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Monroe Mann is on fire; this is his story.
(last updated November 2008; most recent stuff at the bottom.)
"You say that I'm going the wrong way, when it's really just a way of my own." - from Monroe's song Reality in the Making
Monroe was born in the suburban ethnic town of Port Chester, NY in 1977 to Carolyn and Monroe Mann. Though he grew up initially in NY, he spent an equal part of his childhood in the state of Maine, where he attended high school at Fryeburg Academy, graduating with Highest Honors.
During his junior year, he was cast in the Actors Theatre Company's production of Equus in the role of Alan Strang. Standing ovations night after night at the Eastern Slope Playhouse convinced Monroe that performing was indeed his calling. It was the turning point in his teenage life. Finally, he found something he was good at, something he loved, and something which gave him attention from his peers, and he learned that the definition of a good actor is someone who can take direction. "Point blank: either you can, or you can't," says Monroe. "But perhaps more importantly, I learned that the success of a production lies wholly in the synergy between actor's ability and director's vision. A successful production relies on the seamless coming together of actor and director, to such a degree that the audience cannot tell where the actor leaves off and the director picks up, and vice-versa. It's a team effort at its most basic form."
Although he was convinced that acting was his calling, Monroe was but 17, and he decided to go to college. He started off as a Chemistry major at Furman University in South Carolina, DJing on weekends on WPLS 96.5 The Best Alternative. Although he was a shy and socially awkward teenager in high school, his freshman year of college really enticed him out of the woodwork thanks to a great group of friends.
During the spring of his sophomore year (now at American University), a friend cut out an ad for him regarding open auditions for a drama school in New York City. That spring, he attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts Summer Program in Manhattan with his equally talented younger sister, Hilary. He was selected to audition for the role of Michelle Pfeiffer's son in Deep End of the Ocean. He didn't get the part. But he did learn that he loved acting, and that he would be going for it professionally as soon as he graduated college.
Monroe ended up at Franklin College in Lugano, Switzerland, where he graduated With Honors with a B.A. in International Economics and a minor in French. While there, he co-founded and -edited the Franklin College Newspaper, The Enlightenment, participated in most of the drama society productions, was in two rock bands, and lived on his own in that vast scary land known as Europe. He also crashed the Cannes Film Festival, and convinced everyone that he was a producer, thus acting his way into seeing every movie. (While in France, he also read a bunch of books on how to succeed as an actor, and--realizing that they were all really depressing, and written by bitter people--he vowed that one day, he would write the most inspiring book for actors ever written.)
During the fall of his Senior Year, he found himself looking at the walls of Planet Hollywood in Rome. "What the heck am I doing in Europe?" he asked himself. He was determined to finish up his studies, graduate, and do what he was destined to do: take Hollywood by storm.
By this time, he was really starting to become a social butterfly, and the confidence gained from living on his own in Europe for two years changed everything about his life. But his greatest change still lay ahead.
In May, 1999, he returned to the United States, with even more determination to become a movie star. And he fared quite well, gaining key roles in numerous student films and plays in the first three months of his pursuit. He was doing so well that he was asked to teach a seminar at the Learning Annex entitled, "How to Break into Student Films". The grand success of this is what prompted him to start his consulting firm, Unstoppable Actors (which would later become Unstoppable Artists) and write and publish the book he had always dreamed of writing: "The Theatrical Juggernaut - The Psyche of the Star". Alas, we're getting ahead of ourselves.
Around that same time, Monroe saw "Saving Private Ryan" and his life was changed again forever. He felt a longing necessity to join the military, to say thank you to those who fought to give him the freedom to go after acting. So he signed himself up with the Army National Guard, and before long, he was at Fort Benning, GA going through the hell of basic training.
One year later. he graduated from Officer Candidate School as an intelligence officer; a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army National Guard. Monroe's military training (along with the business skills he gained by starting Unstoppable Actors) marked the 2nd to last phase of Monroe's transformation from a squeaky mouse into a roaring lion; from a meek wallflower into the Unstoppable Artist he is today. Around this time, Monroe also received his first acting credit in a major feature film, "Swimfan". Monroe played Erika Christensen's ex-boyfriend. He also decided that from that point forward, he would not put that much effort into getting cast in other people's projects; instead, he would put most of his effort into phis OWN projects. But again, we're getting ahead of ourselves.
What was the final transforming event? The final transforming event was Monroe's deployment to Iraq in 2005, where he spent an entire year as military intelligence advisor and trainer to the 4th Iraqi Army, and combat patrol leader of his 14-man team. He returned home in 2006 alive, in one piece, with minor injury, a nomination for a bronze star, and the confidence and conviction to reopen his business, start producing the films again, get his band back together, and all that jazz.
Which brings us to the present: Monroe is the founder and president of the publicity/management/coaching firm Unstoppable Artists, the CEO of Loco Dawn Films, and the founder of Actors Film School. He is the host and producer of the celebrity talk-show, "Before the Big Break", the writer/director/co-star of Origami Deathmatch, and the writer/director/co-star of the upcoming feature film about wakeboarding, "In the Wake". Monroe remains the lead singer of his romp band, Running for Famous, and lives each day of his life by his philosophy of No Rules, No Excuses, No Regrets. He is currently a 3rd year JD/MBA student at Pace Law School and Lubin School of Business, now holds a Masters of Entrepreneurship Degree, and continues his slow but steady climb up the ladder of showbusiness success.
FYI, he is the author of:
* "The Theatrical Juggernaut: The Psyche of the Star" -- the most inspirational book for actors ever written
* "To Benning and Back: The Making of a Citizen Soldier" -- chronicling his adventures in Army Basic Training and Officer Candidate School
* "Battle Cries for the Underdog - Fightin' Words for an Extraordinary Life" -- that he wrote while in Iraq
* "Guerrilla Networking" -- Co-written with Jay Conrad Levinson
* "Start Your Own Coaching Business" -- With Entrepreneur Press
* and the upcoming books, "The Artist's MBA", "Actors Film School", "To Benning & Back" (Parts II & III), and a time management book based on Monroe's unique methods of jugging 20 projects at a time.
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