The end of the game.com

John Young, a high school teacher by profession, was briefly the face – and attitude – of Tiger's ad campaign. Starring as the loud, cocky hype artist in the most infamous of the game.com television commercials, John's orange-suited character is vividly remembered for his energy and bluster. He was interviewed by Brandon Cobb for “The end of the game.com” in 2019.

The first thing I'd like to know is how exactly you heard about Tiger hiring for a game.com TV spot?

I got a phone call from a friend from long ago. It seems the casting director was friends with my childhood pediatrician and when chatting about possible people for the role she said they were looking for someone with dwarfism who was energetic and loud. Funny thing, this is all my pediatrician remembered about me and told her, she had the perfect person. Somehow, they were able to track me down and let me know about the gig.

What inspired you to audition for the gig?

I looked over the script and I was worried that they were hoping for some silly jokes and humor related to the role. It looked like a fun role, that only really had one “sight gag” with me being lifted onto the back of one of my security guards. So I said, “what the heck”, I'll give it a try. This was actually my first ever audition.

Where was the commercial filmed?

It was filmed in Toronto.

How much of the script was final when you signed on, and was there any adlibbing?

Most of it was final. They did make some edits on set, but very few. There was NO adlibbing and they wanted me to follow it word by word.

The ad was chock full of '90s “attitude,” including frequent snarky remarks to the teens your character was marketing to. How did you feel about the dialogue?

I loved the dialogue. It kind of helped that I was a high school teacher, dealing with teenagers every day.

Did you get a chance to play with a game.com and any games? What was your opinion of the hardware and software?

I did not get a chance to play with it. It seemed a bit “clunky”, but that's about all I can say.

Was there any interaction with Tiger's corporate employees? Or perhaps some of their programmers?

No programmers, but a few Tiger people were there. They were extremely nice and gracious.

How would you describe the overall experience?

It was a blast. I was treated very well, but the fact that this was my first gig, I probably wasn't expecting much. They put me up in a really nice hotel, paid for my food etc, and of course, I got paid for the job too.

Did you take any other acting jobs before/after this one?

Nothing before or since.