We were lucky to catch up with Johnny Marx recently and have shared our conversation below.
Johnny, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. I’m sure there have been days where the challenges of being an artist or creative force you to think about what it would be like to just have a regular job. When’s the last time you felt that way? Did you have any insights from the experience?
This is such an amazing question. I’ll be honest, often times I do have fantasies about moving to a little house in the middle of nowhere and just never being heard from again. I guess that’s not “living a normal life”, but yeah, it pops into my head from time to time. When I get real with myself though, I realize that that desire actually has nothing to do with me wanting small town life, but more using it as an escape from the anxieties I face creating. If I’m super overwhelmed by a creative project or feeling stuck, I’m like “maybe this is just too stressful for me! I should quit”. And that feels comforting, for like 3. seconds but that thought is always met with another thought being, if i were to quit acting, filmmaking, and stand up, I know for the rest of my life any time I would see a film or hear someone talking about an actor I’d be like “I want that to me be.” I hope that makes sense, but the best way I can really describe that is by saying that every time I go to a stand up show as an audience member, no matter who is on stage, I am always thinking to myself, “God, I wish I were on stage right now”.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
My mother and I were always running to catch a train. The combination of last minute auditions from my agent and my mothers general inability to arrive places on time made us frequent sprinters on the Long Island Railroad train platform. Getting pulled out of school for auditions became the norm, with my mother often calling the main office of Village Elementary School saying “Yes, John is sick today and will not be in school” while the sounds of the train bustled in the background. Now to be clear, my mom is no way some crazy stage mom forcing me into the spotlight in order to relive her childhood dreams or something. My mother, terrified of the stage, has become a pro at hiding from people in the grocery store in order to avoid any type of public speaking. I auditioned all on my own accord. I still can’t explain it, and it’s a question people love to ask, but I just needed to act. It was, and still is, the thing I love doing more than anything in the world.
But yes, the will to act professionally came from me, and a push from a neurotic but good spirited woman named Wendy Talbmun. “Stars Of Tomorrow,” run by Mrs. Talbmun was a run down little building on the side of the road about 20 minutes from my house and anyone who wanted to be anyone in the 8 to 13 year old child actor scene went there. The voice of Dora actually got her start at “Stars Of Tomorrow” and Wendy would never let you forget. As I walked in for my first day of acting lessons I saw my friend Paulina who’d been doing some child modeling work and was looking to break into acting. (Yes, we were eight years old, I know this sounds ridiculous). I remember running up to Paulina and enthusiastically saying hello, which apparently rocked Wendy’s world. “This is the only kid I’ve ever seen walk into Stars Of Tomorrow and not be a nervous wreck” cheered Wendy, which should be seen as a reflection on her dictatorial teaching style, but I don’t think she made the connection. “We need to get this kid an agent!” added Wendy, and that she did.
Shirley Grant of Shirley Grant Management was, I guess, a friend of Wendy’s as one phone call got me a meeting with her. A sweet older woman who supposedly discovered the Jonas Brothers, she worked out of a little house in Jersey that was painted to look like a ladybug and her bathroom was lined with pictures of women staring at you. To be honest, I’m not sure if the ladybug thing is true but everytime I think of the house I see it looking like a lady bug and I don’t know why. I believe I sang two songs, danced, and maybe acted a little for the team of agents and walked out with a contract that day. I exploded with joy in the car ride home. I dreamed of all the television shows I would be on and movies I would star in. I didn’t have a single headshot nor any acting training besides the shows at “Stars Of Tomorrow,” which Wendy always found a way to put herself in, but in my mind, I was already a Hollywood Bigshot.
After a few years of odd commercial and voice over jobs, I booked a role in Julie Tyamor’s Off-Broadway production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream; quite life changing. From there it was the National Tour of A Christmas Story the musical. 2 of my proudest accomplishments as a young artist.
From there, it was college! USC, fight on! In college I really found my love for filmmaking and stand up, honestly because I often times feel I am not a right fit for so many acting projects if that makes sense. As a really feminine gay kid, it can be hard to find the right project for you. Stand up and screenwriting have been 2 huge, recent loves of mine that allow me to create my own world. I have 2 films out right now, and am almost finished with the screenplay for my third, which I am SO excited about. I would LOVE if anyone were to watch my films, specifically my second one Seance which can be found on my youtube channel, Johnny Marx Films. I feel like they say more about me than I ever could write here.
My main goals with all of my films is honestly just to share things from my life and work through them in my brain. My biggest filmmaking inspiration, Simon Amstell once said something to the effect of “I think I’m just interested in making films about what’s wrong with me at each stage of my life” and honestly I really relate. So yeah, my own personal experience and always creating roles for feminine gay men. It would be a dream of mine if one day a young gay actor was like “Ugh, I’d love to be in a Johnny Marx film!” For stand up, making people laugh is actually the best thing in the entire world!! I love stand up so much and similiar to my filmmaking aspirations, I just love talking about me on stage. That might sound insane, but what artist isnt!
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
The hours of intense dance classes, singing lessons and acting training thrust upon me from eighth grade up until my senior year has turned me into the artist I am today. While in recent years I have definitely packed up my jazz shoes and shead my musical theater roots for straight acting, I learned a myriad of valuable lessons at my performing arts high school. In my sophomore year, I had the task of singing “Winters On The Wing ” from The Secret Garden and I still wake up in a cold sweat thinking about that dreadful song. A rapid tempo, confusing lyrics, and a key that was probably too high for my very limited vocal range, “Winters On The Wing” haunts my nightmares. But still, little fifteen year old Johnny powered through and after watching the recording my mom has of me singing it, I have to say I don’t think I sound too bad. As ridiculous as it may seem, my time as a musical theater major, made me resilient, fearless and hard working. I would implore anyone who doubts the validity or rigor of Musical Theater to perform “Winters On The Wing” as a fifteen year old boy during the peak of puberty.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
Everytime I write standup or screen writing, I wind up jumping up and down and dancing all around the room. I know that sounds crazy, but taking ideas from my mind, putting them on paper, and knowing one day one of these ideas could make someone laugh or cry (cathartically) is just like the coolest thing in the entire world to me. If I am ever questioning if this is what I am meant to be doing with my life, I always return to that feeling.
Also! One time a gay guy messaged me on instagram and described my content, specifically my stand up as “healing”. While I never really thought of my material that way, WOW was it nice to hear. I have no idea what I healed him from, but boy did that message almost make me cry. Another gay guy said my content was “what the gay community needs right now”. Whether or not I agree with that is still up in the air, but knowing that other gay guys relate to me is so rewarding.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnnymarxx/?igsh=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ%3D%3D&utm_source=qr#
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@JohnnyMarxFilms
