About John
John hails from Quincy, MA., Hough’s Neck to be exact, which is a small island/fishing community.
Starting his acting career in grade school where he performed in plays, chorus and was a band geek. He actually wrote his first play in sixth- grade titled, “Run Joey Run”, after the hit song. He played a tough cowboy and walked into a bar and said, “Gimme a glass of milk...in a dirty glass.” He’s been performing ever since!
He moved to San Francisco October 1, 1988 with some friends who got a job transfer. Having the dream of always hitting “Hollywood” to pursue his dream of fame and fortune, he didn’t think twice about moving to SF, as it was so close to LA. However, after building a life in SF since 1988, John fell in love with San Francisco and has made it “home”, knowing LA isn’t far and dreams do come true.
He didn’t have the opportunity of pursuing higher education after completing high school, but he had a dream. He actually found his first agent in Boston and learned all about modeling and dance with Academy Modeling & Dance. He actually studied caribbean dance where the troupe traveled all over Boston performing at private parties and department stores. He recalls, “I was the only white male at the studio doing caribbean dance but had so much fun with everyone traveling all over, they taught me so much about the business at an early age.”
Upon moving to San Francisco John didn’t start acting right away, even though his dreams were always in the forefront of his mind. He had taken some acting classes and workshops and learned “basics” of acting, some to which he still uses today. After doing a few shows on stage, John started taking his career more seriously. He found an agent but it went under within a few months after joining and he didn’t land any gigs with them. Soon after he began the search again and after his first interview with Boom Models & Talent, they took him on, whom he’s been with since 1997. He actually landed the first audition they sent him on, an infomercial for skin care products being endorsed by Peggy Flemming, which never actually launched.
He booked lots of different jobs the first few years with Boom, such as, print, industrials, and commercials; AAA . He did his first and only regional commercial in 2000 for Quest Communications, which allowed him to become SAG eligible. During this time he was also doing lots of stage work and remains a long time member of Theatre Bay Area. He also has done quite a few short films. This string of work lasted quite a few years before, as John says, “I hit a brick wall while auditioning and wasn’t getting cast in anything.” It took a few years of not working to kick him into gear and seriously take a look at what was not working.
John decided it was time to get back into training as he felt he didn’t receive “proper” training in the the early days. He got new headshots and was in and out of classes for a few years, not feeling energized by what he was seeing until he found Jim Jarrett and the Meisner Technique. He says, “learning Meisner was life changing, both personally and professionally. I just wish I had found it earlier, but everything happens for a reason. It was exactly what I was looking for and what I needed. I’ve become a character actor and I’m proud to call myself a Meisner actor.”
John achieved his dream and made his Hollywood debut playing Mike Markkula in Steve Jobs film. It was directed by Oscar winner Danny Boyle and starred Michael Fassbender, Kate Winslet and Jeff Daniels. It was shot exclusively in San Francisco and one of the few projects that cast local actors to play numerous parts. It won numerous awards, including the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress, Kate Winslet and Best Screenplay, Aaron Sorkin. John says it was the most amazing experience in his acting career thus far and he had a wonderful time on set. It truly was a dream come true. He finally obtained his SAG card and is a proud member of the SAG/AFTRA Union.
John likes to say, "Dream Big. Then dream bigger".
When John isn’t acting or auditioning he enjoys playing poker (he has a bi-weekly group) working out at the gym, playing softball, wine tasting, movies/theatre, self-improvement and hanging out with his friends, whom are very important to him. He is also very into living a healthy lifestyle.
He started studying Nichiren Buddhism in early 2020. In 2021 John began a journey into self exploration and became an energy healing practitioner and started his own practice, called johnergy Healing.
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