John Mese
John Mese in the one-man show Wild Son
Born (1963-11-04) November 4, 1963
Baton Rouge, Louisiana, U.S
OccupationActor
Years active1987–present
Spouse
Dawn Kelsey
​
(m. 2004)​
Children1

John R.[1][2][3] Mese (born November 4, 1963) is an American actor, producer, director, and writer. He has had roles in numerous films and television shows. Credited appearances on television include: Rizzoli & Isles, Suits, Castle, The Mentalist, Weeds, Monk, Law & Order, Boomtown, Without a Trace, The X Files, and Sex and the City.[4] Mese is also the writer of a children's book series that was featured in the March 2009 issue of Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine.[5]

Early life and education

Actor John Mese in character as Christian Brando at Bistro Byronz, Baton Rouge, LA

John Mese is the son of J.D. and Kay Mese[6] of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, where he was born and raised.[7] He finished his secondary education at Catholic High School[8] and went on to earn a bachelor's degree in advertising[9] and a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Theatre from Louisiana State University.[4] At LSU, he was a member of the Sigma Chi[10] fraternity and performed in a number of LSU Theatre productions. In 1986, he was a finalist in the "Face of the '80s" contest organized by Ford Models and GQ Magazine.[7][11]

Career

Theatre

At LSU, he acted in several theater productions, to name a few: The Tooth of Crime in 1986, in which he played Hoss; Sly Fox in 1982, and Death of a Salesman in 1986.[10] He played "Treat" in Lyle Kessler's play Orphans.[12] He played Alvaro Mangiacavallo in the LSU Theatre main stage production of The Rose Tattoo, directed by John Dennis in 1987.[13]

He has the title role in an acclaimed[14] one-man show written by Champ Clark, Wild Son: The Testimony of Christian Brando,[15] which premiered at the Santa Monica Playhouse in 2019 and was praised by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Beth Henley.[16] Wild Son is based on face-to-face interviews between the journalist Champ Clark and Christian Brando before the latter's death in 2008.[17][18] The show was performed at Bistro Byronz, a restaurant chain in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on June 19, 2022.[19] The show ran at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe from August 15-20, 2022.[20][21]

Film

Mese had the starring role as Richard Broderick in the film Noise in the Middle (2020), also starring Tara Buck as Richard’s deceased wife.[22] He played Augie in King of Herrings (2013), an indie film directed by Eddie Jemison and also starring Mese's fellow LSU alumnus Joe Chrest.[23] Mese played "Crow" in Derek Sitter's award-winning short, Bugtussle (2022).[24] Bugtussle was recognized by the Accolade Global Film Competition for "Awards of Merit" in August 2022, notably for Leading Actor (Mese), Supporting Actor (Sitter), Film Short, Script/Writer (Sitter), Original Score, composed by James Hutchens and Johnny Bourbon.[25]

Year Title Role Notes
1998 Dangerous Proposition Darby Dir. Brad Sanders
2005 Pizza My Heart Jean Paul Veber Dir. Andy Wolk
Gone But Not Forgotten Randy Highsmith Dir. Armand Mastroianni
Jane Doe: Vanishing Act Lloyd McMasters Dir. James Contner
2007 Perfect Day Executive Producer/Writer Dir. John Mese
2008 Pillow Talk Executive Producer/Writer Dir. John Mese
2013 King of Herrings Augie + Producer Dir. Eddie Jemison & Sean Richardson
2020 Noise in the Middle Richard Broderick Dir. Marcus McCollum
2022 Bugtussle Crow Dir. Derek Sitter

Television

Mese was featured alongside Mark Harmon and Frederic Lehne in a Lili Fini Zanuck-directed production called "We Have Cleared the Tower," in which Mese played the role of Donn Eisele of the Apollo 7 mission; Harmon played Wally Schirra, and Lehne played Walt Cunningham.[26][27] Mese was a cast member for Episode 1 ("Can We Do This?") and Episode 3 ("We Have Cleared The Tower") of From the Earth to the Moon (1998).[4] His "first big job"[8] for television was in 1992 as the love interest of Marlee Matlin on Reasonable Doubts.[8] Prior to that, his TV roles (on shows like The Fanelli Boys, Matlock, and Northern Exposure) were relatively minor.[8] He was "the Congo Man"[28] in a Budweiser Beer commercial narrated by Sarah Jessica Parker (in character as Carrie Bradshaw). In 2000, Mese played Sheriff Phil Adderly on Chimera (The X-Files), one of the "Monster of the Week" episodes in the seventh season of The X Files.

Writing

Mese and his wife, Dawn Kelsey, are the authors of a children's book series called Flippy and Friends.[5] The idea started in 2002; Mese and Kelsey worked with illustrator Chanler Holden and her husband, Major Mittendorf.[5]

In 2017, Mese penned an editorial for the entertainment section of Purple Clover; this was an autobiographical sketch about boyhood fantasy, titled "My First Playboy."[29]

Awards

  • Best Acting Performance for "Crow" in Bugtussle (Short 2022), Oregon Short Film Festival, Winter 2023 edition[30]

References

  1. ↑ Foil, David (April 17, 1986). "BR man finalist in GQ competition". Newsbank. Baton Rouge Advocate. Retrieved April 24, 2023. When John R. Mese decided to enter the "Face of the 80s for Men" contest, he was so secretive about it that he asked a buddy to drive him to Goudchaux to leave his entry.
  2. ↑ "Semifinalists to be interviewed in N.O." Newsbank. Baton Rouge Advocate. April 12, 1986. Retrieved April 24, 2023. John R. Mese
  3. ↑ Foil, David. (1986, April 18). "Faces' tell what it's like. The Advocate (Baton Rouge, La.), pp. 1-C. Available from NewsBank: America's News – Historical and Current: https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=AMNEWS&docref=news/0EB473D60DA95D8B.
  4. 1 2 3 John Mese at IMDb
  5. 1 2 3 Clark, Jane Bennett: "An Author Swims Against the Tide." Kiplinger's Personal Finance. March 2009.
  6. ↑ Foil, David (April 17, 1986). "BR man finalist in GQ competition". Newsbank. Baton Rouge Advocate. Retrieved April 24, 2023. His mother, Kay Mese of Baton Rouge, was thrilled. "Oh yes," she said. "John didn't know we were going to be here. His father (Dr. J. D. Mese) had a tennis game tonight. His regular foursome. But my other son and I are here and we're delighted."
  7. 1 2 Foil, David (April 17, 1986). "BR man finalist in GQ competition". Newsbank. Baton Rouge Advocate. Retrieved April 24, 2023. A few hours later, the handsome 6-foot-1 Baton Rougean was named one of the nation's 14 finalists in the "Face of the '80s for Men" competition presented by Gentlemen's Quarterly magazine and Ford Models, and sponsored by Gilette. "Face of the '80s for Men" is designed to select a male model to represent Ford Models and to appear in GQ magazine.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Lamb, Madelyn (March 15, 1992). "Doubts making career for BR native". Newsbank. Baton Rouge Advocate. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
  9. ↑ "Interview with a Wild Son - by Ashley Rovira". May 3, 2023. Archived from the original on May 3, 2023.
  10. 1 2 Foil, David (April 17, 1986). "BR man finalist in GQ competition". Baton Rouge Morning Advocate.
  11. ↑ Bynum, Chris (April 27, 1986). "The Face". Newsbank. The Times Picayune (New Orleans). Retrieved April 24, 2023.
  12. ↑ Foil, David (April 8, 1989). "LSU's "Orphans" a rewarding experience". Newsbank. Baton Rouge Morning Advocate. Retrieved August 29, 2022. There were moments in Thursday's performance when it seemed Treat got so furious at his predicament that Mese let him go to the point of inchoate hurt. In its way, that stripping away of pretense was far more threatening than all the punk posturing Treat exhibits. Harold's emotional pummeling of Treat -- "tough love," maybe? -- is probably the play's most agonizing moment. McNeal's Harold is relentless. Mese's eyes betray Treat's flickering terror of opening up.
  13. ↑ ""The Rose Tattoo"". The Baton Rouge Advocate Magazine. April 26, 1987. Retrieved January 19, 2023.
  14. ↑ Ebert, Chaz (May 10, 2019). "Bravo for Champ Clark's Play, Wild Son: The Testimony of Christian Brando". Chaz's Journal. RogerEbert.com. Archived from the original on May 5, 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  15. ↑ Kogan, Rick (May 5, 2022). "Champ Clark has a new noir novel and a play about Marlon Brando's son and his own life is quite a story". The Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original (Online) on May 5, 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2022. It had its premiere at the Santa Monica Playhouse in 2019. Chicago's Chaz Ebert called it "stunning," elaborating by writing, "with a riveting performance by actor John Mese … I can't recommend it highly enough."
  16. ↑ ""Wild Son": The Testimony of Christian Brando - A World Premiere at Santa Monica Playhouse - ONLY Three Performances Left!!". TheHollywoodTimes.Today. The Hollywood Times. May 10, 2019. Retrieved July 13, 2022. Beth Henley, a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright says, "Champ Clark's play is a burning jewel. John Mese is mesmerizing. A rare theatre experience where the magic shimmers."
  17. ↑ Clark, Champ (April 19, 2019). "My Surprising Bond with the Troubled Christian Brando" (Online). The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  18. ↑ Benjamin Shifren, Esther (May 14, 2009). ""Wild Son: The Testimony of Christian Brando" Review - A Compelling Performance of his Story" (Online). Splash Mags. Splash Magazines Worldwide. Retrieved July 13, 2022. Mese, in a riveting one-hour solo performance, sits, or moves around the stage effectively while constantly sipping canned beer. He does a sterling job of acting out Christian's tragic story, his rebellion and fractured relationship with his father....
  19. ↑ "Brando at Byronz - by Ashley Rovira – Heavy Crown Press". July 12, 2022. Archived from the original on July 12, 2022.
  20. ↑ Kogan, Rick (May 5, 2022). "Champ Clark has a new noir novel and a play about Marlon Brando's son and his own life is quite a story". The Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original (Online) on May 5, 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2022. The one-man play has been selected for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the largest arts festival in the world. It will be performed there in August and Clark will be in Scotland for it."
  21. ↑ Rovira, Ashley (August 27, 2022). "Boomers and Zoomers". Heavy Crown Press. Heavy Crown Press. Archived from the original on August 28, 2022. Retrieved August 29, 2022. For the Festival Fringe this year, Mese performed in Venue 16, Greenside at Riddle's Court.
  22. ↑ "Noise in the Middle Film Threat". July 12, 2022. Archived from the original on July 12, 2022.
  23. ↑ Rovira, Ashley (July 16, 2022). "King of Herrings: A throwback review (with spoilers)". Substack. Heavy Crown Press. Archived from the original (Online) on July 16, 2022. Retrieved July 16, 2022. John Mese gives a silently penetrative performance as Augie.
  24. ↑ "Short Film Review: Bugtussle: A Doomed Dash for a Better Life". Indie Shorts Mag. March 6, 2022. Retrieved July 12, 2022.
  25. ↑ "Awards of Merit August 2022 |".
  26. ↑ Tucker, Ken (October 1997). "Shoot the Moon". Markee (Regional America's Magazine for Film Production).
  27. ↑ "Mark Harmon, Fredric Lehne, and John Mese in From the Earth to the Moon (1998)". IMDb. From the Earth to the Moon (1998). Retrieved July 13, 2022.
  28. ↑ "LSU alumni finding success in acting careers". Newsbank. Baton Rouge Advocate. July 12, 1994. Retrieved April 24, 2023. Many people would recognize Mese as "the Congo Man" from a Budweiser Beer commercial. His line: "There I was, there I was, there I was....in the Congo."
  29. ↑ "My First Playboy (Purple Clover)". September 28, 2017. Archived from the original on July 14, 2022.
  30. ↑ Fair, Mikel. "Bugtussle, Directed by Derek Sitter - Oregon Short Film Festival #shorts". YouTube. @MikelFair YouTube. Retrieved March 1, 2023.
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