Today we’d like to introduce you to John E. Phillips.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I was born the fourth of five sons to a middle-class family in Houston, Texas.
My parents were hardworking and loved each other, which was more of a blessing than I knew at the time. Maybe it was birth order or the popularity of Jim Carrey at the time, but I felt most comfortable trying to make people laugh. It was a propensity that frequently got me into then out of trouble, and a passion I followed all the way from the University of Houston Theatre department to sunny Los Angeles.
I love storytelling and comedy most of all. Journaling is one of the few, consistent salves I have found which soothe the fever pitch of my own internal chemistry. When you’re writing something, for a moment you have control. Control of the narrative, the punchline, the way it ends up.
I have made a living from commercial acting, and feel very blessed to be in a position where I can support myself 100% from creative endeavors.
However, the commercial acting process is completely devoid of (meaningful or consistent) creative input. Oftentimes I am little more than a prop: the guy holding up keys to the newest SUV or beaming with satisfaction at how shiny his counters are thanks to the newest kitchen product.
Writing is my out, my escape pod — and I’m hopeful that “Coffee Cops” will be the escape pod that lands me on an inhabitable planet.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Hah!! I would say there hasn’t been a road most of the time! What is the “road” that leads to artistic success? Increasingly in America, younger, job-seeking generations are finding that the classic, American formulas no longer hold true.
That hard work doesn’t always equal success, that following passion doesn’t equal a paycheck. At the same time, what a blessing: to have the freedom and opportunity to pursue a passion, to live in a country & society that (despite its flaws) has an economy buoyant enough to allow someone to scrape by with side-hustles.
I would say, I have been enormously blessed with the talent & drive to give myself a legitimate “shot” at success in the entertainment field. The largest struggle, other than my father not being a famous actor or director, has probably been the dominance of Non-Union projects in the commercial acting space.
Ten years ago, a commercial would net you $15k-65k. Nowadays, it’s more like $1.5k-6k. SAG seems completely uninterested in protecting its Union commercial actors, so many are caught in limbo between paying high union dues or taking Non-Union work that’s paying below scale.
It is an interesting time to be an artist, and oftentimes the real “obstacle” for me is finding the line between heartstrings & pursestrings.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Ya know, I would hope ultimately I’m best known as a funny & generous collaborator. I’m probably better known currently for making jalapeno poppers too hot and finding incredible parking spots in DTLA, but maybe that will shift over the coming decade.
But I’m extremely proud of “Coffee Cops,” the most recent half-hour comedy I wrote, produced, and starred in. It’s about a group of B-list actors all auditioning for roles on the same pilot, entitled Coffee Cops, and it’s very much an homage to the past ten years of hustling in Los Angeles.
It’s had a pretty strong festival run, winning “Best Comedy” at the Paris Film Festival and the Studio City Film Festival as well as “Best TV Comedy” at the Prague International Film Festival. It’s been meaningful to produce another comedy that’s, simply put, only stuff that personally makes me laugh or that I find funny. To watch strangers in theatres laughing at it, too, has felt special.
I really do believe, as hackneyed as it sounds, that every creative can only go as far as they are willing to genuinely present themselves through their art. Regardless of discipline: actor, painter, clown, if you aren’t willing to be comprehensively vulnerable through your medium you will eventually hit a wall.
I know that the things I’m most proud of have been facilitated by this, and perhaps it’s this willingness that sets me apart.
What makes you happy?
What a question!!! Wow!! How long have I been standing at my desk, having typed nothing, trying to answer this??
There are certainly “things” that make me happy: having a moment with my wife, watching my favorite sports team come back from defeat when you’re super thirsty and the water is super cold.
But sustained, internal happiness? Contentment? That’s a hard recipe to get out of the oven. I’m sure I’m not alone in feeling challenged the past two years. I’m extremely extroverted and love chopping it up with people on the day-to-day.
Having that removed, that new hesitation to shake hands or hug, really started adding up for me. It made me question how and why I seek validation, while at the same time highlighting the things that were absent: collaborating in person, rehearsing with other actors, and performing in front of live audiences.
Prioritizing a healthy schedule, and prioritizing my days and weeks toward big picture creative goals has been the most consistent recipe I’ve found for happiness. Thanks for asking, it made me think about it.
Pricing:
- DCP Creation (for your film festival needs): beginning at $129
- Short Film Edit: $300-1,200
- Feature Film Edit: $1,200-4,000
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: coffeecops.org
- Instagram: @jonny_raindance
- Facebook: facebook.com/brothersphillips
- Twitter: twitter.com/jonny_raindance
- Youtube: youtube.com/brothersphillips
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/john-phillips-867364423/coconut-trees-remaster
Image Credits
Yves Bright, Melody Stevenson
