John Magaro has quietly built one of the most impressive filmographies in Hollywood. So quietly, in fact, that he’s still often being dubbed a “breakout” with each new hit he delivers. Magaro insists his priority is being an artist, not a movie star. However, given the pace with which he’s churning out standout performances in phenomenal films, the latter is more undeniable than ever. John Magaro is a star and any production would be lucky to have him.
The two most recent films to have Magaro as a headliner are an Oscar nominee and a Sundance 2025 Grand Jury Prize nominee. The former is September 5, a film that masterfully brings the viewer into ABC Sports’ control room at the 1972 Munich Summer Olympics as they redefine live news when they have to shift from sports reporting to live coverage of the Israeli athletes taken hostage. The film recently scored an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay, and was deserving of far more.
The other film Magaro is in the midst of celebrating is his Sundance 2025 selection, Omaha. In Cole Webley’s feature directorial debut, Magaro plays a father who suddenly wakes his two young children, Ella and Charlie, and insists they must go on a road trip. Ella soon comes to suspect that what seems like a fun family adventure is actually something wholly different for her father.
In honor of Omaha’s big debut at the Sundance Film Festival and September 5’s Oscar run, Magaro took the time to swing by the Collider interview studio at Sundance, brought to you by Rendezvous Capital, for a Collider Forces interview. While paving the way to his experience making those two films, Magaro explained how he came to embrace his truth as an actor, a truth that’s sparked some of the very best performances we’ve seen in recent years.
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