We caught up with the brilliant and insightful John Gloria a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi John, thank you for being such a positive, uplifting person. We’ve noticed that so many of the successful folks we’ve had the good fortune of connecting with have high levels of optimism and so we’d love to hear about your optimism and where you think it comes from.
My spirituality. Not that long ago, I went through a personal and financial reset, during which I basically lost everything and had to start over. At that time, someone loaned me a copy of Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda, which turned out to be a life changer. Not only did I find guru and spiritual guide, but I developed a regular meditation practice and visited several Self Realization Centers throughout Southern California. During one of those visits I had a “God experience” which showed me that we are ultimately not our possessions, accomplishments or even our relationships but part of something much larger which can’t be defined or quantified and that nothing I thought I had “lost” mattered. We are part of a much larger cosmic consciousness that is beautiful, ever expanding and full of joy and our struggles in life bring perspective, build character and ultimately, as artists, give us something to make art about!
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I’m primarily an actor. It’s the thing that I do best and currently, the way I make a living. It all started in high school when I quit playing basketball to act in “forensics” tournaments and won the Arkansas state championship in the solo acting category doing a monologue from Edgar Allan Poe’s “Telltale Heart”. From there, I went on to the University of Arkansas where I became the first drama student to ever reach the national finals of the Irene Ryan acting competition, part of the American College Theater Festival. I then attended UC Irvine where I received a fellowship from the fine arts department and completed a Master of Fine Arts degree with an emphasis in Acting. I moved to Los Angeles in 1995 and have been working as an actor in commercials, television and film ever since. I worked in commercial casting as a session runner for various casting directors for about 10 years, from which I learned how to be “small” for the camera and let it find you, rather than the other way around which leads to overacting and forced performances. I’m the son of musicians and in my spare time I taught myself guitar, wrote songs and started a band called Good Ol’ Country Railroad, which made it’s own self titled record, music video and played around the so cal area for about seven years. In 2012, with the help of actress and producer Jules Bruff and DP and gaffer Justin Duval, I made a short film I also wrote and starred in titled “Station Zero” which won two best narrative short awards at the Monaco Charity Film festival and Outside the Box film festival in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. I’m currently auditioning for television and film, while writing screenplays for features with the intention of making as many of them as I can! The current focus is a feature length version of the aforementioned short Station Zero, which coincidentally screens tonight at the Formosa, in Hollywood, as part of a Night of Shorts Nights hosted by Eric Tomms, an LA actor and producer. I love storytelling. I think it’s important. Sometimes it’s the only way we get through to one another. I love television but still feel feature film is the most beautiful and provocative art form because of it’s scope and the way it tells a story in one sitting, with an audience in a shared experience.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
As an actor, learning to internalize and let the camera find you. From graduate school and on-going on camera training, that practice matters and can sustain you during uncertain times. From studying screenwriting and making my own film, the empowering feelings of creating my own content rather than waiting for someone else to give me opportunities. That same experience was very much at the forefront of writing songs and starting a band. There’s nothing quite like creating and sharing your own artistic experience. Self expression is frightening but ultimately incredibly rewarding.
How would you spend the next decade if you somehow knew that it was your last?
All of us as artists are currently still reeling from the pandemic of 2020 and the labor strikes of 2023. In addition, those of us who were making a living acting in commercials began to feel the financial squeeze of management turning away from the Union contract to hire non-union actors or “real people” to the tune of 80% of all projects. In transitioning to a career in television and filmmaking I’m learning to reach down to the deepest part of myself that knows I’m still supposed to do this despite how long it all seems to be taking. You simply can’t give up if you know an artist is who you are.
Contact Info:
- Website: johngloria.net
- Instagram: thejohngloria
- Facebook: John Gloria
- Linkedin: John Gloria
