is a lesson that all of us need to learn by watching the life of Larry Laverty. That is to say, there is a lot to learn by getting past our own daily concerns and entering the lives of the people around us. By caring for and connecting with other people, we receive great rewards, including the many doors that can be opened throughout life’s journey.