mookie johnson

Mookie Johnson, 36, actor/sasquatch 

What is it about acting that makes you want to do it? 

I get to pretend and no one questions me, or ask “what is he doing up there?” I always wished that I could take the Mookie that’s on stage and bring him into the real world because on stage, I don’t give a shit about what anyone says or thinks. You are here to see me and I am going to share my gift with you and give you all I got. But in my real life, I care too much of what others think and I’m like please don’t look at me!! It’s really held me back in my personal life. But in the same respect I think the  fear and restraint I feel day to day is what helps me in acting. I get to escape it all and play and not be scared of mistakes or feeling judged. I’m at complete peace.  

Where do you get your faith from to keep creating? 

My loved ones. My cats. The Universe. I’m a Pisces, (laughs). We are known to be a BIT emotional, but very loving, creative and extremely intuitive. So when creating, I let myself really lean into all of that and just get to work. That’s really where I am now, letting the universe remind me that I am doing the right thing and that this is the right path  – you may have anxiety and want to throw up in the process..but that’s exactly it, it’s a process. Keep going, trust in the universe and yourself and you’ll be fine.

What's the drive behind your work?

The drive is that I want it. I want to be successful, I want to be happy, I want to be able to support myself creatively.I know I am worth that and I know that I can obtain it. There was this meme I saw of a guy digging for a diamond. It showed him  digging and digging and digging and he wasn’t finding anything. So he gave up and left. Little did he know the diamond he was digging for was 2 feet in front of him. Had he just given that one more push, he wouldn’t have gotten everything he had worked for… A meme put fear in my life, I’m like Mookie are you really going to stop now?

You never know when you are going to uncover a diamond!

You don’t! The thought of stopping yourself short of that because it got too hard and it was right there, that thought kills me. You have come so far and all the shit you have been through will be for nothing. Keep digging! 

What has your process been like as a creative?

Lately it has been a little es que, just because of anxiety getting in the way. So lately I have been beginning my mornings with meditating and focusing on my intent for the day. What do I want to create today? Why am I choosing to create this today and not tomorrow? How will this contribute to my happiness and to the world? I ask myself little questions like that to get me in the mindset. I take it day by day, or sometimes hour by hour. I show myself grace and not force something that isn’t there in that moment. I try to get through that day with whatever intentions I set. As the day goes along and those good intentions start to stack up, before you know it has been a good day. Then I do the same thing the next day. It is sometimes just taking it a day at a time. 

What advice would you give to your younger self?

Keep going and believe in yourself and give yourself more hugs. Be there for yourself more than you are for others, be sure to check in with yourself first.  Little Mookie didn’t know how to put himself first. 

What has been your biggest failure? 

My biggest failure was probably giving up before the moment I worked for was there. I was signed to a pretty big agency, I was very lucky, but also I deserved it. I worked really hard. But my anxiety got the best of me and there were auditions I wasn’t showing up for and they dropped me. That was the most embarrassing and disappointing feeling. I felt like the universe handed me this moment that I have been asking for and I got it and my anxiety said “no.” I am still dealing with that feeling of being let go and questioning if I should be doing this but I just know in my soul that I am. I just know that I am going to be on Broadway. I may walk across the back of the stage for three seconds and say “he is here!” But that is my moment.

Why don’t you quit?

I don't quit because when I wake up I think of something to make or do and it makes me want to keep going. If something gives you that energy then why stop it? If that is what your happiness is and it is what makes you smile, then why quit it? Do what makes you happy. We are afraid to leap and fall, but we can get up. And we don’t realize that. 

And you have people who will help you up. 

Yes! People have this attitude that they don’t need people and it has a negative connotation behind it, but I look at it like this – we all have toolbelts. I have this picture I want to hang up and I have a nail but I don’t have a hammer, but you have a hammer! And I borrow it. You lose nothing and I gain something, I get to hang my picture up. No one loses, let me borrow the hammer, you can borrow the nail, we all have different things we need from each other. That is why we need eachother. 

What do you hope to create that will continue to repeat? 

I hope to create the feeling of love and understanding, I want more human connection – you can be afraid of life but you just have to push and share life with others. To be honest, coming here I was very nervous, but as soon as we hugged, I was like - ok. We are here to connect and we are here for such a short time, which is scary but also on the other side it is beautiful because it makes us want to live and love more. 

What do you feel like you are on the verge of? 

I am on the verge of creating this sewing sasquatch image. During the quarantine the masks weren’t fitting my face, so when we got our little stimi check I decided to make my own. I ordered a sewing machine, the accessories and some fabric from Joann’s and I made a mask. It was then when I realized, wait, I like this. The idea of imagining something and then creating it and then holding it in your hand is something I didn’t realize that I needed. I want to make things for people who are my size and have ‘us’ as the first thought. I’ve realized that my dream to be on Broadway may be on the stage, or backstage sewing up seams on costumes , and I am okay with that. I just need to create.