Meet Jayce Bartok | Actor, Writer, Producer & Director

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

Hi Jayce, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Well…my partner and I, Tiffany, my better half, were nuts and wanted to make a documentary film about people deeply changed by Elvis Presley. We learned we had to create an LLC to make the film. I had always that that if I had a band – I’m a bedroom guitar player – it would be called ‘Vinyl Foot”. Tiffany – a filmmaker as well – said that’s so weird, but I’ll agree if you add an ‘e’ to the end of ‘Foote”, like Horton Foote, the playwright. We both trained as actors, and that’s my day job. So we ended up making the documentary film about Elvis culture and had a grand old time in Memphis, TN. The film is called Altered By Elvis, and Vinyl Foote LLC became our production company since 2004! 5 films later, and numerous small production jobs, we are fondly known as VF. I do get quite a few pieces of mail and calls asking of we sell vinyl flooring or record albums!

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am an actor and filmmaker based in Brooklyn, NY, where I live with my wife, Tiffany, son, Jaxon and our dog Bear. We make films. I guess what sets up apart is we are a mom and pop shop and have a very strong group of friends and professionals that are in the VF family. You need your people! You need your team! Currently, I am MOST excited about a film we are prepping for production about the life of actress, Vivien Leigh. I wrote the script for The Florist based on a series of letters that Vivien Leigh wrote a local florist in Philadelphia in 1966. Speaking of team, the film is being directed by someone I did a play with 20 years ago, Nick Sandow.
I started my career as an actor in commercials, then films like The Fisher King and Swing Kids, then as an indie aspiring star in films like Suburbia and The Station Agent, then as a screenwriter with my film The Cake Eaters starring Kristen Stewart. It WAS NOT easy. I literally tell young actors – if there is something else you can do in life, then you aren’t meant to be an actor. It literally has to be the ONLY thing you can do, as it’s so hard you would never want to put yourself through this if you aren’t ALL IN.
Along the way, I’ve learned many lessons. The first and foremost being, do what you love and surround yourself with people you love working with and all will work out. Also, what scares you the most, is probably a place you should be.
Our brand – Vinyl Foote Productions – is about passion and story-telling and making it happen. I’m not the best business man, but my hope for our brand is to be associated with really cool, moving films. Eventually, it’s out goal to make a really big break-out film that will carry our brand to a bigger place – HOLLYWOOD baby.

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?
New York City – where would I take a friend visiting for the first time? Man, that’s a tough one. The Brooklyn Bridge, one of my favorite spots. Junior’s restaurant – old school Brookyln pastrami, matzah ball soup, and cheesecake! The Whitney Museum. A film at the Alamo theater. Oh, a Broadway show. There is nothing like live theater in NYC! Just walking the streets of Chinetown, Soho, Dumbo, Chelsea, don’t forget Fort Greene, Bed-Stuy, and Astoria, Queens! The Museum of the Moving Image in Queens, one of my fav spots. You can see the Jim Henson Muppet collection as well as a script page from Taxi Driver, where in the margains of the script, the script supervisor pencilled in – improv line from Travis (DeNiro) ‘You talking to me? You talking to me…. cause I don’t see anyone else here.” That blows my mind that that iconic line was just made up! Gosh, I wish CBGBs was still alive and well on The Bowery. See, I grew up here, so I’ve seen it all. The city has changed so much but is and always will be essentially the greatest place to live. WAIT. Stop. I would take a friend visiting to The Mets game at Citifield. There is another team in town but we don’t follow their pinstrips.

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?
Of course, my mom, LeAnn Bartok. She was a visionary painter, sculptor, and filmmaker who moved the family up to NYC in the 1980s, without a job, when you could do that sort of thing. She instilled in me a strong work ethic, and love and passion for the arts. She supported me as a young actor, and her life will forever be a role model to me.

Website: https://www.jaycebartok.com

Instagram: @jaycebartok

Linkedin: @jaycebartok

Twitter: @jaycebartok

Facebook: @jaycebartok

Youtube: @jaycebartok

Image Credits
Keith Barraclough – the main image with me and the camera
David Apuzzo – the other 4 photos