“I hope what people see is what they get; I don’t hide too much.”
What does being an actor and writer mean to you?
This is a great question. At first, I thought acting was a cool job. I thought it would be fun to work on sets and travel the world, and I romanticized all the cool characters in movies I loved as a kid, like Rambo, Rocky, and Terminator. But as I fell in love with the acting process, I realized it was so much more. One of my early short films,
I played a gay character at university struggling with coming out to his boisterous football friends. This film went viral on YouTube, and I received messages from people from all over the world thanking me for my work in the film.
Some of them came out to their parents after watching the film, a lot of them just felt seen or heard. They related to the story. If you want to watch it, it’s called This World We Live In.
This was a big change for me. Acting then became a tool to express myself in different ways; it’s a way to tell important stories, change people’s perceptions, and help or inform people. There are many different things we can do with It’s a great tool. The same goes for writing; it became a way to express myself on my own terms, not waiting for anyone to cast me or have me in their films. And sometimes you need a paying job, but the words on the page don’t do it for you, like that little intimate short film you did on zero budget or that script you wrote in your bedroom on an old edition of Final Draft. Writing costs nothing; all you need is a pen, and that’s what I love about writing: you can do it anywhere at any time.
How does one inform the other?
I think they complement each other, especially directing and acting. Once you understand what the director and the actor want or need, it becomes an easier process. Everything I’ve learned from both acting and writing, I believe I’ve used on each other. I think it does you zero harm to learn other skills in other departments in the business.
What’s your favorite film from the ’90s? What film can you see over and over again?
I’d say Forest Gump. I watched that so many times as a kid. I loved it. My parents used to get me to quote it at family parties all the time to the whole party. In front of about 30 people, I’d say, “Jenny, I got you a box of chocolates” in my best Southern accent, and everyone would crack up. Recently, I’ve been more and more fascinated with Good Will Hunting. Just the story of Damon and Affleck at their age and what they accomplished.
Do you have a secret crush?
My partner and I have both celebrity crushes. Hers is Chris Hemsworth, and mine is probably Eva Mendez. It’s not really a secret.
What type of roles and stories connect to you the most?
I think if it has some heart to it, some depth. I’m sure this is the same across the board with many artists, but if it’s at a surface level, the characters or writing can become boring. You can tell when you read something if there has been a lot of work put into it or not. Sometimes, when you read something, you can tell someone wrote it as fast as they could for a deadline or a quick churn out. And it doesn’t really matter what genre it is; you can still have a banging action movie with depth if it’s well-written or horror, for example. The Last Breath could be seen as a surface-level shark horror, but we did lots of prep on our backstories, had rehearsals, and figured out all of our relationships, and I truly believe you can tell when you watch the film we genuinely feel close friends in the film, we actually cared for each other on that job.
Do you have rituals before an audition? What is it?
If I’m nervous, which I am 99% of the time, I try and meditate and do breathing exercises. That helps me calm down.
What upcoming projects are you the most excited about?
My next project Take Cover is coming out very soon and I’m super excited about it. It’s a fun sniper action film. Keep an eye out for it. Me and Scott Adkins are playing two friends on their last private mission before Scott’s character retires.
Do you ever feel a connection between two roles you play, as if they could live in the same universe or be friends?
I’ve never really thought about that. Interesting question. I suppose I’d like to see Ken from Take Cover meet Joey from This World We Live, who are two opposites. I’d like Joey to break down Ken’s outer shell. Ken puts on this alter ego, brave, comedic persona, and I think if he was stuck in an elevator with Joey, he might open up a bit more and see the world in a different way.
What’s something that you wish people knew about you?
I hope what people see is what they get; I don’t hide too much. The heart is very much on the sleeve in my eyes. Maybe some people think I’m this madly confident guy, but really, I’m just like everyone else. I’m really insecure about my own work, and I put myself down a ton. My friends tell me all the time I need to back myself more. I need to work on that. If I ever do come across as super confident, maybe it’s just an act.