Standish913.com has been blessed to do an exclusive interview with...
"MARILYN GHIGLIOTTI"!
Started acting in New Jersey, getting her start in the local
community theater circuit, where she eventually auditioned for her first independent film titled Clerks, which became a cult classic in 1994. She decided to make the important move to Los Angeles in 1997 to further a career in film, where she continued to make connections and appeared in many other indie films of many genres. She also has many credits as a hair and makeup artist, as
well as producer credits in the entertainment industry. Her most recent work is reprising her role as Veronica in Clerks 3 and has directed her first short film titled A Mother’s Love, which is making it’s rounds in film festivals, and has won Best Woman filmmaker at the 2023 Chandler Film
Festival.
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Hey Marilyn, I really appreciate you taking the time to do this exclusive interview... I'm so honored to have this opportunity to interview you! Thanks for accepting this offer to be included in our Clerks vault collection! Let's get started...
STANDISH: You played "Veronica" in Kevin Smith's "Clerks" & "Clerks 3" films, how did you land these roles?
MARILYN: I had been doing community theater in the central Jersey area and had heard that a kid, their words not mine, was making a film and was holding auditions at one of the theaters I had done shows at. After my audition, Kevin did call me not too long after the audition and asked for me to come down to the conveinience store and pick up the script as he liked what I did. He wanted to make sure I felt comfortable with the dialog before committing to the role. I took it home and read while at the salon between clients and actually loved the script, the role, the humor, so I was in.
STANDISH: How does it feel to be in such a cult classic like "Clerks" & would you say that it opened doors for your future?
MARILYN: Well to this day it's still a surreal experience to have had the film create such a buzz and become what it did. As to whether it opened doors? Well people know who I am, but it hasn't really opened up the roles being offered to me. I do have a great manager and have been auditioning quite a bit, but not landing the role is on me. And there are a million reasons of why I'm not booking the role that probably have nothing to do with me. It's a tough business.
STANDISH: What was the atmosphere like being on set at "Jay & Silent Bob: Reboot"?
MARILYN: That was a crazy whirlwind shoot for me. I believe I didn't know I was going to be there till a week prior. I flew in, arrived in the afternoon, met up with the rest of the Clerks gang. Was a difficult time for me, as that morning my dad had been taken to the hospital and wasn't doing well, so I was a bit preoccupied. But the guys were all there for me, especially Brian. I got up the next morning, did my own hair and makeup for the scene, then we all headed for approval on our hair, makeup and wardrobe. Was fun to be on a film set again with the gang. We checked out the sets where they weren't shooting. I was just fun to hang around as they shot until they were ready to do the reunion scene, which took all of 5 sec on the screen but took about 2 hours or so to set up and shoot. After we were done, we were able to watch everyone else come in and do their cameos from the back, while we also watched the editor working on the scene we just did to have us be in black and white with the color around us. It was exciting to see what we eventually were going to see on the screen being made in front of us and to have the insight that we wouldn't be able to reveal to anyone. We stayed all through out the night till the next morning when they wrapped. I knew I didn't want to just leave. I loved being on the set, even if I wasn't doing anything but watching. I don't remember exactly what time it was, maybe 5 in the morning when they had wrapped and I had an early flight back to LA. I went to my hotel room, packed up the little I brought with me, took a 15 min nap and out the door to catch my flight.
STANDISH: Out of all of your credits, which has been your favorite?
MARILYN: I don't like to pick favorites with anything in my life. Choosing a role over all the others, is like making a mother choose their favorite child. Thankfully I only have 1, but I do have 2 grandchildren and I will love them both equally. But in saying that, all the roles I've had, have something different that I enjoyed because they all played into different parts of my emotions and heart. I purposly sought out different roles, characters and genres too work in and show range by challenging myself.
STANDISH: What can we look forward to in the future from you?
MARILYN: As of right now, I wonder the same thing. It's been a challenging few years, between the lockdown and the strikes. It's been difficult to get new things happening. This year marks the 30 year Anniversary of Clerks, so I'm looking forward to hopefully get to many cities and attend conventions to meet the fans that have stood behind us for so long and made us what we are. And I'm just feeling old after 30 years. lol
STANDISH: Where do you see yourself in 5 years from now?
MARILYN: At my age, hard to really answer that question the same way as when I was young. I certainly hope to continue being an actor and hopefully finally making a living as one. Otherwise, i'll have to re-evalate life.
STANDISH: In this busy industry, what's a relaxing day to Marilyn look like?
MARILYN: like to relax in front of a small or big screen and watch what I love, film and shows. Otherwise, it's trying to spend time with family. Only, they don't live where I live, so it makes it difficult to do that. But I can't say that I really have relaxing days as the hussle is real.
STANDISH: If you could play one role, any role today, what would it be?
MARILYN: I no longer know the answer to that question. When I was younger I longed to play the role of Alais in A Lion in Winter, which I almost did. But at the time I was offered the role, I was also offered a role in Same Time Next Year, a bigger role in a cast of 2. So I had to see the bigger picture. But at this point in my life, almost any role will do. On a popular TV series would be great.
STANDISH: Who are some of your mentors?
MARILYN: There are many actors that I have admired, but honestly don't feel I can call them mentors unless I actually had direct access to them.
STANDISH: During COVID, we all faced struggles, what was one of your main struggles?
MARILYN: Honestly, I kind of enjoyed the quiet time. Because of the government help, I didn't struggle financially as badly as I usually have. But I was dealing with some medical issues before that so I was hoping that the time off would only help in with the healing process. Some of it healed or got better to deal, but unfortunately some of it has been a process.
STANDISH: What advice would you give to another upcoming creative like yourself?
MARILYN: This is a difficult one to answer as it will be different for many reasons depending on the person as well. But the one thing would be to be absolutely certain and know if it's something you have to do and can't see anything else for yourself. It's not an easy business Be ready for lots of rejection, struggle and perseverance. And train in some way, so that you know what it is that your're doing.
STANDISH: Where can fans find your work?
MARILYN: Much of the films I've worked on are on Amazon Prime have also done a few audiobooks listed on Audible.
STANDISH: What are your social links?
MARILYN: I can be found on Instagram, FB and X-twitter
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