Max O’Herlihy is a rising actor in the film industry. He recently starred in the latest movie Babygirl and also confirmed a new film project. Read below our exclusive Q & A with Rising Actor Max O’Herlihy
Q: Where are you originally from and where are you based now?
Max O’Herlihy – A: I’m originally from Parsippany-Troy Hills, New Jersey, and that is where I’m based right now. I I work in New York City as an actor. I commute in and out of New York for work.
Q: Did you always want to be an actor?
Max O’Herlihy – A: When I was in high school, I was fortunate enough to go to South Kent Boarding School in Connecticut. I was recruited to play ice hockey there, but I also enrolled in an art class because I was interested in the arts, that’s where I was introduced to acting. I didn’t think anything of it at the time; I just wanted to get in touch with roots to my artistic side that I knew I kind of always had. However, because I played athletics, it was sort of like a ‘You only do your sport’ attitude, but I felt the pulling away from that. I enjoyed the sport I was playing, but I also had interest in the arts. Speaking with my art teacher, I expressed my desire to explore acting, and she invited me out to audition for the school play. I remember once she took us to a table read, and everybody kind of just shuffled around the scripts and the sides to get a feel for a bunch of different readings or roles. After that, she said, ‘Okay, you guys can go back home.’ Go back to your dorms. Walking back, I remember I was thinking, Well, she didn’t really react as I would hope. I kind of thought she would kind of burst out into tears and applaud me for my acting work. She didn’t really react in a certain way and I thought I guess I’m just a normal person just reading a role. The next day she came up to me in class and she said, You know, actually, you need to explore this area of your life because you have something here. That always really stuck with me. Her name was Cheryl Moran. I’ll never forget it. After that, I was like, okay, God, like you’ve given me a sense of direction and I will head that way. I went to four years of college after that at the University of Arizona, where I didn’t necessarily study acting. I was more so; I was a model in Scottsdale. It was something to kind of sustain me while I was in school. I was studying urban and regional development with a minor in journalism. Once I graduated, I had some areas of depression as I didn’t want to do something that wasn’t fulfilling for me. Quickly listening to my heart, I left the job I had and moved back home to New Jersey and with my folks, where I started acting in New York City as an actor and was pretty much just back on track to fulfill my life purpose.
Q: What motivates and inspires you to be the best at your profession in acting?
Max O’Herlihy – A: Personally, I have a bit of a couple of different things that motivate me. From the start, it’s my own artistic desires, really. I’ve always had a love for stories and narratives. Being able to display a certain aspect of human behavior in a narrative that people can relate to is something very captivating for me and something I have always really dreamed of. You know, my other motivation is really me living my life and satisfying that young 14-year-old Max, who always knew he wanted to embark on this exploration of being an actor. There were many people that told me that acting is something very abstract, a fantasy, and to stop throwing all the sports in the athletic. I’m doing all of this for really me, and if other people can enjoy and admire the work that I’ve done, then that’s just the cherry on top, really. I do fully believe that you have to listen to your heart, follow it, and see it through. I’m learning this as I’m going on now; you know, I’m still about two years into working as an actor professionally, and it’s still something that I have to remind myself every day to keep going. I think it’s going to be a wild ride. I’m so excited for it.
Another thing that is inspirational to me is my family. My mother or father didn’t come from an acting background. I’m a first-generation American, and so my mother and father didn’t go to college in the United States. They have no clue really what that entails, but they do know that they listen to their hearts in their own minds. They move to a new country with no family there; they started from the beginning. That’s really a motivational factor for me—that they listen to their hearts, and it’s brought me into the world with all these great siblings and my family. Listening to my heart will hopefully lead me into something similar.
Do you have a top 3 favorite actors, filmmakers, or directors that you want to work with in the business?
Max O’Herlihy – A: I have like a top three favorite film makers you want to work with, like directors or producers.I think Tarantino, Martin Scorsese, and Kevin Smith who was a very fun people to work with as well. I’ve actually worked on a few of his sets here in New Jersey.
Q: What is your favorite genre in roles you play (Drama, Comedy, Action, Thriller, a little bit of all)?
Max O’Herlihy – A: I love action and romance movies and I’m not afraid to admit it, so I do think those are my two favorite genres.
Q: Can you share with us something people may not know about you? Any hobbies or other talents you have and/or like to do in your spare time?
Max O’Herlihy – A: I work as an ice hockey coach on the weekends, which I consider like a hobby since it is pretty much going back to my athletic background and a way to support my acting. I teach kids who were anywhere between the ages of eight and 17 how to play hockey, and we and I coach a team. We have a season that we’re currently in, and we have two games on weekends every weekend and one practice throughout the week, which keeps you busy.
Q: What are some projects that you’ve just wrapped up recently or that you’re currently working on?
Max O’Herlihy – A: I was fortunate enough to land a role in the industry in the film Baby Girl starring Nicole Kidman. This was my first real film credit, which is just a tremendous experience to work with professionals in the field. My most other recent acting project I’ve starred in was on Law and Order.
Q: What are your official social sites on the web that we can follow?
