Jocko Sims – The Last Ship

By starrymag | June 26, 2016

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

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

A) I just finished filming Season Three of “The Last Ship.” I’m also currently writing and developing my own comedy project about a group of guys trying to make it in the hip-hop business. Every Monday night, I host the radio show “Apollo Night LA” at apollonightla.com at 7pm. There we play unsigned artist’s music and we bring on celebrity guests and comedians to critique the music.

Q) How was Carlton Burk originally described to you?

A) I first heard he was going to be a tough as nails lieutenant who was going to get his men in shape and ready to go to battle as we work to develop a vaccine to combat a virus that was spreading around. Initially, I thought it was going to be a bit of a challenge because I hadn’t played a character like that before. I jumped right in and they hired me for the job. It was initially supposed to be five episodes, but it’s been three seasons so far. They kept me and made me a series regular. It’s just been a great ride!

Q) Was there anything you added to your role that wasn’t originally scripted for you?

A) Absolutely! I have added a little bit of nuance of comedy and that was through the help of the writers. They got to know me a little bit and realized I had some humor. They brought that in, especially in Season Three. In the first two episodes, you see that Burke has a sense of humor.

Q) Did Michael Bay give you any advice during filming that you took to heart?

A) Michael Bay doesn’t spend too much on emotion and conversation. He just likes to get it done and he is good at what he does. I remember he came and showed up for the pilot and people didn’t know that he was going to be there. So, he just grabbed a camera and was filming. He was filming the sky. People were asking him what he was doing and he was like, “Don’t worry about it. There are going to be some helicopters there.” He knew. He had this whole vision of what he was going to bring to the pilot. He didn’t direct the pilot, but he definitely put his stamp on it. When it aired, they used all of his footage and he added some helicopters in post. So, it was good for him to come aboard and bring that Hollywood blockbuster film to the small screen.

Q) Was there instant cast chemistry when everyone began working together?

A) It was instant. Myself and Kevin Michael Martin, our characters were initially supposed to be bumping heads. I’m yelling at him and being tough on him and he is screwing up a lot. What ended up happening when we first met on set was we hit it off so well, laughing and having so much fun in between takes that the writers took note of that and they wrote us more stuff together. They decided to keep us around and the chemistry has been instant. It’s been the same for other cast members we have added throughout the seasons. Every time someone comes in, they fall in love with us and they say this is an amazing environment to work in. We get to work and we have fun whenever we can when the camera isn’t rolling.

Q) Is there anyone on the show that you’ve not had many scenes with or would want to have scenes with in the future?

A) This season, we have a Situation Room with the President and the office and the White House staff. I think they are doing a great job. I think that extra dynamic brings something that is very much needed on the show and I think it couldn’t come better than on Season Three. I’m out in the field and I’m trying to save the world, physically. I’m out on Vulture Team and doing all these secret missions. The characters are risking their lives. Those great actors are doing such a great job in the Situation Room that I hope we can mix it up in Season Four and I can do more stuff in there actually.

Q) How will dynamics then shift for Burk this season?

A) What is cool is you see right away that there is a difference and right away you see that Burk has an older brother. His older brother was in the Navy, as well, as a high ranking lieutenant who was gone for four months trying to survive on his own. He did and then we are reunited on the ship. That’s what you see in Season Three. Of course, you’ll see some sibling rivalry and you will see us butt heads a little bit for fun as brothers do and then sometimes it is a bit serious. We’ll be tugging at heart strings by showing these two people in this time of war and post-apocalyptic time that love and that bond is crucial and is just another element that you get to see. Burk lost someone in Season Two so we are toying with the idea that one of us or both of us could be killed off during this war, if you will, is something that will tug at the audience’s heartstrings.

Q) What has been your favorite aspect of Burk’s character development?

A) One of my favorite aspects was just that the writers are so open and in tune with who are as individuals. For example, Christina Elmore who plays Lt. Granderson has been there for three seasons. During lunch, she was sitting at a table singing a song. She doesn’t describe herself as a singer, but she was doing such a great job that the writers were like, “We’re going to make you sing on the show.” She was like, “Me? You have got to be kidding!” In one of the first few episodes at the end she is singing while someone is playing a guitar. It was a beautiful montage that brought the episode to a close. Kevin Michael Martin and I brought a lot of humor and they brought that in. Bren Foster who plays Wolf is a martial arts master. They brought him in for his acting, when they realized that he could fight really well (once, he said, “Let me choreograph this really quick”) he put the scene together and they brought that in. You see that in every episode that he’s in now. Again, what is so great about developing our characters is the writers listening to us and watching us and putting every moment that they can of our reality and our lives on the screen is really fun for us, too. I have a friend who was watching some of this season and he was laughing really hard because for the first time in the three years that he has been watching he saw a lot of me in the character. There was something that Burk did that he turned to me and said, “Hey! You do that all the time.” So, it was just a great experience for me.

Q) What do you hope to explore next season of Burk’s life or backstory?

A) Actually, I can’t really reveal that. I have to say that this show is much like “Game of Thrones” where you fall in love with these characters and you don’t know which of them are going to be around next season. Not to spoil anything, but Burk might not make it to next season or maybe my brother might not. So, I can’t say I’d like to explore the depth of a certain relationship. I won’t talk too much about next season, but I will say that this show definitely leaves you on the edge of your seat every week. From the start of the season on to the end, we’re losing characters throughout. People have been quite vocal already because in the first few episodes we lost some characters.

Q) What do you think has made the show such a fan favorite series?

A) It’s the fact that we have Michael Bay at the helm. He is great at what he has done over the years, which is making films like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Transformers, Armageddon and these huge movies. He’s doing television now as well. The fact that he has feel on it and he brings that post-apocalyptic feel to television is almost like a movie. Fans are very lucky to have him.

Q) You are a part of social media. Do you enjoy the instant fan feedback you receive during episodes?

A) I do enjoy that. In fact, what is great is we have had the support of the United States Navy all throughout the show. Then, you have people all over the world and, of course, America that are in the military that watch. They let us know right away if we’re doing something wrong. If our boots aren’t strapped up right or we’re calling out sort of the wrong command, we find out right away from that instant feedback. That’s always fun. But the response has mainly been all positive. People love this show and it’s just been great. The fans are the greatest fans in the world.

Q) Is there anything else about Burk you want to be sure fans know about him?

A) Lieutenant Burk is a loyal guy. He is loyal to his country, the Navy and to the mission. Every now and then if there is some space or moment where he can search for love, he’s that guy. So, he’s real as well. I love the character arc you have seen in Burk. In beginning, like I said, he was yelling at his guys and trying to get them in shape for what as to come. At the same time, you saw the nuance of him checking in with his captain to ask, “Was this a little too hard?” You saw the Captain look at him and say, “No, it was just right. He knows his position, he’s loyal to his leaders and he’s a hard worker. I feel like I’m much the same and that’s how I approach my career. So, it’s good to play a character I can relate to so much.

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your work?

A) The greatest feeling is when you can do some work as an artist and people show their appreciation in any kind of way…When people contact me on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter or they see me on the street and say, “Burk!” and do all of these things it just brings so much joy to my art and it makes me feel like all the work I’m doing is appreciated. So, to all of the fans who are out there supporting “The Last Ship” and everything that I do thank you very much from the bottom of my heart. And stay tuned because you haven’t seen anything yet!