The actor who brings George Washington to life at Mount Vernon
Not everyone can claim the same career path as Dean Malissa. After working in corporate America for 25 years, he became an actor in Philadelphia and then the George Washington impersonator at Mount Vernon. In anticipation of this year’s Independence Day celebrations, Malissa talks about the road he took to get here, the importance of his job and some little-known tidbits on our first president.
How did you get into this field?
I became an actor in 1999. I was doing conventional theater, doing voiceover, and I was doing a lot of industrial films for the pharmaceutical industry and other things. I was doing some stage work, [but] the stage work in Philadelphia goes dark during the summer months. So I got involved in the colonial tourist world in Philadelphia, which is, of course, the most historic land in America in terms of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. I was engaged in a colonial singing group that traipsed around the historical district of Philadelphia entertaining tourists during the summer. That got me a glimpse into colonial America.
What are some interesting facts you’ve learned about Washington?
Washington was human, and he made mistakes just like all of us. He admitted to his mistakes all the time. And he acted on his mistakes. What I’m referring to in this instance is he was pretty much, with one exception, the only slave-holding Founding Father who freed his slaves. He realized that slavery was an abomination and that it was irreconcilable in a democratic public.
How do you get ready for the role?
We who are involved in historical interpretation can never completely walk in their shoes; we can never completely understand their values and beliefs, but we do the best we can. So part of what we do is content, and that’s knowing about their lives and their contemporaries and worldview. You name it. That’s the content side of it. The process side of it is just as important. So I do modify my voice to be a North Virginia regional dialect of the time. I’m not sure I’m doing it the right way because there are no recordings of Washington.
What do you personally think of Washington?
You have to kind of crawl into his head to make this assessment. He was a one-of-a-kind man. I think what Moses was to the Israelites, Washington was to the Americans. He was the right guy at the right time, and at the risk of sounding spiritual, I think Washington was touched by the finger of God. He took the greatest thoughts in his day and acted on them. A lot of people had thoughts in that day but didn’t really act on them. Washington’s personal credo was the simple phrase, “Deeds not words.”
How important is it to portray the first president during these events?
For someone who wants to portray Washington, Mount Vernon is the big room. Everyone wants to have a moment with Washington, whether it’s a photograph or conversation or at the very least a glimpse. To have everyone leave Mount Vernon on Independence Day happy to have that discourse with Washington, that’s a challenge, and it’s kind of exhausting. So I rest up and go into the day like a Viking going into battle. It’s a very exhausting and challenging day. It’s also very humbling.
What does it mean to you to play Washington on Independence Day at Mount Vernon?
It is a miraculous story, and to be able to tell that story and to impart it to people who think they know it and don’t really know it is very rewarding. And I consider it very noble and important. I’m a very lucky guy.–Matthew Tracy
(July 2015)
