Tag Archives: JC Mac

John Campbell-Mac Interview: On The Toscars, British Hustle & Ron Jeremy

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Congratulations on winning a Toscar. How did that feel?

When I got up to receive the Toscar I was almost (only almost ha ha) lost for words. With over 600 people cheering and smiling back at me at the Egyptian theatre it was quite surreal. I had a brilliant Toscar experience from start to finish.

Red carpet at the Toscars with wife Stephanie Campbell-Mac and good friend and actress Victoria Hopkins

Red carpet at the Toscars with wife Stephanie Campbell-Mac and good friend and actress Victoria Hopkins

Did you think you would win?

I was totally shocked, I had absolutely no idea I was going to win but had so much fun on the movie with our brilliant cast and crew winning best supporting whactor was just the icing on the cake.

Tell us about British Hustle

What a great job writer director Sandro Monetti did with British Hustle. Tons of hilarious physical comedy and no mean feat adapting a much loved feature length screenplay into a short parody and somehow still have it make sense and be funny. Everyone involved was great and Marina (Marina Paganucci the producer) and the dream team as they like to me known took it from funny to hysterical.

You also wrote and performed the soundtrack and did the video for the leading single Get Down with Ron Jeremy. How did you manage to fit all that in?

That was insane, especially when you consider it was just weeks before my wedding! When Sandro first asked me if I would write some songs for the sound track. I told him I was flattered but there was just not enough time. The wiley fox then mentioned that if I could, then we could release the EP as the first official sound track in Toscar history, so then the challenge was set so I had to do it. I’m no technician so with the help of our brilliant editor and technical wizard Charlie Robinson we managed to write parts of the songs for the film.

Then when I returned to the UK I managed to flesh them out to whole tracks with my friend and brilliant producer Kevin Leo in his London studio then master them for release. Given more time we would have polished them more but I’m happy with what we achieved in the time we had and they are pretty much a live session with musician friends helping out. Regards the video that was down to the hard work of Sandro and especially Charlie who did 18-hour days trying to get it finished in time. I flew back to LA early after the wedding to shoot an extra half-day to finish the video; you couldn’t make it up: as I said insane.

Soundtrack available on iTunes.

What was it like working with Ron Jeremy?

Ron Jeremy what a character, the hardest err… working man in Hollywood ha ha. Really fun guy and a pleasure to be around. I think he surprised a lot of people with his acting ability and has so many funny stories and anecdotes I think anyone would be hartoscarsd-pressed not to like him.

You recently got married. Congratulations. What was more stressful; planning a wedding or doing a film?

I would like to say it was more stressful organizing the wedding but to be honest the wedding was the easiest gig of my life. I just had to turn up and have fun. Now my wife, mother in law, her Godmother, father and all her friends might have a different story to tell. They spent a year working really hard plotting, planning and preparing every last detail. Regards the film I think it’s pretty obvious we had so much fun from beginning to end, I was so lucky to draw British Hustle and my team I would like nothing more than to make many more films with this incredible group of talented people.

Wedding day. Photo credit: Darren Paul

Wedding day. Photo credit: Darren Paul

 

 

 

 

Tell us about your wedding day and your gorgeous wife.

Wow what can I tell you, it was the greatest day of my life and my gorgeous wife Stephanie is the greatest gift I could ever wish to have. It really was magical if you can imagine 300 of your closest friends and family from every area and time period of your life under one roof, all having a great time. Even now I can’t really put it into words.

I understand Chico was your best man how was that?

Oh my God, his best man speech was around 25 minutes and had animations, embarrassing stories, muppets, his children rapping on screen and singing live, and even good luck messages from celebrity friends like Ant and Dec and Ray Quinn to name a couple. It was funny, moving and quite possibly the greatest best man speech in the history of the world ha ha. It’s not every day you get roasted by a muppet. In a word: incredible. And fair to say it was emotional.

At his wedding with wife Stephanie Campbell-Mac. Photo credit: Darren Paul

At his wedding with wife Stephanie Campbell-Mac. Photo credit: Darren Paul

You made the brave move to LA and it has paid off. How did you manage it?

Also no mean feat, it’s a huge deal leaving everyone and everything you know and moving thousands of miles away even to the magical land of Hollywood. Thank God for Skype and social networking because undoubtedly the biggest thing you miss are your loved ones. I have no regrets the quality of life here is great and I have been fortunate enough to make some good friends and work on some good projects. I had a large enough body of work to qualify for a work permit but the whole immigration thing is not without its stress’s and hassles. Thankfully I had brilliant immigration lawyers in Raynor and Associates to make the move smoothly and ended up shooting a couple of comedy commercials for them, to make you smile see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EL0tl81hYQ

Any tips for actors wanting to move to LA?

Come prepared with as much money behind you as you can. There are a lot of opportunities here but there are literally hundreds of thousands of other actors here trying to do the same thing. It can take a while to start booking enough work to make a living and Hollywood Boulevard has been described as the boulevard of broken dreams so you might be glad you brought some savings to live on while your waiting for your moment.

I’m gonna quote a friend of mine Craig Fairbrass as he put it best as we worked together on the film 31 North 62 East just before I left the UK. He’s a great actor who has had success in the UK and the US. He said to me “It’s not easy over there and there’s plenty of good actors who never even get representation let alone book a job. It takes a lot of balls to up sticks and give it a try so good luck, don’t take it personally if you don’t book a job. I’m sure you’ll do alright and remember to take time out to enjoy yourself”. Great advice I couldn’t put it better.

jcmac

What’s next?

Well this year the Toscars next year the Oscars from my lips to Gods ears. I’m working on a few cool projects including the American pre-revolution period drama Courage, New Hampshire, it’s like the American Dowton Abbey. Season one is currently airing on PBS with season two currently in pre-production. I can’t give to much away but I play militia captain Daniel Cressy described by creator / director Jim Riley as “A man born for war and a little miserable without it”. Look out for a big bar room brawl with Cressy and the red coats in season two. For a taste of season one see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myY3DV4TL4Q

I have a film coming out in a few months called ‘Call me King’ in which I share some pretty steamy scene with the Chinese actress Bai Ling and recently signed on for an action bromance film called Artifact Red. Shooting mostly in Belize, it’s kind of Indiana Jones meets Lethal Weapon with a little Men in Black thrown in for good measure.

You seem to have it all now: wife, career, and a good life in LA. What else do you want to achieve?

So much more Catherine, where do I begin, there are so many great directors I would love to work with and so many great stories to be told. Outside of the industry I have various charitable causes that I’m involved in, including Rainbow Child (see http://www.rainbowchildfoundation.co.uk). We help underprivileged children around the world and I’m especially proud of Chico and what we have achieved in Africa with the play pumps. But your right; I try to stop and count my blessings every day for my life, my wife and the position I’m in oh: and Chunkee Munkee.

Chunkee Munkee?

I haven’t mentioned Chunkee Munkee? My wife will kill me, he is her pet bunny rabbit. He runs around the house like he is King and even has his own Hollywood agent. I’m not kidding he has he’s own representation and has been up for some big commercials but that’s another story, you can interview him another time ha ha but I’ll warn you he is a bit of a prima-donna he he. Hollywood you can’t make it up.

 

Official website  http://johncampbellmac.com/

 

JC Mac on Acting in L.A. {Interviews}

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Frost: What does J.C. stand for?

J.C.: Well ‘Joe Cool’ of course ha ha no ‘just crazy’, no ‘jolly cute’ he he take your pick

Frost: You’re in a new film; L.A. Paranormal, what’s it about? When’s it slated for relase?

J.C.: LA Paranormal is a comedy ghost hunting movie centred around Hollywoods number 1 paranormal investigation team strangely enough called ‘LA Paranormal’. It follows the 4 man team documentary style as they investigate many ghostly happenings all over Los Angeles. Shot in the vain of ‘This is Spinal Tap’ the film was shot completely improv, there was a scene order and through line but no scripted dialogue what so ever.

It was a laugh a minute to work on with a gifted comedy cast, we had the whole crew in stitches at least once every day of filming during a take.

The producers knew exactly what they wanted and spent a long time over the casting process, for the final call back there were 12 guys 3 of each character. We all improved scenes in different groups of four, there was some great talent on display and the producers could have gone with any combination and had a good result in fact was one of the most fun days I have had here.The film was directed by John Gonzales who had a very clear vision of what he wanted, I enjoyed working with him.

So I play John London psychic artist, I’m the sensitive of the group who is actually an English playboy who when is not chasing ghost’s is chasing women, there are some hilarious comedy sexploits within the film, but you’ll have to watch it to find out more. The film also stars Mike Hatton, Tres Dean and Matt Temple. It is currently in post production slated for release early 2011.

Frost: Tell me about the web series you’re currently filming…

J.C.: The web series is called Mac and Moreti and is an all action comedy. I’m not allowed to say to much about it at this stage but I can tell you it’s very very funny. It has elements of sci fi and although different I think fans of Lost will appreciate it not to mention fans of Scooby doo ha ha. Steven Moreti a very talented American actor is my co-star in the project and the producers are just starting to leak information out via their facebook group macandmoreti

The show is going live on the 1st January 1.1.11 and can be viewed at www.macandmoreti.com we are still shooting for another 4 weeks all over the Hollywood area and I believe there are 8 episodes in season one.

Frost: What’s it like being a Brit in L.A. Do the the ex-patriot acting community stick together?

J.C.: I’m very proud to be British and representing in LA. British actors and crews are well respected in Hollywood so we have a great reputation to maintain. The American girls just love the accent and… ha ha only kidding.

It’s a great lifestyle, people are friendly the sun is always shining there’s nothing to dislike really in fact I might just stick around a bit longer ha ha

There’s quite a few Brits here doing well right now so think it’s a good time to be British and in Hollywood. There are a few groups of Brits who organize weekly breakfasts and events as well as offer advice to new arrivals.

Frost: What’s the differences between the industry in America compared to the UK.

J.C.: There’s a lot more opportunity here than in the UK. I love the British film industry but unfortunately it’s badly financed and there are now very few films being made in the UK with decent budgets.

I think it’s a great shame and a loss to world cinema as a whole. It’s tough on UK producers with hardly any tax incentives to shoot in the UK so the rates for actors really are generally poor as a consequence.

Hollywood is a tough nut to crack and I think it’s naive to come here and think you are going to make it overnight. There are a lot more jobs here and the rates are higher but there are also a hell of a lot of actors here from all over the world all looking to make it big so competition is fierce. But that said there are opportunities every day that could change your life should you land one. Fortune has been smiling on me since I got here and I have been lucky enough to work with some very talented directors. I recently completed ‘You Kill Me’ which was directed by an incredible young director called Monica Sender who is definitely one of the brightest upcoming directors here and one to watch for the future. I’m currently shooting 2 separate projects with James Van Alden who’s last film ‘A numbers Game’ is doing very well and stars Steven Bauer of Scarface fame. James is a creative genius with an amazing eye and formerly a world renowned fashion photographer. Another film I recently had a lot of fun working on was ‘Hit the big time’ this just won it’s first award at the Swansea Bay film festival last month. It was shot in London, Hollywood, Las Vegas and Utah and starred the hilarious Jason Hyde. We play the dumbest hit-men in history who never quite manage to kill anyone and after bungling a hit in London flee to Hollywood to sell our life storys and hit the big time with disastrous effect. The film thrives on the differences between the Brits and the Americans and is being well received on the festival circuit.

Production Still of JC Mac in 'You Kill Me', Photo by Fady Hadid

Frost: Do you have any advice for actors in the UK who are aiming to work in the US?

J.C.: Advice hmm look left and right before you cross the road cause the roads are big here and make sure you stop for at lease 3 seconds at the stop signs he he…

No seriously come prepared, come with a strategy and come with money in your pocket because it can take a while to book a job here. I hear from most peoples experience it takes about a year before you start to book and the American actors are very very professional. They all have excellent web sites, reels, headshots (in colour by the way) business cards etc and all follow up every meeting with postcards and thank you notes. Never be without you 10 x 8s (headshots with resume that’s CV to you and me stapled on the back) because you never know who you might bump into. Be nice to everyone (good rule in life anyway) because you just never know who you are talking to in fact nearly every waiter, barman, etc is an actor looking for an opportunity just like you so to compete come prepared.

Frost: What’s the most valuable thing you’ve learnt?

J.C.: The most valuable things I think I have learned is not to take yourself too seriously and to enjoy the journey along the way, It’s not just about the destination. It’s very easy to get so caught up in the business that you can lose track of what’s important. Make time for friends and family and try not to let your sole topic of conversation be you no matter how interesting you think yourself to be! Have fun, live life and take it all in your stride remember yesterday is history tomorrow a mystery but today is a gift from God, that’s why we call it the present so enjoy it!!!

Frost: That’s some sound advice JC, not only for those in the acting industry but for all people who work in a high pressure environment. Surely we can’t be at the end of our interview?! Is there anything else you’d like to add…anything at all?

J.C.: I have been in the US a year now, just before I left [the UK] I did a gangster film called ‘Butterflies and Bullets’ directed by Mark Holland and starring some great up and coming British talent including Tony Fordham, Tony Cooke and Mitch Powel. I believe that’s now nearing the end of the post production process and I’m looking forward to seeing it. I also was in the psychological thriller ’45’ along with my brother Chico, we played a pair of rival boxers and I won’t say who but one of us ended up with a black eye at the end of filming. This film won a couple of awards on the film festival circuit.

Frost: Is there anything you miss in the UK?

J.C.: Friends and family but I keep in contact regularly with internet video chats and social networking. The biggest thing I missed was the birth of Chico and Daniela’s son Zacharia, that was a biggie and also the release of his world cup football song ‘It’s England Time’.