ARTIST SPOTLIGHT: An Interview with Actor, Daniel Jones
ARTIST SPOTLIGHT:
An Interview with Actor,
You have a few short films premiering at the 2012 Charleston International Film Festival this year. Can you tell me about them?
Sure. This year I have THE SECRET NUMBER (starring role) by director Colin Levy, COCKPIT (supporting role) by directors Matt Allen & Jason Clairy, and DAWN (supporting role) by director Joshua David Matthews.
They are all very different, what made you decide to do these films?
The Director’s reel, the DP’s reel, the Editor’s reel, and the Sound team’s reel were all outstanding. Mostly, the scripts were very well written and interesting.
You get approached all the time to work on films with people, what makes you pick one role over another?
The first things I want to see are the director’s reel, the DP’s reel, the editor’s reel, and finally the sound teams reel. I want to know how their past projects look, what kind of camera they are shooting on, what was the final sound quality. If I like what the team has done before, I read the script. If the script is interesting and entertaining, I sign on.
How long have you been an actor and what drew you to do this kind of work? Did you go to school for it and if so, where?
Actually, I was never drawn to any kind of film work. I was about to retire from the military and knew I would need a job to supplement my retirement pay, so I started looking through the brochure of Trident Technical College’s offered programs. I decided that I would become a radiologic technologist, or a vet tech. When I told my wife my decision, she said, “I’ve never heard you talk about wanting to do either of those things. Why don’t you do something you ‘want’ to do?” It actually pissed me off a little bit, and I thought to myself, “I’ll show her. I’ll take filmmaking courses. I will NEVER be able to make a living doing that.”
Before I started the courses at Trident, I had never even thought about working in film or television. I’d never held a film or video camera. I had no passion for it whatsoever. Within eight months of starting classes, I was hired as a commercial producer at ABC News 4 in Charleston, South Carolina. Within a year and a half, I was senior commercial producer. Although I did go to school for film production, I’ve never taken any formal acting classes. I began acting out of necessity.
While I was still an intern at ABC News 4, my friend John Barnhardt (senior commercial producer) and I wrote a script together called, TO END ALL DAYS. We had the entire film cast, but our “Bar Owner” dropped out at the last minute. John said “Why don’t you just play the bar owner?” So I did. After the premiere, people kept telling me I should be an actor. So, I listened to the audience. If they thought this was my strength in filmmaking, then this would be the path I would follow. I immediately shifted my attention from production to performance. Acting was something that had never crossed my mind until that time. Although acting was never an interest or a passion of mine, I’ve grown to love it.
What do you hope to achieve in your career as an actor?
To amass a body of work I can be proud of, while keeping gas in the tank, lights on in the house, and food in the pantry.
I understand you also have worked behind the camera, which do you prefer and why?
I only worked behind the camera for the film program at school and as a commercial producer for a short period of time. Professionally, acting is all I do or have an interest in doing. However, if you’d like to see my DP stuff, here it is…Click Here
What other festivals have your films premiered in or will be premiering in?
I had a film called PATROL in 2010 that went to Los Angeles, Sundance, and Seattle; it even toured Italy, and was the opening night film at the Gen Art Film Festival in NYC. It was also in the running for a student Oscar. That was a pretty cool feeling. John Ford directed it and has moved on to do some impressive things since. I’m hoping to work with John again when I get out to L.A.
Currently, I have a starring role in THE SECRET NUMBER. I had the opportunity to work with a great friend of mine, Frank Ponce on this one. When Frank is attached to a film, it’s going to be a good one. It’s co-produced by Roque Nonini and Frank.
Colin Levy is a tremendous talent as not only Director, but in the VFX department too. It was an awesome opportunity for me to work with him. One of the greatest aspects of the film is its look, and DP Michael Lloyd was awarded the Panavision Cinematographers Award in the Savannah Film Festival this year. THE SECRET NUMBER won the award for best student film and the city of Savannah award too. It was also nominated for the Verna J. Fields award in sound design. It is just a really well put together movie. Also, it’s going to be playing in the Newport Beach Film Festival the day after I get to L.A.
Another film called, THE ROAD TO JACOB is also currently making rounds in the festivals. It just won best student film in the Beaufort International Film Festival. I’ve had the opportunity to work with Matt Allen several times on projects, but this was our first time together as writer/director and actor. I think it turned out really well. Pieter Ribbens was the DP and my buddy Mike Howell did a wonderful job on the edit. It’s playing out in the Hill Country Film Festival this month in Fredericksburg, TX.
There are also two supporting roles I have in the Charleston International Film Festival this year. One of the films is called DAWN, Joshua David Matthews was the writer/director. Not only did I get to work with Josh, who I worked with briefly on THE SECRET NUMBER, I got to work with Michael Lloyd again on this movie, as well as Kevin Ray, the editor of TSN. Visually one of the most beautiful shorts I’ve ever seen, and Boogie Dabney gives a solid performance in the lead.
The second is called COCKPIT, directors Matt Allen & Jason Clairy. It also stars Matt and Travis Hicks. This film is guaranteed to put a smile on your face. I’m actually working with Matt again on a film called TICKET TO RIDE just before I leave for L.A. Matt’s co- directing with Travis on this one, so it’s sure to be a fun set. And the DP’s reel looks very impressive.
So you are moving to Los Angeles, are you nervous?
Yeah, mostly I’m nervous about maintaining two households in two cities that are very expensive to live in, and I’m not looking forward to being away from my family, but I’m not nervous about working in L.A. A good performance reads the same no matter what coast you’re working on.
As an actor, do you have any advice you’d like to give to aspiring actors?
My first piece of advice? If you’re good at anything else, do that. Although I say it tongue in cheek, there’s a large amount of truth in it too.
First, know what you want to accomplish, exactly how far you want to take it, and what you are willing to do without to get it.
Second, be brutally honest with yourself about the roles you can actually do. If you’re 30-50, you’re not going to get the lead role of the young hot eighteen to twenty something. Instead of feeling down about it, be happy that there are more roles for someone that looks like you in just about every film.
Third, develop an enormously thick skin. You will not get 95% of the roles you audition for. If you can’t handle rejection, do something else. Seriously.
I follow three rules. Be on time, know your lines and don’t be a dick. Do these three things and it will open doors for you. Try to work with people that are above your skill level, and bust your ass to learn everything you can while you’re working with them. Be prepared to work long and sometimes stress-filled hours. Be prepared to sit around doing nothing for hours. Have a good book, put a game of solitary on your smart phone, and bring bug spray.
