Our next interviewee in the Actors and Actresses Q&A Series mesmerized audiences in Spring Awakening, Glee, Frozen, and Hamilton (just to name a few). He’s the star of MINDHUNTER, a new Netflix show about the start of the criminal psychology division of the FBI in the 1970s. He’s super talented, but he’s also one of the most giving and gracious people I have ever met in the entertainment industry – I could go on and on about that, but I’ll spare you the gushing. He’s the one and only, Jonathan Groff, and I’m over the moon to feature him in the Actors and Actresses Q&A Series.
MM: When did you first realize you wanted to be an actress? I mean an actor?
JG: This first question actually works – probably when I played Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz when I was 4, directed by my brother in my Dad’s barn.
MM: Of all the roles you’ve played in your career thus far, which ones are the closest to your heart?
JG: Melchior in Spring Awakening because you never forget your first love.
MM: When one walks into your home, what books are permanently on your bookshelf?
JG: Anna Karenina, Between the World and Me, and the Tales of the City series.
MM: If you were stranded on a desert island, what television shows and/or movies would you want available to you, (assuming of course you have a television and Internet connection?)
JG: All seasons of I Love Lucy and The Mary Tyler Moore Show. All of the Barbra and Beyonce concerts. And every David Fincher film.
MM: What’s the best piece of advice you’d want to offer aspiring performers?
JG: Work incredibly hard at whatever you are passionate about.
MM: What sound do you love? What sound do you hate?
JG: I love the sound of crickets. I hate the sound people complaining.
MM: What literary or musical theatre character is most like your personality? Least like your personality?
JG: I think I’m a cross between Eliza in My Fair Lady and Maria in The Sound of Music. I am the least like Sweeney Todd.
MM: In today’s economic state, arts education programs are being cut. What reasons would you give to a school board or politician for preserving arts education programming in schools?
JG: If we don’t cultivate creativity and imagination, we die a fast death.
MM: Who is/was your greatest teacher? (There can absolutely be more than one.)
JG: First and foremost my mom, who is also a PE teacher. And my dad, who trains and races horses for a living. They taught me everything I know about hard work, pursing what you love, and being a good person. All of my elementary school teachers helped me learn what I needed to learn, but also put their own creative spin on everything, something that I think standardized testing is slowly stripping away, sadly. Mrs. Fisher, my middle school play director, was the first person who told me I should be a professional actor. Mrs. Callahan, my high school math teacher, made math seem easy to every one at every level (a dream quality for a teacher) and became a wonderful friend. Mrs. Borden, my high school english teacher, taught me about the power and joy of literature. There are also many teachers that I’ve had negative or disappointing experiences with, that I am also really grateful for, because the bad experiences also “great teachers.” I respect and admire teachers immensely, they shape the world!
Thanks, Jon!
Write Teacher(s) Reader(s), be sure to check out Jon in MINDHUNTER on Netflix!
Live, Love, Learn,