Image from 1991 Yearbook Courtesy of Ms. Rozell

Chris Messina’s yearbook picture in his junior year of high school.

You might know Northport High School graduate Chris Messina for his roles in “The Mindy Project,” “Argo,” “Birds of Prey,” “Air,” and more (He was even in Sam Smith’s “I’m Not the Only One” music video!). He is a multitalented actor and director who has found success in the world of television and film. We had the privilege of sitting down with Mr. Messina to talk about his time in high school and his advice for students today.

What acting-related activities were you involved in at NHS?

I did most of my acting work in the Black Box Theater (now called the Little Theater) with these teachers, John Gavriluk and Fran McGarry. John’s class was called Living Theater, and I think Fran’s might have been called Musical Theater Works. In ninth grade, I was taking Mrs. McGarry’s class and we were watching in John Gavriluk’s class for the older kids, and I was like, oh my God, I want to do that class. I read that you couldn’t take the class until 11th grade. So I went up to John Gavriluk and said, “Hi, my name is Chris Messina. I don’t want to wait until 11th grade to take your class. I want to take it next year.” And he smiled and said, well, I’ll work on that. I went to (Guidance Couselor) Anne Whooley and said, “I know I can’t take it until 11th grade, but this is where I need to be.” And Anne Whooley and John Gavriluk put it together. Because I took that slight risk, it gave me more time in the class and more time with Mr. Gavriluk. 

We had so many cool Black Box performances, and the stuff we were doing in there was very provocative. It was all about sex, drugs, and rock and roll. John Gavriluk put those together and I remained in contact with him. Unfortunately, a year or so ago, he passed away. He was really a mentor to me. He let me write plays. Kids would sit on the floor, cool music would be blasting, and we’d do improvisations about high school situations – what we were actually all going through. So the kids would sit there, completely relate and be maybe embarrassed or shocked or happy that we were talking about things that they were actually going through. 

Were there any specific moments at Northport High School that have shaped who you are today?

I danced as a kid, and my mom was a dance teacher, so she got me really into dancing. I loved dancing. But when I was growing up you know, being a kid that did ballet was kind of strange to a lot of the kids. So I got kind of poked fun at because of that. And so I kind of stopped dancing and hid it away, but the Powdered Wigs were doing Pippin and they sought me out because they knew that I liked acting, and they had heard that I danced. I auditioned and I got the part of the Leading Player. This was a Powdered Wigs production on the main, big stage. I couldn’t sing at all. I was terrified. They adjusted all the music, lowered the registered registers in the octaves so I could get through it, probably barely got through it, but it was an amazing experience. And I worked really hard to prepare it basically out of nerves. To sing and dance in front of your high school was very scary at the time. And because I had been made fun of because I danced, I was weary of what that would be. 

The work ethic that I needed on Powdered Wigs meant I stopped going to parties and I stopped hanging out after school. I had a friend of mine who’s still in Northport, Vicky Williamson. She would rehearse every day with me after school, and on the weekends. I would do the songs for her, and we’d read the scenes and I would do the dances, and I would go hard. I prepared so much out of fear. Ultimately, the way that I was seen by some of the students and the teachers as having something that I could do in my life was found. That work ethic on Pippin, I’ve taken that up to today, that’s still how I prepare.  

Did you see yourself going into acting? 

I did. Like I said, I danced and I really wanted to become Baryshnikov. I was very focused on that. I wanted to go to LaGuardia High School, which was a high school in Manhattan that just focused on the arts. My parents didn’t want me to do that. They wanted me to go to Northport, like my brother and sister. I was so mad and so angry. But, looking back on it, I wouldn’t have changed a thing because of John Gavriluk and Fran McGarry and Powdered Wigs. It really shaped who I am today. 

What advice would you give to current Northport students who are members of Powdered Wigs, Theater Troupe, or who want to go into entertainment?

I would say that the business is so strange and it’s not fair. You have to go in with that attitude that I’m gonna outwork people, that there’s always more to learn. So push yourself, the studying is never done. To this day I still have acting teachers and acting coaches, and I’m still dissecting plays and movies. Constantly be challenging yourself and pushing yourself, and don’t let the dream die. I think that it’s really important to visualize what exactly you want and where you want to go. And to constantly go after that and to remind yourself to keep the joy in it because the business, past high school or past college, can be heartbreaking. But if you can try not to take it personally and know that’s often how it looks for most of us who decide to go into the world of the arts. Don’t let them knock your dream away, don’t let them tear down your dream. I think that dream and that joy are really important because I think it makes for better work.

As an actor, a lot of the time you’re forced to wait for things to come to you. Of course you can go on an audition and wait to see if they like you, and maybe you’ll get a callback and you’ll wait to see if you get it. That comes with the territory. You should do that if you have those opportunities. But writing stuff, creating your own play, putting your own play up, writing a movie, getting together and reading a play, or doing a workshop. You can’t wait for it. And I think some of the people that I’ve gotten to work with in this business have inspired me because they gave it to themselves. They didn’t wait for it to come to them. 

I think maybe that’s a lifetime journey of finding out who you are and what it is that you want to do. I’m soon to be 50, and you still have to reexamine it. Why did I start doing this? What was the initial love of this? And where am I now and where would I like to go? Where else would I like to explore?

Do you ever come back to Northport? And when you do, what does it feel like to drive past your old high school?

I come back to Northport as much as I can. I love the town. I think there’s something very special in the water there. A very creative place. I like the colors. I like when it’s gray there. I like to walk down Main Street and some of the old houses. And I like looking at the boats. I love driving past the high school. I have fond memories. I haven’t walked in there in so long, and I’d like to walk in. I would especially like to go to what I call the Black Box Theater, and kind of sit there in silence, you know? And remember all the great times I had there, not only on the stage, but watching other actors and other students. 

I am very proud to be from Northport. Very proud. And I still have a bunch of friends that I went to school with and graduated with. And a lot of actors came out of there too. A lot of folks went into acting, and are still doing it. Something about that school, something about Powdered Wigs, about that little theater. And I do believe there’s something in the water there. It’s got a magic.

What would you say to your high school self?

I would say enjoy it. Make friends with what is and enjoy the ride. In terms of what I chose to do, it’s the marathon of it. It’s not a sprint. So enjoy the lessons, enjoy the falls, the mistakes, the things that didn’t work, and learn. But, don’t wallow in that or punish yourself, because that’s what makes you better. That’s what makes you the person you want to be. You’re the artist you want to be. So I think I would say enjoy the ride.

Gallery • 2 Photos

Courtesy of Chris Messina

Chris Messina in the Powdered Wigs production of Pippin