Cold Waters Press

How does Turtle do it?

Q&A with the legendary actor John Philbin, the surfer who acted in two of the best surf movies ever.

“They fly up baby barney’s all the time.”

“When the wave breaks here, don’t be there!”

“Here on the North Shore we treat friends mo’ betta.”

Identity.

Who are you?

Trying to find where you belong in this world is something we all spend our teenage years doing. Media of course is the biggest influence on us. Everything. From the songs we remember, to the movies we identify with.

For surfers our pickings have been slim. Even though our influence over mainstream culture has been immense, our representation in the media has been limited to mainly cheesy movies that only hard-core fans can appreciate.

The North Shore is one such movie, its influence has been unbelievable. In the movie nobody may have listened to Turtle, but in real life people around the world have been spiting out his advice both seriously and for jokes for the last twenty five years. To this day you will still hear lines being quoted by pro surfers as they describe their antics to the cameras.

The other is Point Break, while some questionable philosophy is displayed, the heart of the movie is still good and true to surfers and the surfing, done by my hero Matt Archabold for Patrick Swayze, is second to none of any movie.

It may be kind of dorky, but when I was a grom I used to go down to Huntington Beach in the summer and stay with this friend Trevor Rogers. After The North Shore came out, when I went down that summer, he and all his friends had the whole movie memorized, word for word. I too watched it so much that summer we would all repeat it out in the line up, yelling people off waves out at Trestles, Newport or wherever.

“Hey Haloe, this our wave!”

“Got any pointers?”

“Yeah, you’re not ready!”

How'z it that the supporting actor got all the best lines in a movie? Or that one man has been able to parley his talents into surfing along side some of the best surfers of all time while also acting with some the best actors of his generation? Well actor surfer, extraordinaire, John Phlibin has done all of that and more.

To find out who is the man who has helped bring us these classics, Cold Waters Press got ahold of John Philbin, perhaps the best surfer actor combo the planet has ever seen. Not only has he acted in the North Shore, he acted in Point Break and taught some of the actresses on Blue Crush how to surf! If you would like to book him for a surf lesson, whether you’re in the LA area or anywhere in the world, surf over to his website, you can find out even more about him and what he is doing there.

http://www.prosurfinstruction.com

Questions for John Philbin

CWP: You have acted in three of the most seminal, cult classic movies of Generation X, Children of the Corn, The North Shore and Point Break. Which of these characters are you most proud of? Which one do you feel you were most involved and did the best job at creating?

By far my role as Turtle in North Shore was the most informed work. I was fortunate in having the real person who inspired the role to work with on the set and for weeks in preparation, his name is Brian King and he still lives on the North Shore and works creating surfboards.

CWP: Both The North Shore and Point Break have the typical cheesy Hollywood moments, but both also have really great parts that are real and true to the heart of surfing. However most of the people involved in those movies are not surfers, did you have anything to do with these moments, did you help write lines or give feedback?

My contribution to both films was just surfing and training and hanging out with the real people as much as possible, so that my character came from a real place, inside of a structured Hollywood screenplay.

CWP: You have also made a career out of teaching surfing, most famously to some of the cast of Blue Crush. How did you get started in that and who do you teach, just celebrities or regulars as well?

While filming Point Break I noticed a lack of constructive surf training for actors. When my acting jobs got few and far between, I needed a job, and not knowing any other skill, I started teaching surfing, first at a camp and then privately to actors for movies and TV. I found great joy in this work, and now I travel and teach anyone who wants to learn anywhere on earth.

CWP: You were living on the North Shore teaching surfing until recently. One of the great things about The North Shore was the lesson’s it taught to visiting surfers about respect and Hawaiian culture. Nowadays the area has become so corporatized, all the houses are corporate, Gerry’s house is the Volcom house…. Do any of the lessons from that movie still apply to the area or surfing in general?

I think a lot of the lessons taught in north shore have remained true today. the Hui still exists, in a more evolved stage, but respect will always be enforced on the North Shore. In and out of the water , one way or another. The ocean has a way of teaching all surfers humility, that is our most common bond and even though the surf business has gone corporate, success in competitive performance surfing was even appreciated by Chandler and Turtle. It’s when success lacks humility and gratitude and promotes a disrespectful and arrogant attitude in visitors, that local islanders do their part to help the guilty parties learn their lessons the hard way.

CWP: For surfers one of the hardest things about growing up is finding the balance between working and surfing. You have said that after a trip to Bali in 1980 you thought following both surfing and acting was impossible. In Point Break the gang of surfers rob banks in order to always able to surf. Since you are not robbing banks, what are some things you discovered in order to maintain that balance?

Balance is very important to me at this stage of my life. I was spoiled when I was younger, now I seek a simpler healthier less stressful life. I appreciate sharing fun surf sessions with my girlfriend as much as charging G-land. Teaching surfing lets me enjoy the thrill kids and adults get when they get a great ride, and I’ve started acting again, part time, and that’s been fun, without the pressure to make a living from it, I find it easier to handle the anxiety usually attached to that lifestyle. I have just rotated into a cleaner healthier stage of life and I've never been happier.

CWP: Having been involved in two of the best surf movies of all time, what in your opinion is the best surf movie of all time, or has it been made yet?

My favorite surf movie by far has been Big Wednesday.

CWP: As someone who has been involved in both the movie and surf industries, do you have any scripts or stories up your sleeve that you’ve been trying to get produced? You said in a recent interview something about a sequel to the North Shore, is this still a possibility?

The writer/producer and director of North Shore are trying to get Universal to allow them to make da sequel. I have done some work on that story, and tried to get universal to let go of the rights a long time ago so that a sequel could be made. It has recently become such a cult film with new generations enjoying it, that we believe a sequel would be profitable for the studio, so yeah I have done some work towards that end. I wrote a screenplay a few years back called GROM about the surf industry, it was a sports drama/coming of age story, I really like it but I could not get anyone interested in buying it or financing it. Still it was a real accomplishment to write and re-write a screenplay to the point of satisfaction

CWP: You have been involved in both surfing and acting for most of your life. How did you get interested and started in these, both as a kid and later after college when you decided to make the leap and try and make a living out of both?

I started surfing at 12years old in Palos Verdes and immediately fell in love with it, In high school I started doing plays and competing in drama festivals, and surfing as much as possible. I went to UCSB in 78 and got on the surf team and the main stage productions and advanced acting classes. It was during my 2nd year at college that I decided I wanted to become a professional actor, so I transferred to USC and decided to move to L.A. and see if I could live in a city and do Hollywood. I found that I loved the city and put surfing on the back burner, way back. After graduating I started doing equity waiver plays in LA, got an agent thru that and started doing movies. I never tried to make a living in surfing till my career as an actor slowed down, then I made the leap, and that’s a funny way to put it, but I made a living teaching surfing for the last 15 years

CWP: You have maintained a career in acting throughout the years, coming close to major stardom, but remaining in supporting roles of cult classic movies. You have said in a past interview that earlier in your career you didn’t take it as seriously, how would your career have been different do you think had you been serious about it or rather what are some of things you would advise others to do differently?

As I said, I was spoiled when I was younger. I was an immature, selfish, and entitled angry man, filled with the delusional arrogance of youth. In other words, I had a great time! But I could not sustain my career on confidence and wishful thinking with my limited talent. If someone wants to be an actor in Hollywood, the only thing I didn’t do that I wish I had done, is be nice and respectful and consistent in your work ethic, don’t take anyone or anything for granted and realize EVERYONE is working so hard on movie sets and in pre-production, that actors are the luckiest people in the world! Make the work more important than the lifestyle!

CWP: Over the last few years you have started to make a comeback in Hollywood, you have moved back to the area, what are some of the projects you have coming up?

I started acting again this year and booked a small part in a Henry Jaglom movie OVATION, scored an associate producer credit in the Helen Hunt, Luke Wilson movie RIDE and will be playing the lead in a low budget independent called UNDATABLE JOHN, also starring Daryl Hannah and Estelle Warren.

Thanks for the questions!