234: Max Martini Podcast

In today’s episode of the ‘Finding your Summit’ podcast, host Mark Pattison, former NFL Player, Entrepreneur, Philanthropist, and Mountaineer who has climbed the Seven Summits, talks with guest Max Martini, an American Actor, Writer, and Director who shares his acting journey. He talks about working with some very famous people and also discusses some of his movies.

Listen to “EP 234: Max Martini: From Hollywood star to giving back.” on Spreaker.

Episode Highlights

• 03:22 – Mark inquires how Max got the acting bug
• 05:25 – Max says he just got lucky because he doesn’t know what to attribute his success to, but he started working with some high-profiles in the industry.
• 07:32 – Mark asks what it was like for Max to be in that position to be working alongside famous people—what was that feeling?
• 09:40 – Max mentions that he kept his auditions real and didn’t step outside of that kind of realm of reality too much.
• 11:30 – There was an obstacle for Max in this business. It was something that he created within himself.
• 13:35 – We got to think big, we got to act big, and we got to do the work to put us in that position to get the confidence that we’re going to have once we step up, says Max.
• 15:35 – Max has been fortunate enough to have been in some great war films like Saving Private Ryan and 13 Hours and Captain Phillips—and playing these Navy Seals and playing these SpecOps guys.
• 17:07 – Mark mentions that one of his favorite films of Max’s is 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi—and when you’re shooting a film like that it looks so authentic.
• 19:25 – Max cares about not making a mockery of someone’s service to the country, and trying to keep it as real as possible.
• 21:00 – The whole idea of that movie was about a Ship/Tanker that was taken hostage off the coast of Somalia.
• 23:25 – “I sort of ended up in TV because it was the next best thing” says Max.
• 25:33 – Max thinks his career played out the way it was supposed to and he was able to use television as a stepping stone.
• 27:00 – Before Private Ryan, Max was in his 20’s and he did not have any sense of politics. He didn’t have any concern for the military or veterans, and that movie shaped his life and impacted his life so profoundly, and shaped him into who he is today.
• 30:20 – Mark inquires how Max got involved in Higher Ground and what it means to him
• 31:15 – It inspired Max to do something for veterans because since Private Ryan, he started developing due to the love and appreciation for the military, and he had yet to get involved charitably. So, he was kind of inspired to do that.
• 33:00 – Max was introduced to them through a mutual friend, and as much as he can help support the foundation, he does
• 36:06 – Max is excited. It doesn’t scare him—it’s just invigorating because it’s where he’s reinventing his career, position in the film business, and people are offering him movies to direct now.

Three Key Points

1. Max shares when he got out of the university, he had this massive debt to deal with, and coincidentally he was asked to audition for a movie and his brother and he put it on tape and he sent in this audition tape he landed this role. So, he flew out to Los Angeles, he paid off a chunk of his university, and when the casting director said, you would be stupid to not pursue this because this is a very high-profile film and people kill for these opportunities, so, he stayed.
2. A lot of actors put themselves at a disadvantage because they are dazzled by the size of the sets and the celebrities they are working with—George Clooney being Batman and Ben Affleck being another Batmanand—they get into this kind of world; and they can’t do the work or they get nervous.
3. When he was doing TV, he had the opportunity to explore what his boundaries were, what he was capable of as an actor. It was a great training ground, and then that sort of led him back into movies pretty quickly.

Tweetable Quotes

“I’ve been very lucky, had my struggles, but I’ve been very lucky to work with amazing people.” – Max Martini

“I’m relaxed enough to be able to kind of deliver for these guys and I love the artistry I love.” – Max Martini

“Confidence is the keyword across the board in life, but that’s something that I always had.” – Max Martini

“One of the perks of business is when you get to work not only in great films but with great actors, but sometimes you can have exotic locations.” – Mark Pattison

“If I look back on my career, that whole period I’m in television was a great training ground for me.” – Max Martini

“I like doing TV. TV is much better than it was back then.” – Max Martini

“I believe that life plays out the way it’s supposed to play out, and you create your opportunities.” – Mark Pattison

“I found three organizations that have completely different approaches to helping veterans.” – Max Martini

“In life to have service back and helping others, especially when you’ve reached some level of success, not necessarily by riches, but just by where you’ve gotten in life.” – Mark Pattison

“This is my third film to direct and the first two were very successful in many different levels for me.” – Max Martini

 

Resources Mentioned

Max Martini: Instagram

Mark Pattison YouTube Channel

https://www.youtube.com/c/FindingYourSummitWithMarkPattison/featured