On this episode of “Story and Craft”, Marc sits down with actor and writer Johnny Ray Gill (“Cross” Season 2 on Prime Video) for a wide-ranging conversation about Gill’s Portland roots in an all-Black Northeast community, his working-class family, and early artistic start in spoken-word poetry inspired by the film “Slam.” Gill shares how a rites-of-passage program shaped his cultural awareness, how an internship with writer Mike Rich opened doors, and how his path led from USC film school to Temple and then UC San Diego’s theater program. He recounts booking “Harry’s Law,” reflects on hip hop’s shift as commerce overtakes art, and explains why he feels artists owe audiences truth. Gill discusses his climate-focused script “Laying Pipe,” his love of animals and nature, learning Spanish, and the serendipitous way he was offered his role in “Cross.”

02:24 From Portland to LA

03:23 Working Class Roots

04:48 Choosing the Arts

08:09 Spoken Word Origin Story

11:28 College Path and Drama School

15:10 Hip Hop and Early Influences

17:10 Art Versus Commerce

20:25 Screenwriting and Truth

22:03 Pitching Laying Pipe

29:45 How Cross Came Together

34:31 Persistence and Knowing Your Vocation

36:31 New Passions Nature and Animals

40:03 Plants Pets Travel

41:40 Indigenous Symbiosis

44:26 Cross Writing Process

45:17 Bobby Trey’s Capitalism

48:34 Shreveport Food Authenticity

51:06 The Seven Questions

Johnny Ray Gill | Tale of a Prospective Gent