The Magic of the Cigar — A Conversation with Johnny Marques

I want to start this article not with exciting stories about Johnny Marques the actor, or even about cigars themselves, but about the magic of the cigar.

My interview with Mr Johnny Marques shows that cigars hold a value beyond what the flavors and the craftsmanship tell you. They bring people together. They show an equality between people that very little else can. One second I was sitting at my desk doing my job as a salesman, and a few hours later I was talking about life and cigars with none other than Johnny himself over video. Two completely different lifestyles. Two completely different professions. Different dreams and two different continents. But one common denominator. Cigars.

I can say that my interview was nothing short of incredibly pleasant. Our conversation went from acting to dogs, cigars and fundraisers. There is one thing I cannot shake from the conversation and it is what was said about how he had been part of creating a fundraiser for the family of a slain officer. Cigars show the true value of people.

Table of Contents

Windows of the World

Johnny Marques was born and raised on the East Coast of the United States. At a young age he made his way to New York City, that relentless, electric and humbling city that has a way of either breaking you or building you into something you never imagined. In New York Johnny enrolled to study finance, and like so many students before him he worked to support himself through his studies. The place he found himself working was no ordinary restaurant.

Windows of the World sat at the top of the North Tower of the World Trade Center. It was by every measure one of the most iconic dining experiences New York had to offer. A place where the entire city stretched out beneath you and the horizon felt infinite.

I want to jump in with one of my classic side notes here. Even though it has been over 20 years since the terror attacks on the World Trade Center, you remember it as if it were yesterday. I think it is good to remember. The lives that were lost, the families that suffered, and that we should never stop honoring those who run in when the rest of us run away from danger. I am talking about the brave men and women from the fire service, police and healthcare who went toward the danger to help everyone around them. People who are easily taken for granted until we need them, and who sacrifice their safety for ours. Not just that day but yesterday, today and tomorrow.

The Words That Changed Everything

During his time studying in New York, Johnny received a piece of advice from his mentor that I believe quietly changed the direction of his life. The words were simple. Not complicated or theoretical. But sometimes the truest things are the simplest ones.

“You have to love what you do, otherwise it drains your soul.”

Those words carried weight. And Johnny felt it.

That same summer, working in finance, he recognized something important about himself. It was not his path. The numbers, the markets, the world of finance, none of it stirred anything inside him. What did stir something was a craft he had touched before and never fully let go of. Acting. And so with the kind of clarity that only comes when you finally stop lying to yourself about what you want, he made the decision. He would give acting everything he had.

Fate, a Holiday, and Cameron Diaz

Shortly after committing to his new path, Johnny went on holiday with his girlfriend at the time. Her cousin suggested they stay with a friend of hers. That friend turned out to be none other than Cameron Diaz herself.

I will let that sink in for a moment.

For an entire week Johnny stayed as a guest in Cameron Diaz’s home. And the advice she gave him was as clear as it was direct. Move to California. That is where everything happens. That is the center of the acting world.

He took it to heart. Approximately four months later, Johnny Marques arrived in California to chase his dream. And it was not a glamorous beginning.

“When I came to California I slept on a friend’s couch for three weeks until he told me I had to find my own place. During that time I also worked as a waiter and it didn’t take me long before I had found my own place. Everyone comes to Hollywood with a dream and a big ego telling them they will make it within a year. You realize pretty quickly that there are thousands just like yourself chasing the same dream and the competition is extremely tough. There are many ways to make it, if you know someone it is a lot easier, or you work your way up and have to be prepared for an enormous amount of rejection. You have to have thick skin and never give up. I went the hard way, took acting classes and worked my way up.”

The acting class Johnny attended was no small affair. Around a hundred students per class made time on stage a constant competition. Many complained about it. But as Johnny looks back on it now, there is something almost fitting about that struggle. Because in this industry you are rarely competing with ten people. You are competing with hundreds.

“The class was good and I had many former classmates who managed to break through, among others Jon Hamm. Having sat in the same class as someone who made it on screen is an inspiration in itself. And then I have friends from the class who moved on, got married and started families. Back in those days when I started, the internet wasn’t what it is today, and just making a little progress gave you the feeling that you had succeeded. To make it as an actor you first and foremost have to do it for the right reasons, if you do it only for fame you are doing it for the wrong reasons. You have to love what you do. You have to sacrifice a great deal. You have to see your career as your child that you nurture and make sacrifices for. I sacrificed never having a family of my own and chose to invest entirely in my career. The truth in the industry is that only a small number make it working with it full time, under ten percent of all actors are actors full time. Most often you have a job on the side to be able to support yourself.”

Between Characters

I asked Johnny whether it is difficult to move between his own identity and the characters he plays, and then find his way back to himself.

“I always have a part of myself with me in my characters, and sometimes when you have played a role for a long time it is easy for certain parts of the character to follow you back into your private life, certain pronunciations for example. You take a little of both with you into everything you do.”

And what keeps him going between roles, through the waiting, the silence and the uncertainty that comes with a life in acting?

“Every time I have done a role I get an energy that keeps me going until I get the next one. Al Pacino said it best in The Godfather, just when I thought I was out they pulled me back in. One thing that drives me is getting the opportunity on set to be creative and have an outlet for that creative side.”

How a Cigar Becomes a Way of Life

Johnny’s entry into the world of cigars follows a path I think many of you reading this will recognize in yourselves.

“A long time ago I smoked some cigars at the House of Blues, iconic back in the days, and then I stopped. When COVID came and influencers started showcasing cigars my interest was awakened again but on a new level. I started ordering and I have a personality that is hyper focused on everything I do. If I get interested in something I have to know and learn everything about it there is to learn. It is not just smoking, a cigar is a living organism. I loved everything about cigar culture, how they are made, the tobacco, the strengths, the flavors. I slowly started reviewing cigars and this year is my fourth year in a row visiting PCA. Today I have a few sponsors and I love what I do.”

I also asked Johnny about boutique brands — ones he sees a bright future for and would recommend our readers to try.

“Nova Cigars, AG Cigars, Hiram Solomon, Ubuntu and the luxury brand La Flor De Zaida.”

Four names worth remembering next time you are looking for something outside the mainstream. You heard it here first.

How to Improve the Industry

I asked Johnny what he would like to see improve in the cigar industry and his answer was sharp and well considered.

“That cigar brands start using influencers more. When a brand talks about how their cigar is the best in the world and it turns out to be poor, it damages the brand. By using influencers’ opinions you avoid losing credibility because of your own claims. I want to see small boutique brands grow. You should not put everything on salespeople but also on the right influencers. In the old days you didn’t see everything, today you see everything through social media. In other industries they are ahead in their thinking and I hope to see this one catch up. I think it is the right direction to grow.”

Cigars Show the True Value of People

There is a part of our conversation I cannot shake, and honestly I do not want to. It is the part that says more about Johnny Marques as a person than any role he has ever played.

“To help the family of a slain police officer we did a pop up event with cigars at the club The Keep for West Hollywood’s Sheriff’s Department. All ticket proceeds went to the family and to help sponsor their annual charity run.”

You read my reflection earlier about those who run toward danger when everyone else runs away. The truth is that is not a single day in history. That is every day. Police officers and firefighters sacrifice their lives for ours day after day, often without recognition. To use your platform, your passion for cigars and your own time to honor that in a real and meaningful way, that says something about a person that no career ever could. It carries far more weight in my eyes than any screen credit.

Cigars show the true value of people.

Johnny said it. And he proved it.

Pop Ups Across Southern California

Beyond his reviews and his appearances at PCA, Johnny regularly hosts pop up gatherings for those who enjoy networking, film and a great cigar — spread across Southern California.

If you want to know when and where the next one is happening, the best thing to do is follow Johnny on Instagram at @Johnnymarques411.

*Which, when you think about it, is exactly the kind of gathering the cigar has always been made for.

What It Takes

I ended our conversation the way I usually do, with a question about what it truly takes. Not the answer someone gives because it sounds right, but the one they have actually lived.

“You have to love what you do and do it for the right reasons. You should be able to go to bed and wake up with pride in what you do and who you are.”

A man who slept on a couch in California, waited tables to pay the rent, fought for stage time among a hundred others and built himself into what he is today has earned every right to say that.

And through all of it, the cigar was there. Not as a prop. Not as an accessory. As a companion, a connector, and a quiet reminder of what actually matters.

That is the magic of the cigar.

Johnny, thank you so much for taking the time to make this article possible. I hope that more people do what you did, follow their dreams, and most importantly, that more people start doing what you did for the Sheriff’s Department. Help those who help us.