This East Rockaway man is making it big on the Silver Screen

John Capone told his mother that he would be on TV one day. But when he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s seven years ago at 40 years old — and only six months after marrying his wife — he thought the time for dreaming had passed.

Little did he know that he would eventually act alongside names like Justin Timberlake and Benicio Del Toro in Netflix biggest English language film in the world, “Reptile.”

“It’s been a hard seven years battling Parkinson’s, but this has been one of the highlights of my life,” Capone of East Rockaway said. “I’m going to shake all the way to Hollywood.”

He said that to be diagnosed with the knowledge that there is no cure sent him into a deep depression.

“You think your life is over,” Capone said. “You see the effects it has on the body and it scares the hell out of you.”

But the director of Reptile, Grant Singer, found Capone through his Instagram @JCCapone76 and became determined to have him in the movie. But when the casting director called, Capone saw the unfamiliar area code and assumed it was spam. Again and again, Capone declined the call. When he finally picked up, she spoke before he could hang up again.

“‘I’ve been in this business for 35 years, and this is the first time I’m calling somebody off the internet,’” Capone recalls her saying. “‘Hang up one more time, and it’s on a golden ticket.’”

He still didn't believe her — he assumed he was being pranked by his friends. He told her that Singer should call him back later, and he hung up. And sure enough, that evening, the phone rang.

The murder-mystery detective thriller was released Sep. 29 on Netflix. Last week marked its second week as the number 1 English language movie in the world on Netflix, with nearly 20 million views that week alone.

“I had a dream a long time ago, but again, I thought this dream was over when I got diagnosed,” Capone said. “I thought life was over, pretty much, and then I get a call to be on a major motion picture with major celebrities.”

“This was my first time ever acting, my first time being in a movie,” he said. “And sitting next to Benicio and Eric Bogosian, you’re like a rookie sitting on a bus with all these legends, and I’m like ‘do I really belong here? What am I doing here? This is crazy.”

In the movie, Capone plays a detective forced to retire after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s. Instead of being asked to hide his tremors, Capone was able to bring his experience to the character. 

“It’s important because we need more voices to speak about this disease,” Capone said of his character. “And so it was very important to me that people get to see me shake, and to see a glimpse of a character or an actor on TV, and what they’re going through.”

He said that the very best part, though, was when his wife, their 4-year-old daughter and 3-year-old son saw him on TV for the first time.

“My kids are watching TV and we put it on, and my son and daughter saw daddy on the TV screen,” Capone said fondly. “And they started screaming ‘mommy, daddy’s on TV!’ That’s worth more than its weight in gold. I became a superhero.

“They’re the ones going through this just as much as I am. They’ve earned this just as much as I have.”

Capone’s acting career is just getting started. In his next project, he is starring in the comedy series Punk Rock 101, coming soon on Netflix. He hopes his story inspires others to never give up on their dreams.

“This is really a story about overcoming and fighting back and not giving up,” Capone said. “Good things do happen to those that keep pushing forward. Don’t give up.”

Capone won the Hometown Hero award from the Village of East Rockaway on Monday for his resilience, his success and his dedication to his dreams.

“Every time you get knocked down, keep getting back up,” Capone said. “Don’t quit. If I can do it, they can do it.

“And if they need help doing it, they can call me because I’ll come fight with them.”