Meet John Griffin

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful John Griffin. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with John below.

Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have John with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?

There’s no doubt I benefitted from great parenting. Both my mom and dad were public school educators, and they managed to raise 3 kids with very little money. Seeing the sacrifices they made taught me a lot. On an individual level, though, I would say tennis was the driving force that instilled in me a fierce work ethic. I came to the sport late, at age 12, and fell in love with it over that summer. But tennis is a monied sport, especially on Long Island where I grew up, where, between the cold and the rain, you can only play outdoors for half the year. So, in order to get some indoor court time at a local tennis facility, on the weekends I swept their parking lot, scrubbed the urinals, cleaned the locker rooms, and vacuumed their lobby and stairs. I also had other jobs at a supermarket and a restaurant during the week so I could afford the tennis equipment, which my parents encouraged as long as I maintained an A average in school. So… I was busy to say the least. What a lesson though; it was a DESIRE to gain something – the court time and equipment – that drove my willingness to work hard for it. Also, tennis is a very individual sport – it’s just you out there. So, if you want to improve and win, the only way is through diligent work. When I started to get good, and needed even more hitting time outside of the few indoor hours I was getting during the cold months from my janitorial work, I would bundle up, put on my hat and winter jacket, and go hit against the High School wall for hours. By the time I was 18, I rose to a junior ranking of 16th on Long Island, top 50 on the East Coast, and was recruited by a Division 1 college, William & Mary. I chose a different school to focus on other things, but gaining these tennis rewards taught me a lot; getting what you want is not just a matter of believing in yourself – you have to be willing to put in the work, CONSISTENTLY.

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?

For most of my career, the vast majority of my work has come from acting, but in the last decade, I also expanded into writing and producing when I sold a drama series I created to Lionsgate and had a comedy pilot I wrote developed for NBC. But no matter the field, the most special experiences have come as a result of COLLABORATION. Whether it’s shooting a scene with another actor, crafting a network pitch with a studio executive, or executing notes on a script, collaboration is key, it’s exciting, and it’s an art form in and of itself.

A great, recent example of this is when I had the honor of playing Leslie Jordan’s love interest on the FOX sitcom “Call Me Kat” up until Leslie’s passing. I’m a gay man who came out MUCH later than most, so to not only be able to team up with this icon, but to be his first on-screen TV kiss, was a surreal, full circle moment for me. Artists have a very important job – we have the potential to influence thought and shape society for the better and… Leslie did that for me when I was younger. I would look at him on “Will and Grace” and think, “how is he being so authentically himself in front of millions of people like this?” As a bullied and scared gay kid, I just admired his openness so much. And then, years later, here Leslie and I – in collaboration with everyone at “Call Me Kat” – were doing that for other people. What a gift. The messages I received from people from all walks of life were so heartwarming and full of gratitude. Moms of LGBTQ+ kids, especially, were so thankful that our storyline centered around two healthy, successful, gay adults. And I was so proud to be a part of that. Our writers didn’t give into the cliche of how gay relationships are often portrayed in the media. There was no Grindr, no drug and alcohol abuse, and we didn’t just hop into bed. Our characters were simply two people falling in love in a slow moving, beautifully sensitive and funny arc, and it provided a positive example of something to look forward to for LGBTQ+ youth.

So, experiences like this are what I live for and why I chose to pursue the life of an artist. And since – and because of – this experience, I’m more determined than ever to raise the remaining funds needed to film a grounded gay romcom feature I wrote called “go-LOVE-go.” We’ve raised $105,000 of the $400,000 budget, this after the script won or placed at 22 screenwriting competitions, including the Austin Film Festival, Slamdance, and Outfest. On the BLACKLIST website, it also trended as the #1 comedy and #5 screenplay overall. This is what I hope is next up because it’s a very marketable piece that offers an on-ramp to acceptance for people who may not understand the gay community, and that’s purposeful and important to me. Like my on-screen relationship with Leslie, this script doesn’t give into the tropes, and leads with humor, which is a great teacher. So if any investor reading this is looking for an award winning script that’s 1/4 funded and is as close to a sure bet for acquisition by a streamer as you can get, please reach out!

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?

We’ve touched on the first thing – the work ethic, but it bears repeating because no one is going to hand you anything. Sure, some people got discovered in banks, and some people never took an acting class. And to that, I say… so what? Don’t count on it, and even if that happens for you, you better have the work ethic to buckle down and kick some ass or else your lucky break will turn into a real quick 15 minutes of fame. Put in the work for the long haul.

The second quality that’s helped me a lot is my willingness to adapt. A good example of that is 2008. There was a Writers Guild of America strike that year and I was coming off of a three year recurring stint on an hour drama, aka my acting career was going well. And then… there was nothing. I had an idea for a reality show, and after a lot of research, and without a literary agent, I cold-called an executive at Fremantle, got myself a pitch meeting, and they took on the show. While it never sold to a network, a friend heard about this, and then offered me a job story producing on a documentary program he was working on for TruTv as a last minute replacement. I didn’t know what a Story Producer was, and I’d never worked with editing software. He said, “You’re smart and you have good ideas. You’ll figure it out.” I needed to work, so I said, “okay,” and was on a plane to Seattle the next day. I put in the work, and on that first show, I rose from Story Producer to Supervising Producer. In that role, I then did many more shows for the same people, and ended up being a developing partner at the company 6 years later. Now, the company knew I was an actor – I was upfront and honest about that – so when the strike ended, and throughout my entire tenure at the company, I was guest starring on shows, shooting films, and doing plays… while still fulfilling my producing duties. I often had to do some serious juggling, but I made it work. I was willing to adapt, and along the way, I learned a lucrative new skill.

Which leads me to the last thing that’s helped me the most – money management. And this is where some advice comes in: MONEY IS REAL. Be disciplined in your life – learn how to administer your finances – and health – to give yourself the best chance of success. If your life is not in order, it’s very hard to succeed as an artist, especially in today’s fast moving, digital landscape. I’m going to sound like a real square here, but if you’re out drinking on a Tuesday, how is that five page self tape you’re filming Wednesday or Thursday gonna turn out when you’re looking all puffy and feeling like crap? It’s an artist’s job to stay ready. It’s show-BUSINESS, right? Learn to love being adept at both parts of that word. This, and sticking to a budget has helped my career IMMENSELY from the get go. I’ve worked hard to get to a point where I don’t “need” the job, and that brings with it an earned relaxation which makes auditions, pitch meetings, you name it, just so much easier – and more successful.

And just one more piece of advice for actors coming up: know your casting. How does the industry see you? Much of my resume is me playing murderers, slick lawyers, and billionaires – I’m none of those things 🙂  But while some actors say, “I don’t want to be typecast,” I say “Please, typecast me!” because that means I’m working. Eventually, other opportunities come once your resume supports it, just like it did for me on “Call Me Kat.” That role was all heart, and because I had a resume, and because they wanted to authentically cast with an LGBTQ+ performer, I got the shot.

What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?

Well, there’s this “entertainment industry contraction” thing happening now which many people in Hollywood are hanging their hats on, but I refuse to. I’m not making that my truth. That’s not going to be my reality. People are still selling shows – you read about it every day in the trades. Actors are still booking jobs. Have things slowed? Of course, but just like when I was scrubbing urinals to earn some court time at the tennis club, I’m just putting in the work. If needed, I’ll outwork anybody, and I feel like you have to have that mentality if you want to get to the top of whatever your chosen profession is. Hopefully, you won’t have to! I love those times when I don’t have to work so hard! But most of what I’ve accomplished has been through sheer will. I’ve never even had a meeting with a literary agent, yet I still sold that show to Lionsgate and had the other one developed at NBC, like I had mentioned. I’ve heard “I don’t have the bandwidth to rep another gay writer,” more times than I can count. It’s ridiculous and stupid, sure, but I’m not just gonna sit around and mope about it. I’m currently writing two new scripts, and I’m keeping my body and mind ready so they can perform at the highest level when called upon. I’m writing letters to people about the film I’m trying to get financed, and I’m rewriting a comedic novel I wrote after reaching to, and getting notes from, a #1 top selling author in the genre. In other words, I’m just keeping it moving. I do at least one thing for my career every day, and go to bed each night knowing that an amazing phone call or email can come through the next morning when I wake up.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://JohnGriffinProductions.com
• Instagram: @YoJohnnyGriff

Image Credits

The three “Call Me Kat” photos should be credited as followed:

©2024 Fox Media LLC. CR: Lisa Rose/FOX

The names of the people in the group photo from left to right are:
Leslie Jordan, Julian Gant, John Griffin, Mayim Bialik

The tennis photo needs no credit.