cities. John Kapelos


was born on March 8, 1956 and his mother would say he “was born at the age of three.”From the onset of Kapelos’s life, he appeared to be older than his age would indicate. His family would argue that he started acting from an early age, trying to get attention in a variety of different ways like making fun of people by doing a “one-cheat.” A “one-cheat” is where you pick out two or three physical characteristics of a person and use it to make fun of them. John Kapelos believes that “the best actors are the ones that are aware of everything.”


As a child,


Kapelos was able to fine-tune his awareness and improve his comedy act by working at his dad’s clothing store. His father would warn him when prominent people, like the mayor, were on their way to the store. Kapelos became aware of the variety of physical attributes that can be


seen in people of various socio- economic backgrounds. He wouldn’t treat different people different, or use his “one-cheat” to make fun of them. Rather, he noticed that every person had their dignity, so he treated them the same. In a similar fashion that Kapelos treated customers, he would approach characters. When playing a character, Kapelos says, that as an actor, you approach every character the same, “whether they’re bad guys or not.” Every character has their dignity, and it should not be misrepresented.


John Kapelos’s


observational trait helped him land a job at the prestigious improv group Second City in Chicago. Kapelos always wanted to go into entertainment industry and admits that this opportunity “ was a way in the door just to performing.” Consistently and constantly performing is one of the keys to becoming a better actor, Kapelos advises.


He preaches that acting is not an intellectual exercise but rather a physical exercise. “You can talk about acting all you want,” he warns, “but until you’re out of a rehearsal and onstage, that is where you really learn how to act. And Second City got us to do shows.”


Second City


wasn’t just a time in Kapelos’s life where he was able to get a job and perform. It afforded him the opportunity to meet fellow artists and even entertain the idea of obtaining an agent. At Second City, Kapelos was introduced to John Candy. The young actorwas always lamenting about how he wished he had people to mentor him. He admits that “mentors sort of come out and you don’t always realize it.” John Candy was just that, a mentor in disguise. Candy would take a


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