Watching Showtime

Last week I had the chance to interview John Talalas, who played Police Commissioner Steven Simon on the episode “True Love Tends To Forget”. A tremendous actor, he’s had a plethora of experience to draw from, and has some great stuff to share.

How did you get into acting, and what other careers have you had?

I was in my first play, a musical, at age 15 and had really enjoyed the experience. At the time, I was torn between bodybuilding (I was a huge fan of Gov. Arnold) and acting and almost dropped out of the play. I told the writer/director (Louis Gentile, who is now an famous Opera singer in Germany) that I didn’t really like the singing as it was a bit “unmanly”, and it might not put me in the best light at school… He exploded, “YOU ARE GOING TO STAND ON A STAGE IN YOUR UNDERWEAR FLEXING YOUR MUSCLES BUT YOU WON’T SING IN A PLAY??!!!!!! Soooo, I thought it over and decided to go for it. But after that, I kind of focused on sports up until about the age of 22.

After singing in a band and actually trying a little opera singing, I was house painting in Connecticut for the actor David Canary and his wife Maureen, David is a staple on “All My Children” and Maureen a Broadway actress. I asked their advice…They referred me to an acting teacher in New York, William Alderson and I studied with him for two years. I then moved to LA to try to get the career going and join the Screen Actors Guild.

It took about 3 more years to get a break and received it by getting Taft-Hartley’d on “Hunter.” My first line was “Check this action, Jack.” !! So after about 5 years, it had been quite an investment of time and money and I was getting burnt out so my new wife Nancy and I figured it might be a good idea to move back East and pursue a more normal life, raise kids and be closer to our families. The Northridge Earthquake in ‘93 jolted us into action. We left very soon after and moved to Boston.

The competition is incredible in LA, but my plan was always to get back into it sometime in the future. I also figured all the other 20-30 year olds that were my main competition would die off as I got older so then my odds of getting another part would improve! Just kidding. After moving back to Boston, I worked in Executive Sales and Marketing Management positions for the last 15 years or so. I can say the experience of running sales teams and reporting up into Boards of Directors, generally very rich successful and ruthless people, gave me lots of experience to draw from in acting, in roles such as a police commissioner.

What brought you to Brotherhood? Talk a bit about your experience on the show, the actors you worked with, etc.

I quickly found out about the show being filmed in Rhode Island, and so I bought the DVD of the first season and loved it! I made it my #1 goal to try and get a part. I auditioned for Anne Mulhall, the current casting director (on my birthday actually!..I believe the chance was a birthday present from my Mom who had passed away the previous July) and then received a call back a week later to read for the Director, Thomas Carter. It was very exciting to get the call that I had the part! I have never met Blake Masters but I sincerely thank him and Henry Bromell for choosing me and giving me a big break! Jason Clarke was really nice to work with - it was quite funny to hear him with his natural Australian accent, then slip into the Rhode Island one. He was very friendly and giving as an actor, also very intense.

What’s one piece of advice you were given in regards to acting that you’d pass on to everyone you meet, and is there one that was so bad you would never tell anyone (except me right now, of course)?

Learn the craft! If you really feel you want to pursue acting, get into some plays, school or community theatre or find a really good teacher and take the time to learn the basics. Without training, you may be able to get some auditions, but you may not be able to seize the opportunity if you don’t really know what you are doing. On the east coast at least, the opportunities are way too few to squander.

Bad advice? Lets just say that people might find themselves in situations where rapid career advancement may be offered in return for certain favors. It is absolutely not worth losing your soul!

What’s next on your acting plate? Anything you can share with our readers?

I am in search of an agent or manager and am spending time reaching out. I’m also doing some work on a movie, “The Box” directed by Richard Kelly (”Donnie Darko” (a really great cult classic) & Southland Tales) and starring James Marsden and Cameron Diaz. Other than that, my main focus is to uphold justice and to protect what I believe is in the best interest of the kind citizens of Rhode Island…myself included!

John Talalas, Showtime, Brotherhood