John Early on Going Full Out, Melodrama, and His Directorial Debut 'Maddie's Secret'

John Early, the actor, writer, and comedian known for 'Search Party' and 'Stress Positions', discusses his approach to performance, his directorial debut 'Maddie's Secret', and his role in Wallace Shawn and André Gregory's play 'What We Did Before Our Moth Days'. Early, who chooses to 'go full out' in his work, embraces expressiveness over irony in a culture he sees as flattened by social media. 'Maddie's Secret', which premiered at the Chicago Critics Film Festival in April and opens in theatres June 19th, follows a food influencer (played by Early) struggling with bulimia. The film features a dance sequence choreographed by Danielle Polanco and includes comedians Kate Berlant, Conner O'Malley, and Vanessa Bayer. Early describes the play, mounted at Greenwich House Theatre this past spring, as healing his acting-school wounds and cracking him open emotionally. He contrasts the mystery allowed by Shawn and Gregory with the corporate directives artists face today. Early, 38, grew up gay and Presbyterian in Nashville and cites Toni Collette, R&B, and melodramas like 'Death of a Cheerleader' as influences. He plans to read 'Middlemarch' in a beach shack.