John Magaro is currently starring in the family drama Omaha, which premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival and is in theaters from April 24. His other recent films include September 5, also starring Peter Sarsgaard, and Maggie Gyllenhaal’s The Bride, starring Jessie Buckley and Christian Bale, and Kelly Reichardt’s The Mastermind, with Josh O’Connor. On the small screen, he starred in the CIA series The Agency, with Michael Fassbender and Jodie Turner-Smith. His previous notable film credits include Celine Song’s Past Lives, Kelly Reichardt’s First Cow and Showing Up, David Chase’s The Many Saints of Newark and Not Fade Away, Adam McKay’s Oscar-winning The Big Short and Todd Haynes’ Carol. His other TV credits include The Umbrella Academy, Jack Ryan, Orange is the New Black and The Good Wife.
Three Great Things is Talkhouse’s series in which artists tell us about three things they absolutely love. To mark the April 24 release in theaters of the new Sundance drama Omaha, starring John Magaro, Molly Belle Wright, Wyatt Solis and Talia Balsam, acclaimed actor Magaro – who’s best known for his roles in The Big Short, First Cow and Past Lives – shared some of the things he loves most in life. — N.D.
Scotch
I love a good Scotch – there’s something about it. Having a smoky Laphroaig or a Caol Ila with some ice is such a nice way to cap off the day. That’s something I got into during Covid, when I was reading a lot about Scotch and watching documentaries about how it’s made. I used to really enjoy bourbon, and then I got away from that, but there’s a whole transatlantic trade with Scotch where the barrel comes from France, then it’s used to make bourbon in the U.S., and then it goes back across the Atlantic and is used for Scotch.
There’s nothing quite like a good glass of Scotch – no other drink does that for me. I can really enjoy the notes and the flavor. And it’s even better when drunk in dark rooms with the smell of leather and a very Gilded Age New York vibe. There’s something romantic about that. I discovered this by having meals with David Chase, the creator of The Sopranos. Over the years, he introduced me to really great food, and at the end of every meal, he’d always get a brandy or a calvados. I didn’t love either of those, but then I found Scotch and now really enjoy ending a meal with that.
For me, there’s something about drinking scotch that I associate with the Campbell Apartment at Grand Central Station, the Oak Room at the Plaza or the old Waldorf Astoria, places that feel like they’re transporting me back to a different time in New York City. When it was more elegant, more romantic, when it was a thriving Art Deco metropolis at the forefront of everything. There’s nothing elegant about drinking, but it somehow feels more elegant to be drinking a really good Scotch!
Nepal
I love travel and was fortunate enough as a young kid to have a grandfather who would take my family to places like Mexico, the Caribbean or even the Middle East. As a kid from Ohio, these trips opened up the world to me, and then when I had my own money, I started to travel a lot myself. If I did a film and made enough money, I would treat myself to a trip and go trekking in the Andes, or somewhere in Europe or South Africa. However, the one place that has stuck with me in an almost haunting way is Nepal.
I was always intrigued by Nepal, mainly because of the idea of those mountains, which are just so enormous and awe-inspiring. I was never in good enough shape to climb Everest, nor did I really have that inclination, but I wanted to be close enough to smell that air and sense that world, so I went by myself to Nepal. It was unlike anywhere I had ever been, the food was to die for and the people were so warm. I felt a rebellious spirit in them that they refused to be like anyone else in the world, that they didn’t fit in, but there was also a spirituality and a humility to the people. I was lucky enough to visit some schools and met kids who were so excited and inspired to learn, even with limited resources.
When you get into the mountains in Nepal, the views are spectacular and the world up there is just really magical. It made me think of that part in A Long Day’s Journey into Night when Eugene O’Neill is talking about the time he was out on the ocean and saw the stars above him: “I belonged, without past or future, within peace and unity and a wild joy, within something greater than my own life, or the life of Man, to Life itself! To God, if you want to put it that way.” Those moments up there in the Himalayas, being that high up and seeing the untouched sky, still stick with me. I long to go back there again, to taste that food and talk to those people and climb in those hills.
My Daughter
This connects to my new movie, Omaha, which is about a father and his two kids, but my third thing is my daughter, who’s changed my life. Joking around with her, playing games, hearing her jokes when she catches me off guard with silly comments – I’m stunned and have no idea where it’s coming from! It’s those moments, and the hug I get when I come back home after being away for work. That’s unlike anything, a feeling I didn’t know until I had a kid. And then there’s the cuddles, and when she needs me to calm her down to get her to sleep. Even her snores are amazing! I never realized what it was going to be like to be a dad, but it changes everything. I feel incredibly lucky to have my kid, because she’s so great.
It’s hard to be away from her when I’m traveling for work, but we’re fortunate now because I can call her every day and see her on FaceTime. I can’t imagine the world before that, how hard it must have been. For someone who’s away as much as I am, if I couldn’t see my kid every day, I don’t know how I could really build a close relationship with her. I’m very grateful that technology means we get to see each other every day, but I’m still amazed by her whenever I get back from shooting. Nowadays, I try to get back home as frequently as I can, but whenever I return after any time away, I see how she’s grown, how she’s changed. She feels slightly different than she did just a couple weeks before. I want to hold on to all those moments with my daughter.
The good thing about being a film actor is that when I do have time off, I really get to be home and be present with my kid. And I make a big point to really go on adventures with her. Big Top Pee-wee was one of my favorite movies as a kid, so I’ve shared that movie with her now and also take her with me to Coney Island. I love the whole carnival mentality and the circus culture, and love that she appreciates going to Coney Island with me. It’s really cool when your kids are interested in things you’re interested in, or when they share something with you that allows you to discover it too. As she’s only six, there’s not a lot of my movies that are appropriate for her, and the only one she’s seen all the way through is an animated musical I did called Under the Boardwalk, which is like Romeo and Juliet with crabs (but not sad). I had so much fun doing that movie, and I would love to do more like it, because it is great as an actor to make a movie that your kid can watch and really enjoy.
