Classically trained actor Mike Markoff began his career in Chicago’s theater scene, honing his craft at The Second City and Chicago Shakespeare Theater. He later trained in New York under legendary acting coach Anthony Abeson and has since appeared in more than 50 films and television shows, taking on both comedic and dramatic roles. He played Craig in the 2023 action-comedy “Hit Man” alongside Glen Powell, delivering a hilariously detailed monologue about the various methods of clandestine body disposal. He also stars in the drama “When Jack Came Back,” portraying Jack opposite Lindsay Wagner and Lance Henriksen. Most recently, he stars as Dr. Eric Prince in a horror adaptation of “The Little Mermaid,” released in December. We caught up with Markoff to learn more about his background and career trajectory.
Where did you grow up?
I was born in a hospital close to Barrington and grew up in Long Grove. Then, when my parents split up, my dad and stepmom were in Buffalo Grove, and my mom and stepdad were in Lincolnshire. So, I’ve charted a good course across the North Shore and Chicago suburbs from birth up until my departure.
How did you get into acting?
I first started acting as a kid at my temple, which was called Temple Chai and located right on the cusp of Long Grove and Buffalo Grove. I started doing musicals there and—in typical Jewish fashion—I was in “Fiddler on the Roof” in junior high. I was kind of an overweight kid and really wanted the lead, but I was instead cast as the butcher—and nobody likes that guy [laughing]. In those days [at Stevenson High School], I was also captain of my fencing team. Oddly enough, fencing has really helped my career. I’ve been offered a lot of sword-fighting roles and things like that.
How did you segue from theater to movies?
I got really serious about acting when I was about 15 or 16 and had been doing a bunch of theater and thought to myself, I want to be in the movies—how do you do that? So, I started searching online for auditions and found one for a horror film. The audition was in Elk Grove at a hotel. Turns out that they needed a high school kid in the movie. I got the role, and the movie was sold to Universal Studios. I caught the itch from there. Next, I [searched] how to find an agent, and of course, Chicago is an illustrious theater town with a good number of productions, so I was able to find an agent, and [my career] kind of went from there.
Do you feel like Chicago is a good place for young aspiring actors?
You know, Chicago is just an incredible place for any growing actor—it’s fantastic. The city has such a focus on straight, non-musical theater. There is also a real focus on writing and journalism. There is also an extraordinary amount of black box theaters, regional theaters, and high-end theaters for training, and there are so many fantastic teachers. My teacher in high school, for example, was a playwright for Steppenwolf Theater. Chicago really provides young actors with the resources and tools for entering the industry.
How did you get on “Hit Man”?
The “Hit Man” audition was a last-minute Zoom call I was asked to join to discuss a callback. I log in, and as the videos pop up—boom—only Richard Linklater and Glen Powell’s faces are on my screen. Normally you first have a meeting with a casting director and go from there. Not this time. Suddenly it was just me, an Oscar-nominated director, and Glen Powell. Glen and I just start grinding out that scene right there on Zoom. I went off script a few times, and Glen went off script too, and we had so much fun doing it. Richard must have liked it since I got a call a couple of days later letting me know that the part was mine.
Where do you want to take your career in the future?
I’ve thought about quitting many times. However, every road kept leading me back to [acting]. Being an actor is an unnatural existence with an unnatural amount of rejection, an unnatural amount of looking at yourself and judging yourself, and that is a difficult hump to get over. In my twenties, I hit a wall. It all just wasn’t mentally or emotionally healthy, so I quit and left the country for 10 years. I got very involved in the culinary field, started cooking, learning about wine, and quickly parlayed that into consultant kind of gigs overseas where I would get hired to redo menus and such. I established this strange behavior, though, where I would get these incredible setups with amazing, well-paid jobs in beautiful places like Turkey or Bali, and I would just quit and leave after a few months. At a certain point, I realized that there really is only one thing that I’m here to do, so I moved back to New York…and joined an acting class. That’s where I met my wife (Katherine Cozumel). All this was about seven years ago. Suddenly, I found myself in a much better place and started achieving more success with movies and TV. It helped that I had taken some time to really reflect on what my calling is. I’m not interested in becoming a rich movie star, but I want to find a way that I can do this consistently for the rest of my life. This time I have my wife as a partner who is empathetic, strong, and I owe a great deal of what I’ve accomplished in this round to her.
Do you have any life advice?
Yeah, and I steal it from a fictional character because that’s something I would do [laughing]. It stuck with me my whole life. I think about this advice both for myself and since I interact with a lot of up-and-coming actors, whether it’s on set or even just getting coffee. It comes from Heath Ledger in “10 Things I Hate About You,” where he says, “Don’t let anyone ever tell you that you don’t deserve what you want.”
Oddly enough, fencing has really helped my career. I’ve been offered a lot of sword-fighting roles and things like that.
I’m not interested in becoming a rich movie star, but I want to find a way that I can do this consistently for the rest of my life.