John appreciates the simple things in life: eating apple fritter french toast, rewatching episodes of Murder She Wrote, and staging ridiculous scenarios with his friends at the Met. Perhaps the latter is a symptom of his theater-kid origins, having consistently been on stage since his debut as Milky White in Into the Woods. A decade later, John has achieved substantial success in other, non-farmyard-related roles.

Now a theater major pursuing a B.A. at Columbia University, John excels on stage and on screen. He has acted in both New York and regional theater productions, most recently in The Elif Collective’s Timon of Athens, which received an extended run. On screen, John stars in the independent feature film Bleeding, a horror coming of age story about a boy struggling to save his family from the clutches of addiction. Bleeding is currently slated to premiere in the UK at Grimmfest 2024 with other festival screenings and releases to be announced soon.

On Columbia’s campus, John has made a home of the school stage. His most recent performance as Malvolio in the Columbia Theatre Department’s Twelfth Night garnered rave reviews. The Columbia Daily Spectator described John as the production’s “standout” whose portrayal of the ill-fated servant was “hilarious, captivating, and most importantly, sympathetic.” In 2024, John received the prestigious Robert W. Goldsby Fund for excellence in the performance of the dramatic arts at Columbia College.

John began his career as a theater administrator in 2021 after being chosen for the Williamstown Theatre Festival’s inaugural Professional Training Program. Since then, John has worked as an administrative and production assistant at Columbia & Barnard College, The New Group, and The Tank. John’s administrative experience centers around artistic producing and front of house management.

With this experience behind the scenes, John now serves as the artistic director and co-founder of SoundStage, a radio play program at WKCR 89.9 FM NY. With SoundStage, John has lent his voice to dozens of plays, some established (Betrayal, God of Carnage) and some completely original (Narrow is the Gate, Teeth).

At WKCR, John also hosts the weekly Celtic music show, Ni Na La, which he announces in both English and Irish Gaelic, a language in which he is proficient. Always one to turn his passions into practicalities, John founded and leads GAELTACHT NYC, a group which organizes social and cultural events for Gaeilgeoirí (Irish speakers) in New York City. Since John created GAELTACHT NYC a year ago, the group has hosted over 20 events in collaboration with major NYC cultural institutions, all while garnering 200 members and 1400 Instagram followers. John’s work as an advocate of the Irish language has been profiled in IrishCentral and the Irish Star US, with more features in development.

But when he’s not acting or Irish speaking or reliving the epic highs of his Milky White performance, John loves nothing more than to laugh. Be it at the Westside Comedy Club or with his friends, John is always down for a bit and ready to quip.

He currently lives in Manhattan, accompanied by some of his closest friends and a life-sized, photo-realistic pillow of Shakespeare’s head.