Felix Mallard In Real Life
Photographed by Chloe Chippendale
Styled by Kelley Ash
Like few new faces in Hollywood, Felix Mallard hit the ground running as Marcus on Netflix’s wildly popular (and record breaking) series Ginny & Georgia. A role that has cemented his place as a Teen Idol in an industry that practically runs on them. In his very first cover-story, at 23–– the Australian transplant discusses humble beginnings, movies, growing up in Melbourne and the distinct cultural shifts that come with moving to America.
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DIO ANTHONY: Like the rest of the world, I’m obsessed with the series. I was wondering, what was your own high school experience like?
FELIX MALLARD: That is such an interesting question because my high school experience was so different to Ginny & Georgia. I went to an all boys high school in Melbourne, in Australia. We had uniforms and ties with blazers. It was just all guys up until I think the 10th grade. Then we did some co-ed classes with our sister school across the road. So, yes, my experience was very different. Our social upbringing and our interconnectivity was all through transport, and how we got to school. We didn’t have girls who we interacted with, it was just little pockets of guys. We would get to interact with girls on the train to school and on the train home. That was kind of where our social activity came from. American high school is such a cultural kind of iconic thing. It’s not like we’re unaware of it in Australia. it’s something that you see on TV and you absorb through film and movies through absorbing American culture.
ANTHONY: Did you have a specific idea of what an American high school is like because of a particular show that you watched growing up in Australia?
MALLARD: That's a great question. I don't think it would have come from a particular show. I think each show is different as well.
ANTHONY: What was the first show you saw that world depicted in?
MALLARD: That’s a great question. I don’t think it would have come from a particular show. I think each show is different as well.
ANTHONY: What was the first show you saw that world depicted in?
MALLARD: Maybe The OC. That’s such a Californian experience as well. That was probably the first one that I saw. I was 13 and about to go into high school. I was like, wow––what if that was what we could do?
ANTHONY: That’s interesting to me. Outside of high school, I’ve noticed that Friends is a really big point of reference for people that have never visited the USA.
MALLARD: Friends is a very New York show and it might feel like I’m in Friends whenever I go to New York. Ironic since it was all shot in LA.
ANTHONY: One of the most ironic things on TV ever. Ginny & Georgia broke multi- ple viewer records on Netflix. I was wondering, is there any series or film you’ve watched so much you’ve lost count?
MALLARD: So many. The Big Lebows- ki is one. I watch that one a lot. Like I watched it this week. True Romance is another one that I watch every now and then. There’s a few more from that classic nineties period in Hollywood. Romeo & Juliet. I’ve watched a lot of times. I’m quite into that era in cinema. That 90S LA scene...
ANTHONY: The long hair is so 90s. It suits you. What’s your favorite movie?
MALLARD: Definitely the scariest and most scared I’ve ever been was Hereditary. That film stayed with me. I don’t know if that’s my favorite though. However, it was really well made and scared the hell out of me.
ANTHONY: You play quite a few instru- ments. Are you self taught in all of them or did you have any training as well?
MALLARD: I had guitar lessons four or five years up until I was about 15; and that informed everything else. I was learning a lot of theory from guitar. I guess I could say I’m self-taught on piano. I was able to transfer a lot of theory that I learned and musical theory in general and apply it to drums or apply it to the piano. I mean the best thing my guitar teacher ever did for me was give me a drumming book. I think it was called Syncopation For Drums. Giving a guitarist an appreciation and a sense of timing is the best thing you can do for them. Teaching them that they don’t have to be the fastest or the coolest. Just play interesting chords as long as you know when to play and when not to play. That’s why Hendrix is the best to me, and why B.B. King and Stevie Ray Vaughan are some of the greatest. Above all, their timing is so precise.
ANTHONY: Which is the hardest to learn?
MALLARD: For me, the hardest was definitely the drums. That was a learning curve. I think they’re all difficult in their own ways. I think the guitar has the steep- est learning curve to get to a level where you feel comfortable playing.
ANTHONY: As opposed to worrying if you’re doing it right?
MALLARD: Exactly. It’s just really, really hard to learn all the basics before you can do the face melt- ing stuff on stage.
ANTHONY: I’ve never heard of that term be- fore. But I know what you’re referring to.
MALLARD: You’ve really got to crawl before you can run with that stuff. It’s hard to have that patience.
ANTHONY: Speaking of music—what’s your biggest musical influence when it comes to past decades? You’ve mentioned Jimi Hendrix in other interviews a lot.
MALLARD: He’s my man! Late sixties and early seventies is kind of where I got a lot of my influence from. All of those bands–Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Animals, and Nina Simone and Muddy Waters as well. All of those influences are really where I draw a lot of inspiration and stuff. In addition to some bands from the nineties as well. The nineties has such a strong place in my heart. You have Nirvana, you have Silverchair. You have the grunge movement coming in, but also you have Biggie & Tupac, Big Pun. All those guys were doing so much amazing tuff in the Hip-Hop scene. These different decades, they’ve all got something special you can find, butthese are the standouts for me.
ANTHONY: Here’s a different kind of question. Is it scary to have so many followers on Instagram? Has that altered the way you use it?
MALLARD: Oh, it’s terrifying. That’s a good question because it has changed the way that I look at it and it’s changed the way that I use it. If I put my phone down and I don’t pay at- tention to it, my lifehasn’t changed at all. Right? Which I like and I’m pretty stoked on. But if I pick up my phone, it’s all of a sudden like––Whoa. The world of social media and all of that stuff only has the meaning that you ascribe to it. You can either live or die on those numbers or you can be appreciative and know what it is. It’s not my whole world and there’s a whole life outside of that. I do try and stay off it as much as possible just because those apps are designed like slot machines, literally they’re meant to keep you scrolling. I try to just engage with it when I can and when I can handle it. All of this to say, I’m super grateful people are watching the show and that it’s resonating with so many. It’s incredible.
ANTHONY: In a way those numbers directly signify that.
MALLARD: Which is lovely, but it is certainly overwhelming and I’m still learning how to manage it.
ANTHONY: Earlier I mentioned Jimi Hendrix and how you’ve spoken of him being a big influence musically. Do you remember the time you be- came aware of who he was?
MALLARD: My mom’s gonna laugh because I talk about my dad a lot in interviews. My dad is obsessed with Hendrix as well. All of my education in the classic rock world came from him and from all of his records that he would play growing up. They be- came my favorites in a separate way. He would say, this is my favorite. I’m like, Oh, that’s cool. Two years lat-
er, I’d find myself really jamming on that band, possibly at the age that he was. I wonder what the genetic link is with that. My dad was always playing Hendrix.I can’t remember a specific first time, but there were certainly moments. He would play Jimi Hen- drix in the car and at home. He had Woodstock live on DVD. Really cool. He would put that on and we’d just
sit together. I’d be like five, and we’re both watching Jimi play Woodstock.
ANTHONY: I love this whole line I love this whole line of conversation because I mean, for example, yesterday I was in the car with my niece and Girls Just Want To Have Fun played on the radio. I upped the volume and she knew the music. I looked back and I was like, you know, this is one of the biggest songs like, ever? Right? She responded––oh yeah. I was like, how do you know? She goes, well, you play it at the house and it was in the trolls movie. It resonates with different generations.
MALLARD: But that's a testament to how well songs can last. They’re definitely in the zeitgeist for a lot longer than you think. I think it will be interesting to see now who is going to be talked about in 15 years.
ANTHONY: Right. Which songs are going to be on these classic playlists.
MALLARD: Who’s music is going to be in the Trolls movie in 15 years?
ANTHONY: If you could have lunch with any historical figure besides Jimi Hendrix, who would it be?
MALLARD: That's really interesting.
ANTHONY: I love this question. Mine would probably be Anne Frank. There’s such a big gap in age. But, it’s just crazy. She wrote this thing and everyone knows who she is. That was not her intention at all.
MALLARD: Everyone's read her diary. Her private thoughts. She would be great.
ANTHONY: Maybe it is Jimi Hendrix for you?
MALLARD: Usually it is. But I want to pick someone different this time.
MALLARD: Someone like Jim Morrison? He was such an interesting figure. He also had his own struggles with addiction and all that sort of stuff that it’d be interesting to talk to him and just see where his artistry comes from. What he valued..What he didn’t value.. all those sorts of things. That’d be really cool.
ANTHONY: Your cover shoot was all about vintage heartthrobs and teen idols. Who were your big idols growing up in Australia?
MALLARD: It's quite interesting because I could never really understand the deification of celebrity and completely looking up to these people in culture. I never really idolized or obsessed over anyone. I think certainly when I started to become aware of acting and I started to really become interested in the craft, then actors started to pop up. People like Johnny Depp, who've made big, bold, interesting choices with their work were ones who stood out. Obviously Brad Pitt. Not because he was such a heartthrob, but because he made such interesting choices very early on in his career. Thelma & Louise was really cool. 12 Monkeys was such a left field kind of character. In between he had Floyd in True Romance. This slew of really interesting, starting out characters that were so different from one another. Another one that comes to mind is Heath Ledger. He’s that guy for a lot of Aussies. He was kind of the first big person to come from Australia, from a quiet and secluded industry. At the time, Australia made their own films and we made our own TV and we didn't really do too much crossing over. He was the first guy to really go, nah, I'm going to go to America and I'm going to be in the kind of films that I want to be in, which is such an inspiration for Australians. We have a cultural phenomenon here and it's probably the same in America. We call it Tall Poppy Syndrome.
ANTHONY: What's that?
MALLARD: Poppies are a long stem flower. When they're in a field of poppies, if one grows longer than the others, you basically cut it down to level the field. In Australia, someone who's getting too big for their britches or getting too arrogant or too full of themselves, you cut them down and you say––you're with us––with everyone else. It means people get called out for being arrogant and for having an ego. But also you become quite scared of having big dreams and having big ambitions. You talk to people in your circle and tell them–– I want to be an actor or I want to be an artist, and they go, Oh, cool. Yeah. But what do you really want to do? What are you really doing? The attitude shift when I moved to California was so different. Suddenly it was like––Hey I want to be an actor and people would be like, oh cool! That's great for you. You do it, man. You know? There was no hint of––this guy's thinking he's better than us. I think culturally, to see someone like Heath rise up above that and just do what he wanted to do and tell the stories that he wanted to–– uncompromisingly. It’s major. He made such a clear choice to do really different characters and to really go from choice to choice without ever being put into a box. Truly as a young nosy kid, that's what I wanted to do. All of that aside, he is one of the best actors to have ever lived.
ANTHONY: I'm a big Heath fan. I read his biography in my last year of high school, and his life story has always stuck with me. I love what you say about the attitude shift. What was the experience like when you moved from Australia to the States?
MALLARD: So many things were different. Career wise and artistry wise, having the freedom to feel like you can do it without judgment. You can hustle and do your thing. Everyone in LA is on their hustle. They're all doing something. There's that side of things, but then also culturally, down to things like skateboarding. I'm not very good at skateboarding. Here, I’d go to a skate park and people would just be thrilled that you're there and stoked that you're skating and you're out and not just sitting at home. But I was also quite lucky that I had some really good advice before I moved to LA. There was a guy who had lived and worked there for three or four years and I was planning to move–– I was like 17, 18. I was like dude––what do I do? What do I expect to happen? What’s it like? He told me, LA is a beautiful town. You just have to know where to go, what you like to do and who you want to be around. If you know those three things, you're going to be okay. You have to know who you want to surround yourself with. LA isn’t a town where you can go and find yourself.
ANTHONY: Right. It’s not what one goes there for.
MALLARD: There’s too many people and it's very easy to get lost, which is what happens with a lot of people. I had that great advice early on. you can find your people and you can find your place. It's one city with 50 different personalities. This is a really long-winded answer. I'm sorry.
ANTHONY: Not at all. I'm listening. I mean, I totally agree.
MALLARD: So many guys come to LA and then come home to Australia and I go, well, how was it? Did you have fun? And he goes, nah––It was dirty. And I go, well, where did you go? And they visited Hollywood Blvd or something like that. It comes down to expectation. They were probably expecting lush streets, Palm trees, and really clean sidewalks. They were expecting Beverly Hills, but they went to Hollywood, you know? So it's about knowing where to go. I bet if they'd gone to Beverly Hills and down Wilshire, that would've been what they were expecting. They’d come home with a different set of experiences. I'm painting a picture of a guy here, but this can be anyone [laughs]. It's the same thing. It's comes down to expectation. I got to go into it with all the right expectations. I gave myself four months. I said, all right, you've got till April. If you don't book a job, come home. We'll reassess. I was lucky enough to book Happy Together, and I've stayed since.
ANTHONY: Last question–– I watched a live you did where you answered questions. You said if given a choice you'd live as Brad Pitt for a day. You mentioned him earlier as well. What’s your favorite performance of his?
MALLARD: He's certainly one of my favorite actors. Once Upon A Time In Hollywood was one of my favorites. I could watch 10 hours of Cliff Booth, man. Him driving through LA, that's fine with me. I can watch 10 hours of that. That's easy.
ANTHONY: I could just flip through photos of Cliff for 10 hours. You know what I mean?
MALLARD: And he's 53 in that film as well! That dude––it’s crazy. This feels cheesy but he’s great in the Oceans movies as well. I think he has a very strong presence as an actor. There’s a saying that eating always makes you better in a scene because it gives you something passive to do while you're listening to something else. It brings you out of your brain. I'm not saying that that's what Brad did, but he was just so active in those movies and as that character. Thelma & Louise and True Romance are a standout for me. Do you mind if I quickly look at his IMDB and see? I live on this app anyway. Snatch was incredible to me. I’ll pick one more. Burn After Reading. That’s actually one of my favorite films. They call Brad a character actor in a leading man's body. I mean, he's just a really good actor. I don't have that distinction between character actors and leading. I don't think it's fair to relegate people to boxes and things like that. Him and Clooney together in Burn After Reading are on another level. It's so cool to see guys like that let go and not have to be the coolest guy in the room, and not have to break the suave casino vibe. They can be the goofy guy in Lycra who rides a bike and dances around. I'd love that. I see that and I want to bring that same lightness to my characters.
ANTHONY: I think you have! This was such a chill convo.
MALLARD: I had the best time.