West Wing & Scandal Star Joshua Malina On The Five Things You Need To Shine In The Entertainment Industry

… Be the kind of professional that you want to be surrounded by. You should treat other people well. I’m sure there are times when there’s somebody more talented than I am for a role, but I always show up, know my stuff, and treat people well. Conducting oneself well is important.

I had the distinct pleasure to talk to Joshua Malina. Star of NBC’s Emmy Award-winning ensemble THE WEST WING, actor Joshua Malina has the impressive distinction of having appeared in nearly every project that Aaron Sorkin has written/produced. He’s since created the popular West Wing Weekly podcast, transitioned into Shonda Rhimes’ ABC award-winning drama SCANDAL, for whom he also appeared in the Netflix mini-series, INVENTING ANNA, and most recently returned to the stage in Old Globe Theatre’s What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank. He currently stars on the Great White Way in Tom Stoppard’s Leopoldstadt.

Upon graduation from Yale University with a B.A. degree in Theatre, Malina made his professional acting debut in the Broadway production of Sorkin’s A Few Good Men. He went on to star in SPORTS NIGHT, for which he and his castmates were nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for “Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy.” Other Sorkin credits include the hit features THE AMERICAN PRESIDENT and MALICE.

Among his other television credits is the ABC comedy series BIG SHOTS; memorable recurring arcs on Ryan Murphy’s AMERICAN HORROR STORY, NBC’s AMERICAN AUTO, Showtime’s SHAMELESS, USA Network’s IN PLAIN SIGHT, CBS’ THE BIG BANG THEORY and NUMB3RS, and HBO’s THE LARRY SANDERS SHOW.

Raised in New Rochelle, NY, Malina now resides in Los Angeles with his wife and two children.

Joshua, thank you so much for joining us. Our readers would love to learn about your origin story and the story of how you grew up.

Sure, I was born in Manhattan, but I grew up in New Rochelle, New York, in the suburbs of the city, just 45 minutes north of Manhattan. I was raised in a wonderful family that valued Jewish tradition, observance, and ethics. My parents decided to send me to Westchester Day School, an Orthodox Yeshiva in Mamaroneck, New York, where I attended first through eighth grade. It was there, and at home, that my Jewish identity was forged. I really enjoyed the curriculum at Westchester Day School, especially the Jewish studies and the emphasis on ethics. The focus on living a moral and just life was an integral part of what I was learning at school.

Can you please tell us the story of what brought you to this career path as an actor?

Well, I’ve wanted to be an actor ever since I was very young. The decision itself was easy, though becoming an actor wasn’t. I know many people struggle with deciding to pursue something as unpredictable as a career in the arts. As a kid, I was always that one participating in plays at school, camp, the Y, and summer theater. I was also privileged, growing up in New Rochelle, to have access to fantastic theater. One of my dad’s best friends was, and still is, Manny Azenberg, an incredible theater producer for decades. Thanks to Manny’s generosity, I got to see a lot of great theater. I would sit in the audience, pointing at the stage, and say, “That’s what I want to do. That’s what I want to be.” It always felt like a perfect fit for me.

I went to college and majored in theater studies. After graduating in 1988, I moved to New York and tried to get a job. Thanks to my friendship with Aaron Sorkin, I landed a job on Broadway quite quickly, which was an absolute dream come true. Now, 34 years later, I’m doing my second Broadway show.

You’ve been in the business for 34 years, which is incredible. You probably have many fantastic stories. Can you share one or two of the most interesting stories from your career?

Sure, here is one memorable story about being a Jewish actor. In addition to my first Broadway show, which Aaron Sorkin wrote and cast me in, mainly out of friendship, he also gave me my first role as a series regular on a TV show. I played a character named Jeremy Goodwin on a show called Sports Night. It was a half-hour comedy-drama that ran for two seasons, focusing on what goes on behind the scenes at a sports center-type show. Jeremy was explicitly Jewish on the show, and in one particular episode called “April is the Cruelest Month,” Jeremy organizes a Passover Seder at work for both his Jewish and non-Jewish colleagues. Aaron wrote a deeply Jewish story that ends with Jeremy standing up and beginning to recite Kiddush at the start of the Seder. That was a very special thing for me to be part of because it resonated with a universal audience. I’ve had many Jewish viewers approach me afterward, saying how nice it was to see their culture represented so beautifully in Aaron’s script in that episode.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who reached out to you and went out of their way to open doors for you or give you a big break? Do you have a story about somebody who did an act of kindness that changed your career?

Shonda Rhimes has employed me multiple times, and Warren Beatty took a big risk by casting me in his movie Bulworth.

But truly, that question can really only be answered by mentioning Aaron Sorkin . He cast me on good faith originally. I mean, eventually, I showed that I could act, and there’s a reason why he wanted to continue casting me. But my original experiences working for him were simply because we were friends.

We grew up not far from each other in Scarsdale, and he went to high school with my cousins. When I graduated from college, I reached out to him on my mother’s suggestion, and we became friends across the poker table. I thought he was an actor, but he mentioned casually that he had written a play. When he asked me to audition for it, I jumped at the opportunity. There’s no question that he liked me personally and that we were real genuine friends, but it was an act of friendship that he offered me a job on faith. He continued to do that in the decades to follow in a serial fashion, both on TV and in film. Nobody’s been better to me than he has.

I also have to mention my parents because they have been endlessly supportive of my pursuit of acting. Despite urging me to have something to fall back on, they have been and continue to be supportive of what I want to do, both financially and emotionally.

And, of course, my wife Melissa has supported me and helped me at every step of my life and career.

You’ve been blessed with success and a career path that can be challenging. What advice would you have for those who want to follow this path but are intimidated, particularly by the prospect of constant rejection and people saying no, doors closing, and the mental health challenges that come with that?

Well, very well said, it is a mental health challenge. Pursuing anything can be a mental health challenge, but certainly, a career in acting is, by its nature, challenging. It’s nice of you to call me a success, but for every success I’ve had, I’ve had a period afterwards, usually of lack of work and unemployment. I’ve had to learn what it is to be on an emotional and financial roller coaster for a career.

Also, if you’re on a TV show and blessed to have five million people watch you, a million people think you’re terrible, and they’re very happy to let you know on social media.

Although very emotional, sometimes fragile, and often insecure people are drawn to acting, it’s not really the best thing to pursue if you can’t develop that thick skin where the naysayers just sort of go by the wayside. It can be a very painful thing indeed.

Somehow, maybe it’s because I’m Jewish, but I’ve grown up knowing that not everyone’s going to love me, and I have to find inner strength and confidence and comfort in my own identity and who I am, and not be defined by how others see me.

You have an impressive list of credits. Could you share with us some exciting projects you’re currently working on and any future projects you’re hoping to work on?

Currently, I’m involved in one of the most exciting projects I’ve ever done. I’m part of a beautiful ensemble cast in Tom Stoppard’s play, Leopoldstadt. The play opened in October and I recently joined the cast. I have already completed eight performances and will continue to perform at the Longacre Theatre in New York City until July 2nd.

The play is an amazing piece of writing, and the cast is spectacular. It’s a sweeping tale about a large interfaith family in Vienna, Austria in 1899, and takes you through their ups and downs over the course of 56 years. It’s a remarkable piece of writing that is emotional, beautiful, joyous, and sad. I highly recommend it. I was really taken with it when I first saw it and read it and now I can’t believe I have the good fortune to actually be appearing in it.

Let’s talk about your past work, particularly your role in Scandal. Scandal is among the most popular television shows of all time. in your opinion, what is it that captured people’s attention about the series?

Well, Shonda Rhimes is an absolute pro. She has her finger on the pulse of what people want to see. She writes great dialogue and has a way of generating story after story that often end in a cliffhanger fashion. She writes great, entertaining TV that people want to continue watching. It was incredibly fun to have a seven-year ride in Shondaland. She was a great boss and just makes exciting TV.

You were also in the West Wing. What lessons do you think contemporary society can learn from the show’s themes and motifs?

Well, the West Wing is undoubtedly one of the best projects I’ve worked on. It was a fantastic show, and I was a fan for three years before they added me to the cast in the fourth season.

I hope that watching the show doesn’t feel like a history or civics lesson, but rather it inspires viewers to take politics and their responsibilities as citizens seriously.

Aaron Sorkin is a very instructive, moving, and inspiring writer, and I think he did an incredible job with the show. I’ve met many people who weren’t even born when the show was on, and they say that because of the West Wing, they went into politics, community organizing, or some form of public service.

It’s amazing what Aaron Sorkin accomplished with the show.

How do you compare and contrast the character you played in the West Wing, Will Bailey, with your personal character?

Well, every time Aaron writes something for me, he makes me seem a lot nicer and smarter than I actually am.

Will Bailey was super sharp, hyper-articulate, a great writer — all things that I am not. He was someone I aspire to be, a decent human being who wants to help leave the world a better place than he found it.

Credit: Manfred Baumann

How about David Rosen, the character you played in Scandal?

David Rosen and I have more in common. David Rosen as much as he fought and tried to do the right thing, often came up short. So maybe that’s a little bit closer to the real me.

This is our signature question that we ask all of our interviewees. If a young person were to come to you and say, “Joshua, you have so much experience. Can you tell me the five things I need to know to succeed in Hollywood?”, what would you say?

1. Well, I would say, first of all, that Manny Azenberg, the producer I mentioned earlier, told me to do everything and take any work I can get. If somebody is making a student film and they want to give me a little part, I should do it because the people I meet on the way up will continue to keep working, and I will make connections and friendships. That’s a good piece of advice.
2. Another thing is to be the kind of professional that you want to be surrounded by. You should treat other people well. I’m sure there are times when there’s somebody more talented than I am for a role, but I always show up, know my stuff, and treat people well. Conducting oneself well is important.
3. Do not get too big for your britches.
4. On a pure acting level, someone once told me that for film acting, I should remember that the camera can read my mind. It’s an interesting thing, as opposed to acting for the stage, where you have to make sure the person in the last row of the mezzanine is seeing what you’re trying to put forth. In film, the camera reads your mind.
5. Save your money during the good times because there will be bad times.

Joshua, because of the platform you’ve created and your great work, you are a person of enormous influence. If you could spread an idea or inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? Because you never know what your idea can inspire.

I’m not sure I agree that I have significant influence, even within my own family and children. So, the idea of influencing people I haven’t met is hard to accept.

However, I believe we should all treat others with more compassion. This seems like an easy lesson, but the world doesn’t always progress in that direction as quickly as it could. I’m speaking to myself as much as anyone else, and I don’t want to position myself as a wise or special person.

This is what we call our matchmaker question and sometimes it works. Is there a person in the world or the US with whom you would like to have a power lunch, share a beer or collaborate with, because we could tag them and maybe we could connect you?

Oh wow, oh boy. So I guess Moses is out of the question. We’re talking about living people. I would have gone for dinner with Moses.

If you had asked me five months ago, I might have said Tom Stoppard. So I should take this question seriously because people that you dream about can actually happen.

Let me see. I’m a huge fan of Armando Iannucci, who created “Veep” and “The Thick of It.” I’m a tremendous fan of his work. If you can put it out there in the world, I would love to work for him sometime.

Credit: Manfred Baumann

How can readers continue to follow your work? And how can they buy tickets to the show?

They can go to https://leopoldstadtplay.com/ to purchase tickets.

If you come see the play and want to share your thoughts with me afterward, feel free to come to the stage door. I come out after every performance and would be happy to meet you.

Additionally, you can follow me on social media, specifically Twitter: @joshmalina, and Insta: @joshmalinasjoshmalina

If you give me a shout-out, I’ll do my best to respond, as I always enjoy interacting with fans.

Joshua, this has been an amazing conversation. Thank you.

I appreciate that. Yeah, I’ve really enjoyed chatting with you.

I wish you continued success and I hope that we can stay in touch.