Meet Adam Huss | Actor, writer, and producer (Molecule Productions)

Adam Huss is an actor who’a most notable credits include the iconic role of Nikolas Cassadine on GENERAL HOSPITAL and the series regular role of Josh Kantos on the STARZ show, POWER. He just completed filming a series regular role in the Gemelli Productions TV series HEAVY HITTERS written and directed by Candice Cain and the feature film, EXIT INTERVIEWS opposite Tuc Watkins and Ray Santiago, written and directed by Garret Abdo. This year he will be going into production on the coming of age feature film that he wrote, ORIGINAL TRU, producing under his MOLECULE PRODUCTIONS banner with his partner, Adam Bucci, alongside Bradley Bredeweg and We’re There Films.

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

Hi Adam, can you share a quote or affirmation with us?
“The world will constantly underestimate you. Let that be your superpower.”

I love this quote, because it reminds me to stay out of any kind of “victim mentality” when it comes to who I am as a person and what I am capable of. Or where I am in my career as a creative. My strength as a human comes from knowing myself thoroughly (always a work in progress). And my strengths as an actor, writer, producer comes from that knowledge within myself. In this business, you can be consistently boxed into one corner. Either people view you as an actor, a producer OR a writer – but not all of those things UNTIL they see some kind of merit of success they deem notable. But if YOU know you are all those things, and working hard daily to make it all happen, then that is what will carry you through to that success.

As an actor, people may think they know your “limits” until they see that piece of work that changes their mind otherwise. This used to piss me off, quite frankly, but now I use it to strengthen my fearlessness. And also embrace that it is all just part of the process. Until you show people otherwise, they will most likely underestimate you. But I know that I am a versatile actor who can be vulnerable one moment and comedic the next. Emotionally wrecked in one scene and angry as hell in the next. So if anyone ever doubts my capabilities as an actor, it just fills me with even more confidence to prove them differently, or to, “Let go [of controlling that] and let God [or whatever you deem your Higher Power to be] show off” as my mentor Nicole Mensinger taught me. I let that drive me through any self doubts that may linger. Whereas I used to let that underestimation from others cripple me mentally, allowing my fears and my anxieties to get the best of me to close me off and become the very thing they were projecting on to me.

I had an acting teacher, Gene Lesser, a professor from Julliard, and he was also a huge influence on me. Tough as nails, but he taught us all to know thyself. If you needed therapy to pull down those walls to know yourself inside out and get over your hangups, then do it. But know who you are, so you can access all of that when you need to and so nothing can hold you back. That really resonated with me and I have been on that search to know myself thoroughly ever since. A search that will never end. Because ultimately I do want more of “the gatekeepers” to know what they will get when they’re hiring me, so more doors can open to roles in important films that touch my soul and move the audience’s.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I fell in love with every aspect of creating when I was a kid back in Long Island who felt unseen by the world I lived in. Every movie that spoke to my soul the moment my dad started taking my brothers and I to the drive-in up the street from our house, from ET to Star Wars, from Stand By Me to Pretty In Pink, from It’s A Wonderful Life to Superman (the list is endless), every show that made me buzz with excitement that someone was speaking to me, like Twin Peaks, My So Called Life, Friday Night Lights – inspired me to know in my soul that was what I needed to do. I remembering wanting to be in all of these films and TV shows. AND wanting to create them too even though I was so far from accessing any of it. I didn’t know anyone with actual connections to the business. My amazing Uncle David should’ve been in the biz. He is one of most knowledgeable old Hollywood aficionados I know and he was the first to expose me to some of the greatest films of our time. Even showing me all the old Universal horror movies on Super 8! But he chose a more traditional career. And like him, I thought maybe I’d just be fanboy. But my passion for the medium was too undeniable and I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.

I have a big Italian family and had so many younger cousins growing up as well. So I would get together with my cousin Nicole (who was closest to my age and my willing partner in crime) and I would write up the scripts and then we would pass them out at whichever Aunt or Uncle’s house we were at that Sunday. Her and I would cast the parts, and then we would re-enact the scenes and film them with her parents old school camcorder when they would let us use it (this was way before iPhones).

The love of all of that propelled me to take it more seriously after doing musical theater in high school (the only other outlet available) and realizing I was naturally good at it. As someone who didn’t excel in sports (and was teased because of it), to be able to thrive on stage and see people respond to what I was doing informed me that this was where my gifts lie. I remember Senior year of high school I booked the lead of Albert in “Bye Bye Birdie”. I had to act, sing, dance tap – which was a first for me. I invited my mom and dad. And I asked my mom if she was going to come more than once. She said, “No, we weren’t planning on it”. Then after seeing the show opening night, she signed up to volunteer to do makeup and hair every night, just so she could see every performance. THAT was another huge influential moment for me (so thanks Momma)!

And yet it was still a long, hard road to really work on that craft and hone those innate instincts into acting chops and a skill set. I went to Binghamton University on a state school scholarship ride – it wasn’t my first choice – but they wound up having a decent theater program. And I found my mentor in that ex-Julliard professor Gene Lesser I mentioned previously. As I said, he was tough, but he taught me the foundations of technique and how to get to my most authentic self in order to be able to access those dark and stormy places to pull them out for whatever role required them. He was a character himself, with his perpetually tanned George Hamilton skin and ever present cigar in hand, and he also hung out with us on the weekends outside of class. And at a time when partying and being in the popular Greek life social scene was all apart of the college experience, I thought it was so cool that he would do that with us. But one week during class, he approached me in the hallway and he asked why I hadn’t been to all the voice and body movement seminars they were offering to try and bring a more detailed program to the department. I genuinely responded with, “Oh, I didn’t even know they were offering those.” He walked away, then turned back and said, “Hey Adam, what parties are happening this weekend?”. Of course I had the answer to that and listed them all off. He said ,”You know about all of those though.” That was it. That was all he had to say to set me straight. And it was from that day forward that my work ethic became what it is today. If I was really passionate about acting and wanted a serious career in this business, then I needed to take it seriously and make it a priority.

And I’ve worked that way ever since. Even after moving to Hollywood. I had a lot of early LA friends who made it about the partying and the schmoozing. Even if I first got caught up in that social scene, I quickly heard Gene’s voice in my head and got back to working on my craft in class, reading great plays, watching amazing films and legendary performances and working on myself, in general – even if that may have led to a longer road to success. I know a part of having success in this business is who you know, but schmoozing to force “connections” felt so empty to me. Allowing the work to speak for itself made more sense to me even if it is the more circuitous path. And when self doubt tries to creep in when facing all the challenges in this business as of late, I can take pride in myself of having a strong foundation and skill set that will make me standout as a versatile actor who can not be put in a box – when it comes to what I can do from drama to comedy to accessible vulnerability.

I also knew I wanted to start writing screenplays, and so I needed to learn how to TRULY do that. I started reading some very informative books on that subject, but it wasn’t until I began working with a talented established writer and script consultant (who became my writing mentor) David Cornue, that I really began to hone that skill.

And since I yearned to “make my own stuff” and produce (since you really can’t just do ONE thing in this business anymore and rely on that sustaining you), I knew I needed to jump in and start producing shorts and helping out on other sets to learn all aspects of that. And even now, as we are close to getting into production with producer Bradley Bredeweg on our first feature film that I wrote, Original Tru, I am still learning, and asking the questions and soaking it all in. Because as long as my passion drives me, I will do whatever it takes to learn how to do things the correct way, without ego, to get to that next place in my career.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I really am in love with all the secret parts of Los Angeles that not everyone knows about or frequents. In fact, that was why the recent devastation from the wild fires was so heart breaking. First and foremost because of the magnitude of loss people are facing and the decimation of beautiful neighborhoods and parklands that we have deep connections to, like Alta Dena and the Palisades. And also for all the beautiful haunts that were affected or destroyed. My husband Adam Bucci (my producing parter who is also an actor) and I love to take our beautiful dog Sawyer up PCH on the weekends into Topanga Canyon and we would always stop at all those cute restaurants and shops along the way. A lot of those were sadly taken away. There was however a bright spot of news when we saw that the front line workers and locals worked hard to save old Topanga Canyon. And a lot of our favorite places like Cafe Mimosa (where we shared our first coffee when we were dating), The Inn of The 7th Ray, The Spiral Staircase, Topanga Rocks, and One Love Beauty – Leeta’s Healing Mists were saved. Along with most of the gorgeous hiking trails like Tuna Canyon and Topanga State Park – (although you may want to wait for a bit to hike there, unless you wear an N95 mask).

Another place we love that wasn’t threatened by these recent fires but has survived many by the skin of it’s teeth (and diligence of it’s owner) is The Old Place in Agoura Hills. We’ve become friends with the people there – like the manager, sweet Christy, and we love the food. We’ve had many a Valentine’s Day dinners there and birthday parties in the back post office room or brunches in the beautiful outdoor seating with friends or just the two of us and Sawyer. And Cornell winery is right next door, another amazing place to buy the most delicious wines or do a wine tasting to some great live music. The grounds alone are worth the trip. So many peacocks!
I also love Bigfoot Lodge on Los Feliz for its Twin Peaks vibe. Anything off the beaten path and a little “left of center” like me, that is the vibe I love!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are many people that have shaped my artistic journey and I will try to mention them all here. One tool that has really helped me on my journey of knowing myself (in addition to therapy with my beautiful life coach Maryann Russo) is Transcendental Meditation. And so I would like to shout out the late, great David Lynch for starting the David Lynch foundation to bring TM to more creative souls, knowing how powerful it would be to not only change people’s work as artists but to change the world. I recommend reading his book on the subject “Catching The Big Fish” to see if it resonates with you. After my childhood friend Colleen McGuiness (a great writer, director and producer now as well) recommended it to me, I started Transcendental Meditation (TM) through his wonderful foundation. I went to a seminar with the amazing teacher, Lynn Kaplan, in the first week of January 2020 and I knew I needed TM in my life. I have never missed a day meditating twice a day since. Dropping into myself and accessing that consciousness twice a day has been one of the greatest gifts I’ve ever given myself. To know that my outside “hamster wheel thoughts” and fears and anxieties aren’t the truth of who I am, but that what is beneath the surface is… that has helped strengthen my foundation and confidence in my gifts as a human and artist to help me walk through any situation.

David Lynch also massively inspired me through his film and television work, which is obviously how I found my way to his foundation in the first place. Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet, Mulholland drive – the embracing of the weird, the unique way to do things regardless of the critics, gave me the strength and continues to strengthen my loving embrace of my weird. It helps silence my own inner critic and the outside thoughts as well. Something that wholeheartedly resonates with me that David Lynch said was when someone asked him about why his films don’t make sense. His response was: “I think people think my movies don’t make sense, but the more they think about them the more they start to make a lot of sense. And, conversely, maybe when you see a big studio action movie you think it makes sense, but the more you think about it the more you go, “Well that doesn’t make any sense at all.” I now often watch movies and write my screenplays through that lens.

Website: https://www.adamhussofficial.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adamthuss/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-huss-28a30410b/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@moleculeproductions

Image Credits
Carell Augustus – 1st photo

Brad Everett Young – additional