Meet John Castle | Working Actor and Keller Williams Realtor

We had the good fortune of connecting with John Castle and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi John, what is the most important factor behind your success?
I’d have to say the support of Family and Friends. Choosing to pursue a living in the entertainment industry is the second most scary thing I have ever done. I was coming from a nearly 20 year career landscaping in North Georgia. It’s is a very financially secure and reliable trade to be in. I knew how every day would go and I knew when I would get paid. I knew I always had profitable work to do. The entertainment industry-not so much. Nothing is guaranteed. It was very hard to take the leap and pursue a career that promises nothing but uncertainty and a constant job search. Not to mention strikes and pandemic shutdowns. If it wasn’t for my Wife and my closest friends and family having so much faith in me to succeed, I never would have jumped. I’ve learned so much about how important it is to have supportive people surrounding me through this season of my life. Even when my head gets big and I start to think about how much I have accomplished in such a short time, my heart checks my ego and reminds me that I wouldn’t be here without those incredibly supportive people.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I think my ridiculous upbringing and history of stupid choices helped me develop a thick skin. I went to thirteen different schools in very different areas growing up and that taught me to be fluid in my approach to people. Everyone is so different and I try to be a chameleon. To this day, I haven’t’ met anyone that I don’t can’t find a way to relate to in some manner. I’m a husband, brother, father and son. I’ve been divorced, I had twin daughters at 19. I have 4 beautiful kids. I was a runaway as a child and I spent years of my youth in and out of prison boot camps and youth detention centers. I’ve been an addict and an alcoholic. I always say that I can’t be brought down because I’ve already slept in sewage ditches. I’ve already been to the bottom and I think that understanding how my choices can affect my entire world, including those around me, has given me the freedom to live without the concern of judgment. That’s important in an industry so full of judgement and rejection. Every audition is an invitation for others to judge you, your choices, and your talents. All of those life experiences have taught me how to persevere.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I’m a country boy. Not in the Dukes of Hazzard sense of the word but I’m more of an outside of the city guy when it comes to activities. I’d take my friend kayaking and boating on the Chattahoochee and Lake Lanier. I’d debunk all of the rumors of the rumors about a haunted lake! I’d take them hiking at Tallulah Gorge in North Georgia and camping at Cloudland Canyon. If we did go into the city, an improv show at Dad’s Garage and a walk around the beltline. Maybe a sip and paint at Piedmont Park. I haven’t done one but it seems pretty zen. I’d say let’s go to a Falcons game and check out the incredible stadium but I’m avoiding the stress that is being a Falcons fan! I love ’em but daggumit they’re gonna give me a heart attack someday. Maybe a concert instead. Aisle 5 or The Tabernacle are my favorite venues. Dinner at Bones or RuSans and drinks at The Red Phone Booth. If we could fit all those things into a week then that would paint a perfect picture of the Peachy State of Georgia.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Ane Mulligan with The Players Guild of Sugar Hill. Before I discovered my hidden aspirations for film/tv, I was looking to get into a management position in the city I reside in. I was tired of breaking my back every day to earn a living. I volunteered to help the local theater group move equipment and props into the brand new theater that the City had just built for them. My intentions were to make a connection with someone that could help me get my foot in the door at the City. The Players Guild just happened to be moving out of an elementary school I had attended for a short time. When I walked into that tiny school building, the nostalgia and memories of a young life on stage came flooding back to me. Trauma blocked memories, I discovered. Enter Ane Mulligan. The director of the Players Guild. Within the first hour of knowing me she saw something in me that I had forgotten was ever there. A love and desire to perform and entertain people. To bring smiles to faces. She talked me into my first live performance as an adult. A cemetery tour during a fall festival. That turned into a year of non-stop performing on stage and creating relationships with a group of people that I never knew I needed so dearly. Ane changed my life. Her vision of me helped me find a side of myself that I had lost over 20 years earlier. She put me on the path to rediscovering myself. I will always be incredibly grateful to her.

Website: https://IMDb.me/johncastle

Instagram: https://instagram.com/officialjohncastle

Image Credits
Catherine Dyer