Lily Johns - Server, Actor & Marathon Runner
Lily Johns is an actor, bartender, and server at The Butcher's Daughter, where the vibrant energy of her work fuels her creativity on stage. Preparing for her first NYC Marathon in support of the Sandy Hook Promise Foundation, she combines her acting discipline with her love for endurance running, channeling her passion into both her art and meaningful causes.
Lily Johns at West Hollywood
As someone who juggles bartending, serving, and acting, how do you manage to balance these different aspects of your life? Do you find that each role feeds into the other creatively?
I absolutely think they feed into each other creatively, especially at The Butcher's Daughter. The energy from the whole team, our customers, and just the environment in general gives me a boost in confidence and joy that I can channel into my art. Serving and bartending require many of the same creative skills that are essential to being a flexible, focused and driven artist, so there are similarities between my life as an actor and working at TBD. Not to mention, the constant memorization of orders definitely helps keep that skill strong when it comes to scripts!
You’re about to run your first marathon—what inspired you to take on this challenge, and what does supporting the Sandy Hook Promise Foundation mean to you personally?
I began running in college while studying acting in NJ, starting with shorter runs on the school track. It quickly became a meditative exercise and something I really loved. After moving to California, I started exploring long-distance running, drawn to the challenge. Being from New York, running the NYC marathon became a personal goal. I chose to support the Sandy Hook Promise Foundation because I went to school in Connecticut, and the tragedy at Sandy Hook deeply affected me. It’s a privilege to raise awareness and support their mission to put an end to gun violence and violence in schools. Running for a cause that I am so moved by and passionate about gives this marathon a huge sense of purpose for me; combining both my passion for running and supporting a mission that is making a tremendous impact.
Has your background in acting influenced your approach to marathon training? Is there a mental or physical discipline from your acting experience that you’ve applied to running?
Absolutely. Discipline is in my DNA. As an actor, you need a certain level of stamina and mental toughness to maintain a career, care for your body, and protect your emotional well-being—it's a very disciplined art form. The same goes for waking up at 5 a.m for example, to prepare my body for a long run. Both acting and running demand commitment and resilience, and they feed into each other. Both also compliment each other in terms of mental toughness. We are capable of much more than we think and so physically moving forward step after step, even when I am tired is an incredible reminder of that.
The marathon is a huge community event, and you're raising awareness for an important cause. How do you think events like these help foster a sense of togetherness, both for you personally and the causes you’re passionate about?
It's so refreshing, especially now, to see individuals come together for a community event like the NYC Marathon. It's a huge fundraiser for many charities, and the event feels almost spiritual. Thousands of people take on a physical challenge, many in support of causes they care about. It's heartwarming and powerful to see how events like this inspire empathy and action, making me feel connected to like-minded people. Highlighting the Sandy Hook Promise Foundation through this marathon feels truly special.
