Artist Spotlight: Mario Tineo
Hey Mario! It’s good to see you again. Tell our audience a little bit about yourself. Who you are, where you're from, what you do.
My name is Mario Tineo, I grew up in Tucson. One night, at 10pm, when I was 17, I happened to come across a one man show on HBO called, John Leguizamo’s Freak. And I thought this guy is amazing, he made me laugh, he made me cry, and at the end of the show it was clear to me that this is what I want to do. After highschool I started taking acting classes at Pima Community College. They had auditions for Macbeth, which was my first audition ever. I was so nervous I didn’t realize they called me back that day. And I landed the part of Angus. That same month, I auditioned for a role at Borderlands Theater, and was able to book the role of a boxer in the play ‘Barrio Hollywood’. It was my first professional and paying gig, and we sold out every night. They even had to extend the run by three weeks because it was in such high demand. A month later I met Francisco J. Landin, and he put me in one of his student films which was my first on camera acting experience. Later I moved to New York and studied at the Roger Simon studio, and worked with an agent there for 4 years,
Sounds like when you started you were able to hit the ground running. Are you still in New York?
No, I’m back in Tucson and have been taking a break. I do self tape auditions here and there but I’m using the time to take things one day at a time. When I was started, I was kind of obsessed with acting. I always had to be working at acting, obsessing over every audition, beating myself up over little things. And with this Covid, It’s given me time to come to terms that acting is something I do, it’s not my total existence. I’m at a good place right now.
Tucson is a main connecting point in how we know you. How has Tucson contributed toward your life/career?
Still from ‘Third Sun’
Tucson gave me my start. I was fortunate enough to meet some good acting instructors at Pima. Also I found the Studio for Actors, with Anna Risley, where I took audition classes, character study classes, acting on film, and even a business class. You learn to be an actor on the stage, and she provided hands on training, doing scene studies really taught me how to practice my craft with the techniques she taught me. I’ve met my friends in film here, that I’m still friends with to this day.
What have you struggled with in your career and how have you overcome those hurdles?
My biggest struggle is when I’m not consistently acting professionally. It leaves me feeling down, my confidence is non-existence.
Being connected to good people that have the same ideas and feelings of film and stage helps me get through that. Having a passion also helps. It keeps me moving forward, even though I’m not seeing results. That and being surrounded by good people with similar goals is tremendously helpful.
When you’re struggling or down, who do you look up to/what do you find inspiration from?
Dos Equis print Ad
I look up to actors who made it late in life. Because even though there was a struggle to ‘make it’ or ‘have consistent work’ in their life, that doesn’t matter, what matters is that they accomplished it. I find inspiration in that. Like Jon Hamm, he would book pilots that would never get picked up. Then Mad Men finally hit. And Samuel Jackson, who had a late start to his career. Stories like that keep me going.
Tell us about a favorite/memorable moment from working with us on Downshift?
The climactic scene in Downshift. That where all the questions of the film were answered, and it all came together like a crescendo. That was my favorite moment, even after the dialogue scene, when he hopped on the bike, the character came full circle.
What are you working on and looking forward to in your future?
Still from Elephant Scout Film’s ‘Downshift’
I think it’s just as important to have a successful personal life as well as a successful career. Right now I’m taking time to work on that, cause at the end of the day that’s going to make me a better artist, and that’s what I want.
Creatively I look forward to a time when I can work with my friends again. I’m also working with the crew of ‘Third Sun’ to get that finished and out in the world. I started working with Francisco on the treatment back in the early 2000s. It’s a personal story for me, it’s about a character that takes care of his mother, and by the time we started shooting the, I had started taking care of my father in real life. It was an interesting dichotomy of life imitating art. So with all this free time we were able to finish the editing and sneak in some quick pick up shots from the film. Hopefully we can share it in October.
What social handles do you have that our audience can follow you on?
Facebook: Mario Tineo Actor
Instagram: @MarioTineo
Last thing, what’s a glimpse of wisdom you can offer our audience?
Dreams are for free. So you might as well have them. Dream big. Chase your dream like your life depends on it.
BTS from ‘Third Sun’