For most of his life, John E. Saxon’s stage was a one-acre garden in Lincolnshire. Between tending vegetables, raising chickens, and cutting the lawn for three hours at a stretch on his ride-on mower, there wasn’t much room for film sets or auditions.
But when Saxon and his partner, Susie, downsized to a sleepy village in the Welsh Valleys, everything changed.
“I was fairly redundant,” he admitted. “That’s when Susie suggested I might take up a hobby—and since I was still alive, still had all my hair, and was quite photogenic, I should try modelling or acting.”
Two weeks after signing up for Mandy, Saxon landed his first gig: an unpaid student short in Derbyshire. It was meant to be a small experiment, but it opened the door to something much bigger—his casting as Charlie Snow in Missing Presumed, a feature film presented at the Cannes Film Festival 2025.
Since then, he’s stacked up credits across genres, including shorts (Through Her Eyes, One Last Time, What Am I Doing Here?), a music video with Critter Cabal, and even a national commercial for Aussie Hearing Aids.
A new chapter, built on generosity
“The first rule of success? Whatever you give, you get,” Saxon said.
“In other words, give your time freely sometimes, and you will be rewarded. Student films can be great—to work with people who have all the latest equipment and a real team, and to go through each process: application, audition, acceptance, rehearsal, talk-through. It can be very enlightening.”
That mindset has shaped his approach. He says yes to opportunities, absorbs everything he can, and throws himself into each stage of production. “Observe what is happening on set,” he advised. “Wherever you are, be there.”
Local focus, big reach
Now based in South Wales, Saxon keeps his work close to home when he can.
“Bristol, Cardiff, Gloucester—that’s my strike zone,” he said.
But with experience spanning short films, music videos, advertisements, and features, he’s already proven that you don’t need to live in London to find compelling opportunities.
Words to live by
“Expect the best, prepare for the worst,” he said. And when it comes to auditioning? “Dress the part and get into the mindset of the character.”
For Saxon, the joy is in showing up fully—whether it’s a student film set or a feature screening in Cannes. His persistence and openness are a reminder that it’s never too late to step into the spotlight.
Read on: