Jaylen Moore – Hot Pursuit

By: Lisa Steinberg

Q) What are the recent projects that you are working on?

A) There is something I’m in the mix for and I’ll let you know if it goes. I have Fantastic Four coming out this summer. That was a lot of fun! I play a Delta Force leader named Captain Miller and that was a really great time shooting with Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, Kate Mara and Jamie Bell. Then, the movie Aztec Warrior will come out in the Fall with Luis Guzman, Nadine Velazquez and Terry Crews. I play an Aztec warrior in that. Also, there is a film called Man Down that I got to work on with Shia LaBeouf and Kate Mara again. I think that comes out in September around the same time as Aztec Warrior. There is also a web series that just got picked up and I’ll be filming this June. It was titled Infinity, but I think they will change the title. Raquel Pomplun is in it with me and I think she was the first Latina Playmate. The producers kind of built the show around her and wanted someone who could hold their own against her and do their own stunts and fighting while being goofy and charming. They looked around and through mutual friends they saw my work and wanted me to read.

Q) Talk about your role in the movie Hot Pursuit.

A) That was really fun to work on and we shot in New Orleans. I play Officer Jimmy Diaz a/k/a “Rookie.” Reese [Witherspoon] had a good time with that because she would turn on her Southern accent and be like, “Rookie!” I told her, “We’re not filming now. You can call me Jaylen.” She said, “No way!” It was a lot of fun. I didn’t feel like I was on set because Anne Fletcher is such an easy going, very brilliant and powerful female director. She has this powerful presence, but she’s very easy going. You are not intimidated by her because of her inviting nature and she is very collaborative. Working with her was wonderful because I like the movie The Proposal and she directed that. The first day we filmed we had a table read and I kind of geeked out because I’m a huge fan of Reese and Sofia [Vergara]. The fact I was sitting next to them and they came up and introduced themselves…Sofia is hilarious and Reese and I found out we have mutual friends in Los Angeles. Right off the bat they made me feel comfortable and it was a lot of fun. I’m actually in a very funny scene at the end of the film. There is a running joke in LA that you haven’t made it as an actor until you’ve been edited out of a film, but there were several scenes that we worked on and shot. There were script changes, reshoots, editing and cuts, but if you go to the movie I’m there in a very funny scene at the end. A lot of action scenes that we shot or were going to shoot were changed on the day of and on set. It’s one of those things you have to laugh off and keep moving.

Q) What was your most memorable moments from filming?

A) I’m curious to see on the DVD specials how many outtakes they will put on there because everyone kept laughing. No matter what scene we were doing…Everything they would do, they would improv and start laughing. It was so hard for me to stay serious when I needed to (based on my character). I’ve never been on a set with nonstop laughter. Sofia would throw something out and Reese would break or Reese would say something and Sofia would break. There is a big chase scene that I got to be there for and the stunt guys were doing their thing. If someone asked what I took away from the film I guess I would say it was that in this industry sometimes you find that family where you can just have so much fun filming. No one takes it too seriously. You are definitely professional when they call, “action,” and you hit your scene, but the minute they say “cut” it is back to laughing. Every now and then the actors will throw in an improvised word and it will throw people off. I think part of “Modern Family” is that vibe for Sofia and it was just a whole lot of fun. There is a lot of overtime on the set and sometimes people are lagging so you do your best to keep your energy up on set. On this set, no way. They were laughing, quick and having fun. It was quite the pleasure to partake in that.

Q) Has comedic timing come naturally to you or have you had to work on it?

A) I will say that some of it is natural because I’m very goofy. I’m a goofy free spirit and sometimes that is the best you can have as an actor, especially when it comes to comedy scenes. I will say comedy is difficult. You definitely have to have the timing down. I learned the timing through my teachers like my acting coach and when I moved to Chicago I did Second City improv. It’s the combination of those teachers as well as my family. I feel like my whole life has been comedy. If you just have an open mind to comedy and take some courses to understand timing and breakdowns of comedy in scripts, you can just sit back. When you are around actors and actresses like Reese and Sofia, you can’t get any better than that.

Q) What did you add to role in the film that may not have originally been scripted for you?

A) I don’t know if it got into the final cut, but the director wanted Sofia to play when she is leaving. I was a little nervous because it is Sofia Vergara improving with me. She’s gorgeous and she’s throwing funny things at you. When she has to leave, she goes, “Bye Jimmy!” We did a couple takes where I respond and it seems like my heart is pounding. I don’t know why (maybe because of me being Latin) one time she says, “Bye Jimmy,” and I said, “Ciao, Ciao!” Everyone just froze because when it came out it sounded kind of funny. We were laughing so hard! Then, there was a take where Reese throws a clipboard at me and asks for information. Sometimes she would riff and go off of the script and I just had to say my lines to openly respond in a way that made sense for her. It was fun and difficult because you are a little nervous being around seasoned actresses like that.

Q) The film has been getting rave reviews. Have you been getting fan feedback through social media?

A) I have gotten a lot of phone calls and texts. There hasn’t been too much noise on social media. I got so many text messages saying, “I took my mom to see Hot Pursuit and who did we see? You did great! We were laughing our asses off. The movie is so, so funny!” I got a flood of text and phone calls on Mother’s Day. I ignored them all because it was Mother’s Day, but later in the day I showed my mom all the messages I got about Hot Pursuit!

Q) You have so many talents. Is there something you are still new to that you are hoping to master?

A) Right now, I’ve gotten back into guitar. I learned it a while back. The summer before I got married, my wife lied to me and said she wasn’t taking piano lessons so I lied to her and said I wasn’t taking guitar lessons. We were on a budget saving for the wedding, but she clearly was taking lessons. I secretly was taking lessons and wrote a song for her that I performed at the wedding. I gave it up, but it was the first time I played guitar and it felt so good to do that. So, just recently, I wanted to get back into guitar and contacted a buddy of mine Curtis Peoples. He is in the industry and is a really good writer and guitar player. I said I wanted to dive back into music and wanted to learn how to play the guitar really well. He asked if it was because I wanted to make an album and get some stuff going. I said, “I do, but not right now. I want to learn so I can sing to my daughter.” I hum little tunes to her and she loves it. I’m putting together a song book of Jason Mraz and Beatles songs. We have one song done and that’s kind of my new venture for now.

Q) What else would you like fans to be sure to know about what is in store for you?

A) Check out my website and follow me on Twitter at @Jaylen_Moore. Man Down is a more serious film. Shia LaBeouf plays a soldier who has PTSD who tries to get back into being a civilian. It’s dramatic and going to be a really good film. For something lighter, go see Hot Pursuit. Support the cast and crew because they are amazing. For some fun go see Fantastic Four because I think that is going to be a marvel hit, pun intended.  Aztec Warrior is a funny film in the vein of Nacho Libre.