The Hogue brothers aspire to movie greatness.
“Follow the fellow who follows his dream.”
—Finian’s Rainbow
Meet the Hogue brothers — two men who are following a dream they know is not impossible, and a dream that has brought them to Utah.
Tony, 45, and Johnny, 42, are movie actors, a profession that has its share of ups and downs. But when you have known since childhood that this is what you are supposed to do, well, this is what you are supposed to do.
The brothers were born in Houston on the same day and in the same hour, but three years apart. This eerie coincidence helped form a deep bond between them.
Cinema’s magical storytelling took hold early. Their grandfather was a movie projectionist, so as kids, they went to movies for free … and they saw a lot of movies. They also thought about the action happening behind the screen. When he was five, John saw a coin lying on the sidewalk and thought, “What if that coin was still lying there a year later.” At that point he knew he could be a good movie director.
Both did drama in high school and then thought it was time to leave such dreams behind to focus on “the real world”, with Tony attending Baylor University. There have been sacrifices along the way, such as girlfriends and relationships.
“A normal life for us is a sacrifice. But we don’t want a normal life, so that sacrifice is easy,” Tony said.
But knowing, just knowing what you are supposed to do has a way of manifesting itself. In their early 20s, they got roles as Mexican soldiers in The Alamo. “There was no turning around after this. I just like working and being on sets,” Johnny explained.
After doing the “whatever it takes” jobs such as scooter mechanics and warehouse workers, they obtained featured background roles in the Biblical drama The Chosen. It was first filmed in Texas, but then came the Utah connection. The LDS Church maintains a movie set in Goshen that resembles ancient Jerusalem. When the production moved to Utah in 2022, the brothers came here with it. This came at the same time close friends invited them to Ogden.
After the filming, the brothers found work with Harrison Ford’s 1923 and Kevin Costner’s Horizon. The brothers have the highest respect for these two stars and benefited from the acting tips Kevin Costner provided.
Other auditions are happening, and although both studied the profession in Texas, they are keeping themselves ready through acting classes with their talent agency, Elevate.
“You have to stay ready because you never know when an opportunity will present itself. Utah’s motto is ‘Life Elevated’, and we want to elevate to the next level,” Tony said.
The emphasis here is on the word “we”. In this tough profession, the brothers sustain each other. “We wake up every morning and make a commitment to ourselves and to acting. We pick each other up because two are better than one.”
They have as their goal speaking roles as well as writing and directing their own films. “We know we have the talent and are knocking at the door,” Tony said.
More about that later …
