​Myron Ellul: 'It turns out, no one really knows what they’re doing'

Myron Ellul is a law graduate, editor, writer, and performer with a collective 15 years of experience. He has been active in the theatre scene since the age of eight and has since cultivated his love for fantasy and creativity to branch out into storytelling and helping others develop their work both locally and abroad. Myron is currently in the middle of playing Victor Prynne in Noël Coward’s ‘Private Lives’ at the Manoel Theatre, as well as working on using the powers of his legal career as a force for good in the entertainment industry.

What’s the first thing you do when you wake up in the morning?

Release the cats and read my book.

What is the best advice you’ve ever received?

This too, shall pass.

What do you never leave the house without?

A bag I’m fairly certain I could live out of for a couple of days. Water, keys, stationery, books, wires, dice. Always prepared for a fiercely mild apocalypse!

Pick three words that describe yourself

Well-meaning early draft.

What do you consider to be your greatest achievement?

I have so much to be thankful for. To have made so many connections, contributed to charity, gotten dozens of productions under my belt, raised a wonderful cat, written hundreds of pages’ worth of stories (some of which have helped inspire tattoos!), and finished a master’s degree. ‘Always following my passions’ rounds that up as one achievement nicely, I feel.

What is your guiltiest pleasure?

Buying books knowing full well it’ll be years before I get to them. They keep piling up, but I can’t help myself!

What is the most important lesson life has taught you?

I expect life has a good deal yet to teach me, but I do know everything is temporary. Some things are just more temporary than others. The best I can do is make the most of what is within my control.

Property and cars aside what’s the most expensive thing you’ve ever bought?

The tuition for my bachelor’s and master’s degrees.

What is one thing you wish you knew when you were younger?

It turns out, no one really knows what they’re doing. Everyone’s pretending to be a grown-up and you’ll have plenty of time do to that when you’re older.

Who’s your inspiration?

There are plenty of members of my family that fit the bill. I get awestruck watching my friends and mentors do what they do best as well. Beyond that, I’ll indulge in a self-insert here. Much of what I do, I do to make the younger me proud.

What has been your biggest challenge?

Studying full-time while working-full time while making theatre while freelance writing and editing while taking on other odd jobs here and there. When I say I want to make the younger me proud, I do sometimes mean the vindictive little wretch that said ‘yes’ to too many projects a few months earlier.

If you didn’t study law or work in writing and performing, what would you be doing?

I want to think the creative side of me would come out in anything I end up doing. I’d love to see how that would play out if I dedicated myself to masked vigilantism.      

Do you believe in God?

I believe there’s something out there for everyone. Sometimes, its even closer than you’d think.

If you could have dinner with any person, dead or alive, who would it be?

My grandfather. I wasn’t old enough to perceive him as anything other than a grandfather back then, but I know he loved me deeply. I’m told he was a great chef and I’d love to make the dinner with him, even. I’d love to have gotten to know him more. I like to think he’d be proud of what he hears from me too.

What’s your worst habit?

Procrastinating, but more on that later.

What are you like when you’re drunk?

I’m afraid I don’t really know! I got close once but I skipped a few steps. I kept experimenting with my vision, my walking, and however else it was affecting me. A curious drunk, I suppose!

Who would you have play you in a film?

Brian Blessed – all the way from youth to old age.

What is the trait you most deplore in others?

Ignorance. Plenty of people go through life under circumstances that lead them to ask silly but perfectly reasonable questions. Someone might go their entire life without hearing some expression or other. It’s the wilful decision to not ask questions and take things at face value that gets to me.

What music would you have played at your funeral?

‘May It Be’ by Enya and ‘Sons and Daughters’ by the Decemberists. Then we throw in ‘Duel of the Fates’ by John Williams and a dash of bagpipe-lead power metal to keep things lively.

What is your most treasured material possession?

My books. Between my father and me, there’s a collection spanning countless thousands and they all have their backstories.

What is your earliest memory?

Learning about time from pictures of personified clocks in Year One.

When did you last cry, and why?

At least through half the runtime of ‘In Other Words’ by Shrinking Violets. My grandfather died of dementia and the play opened the floodgates. Sometimes, a good cry comes at the reasonable price of a theatre ticket.

Who would you most like to meet?

Guillermo del Toro. There’s a well of experience and passion there I’d love to see up close. Plus, I’m dying to know how he wanted to handle the Lord of the Rings universe.

What’s your favourite food?

Penne all’Arrabiata.

Who’s your favourite person on social media right now?

My social media algorithm tends to be littered with people providing mountains of content involving culture, history, and tabletop games. People like Don Marshall, Steven Bell, and anyone from the casts of Dimension 20 and Critical Role are always a treat.

If you could travel in time, where would you go?

I would love to see Malta across the ages, all the way back from the Stone Age and the building of the Megalithic Temples.

What book are you reading right now?

‘Notes from Underground’ by Fyodor Dostoevsky and ‘The Thursday Murder Club’ by Richard Osman. I like to mix it up depending on the mood.

If you could have any superpower, what would it be?

The power to open and close things. It works on so many levels! No keys? Open a locked door. Treating the injured? Close the wounds. Missed a deadline? Open it again.  Need to get somewhere? Open a wormhole. It’s fantastic and defendable against government intervention. Case closed!

What’s one thing you want to do before you die?

Live underwater.

What music are you listening to at the moment?

I’ve just reread ‘The Song of Achilles’ by Madeline Miller so I’ve gotten some good mileage out of ‘Achilles Come Down’ by Gang of Youths. Beyond that, the Decemberists, the Amazing Devil, and Paris Paloma are where the mood currently wanders.

In the shower or when you’re working out, what do you sing/listen to?

In the shower I’m usually rehearsing lines or having imaginary conversations based on what I’m currently writing. When there’s singing involved, it’s usually musicals or 80’s hits. One way or another, anyone in the vicinity can safely assume I’m having a wonderful duet with a bar of soap. For doing anything active, I tend to lean towards more intense rock and metal.