Lincolnite Mario Canon wins Best Actor award in Chicago film competition

 

[November 14, 2020] 

Lincoln resident and local business owner, Mario Canon, has had quite an exciting week. Waking up Monday morning to the news that he had been nominated in the Best Actor category of the 48 Hour Film Project- Chicago. The 48HFP is a timed filmmaking competition, helping local creative people connect to make a film, according to their website www.48hourfilm.com. It takes place in 130 cities around the world.

Mario, the owner of Lincoln’s Anytime Fitness, also owns his own Starpower the Elites- his entertainment parent company that includes all of his passions. Under that company, Canon has launched an apparel line, motivational speaking and music as well as the Starpower Films where his love of acting has been promoted.

Working together with Creve Coeur, Illinois based business Vault 309 owned by Dan Johnson and Director- Reuben Alvarez Ramirez, Mario was cast in the short film, The Candidate- a movie about absolute power. Soon after the excitement of the nomination was starting to ease a bit, Mario was informed that he had won the category!

Canon attributes the start of his love of acting to his college days where he and LaRoyce Hawkins struck up a friendship that entailed all types of positive outlets in the entertainment field. Instead of heading down an all too accessible path of negativity and bad choices, Canon and Hawkins would participate in local plays, talent shows and such, all that led to more and more positive outcomes. Hawkins made his way to being featured on Chicago PD, and Canon, routed to downstate, central Illinois where he has become a vital member of the business community with the gym.

He’s always been one to start at the bottom and fight to the top with hard work and determination, the gym being no different. He began his career as an employee and trainer, working his way up to ownership, all the while using it as a place to hone his skills regarding health, betterment of self and community, building business relationships and fine tuning his whole being – inside and out. And then taking all of that and empowering those around him. According to Canon, “it’s been my grow season, if I’m helping build others as I build myself.”

For more information regarding Canon and his acting endeavors, you can find him on www.imdb.com. Other roles he has held were in the following pieces: Lupe (2019), More of Us (2020) and Empire (2019).

[Misty Bell]