Actor Marcos James (“Game of Thrones”) chatted about his latest projects and being a part of the digital age.
He is known for playing White Rat in the fifth season of “Game of Thrones”, as well as the principal role of William French in “Keeping Up With The Joneses,” the first-ever movie series for the LMN Network.
What are some of your latest projects?
I am currently filming a key guest start role for a series on Netflix, which I will be excited to share details about , closer to the release of the new season of the show.
I have also wrapped filming a lead role for an action/thriller by production company, Hybrid. The film is directed by Peter Sullivan, who is known for films such as The Sandman, starring Haylie Duff and Tobin Bell. For this project, as per usual, I am the villain.
The project certainly is one of the most physically demanding films I have done in a while, but I enjoyed every bit of it. I got to work with fight director Cole McKay , who has worked on Transformers, Cloverfield and other studio projects.
Fortunately, I have a solid professional connection with Hybrid, as I was also a lead in the hugely successful LMN movie series, Keeping up with the Joneses, which was also a Hybrid production.
Beyond this I will be apprearing in the lead role of Pastor Mac, in the film/ docu series The Religion Business.
This project is out on July 10 on Amazon and Apple TV. For this, I got to work with award winning director, Nathan Apffel and the highly accomplished director of photography Will Barratt (Hatchet 1,11 and 111).
What inspires you each day as an actor?
The feeling of knowing what accomplishment and success feels like and knowing that I have the capacity to achieve even greater things.
Having achieved all that I have as a leading actor, I can literally feel a tangible energy of success. It feels like a momentum that allows me to know intuitively that I’m on the right path and that there are more accomplishments ahead.
Moving along the road to those next accomplishments is what inspires me. Also, knowing that my success inspires others is a great motivating factor.
What do your plans for the future include?
My greatest plan is to feel and know that I have achieved all that I can within my capacity as an actor and more completely as a person. This includes even greater career success, personal growth and greater self awareness.
A big part of my plans include using my expertise and skills , as someone involved in the film industry, to widen the scope of my career and to give back.
I am already doing that with some of my activities, including working as a judge for a film festival called The Black River Film Festival.
Working as a judge with this festival gives me the opportunity to assess the work of some incredible filmmakers and to give emerging creators an opportunity to have their work screened for professionals within the film industry, thereby granting them meaningful exposure and career leveraging opportunities.
It also gives me an opportunity to give feedback to and in some cases mentor aspiring actors , while giving exposure to the performers who participate in films awarded at the event.
On a personal level, it gives me the chance to assess the work of some amazing creatives who I would potentially like to collaborate with.
How does it feel to be an actor in the digital age?
Being an actor in the digital age gives me additional autonomy over the promotion and advancement of my career. I use instagram for example as a tool to showcase my skills and to give details about the projects I am working on.
Fun fact: I booked a pretty big role in a popular show with the help of social media. Essentially the director and producers found me online, viewed my reel on IMDb and looked at additional footage on my Instagram page, then contacted my manager and confirmed their interest in having me on the show.
This was a special circumstance with a quick turnaround between booking and filming, but the point is, things like this can happen if you use digital platforms to your advantage.
In a general sense, the digital age gives opportunities to performers and creatives to showcase their work, by posting about projects they are in and work they are creating themselves.
Which actors would you like to someday work with as your dream acting partners?
There are certain production houses, whose films seem to consistently include some solid actors. A24 and Blumhouse are two such production houses I would love to work with, based on the fact that I would be guaranteed to be a part of a stellar cast.
I’m of course going to add Marvel to that mix. Working as a lead with the other actors in the MCU would be an honor. The way my career is going, in this scenario, I will probably be the villain… and I’m ok with that.
Were there any moments in your career that helped define you?
Booking the guest star role of White Rat in “Game of Thrones” opened up doors overnight.
My career trajectory changed in a huge way after appearing on the show. I recall one instance while filming, where the director repeatedly kept asking for close up’s of me in my opening scene.
He also changed the script and insisted I never have a helmet on (I was one of the leaders of the Unsullied army and the Unsullieds generally all wore their helmets, apart from myself and Grey Worm).
There was one shot he asked for in particular, which was a long zooming shot, ending in a really tight close up. After we got that shot, the camera man turned to me and said , “now everyone in the world will know your face”. I have never forgotten those words.
Another defining moment was landing the hero/lead role of Arjuna in an epic UK production entitled, The Mahabharata.
Arjuna was my first major theatrical role as a leading actor and it was a huge yet rewarding responsibility carrying the main storyline of the production in front of an audience of thousands each night. The Mahabharata taught me to embrace the power of being a leading actor.
Another defining moment would be, being in Los Angeles in general. I feel that my journey here has given me the chance to grow exponentially both professionally and personally.
Since being in this city, I have worked on some incredible projects as a lead, including The Headless Horseman, Keeping up with the Joneses alongside Vivica Fox and Eric Roberts, The Religion Business, and Fear Factor (working title).
Being in Los Angeles is defining for me as it has allowed me to focus entirely on working in film and television, which has always been my goal.
What is your advice for young and emerging actors?
Be honest with your reasons for wanting to be an actor and make the distinction between the desire to genuinely express yourself artistically and the desire for fame .
Embrace your own journey and try not to compare your trajectory to those of others. This helps to keep the mind clear of unnecessary thoughts. Just keep the focus.
Be prepared to actually work, to take calculated risks and to embrace the effort to become a really good actor capable of genuine emotional depth.
Do classes that work for you, study films and good actors, embrace actively researching things that will help you grow , such as script analysis or audition technique. There are a lot of resources online and especially tutorials on YouTube which can be useful.
What does the word success mean to you?
The meaning of success is , for me, intricately attached to a feeling. The feeling of satisfaction that comes from knowing that I am actively and proactively becoming the greatest version of myself in all aspects.
To learn more about actor Marcos James, follow him on Instagram, and check out his IMDb page.
