Meet Mark McClain Wilson | Actor, Director, Sound Designer, Writer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mark McClain Wilson and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mark McClain, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
Generally speaking, I find that as long as the red flags on a project aren’t TOO troublesome, if it scares you WHILE intriguing you, it’s always worth going for. Because whether you succeed or fail, you’ve stretched the boundaries in both your personal and creative self. The great thing about risk taking is it flexes two muscles in the psychic soul: bravery and faith. And to succeed and excel, you’ve gotta have both, in my opinion. You’ve gotta have the stones to know you MAY fail, you MAY crash, you MAY look like a fool, but enough faith in your ability and experience to know that you will leap and the wings will sprout. Nothing substantial in life comes from living in safety. The rewards only come from stepping into the unknown.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I have been an actor my entire adult life. To say it has been a long journey is a gross understatement. I put in 8 years in New York and now have over 20 in Los Angeles. I have put in the 10,000 hours probably ten times over. What sets me apart more than anything is probably the fact that, as a performer, I’m not what one would expect. One of the casting directors of ‘Parks and Recreation’ once said, “You’re like the love child of Rob Lowe and Nick Offerman”. I could not have received a greater compliment. For me, what I love about performing is exploring the broad range of human experience. My path in acting has run in parallel with my journey and path as a human being. I say this in the most unpretentious way as I possibly can, acting is truly a spiritual journey for me. The more I have been able to face my own demons, heal my own wounds, face and embrace all of my inner selves – the good and the bad, open my own heart with authenticity and grace, the more I have been able to do so in my own work. The more real I can be as a person, the more authentically I can portray a character, no matter who they are. And ironically, the more aligned I feel with my own sense of self and being, the farther away from myself I feel I can genuinely explore a character.
And both paths are hard – the personal and artistic – if you want to really dig deep. They’re fraught with challenges. But God, when you can feel seismic shifts resulting from the diligence of the work – both personally and artistically, there is nothing more satisfying. And at least for me, the difficulty of the journey is exactly what makes it so rewarding. Especially as you get older. Because if you do this long enough, after a certain point, I think every actor has to ask themselves on some level, “My God, WHY am I doing this?” I mean, it’s a life of rejection, period. So much is out of your hands. But I think it’s that exact uncertainty that makes your ownership of the work SO rewarding. It’s tricky, because you know, it’s not JUST about the journey. I mean, I have goals, lofty ones. And I’m not there yet. I have accomplished a lot in my work, a friend once said, “Your CV is longer than Michael Caine’s”. But I’m still not close to where I want to be, career-wise. But…..you kinda have to let it all go to keep going, in a way. Keep your eyes on the prize, while simultaneously knowing that you can’t hang your hat on ANY prize, really.

You have to love it. And that’s what has to be at the foundation if you wanna get through this journey in the arts with any sense of sanity or well-being.

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.
HA! First I would say, “You need to book more time!” Not to state the obvious, but we live in the greatest state in the union. You could live here a hundred years and barely scratch the surface. That said, with a week, I’m an adventurer. I would take ’em to fun places – Six Flags, Disneyland (I am a coaster whore), go hiking in Malibu, head out to Joshua Tree to camp, check out the Natural History Museum, MOMA, The Getty Villa, the Academy Museum, maybe Luna Luna again. Then maybe hit Venice, walk the boardwalk, do some people watching. Check out Bob Baker Marionette Theatre. See Marc Maron work stuff out at Dynasty Typewriter. I’m a music junkie, so hit The Troubadour, The Wiltern, The Greek, The Hollywood Bowl. Hit Theatre Row and catch a show at The Broadwater or Rogue Machine or Atwater Village Theatre.

See, I told you to book more than a week. ;p

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?
I want to dedicate this most generous shot out to The Dilettentes (and yes, that’s purposely misspelled). They are and have been my emotional, artistic, and soul family for my entire adult life. The greatest gift of my life was meeting them at the University of Michigan when we were all just wide eyed artistic novices still in our teens, and the subsequent friendships we have built and collaborations we have worked on have been the ultimate treasures

Website: www.markmcclainwilson.com

Instagram: @markmcclainwilson

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-mcclain-wilson/

Twitter: @MarkMcClainWil1

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/markmcclainwilson/

Image Credits
The main image is the only one (the headshot in the black shirt). Please credit to Stephanie Girard.