A Working Actor’s Working Faith–Tony Mockus, Sr.

May 1, 2018

Tony Mox, Sr., was a Catholic for life and was an actor for almost the same long time. He has worked with countless great performers, including Henry Fonda, Elizabeth Montgomery, Robert De Niro and Kevin Costner. In this interview, he explains his 70 years on stage and screen, his wounded life-changing experiences in Korea, the role of the Holy Spirit in artistic performances, and his love for St. Anthony.

Tony Mockus, Sr. of IMDB. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0595166/
(Note that some of Tony’s roles are incorrectly recorded on his son’s page https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0595165/))

Timestamp:

Tony Mox, senior interview

4:54 How did Tony prepare to play St. Paul? Truth & Life Dramatized Audio Bible

7:24 Spiritual Wake Up Call: Injured by Korean Mines

13:30 Holy Spirit Working in Actor Performance

23:14 Living with St. Anthony

26:39 Tony’s early days at Cicero, Illinois. The decline of variety shows and the derailment of the nature of Northern Virginia culture

31:25 Tony’s high school Jesuit priest forced him to perform, and was extremely successful.

36:44 Tony and Thomas both played the lead roles The man who came to dinner As a high school senior decades away, however Tony’s production also included teenage Bob Newhart.

39:00 Tony’s first professional acting job as a teen

43:22 The psychological influence of Tony’s mother and grandmother

46:12 Travel to the show Mr. RobertsWith castmates like Henry Fonda. The Jesuit education and the formation of Tony from his mother and grandmother allowed him to identify what to embrace and what to avoid on the trip.

48:50 A short move to New York, then back to Chicago, he begins working as a top-class man and gets married

53:19 Radio Evangelical Work with Pacific Garden Mission in Chicago

56:52 Maintain moral integrity in choosing roles

59:17 Tony starts working in film and TV

62:17 The fun of playing the bad guy

63:07 Something that is unruly (1987): Works for Director Brian de Palma. Interesting stories about Robert De Niro

1:11:29 Two great actresses Tony worked with. Set generosity and professionalism

1:15:15A funny David Mamet story. Politics in the theatre

1:20:12Retirement

1:21:32 Acting with his son, Tony Mox Jr. Advice for young Catholics who want to become actors

1:25:08 Excerpts from this week: Jrr Tolkien, Jacques Maritain