You may know Raphael Sbarge as Jiminy Cricket from Once Upon a Time, but his role as a conscience has expanded over the years as he has added directing to his skill set. Now it can be said he is “creating content with a conscience.” He has directed several films, short stories, and, most recently, documentaries — with an ever increasing drive to spread awareness of social and environmental issues within several different communities. Jejune got a chance to talk to him about his Emmy nomination, new film Only in Theaters, and his latest mini-series 10 Days In Watts, among other topics. Please read on!

Where are you based?
I am currently living in New York City — but I like to say that you will often see me at an airport on my way to the next city. 

What inspired you to get into acting?
I grew up “backstage.” My mother was a Broadway costume designer, and my father a playwright. Being IN a theater always just felt like home. I was on Sesame Street at 4 years old, and then did my first play at 7. So, when I decided to become an actor at 12, it just seemed like a logical next step for me. Now, decades later, every single day that I get to do this, I am truly grateful for the opportunities that continue to come my way.

You have been in a ton of different shows. We especially loved you in Once Upon a Time. Do you have a favorite genre you like to act in?
Honestly, I have no favorite genre. I love that I get to work in many kinds of genres. I just finished The Exorcist, for example, which will open in theaters in October, on Friday the 13th (of course!). While I don’t watch a lot of horror, it was an amazing experience to film. Once Upon a Time, was remarkable and magical, and extraordinary, for all the reasons that we all love the show. These two are very different, of course, but actors are storytellers. So, what we love are challenges, and new dynamic opportunities to work with other artists, no matter what the genre might be.

You have more recently started directing as well. What brought this about?
Three things: In 2011 I was producing a series with Ed Begley, Jr., and the director fell out, and I had to step in. I discovered I really enjoyed the new challenge of telling stories with a camera and started wanting to do more. This was an opportunity to learn a new language, and then work with the filmmakers behind the camera (having worked with a lot of people in front of the camera). I find the collaboration part of filmmaking, absolutely thrilling. Finally, having had so many wonderful opportunities as an actor, while I didn’t want to stop acting (I love acting), I was interested in a new canvas, and new ways to explore my ideas about the world.

You started out with several short story narratives, but have been more focused on documentaries. Why did you make this change?
I have been drawn to stories that move me. And, I have often found that the stories have found me! Currently, working in docs has been exciting and very dynamic, and audiences have gravitated to them as an expressive and moving way to tell stories with great depth. The work in documentaries as a form of storytelling has expanded greatly — and so, it’s been a very exciting time to work in this medium.

Can you tell us about your new release Only In Theatres? What inspired this film?
I discovered an astounding legacy story, with a 4th generation family business in Hollywood. This was a beloved art house cinema chain in Los Angeles, with ties to the origins of Hollywood called Laemmle Theaters. The families’ sole mission has been to support the art of film, the filmmakers who make them, as well the audiences who love going to movies. It started there — and then became a much bigger story about the future of cinema. Astounding Oscar Winning filmmakers like Cameron Crowe, Ava Duvernay, James Ivory, and others, were open to being interviewed, which was very exciting for me. It was filmed over a two-and-a-half-year period, and has captured a moment and some real questions, about the future of movie theaters and cinema.

As an actor who has mostly been on TV shows, what do you feel about the new wave of everything being on streaming and less people going to movie theaters?
I have worked in movies and TV since I was 16 years old, and if streaming is somewhere in between, I’ve done that as well. But your larger question speaks to one of the themes of Only in Theaters. Over the past few years we have all retreated from going out in public, due to Covid. The streaming wave has had a lot of impact on movie theater owners, and on how we experience the movie itself. The experience of “going to a movie,” (and I don’t care how big your TV is), is just not something we can recreate at home — with the distractions and challenges of viewing things in our living rooms. And honestly, haven’t we spent enough time at home alone? Lol. Streaming is not going away, but as we all find our footing again, I hold out hope that people will rediscover the enormous joy of seeing a movie on a BIG screen, with no distractions, wonderful popcorn, and a way to get transported into another world. Movies in theaters do something no streaming experience ever can.

Do you feel that movie theaters will ever recover from covid, especially now that it is easier and easier to see everything at home?
The numbers are getting better. We have had 3 or 4 of the highest-grossing movies of all time over the past year or so. It’s not going to happen overnight, and time will tell, but I am seeing positive signs that people DO want to get out of the house and return to the movies again.

Tell us about your non-profit Green Wish and how it got started.
Green Wish began as an environmental non-profit, in a response to the birth of my daughter, Gracie. But it evolved to become an arm of making the kinds of stories I love to tell, that is, stories that have a social benefit, that elevate our understanding and awareness of the world we live in — “creating content with a conscience.”

Congratulations on your first Emmy nomination for LA Foodways, what was it about the Los Angeles farming history that you felt needed to be shared?
Thank you. This nomination came in 2019, and the work has continued to unfold since then with wonderful new opportunities. I’m very grateful for the working relationship with PBS that has opened doors to new projects — like my new series, 10 Days in Watts.

We are excited about your new docuseries 10 Days in Watts. Can you tell us a bit about this show?
While working on Foodways, I met a man named Tim Watkins, whose father Ted Watkins had started a community center in Watts, 60 years prior. Their mission was simple, “To improve the lives of the citizens of Watts, and surrounding communities, and for decades they have provided help in a myriad of ways to this underserved community. Completing a twelve-year journey to finish it, they opened a 2 ½ acre farm park in the heart of Watts, in the middle of a food desert. We filmed this over ten days, leading up to the opening of MudTown Farms, and then used this opening to pivot into meeting the remarkable people who live in Watts. In the end, this is a beautiful father-son story, a story about a community that cares deeply about helping one another, and a story about the strength of character and resilience of the citizens of Watts.

What is the Watts Labor Community Action Committee (WLCAC), and how do they encourage their community?
The WLCAC is a community center that has been helping their community for six decades, including job placement and training, conflict resolution, keeping kids out of gangs, getting food to seniors and homebound families, family planning, helping formerly incarcerated individuals’ transition and find housing, planting over 60K trees they actively advocate for environmental causes in South Central, and so much more. They are a pillar of the community, trusted, and have stood the test of time.

What captivated you about the town of Watts? Why did you feel it was important to capture and promote the work being done here, especially at the MudTown Farms?
I was moved by the father-son story and the idea of second-generation leadership. I loved the idea that a farm/garden park, which provided much-needed green space to the community, had a legacy story. Ted Watkins grew up in a family of sharecroppers and escaped lynching at the age of 13 to come to Los Angles and make his way. He ended up with a job at the Ford Motor Company, working his way up, and ultimately, with the support of people like Cesar Chavez, he was able to start the WLCAC. His son, Tim has carried that forward.

What do you hope the audience gains from this mini-series?
My hope is that people who may have had preconceived notions about Watts, or the community, will take a second look. I would love that the work that the WLCAC does, including MudTown Farms, gains awareness and supporters, seeing how committed this community is to overcoming obstacles and challenges. I would hope that the awareness of these challenges, economic, environmental, or otherwise, could lead towards greater empathy, compassion, and understanding for this underserved community. Finally, I believe Watts, and the issues they face, are seen in cities all over the country.

You’ve centered your work around social and environmental justice, have these issues always been a calling for you?
Yes — it’s true. It’s been an important north star for me with the projects I have done, connecting a part of me to a higher purpose. Something about that place in me has given me a sense of drive and passion to keep going. Not to say that I may not one day find myself directing a project that is not solely focused on social justice. But again, as a storyteller, I am also interested and open to finding great stories to tell. For now, this feels like a place where I have a voice and something to contribute.

It has been a crazy few years, how have you been staying positive?
I have to say, my work has kept me going. When I get most blue is when I have lost a sense of possibility, or when I lose touch with the passion in me. Simply — I have kept my hope alive by finding ways to contribute.

What is your motto in life?
Progress, not perfection.

To learn more about Raphael and his projects, please follow the links below:
Instagram: @raphaelSbarge
Twitter: @RaphaelSbarge
Facebook @RaphaelSbarge
for Only in Theaters, you can find out more or subscribe to our newsletter at www.onlyintheaters.com

Behind the Lens - Documenting With Raphael Sbarge