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The Pep Talk From Mickey Mouse We All Need to Hear, Compliments of Chris Diamantopoulos Chris Diamantopoulos, the star of "The Sticky," "Red Notice" and the voice of Mickey Mouse, gets real about resilience, chasing dreams, and his desperate wish for a normal hobby.

By Dan Bova

Irvin Rivera

Hilarious actor Chris Diamantopoulos has appeared in so many fantastic shows and movies that this intro could be a book. But we'll give you the Cliff's Notes here. You know him from "Red Notice," "Silicon Valley," "The Boys in the Boat," and as the voice of Mickey Mouse, to name just a few notable gigs, and now he can be both seen and heard in the brand-new comedy heist show "The Sticky" on Amazon.

On this episode of "How Success Happens," Chris recounts his early days, explaining how he jumped from being a child commercial actor in Canada to a stage star in New York City to the screen actor we know today. (Spoiler alert: it wasn't easy!)

Chris says he's had to endure all kinds of people saying all kinds of not-so-nice things along the way, but with a combination of good humor and good old-fashioned stubbornness, he achieved his dream. "I recognized how I felt — and still feel — when I see a movie or show that moves me and I've been able to monetize that and turn that into a vocation, which also happens to be, sadly enough, my hobby as well," he says. "I envy people who love riding motorcycles or going fly fishing or whatever it is. The thing that I love doing is what I do. I love acting. I love it. It annihilates me. It destroys me. It pains me. It brings me to my knees. I absolutely love it."

Related: David Cross on Touring and If 'Arrested Development' Should Come Back

Listen to the episode embedded above (or find it on Apple or Spotify) to learn more about Chris's inspiring story — and to laugh your ass off. Learn what it's really like to work alongside Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and hear a pep talk from Mickey Mouse that you will not soon forget!

About How Success Happens

Each episode of How Success Happens shares the inspiring, entertaining, and unexpected journeys that influential leaders in business, the arts, and sports traveled on their way to becoming household names. It's a reminder that behind every big-time career, there is a person who persists in the face of self-doubt, failure, and anything else that gets thrown in their way.

Subscribe now: Apple | Spotify | YouTube

Dan Bova

Entrepreneur Staff

VP of Special Projects

Dan Bova is the VP of Special Projects at Entrepreneur.com. He previously worked at Jimmy Kimmel Live, Maxim, and Spy magazine. His latest books for kids include This Day in History, Car and Driver's Trivia ZoneRoad & Track Crew's Big & Fast Cars, The Big Little Book of Awesome Stuff, and Wendell the Werewolf

Read his humor column This Should Be Fun if you want to feel better about yourself.

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

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