Jamison Jones

“…so much of what I needed was already a part of who I am and it was essential to bring those aspects of myself to the role.”

Although the world is coping with a real-life scary situation these days, audiences are still clamoring for horrific encounters when it comes to entertainment. The new IFC Midnight movie The Wretched, which released in drive-in theaters and VOD earlier this month, is proof of that earning #1 at the box office.

Actor Jamison Jones’ personality and acting skills shine in this dark and chilling suspenseful thriller. Jamison stars as the deuteragonist Liam Shaw, the father of the troubled Ben who struggles to convince his dad that something evil has moved in next door. Together, they must save their town from the unrelenting danger.

Audiences will remember Jamison from guest-starring in a number of acclaimed television shows, including HBO’s True Detective, Steven Spielberg’s The Whispers, 24, Burn Notice, Will & Grace, Terminator, CSI, and NCIS. His talents are also demonstrated with noteworthy roles in the films Hollywood Homicide, The Lodger, Born to Ride, and He Was A Quiet Man.

With his work on The Wretched now gaining attention, Jamison Jones recently found some time for an interview:

Give us a quick explanation of your role in The Wretched.

Jamison Jones: I play Liam Shaw, the father of Ben, our young lead. Often described as the deuteragonist, Liam is on the side of his son, but frequently apposed and challenges him as a means of creating tension in the story and it’s a very effective tool. There’s a lot of stress and tension established between Ben and his dad that grows as the story unfolds.

The Wretched interview - Jamison Jones

Did you do anything special to prepare for the role?

Jamison: I always do something special and unique to prepare for each role that I play, however, for this role of the dad, so much of what I needed was already a part of who I am and it was essential to bring those aspects of myself to the role. I came to wardrobe one day and took off my own grey pants and a denim shirt and put on a pair of the movie’s wardrobe grey pants and denim shirt, a funny anecdote displaying even my link to the characters external appearance. Outside the normal preparation and time I spend with the script for every role I play, this specific character required my full attention in developing a strong relationship with JohnPaul Howard who plays my son. We spent a lot of time together onset and off participating in a number of father/son type activities that helped establish a strong relationship on camera. I even spent an afternoon teaching how to drive stick (manual transmission).

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Was the script as scary on paper as it looks on screen?

Jamison: The script was scary, but nowhere near what we see in the finished product, the make-up effects, lighting, cinematography and direction added so much more. What intrigued me about the script were the strong characters and what I call the *dumb-show next door. The relationships all around are what draws the audience into the movie, we have this powerful and terrifying opening scene and then we shoot forward in time 35 years later and we start our story and meet our characters and get to know them, what they do, what’s wrong, establish some tension, tell some lies and half-truths and then toss in this freaky thing that’s happening next door, it unfolds so quickly and becomes terrifying before we know what hit us.

*Like Shakespeare’s opening acts the neighbor’s house is a lot of gesture and movement without words that Ben observers through his binoculars from across the way.

The Wretched interview - Jamison Jones
Jamison Jones and John Paul Howard in THE WRETCHED (photo: IFC Midnight)

Tell us about working with directing brothers Brett and Drew Pierce?

Jamison: I have never worked with a more enthusiastic and dedicated set of directors in my career. The Pierce Brothers had enough passion for this project to drive the entire team on a daily basis. They could not be swayed from their vision, they could not be deterred by the daunting task of shooting a movie like this with the limited time and resources we were presented with and during a day where we literally shot for 24 straight hours with an exhausted and sometimes short-tempered cast and crew, they were as enthusiastic and excited hour 1 as they were on hour 24.

Following up on that, did one take the lead with the actors or how did that work?

Jamison: I think the Pierce brothers share one big brain, while they’re uniquely different human

beings, they share one precise vision and one voice in telling the story, both give direction, both discuss the setup and shot with the Director of Photography and they stand so close to each other at the video monitor while we’re shooting that their heads are literally touching and presumably sharing brain waves while they watch. They had this movie so thought out and planned prior to principal photography and yet they were always open to hearing new ideas and new thought realizing that they had hired a group of experts to do what they do best.

The Wretched interview - Jamison Jones
Jamison Jones in THE WRETCHED (photo: IFC Midnight)

Any surprises while shooting it?

Jamison: There were surprises every day, more along the lines of “look at this amazing location” “look at that amazing shot” “how did Erik do that make-up effect”? Those were most of the surprises. Surprising that Michigan was 32 degrees in the spring. Also surprised they let me do my own fall down the stairs in an amazing stunt scene in the barn only to find myself in the arms of the stunt coordinator Danny Ray Cook inches from decimating our brilliant DP Conor Murphy. What a great moment on film though. (laughing) As Werner Herzog would say, anything to get the shot.

Be honest, are you a horror film fan?

Jamison: I am not a horror fan, but my son is a huge horror fan, so he has introduced me to the genre in a way that I never would have appreciated without his guidance. Let the Right One In is a genius piece of filmmaking and The Babadook such an awesome display of cinematic storytelling and suspense building. The Witch was such an uncomfortable watch that had me twisting in my seat and the scene in A Quiet Place where Emily Blunt has to silently give birth in a bathtub was brilliant.

How did you get into acting?

Jamison: I started acting in high school and fell in love with classical theater in college. While I love acting on the stage it was important for me to develop a career in film and television while I was young and ambitious. The pursuit of an acting career in Hollywood is exhausting and requires more tenacity than talent. And while I believe talent to be an essential element, there is a mass of brilliantly talented actors out there that don’t have the push, drive, and tenacity to make a name for themselves in Hollywood. A little bit of luck and a great team, both personally and professionally, to support you in your pursuit is key and pivotal. I have an amazing team and an extremely supportive family.

Any roles you wish you could get a ‘do-over’ on?

Jamison: I need to do Macbeth again. And I’d love to do a postapocalyptic film version of the story; an odd mix of the classic tail mixed with Mad Max, a Road Warrior style Macbeth with a really cool spin on Shakespeare’s evil witches… Anybody game? Oh, and I’d like to play the father in the sequel to The Wretched “Liam’s Revenge.”

Jamison Jones Screamfest 2019 (photo: Eugene Powers)

What’s been the most challenging aspect of being an actor?

Jamison: The most challenging aspect of being an actor is keeping the fire, passion and drive alive during the career droughts, finding ways to support my family when work was scarce and balancing art vs commerce, in other words doing enough TV to support my bad theater habit and develop and maintain strong enough relationships with casting, with directors, with producers to keep the next job on the horizon and not a fictional dream.

Can you share the biggest piece of advice you wish you would have followed?

Jamison: Take anything and everything you’re offered as a young actor and don’t pick and choose, you can do that after one of them hits and puts you on the map… and when they tell you Michigan is cold believe it.

Do you have anything else coming up you’re working on?

Jamison: I have a film in development called, The Nothing, and was also scheduled to participate in a stage play called, American Son, at the English Theater of Frankfurt that has been postponed indefinitely. However, I worked on a film earlier this year with Brazilian director Marcelo Galvao called, Fourth Grade B, with William Baldwin, Teri Polo and Mena Suvari and the iconic actor Robert Pine. That film may come out sooner than later given our current environment.

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