John Horn Warms Up for His Short-Notice ‘Sea of Cortez’ Role

Actor John Horn wanted to talk about his demanding role in John Steppling’s new play, “Sea of Cortez,” now at the Cast Theatre, but he couldn’t until the afternoon. That was because he was getting a crown repaired by his dentist in the morning.

“I loosened it grinding my teeth, from all the tension,” explains Horn, sitting under the shade of a trellaced vine outside his Pasadena townhouse. “Louise, the lady of my life for many years, finally told me one night what I was doing. I never get nervous for a role, but this time, I only had two weeks to rehearse. I guess this was my way of dealing with the pressure.”

Horn is not new to teeth-grinding: A 20-year veteran of New York and regional theater, he then moved to Los Angeles in 1979, alternating since between film and TV roles (“I used to be the guest criminal on series, but recently I’ve become the estranged father reuniting with his daughter”) and a sterling array of stage achievements (“Faith Healer,” “Native Speech,” “Brecht Meets the HUAC,” “Acapulco” and Steppling’s “The Thrill”).

Though he found himself playing opposite Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese in “Guilty by Suspicion,” and though his swarthy looks and a garrulous voice--mysteriously blending his native New Jersey with the Celtic--keeps him in demand, “It’s mostly jobs, or I’m the second or third choice for the part.”

Such as Nance in “Cortez,” which Horn nabbed only after actors Alan Mandell, Richard Riehl and William Dennis Hunt all had to bow out. With a mere two weeks preparation, Horn had to get inside the mind of a dying colon cancer patient at a Mexican Laetrile clinic, where “Cortez” is set.

“This,” Horn says, pointing at his hot tub, “is the best thing for working on a part. I slink into the water, look up at the stars, and find myself.” Though Horn knows the stars, but not stardom, it doesn’t seem to bother him: “Look, I have a lady who I love and two great dogs. Plus,” he adds waving his hand around his sleek, custom-designed abode, “I built all this.”