Jon Cor

By starrymag | August 17, 2018

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

 

 

Q) What projects are you currently working on?

 

A) I recently played the lead opposite Cara Gee (Birdland, “The Expanse,” “Empire of Dirt”) in what I like to think of as a topical and uncompromising drama called Historic Homes of the Future. It’s a feature spotlighting what’s known as the “60’s Scoop” here in Canada – Google it, seriously – and all kinds of challenging circumstances and themes including personally, professionally and romantically contraindicating loyalties, teen pregnancy, race and gender inequality, failed parenting strategies and government corruption just for starters. I’m especially proud of my work on this one and wouldn’t be surprised if it’s widely considered my rawest and most moving performance to date.

 

You can also catch me starring opposite Lacey Chabert (Mean Girls, Lost in Space, “Party of Five”) in a lighthearted, feelgood adventure romance that just premiered on the Hallmark Channel called Love on Safari. It was set and shot on location in and around breathtaking Johannesburg, South Africa; which is still by far one of my favorite places and cultural nexuses on Earth. I’d live there in a heartbeat.

 

Finally, I’ve just started meeting with various publishers and agencies to release my first novel, In Heat, as well as a collection of new and previously published genre-bending, transgressive short stories called “A Murder of Prose.” Click here to read my latest freebie, Die Symptome von der Wahrheit, a piece of historical fiction reimagining Nietzsche’s descent into madness… and stand by for Teach Me to Be a Man or I’ll Explode, coming any minute now, by way of joncorofficial.com!

Q) We saw your work as Brent in “Ghost BFF,” a new web series. What made you want to be a part of the project?

 

A) As soon as I met Vanessa Matsui on the “Shadowhunters” set I knew that she was special. Not only was she kind enough to think of me for the part but she held nothing back in terms of just how meaningful addressing dark themes could and would be by way of bright and somehow acrobatically, not-at-all trivializing comedy. I had a wonderful time getting to meet and work with some new-to-me faces like Cristina Rosato and Dan Beirne and I always relish the opportunity to mess around with love and loss. I believe the latter, albeit uncomfortable, is a universal leitmotif – part of the human condition…but it is most often one of our greatest evolutionary or growth-catalyzing triggers. We thrive on transcendence by design.

 

Q) What did you find challenging about your role on the show?

 

A) Nothing negative, that’s for sure. [laughs] Maybe having to act as though Kaniehtiio Horn wasn’t there while she and Vanessa moved me to tears of laughter, bantering wildly just inches away from my nose.

 

Q) Do you have a preference for working in film, TV, web series, on stage, etc.?

 

A) Not particularly, no. Film offers prolific exposure and gainful employment but it’s no different for me from an artistic perspective than working in the theater. Your stage is just a little smaller and your emotional athleticism and overall grasp of the character and the story itself is more likely to feel tested and to have to grow in the moment because you have to jump into things out of chronological order with no countermeasure or lack of, say, time constraint and budgetary restriction, either. Television on the other hand can present a steadier, more traditional nine-to-five-ish schedule as well as the opportunity to dig into a long, unabridged and transformative character arc. The internet, of course, has changed the way we produce, package and ingest media altogether. Our attention spans are shorter, but no less efficient, as our ability to process and apply information has increased exponentially. So, enter the brevity and power of the web series, of delivering the universe on a pinhead. Theater inherently carries – a la the principles of The Theatre of Cruelty as outlined in Antonin Artaud’s the Theatre and its Double – the constant threat of danger. Everything happens in real-time for better or for worse, which has always made me feel electrifyingly present and a cathartic part of the whole whether I was a part of the spectacle (on stage) or a spectator (in the audience) myself. I could go on and on. You talk now.

 

Q) What is your process for getting into your characters?

 

A) That depends. Even though a hammer is an excellent tool, it’s not an excellent tool if you’re tasked with cutting a tree down. I mean, sure, you could probably bludgeon your way through all kinds of materials with a hammer eventually…but like so, job to job, actor to actor, scene to scene, these tools are necessarily ever-changing.

 

Q) What actor would you most like to work with on a film/movie in the future?

 

A) Samantha Morton, maybe? She’s in a lot of my favorite movies: Jesus’ Son, The Libertine, Control.

 

Q) We were so sad to hear that “Shadowhunters” will be ending. What were some of your most memorable moments from filming the show?

 

A) Gosh. Me too! Where to begin… Getting myself back into martial arts and acrobatics training full-time behind the scenes? Meeting and working with all kinds of unique and talented people? The hype at the premiere party? Doing the Forsaken Convention? I know it’s lame, but I really can’t pick a single highlight. It wasn’t my first job and it wasn’t my last, but it was definitely a benchmark and a kind of magical time.

 

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

 

A) I do, actually! I remember pitching a nod to fans of the novels by asking if Hodge could appear with his favorite mug, which is blue and chipped if I’m not mistaken. And then when the art department brought me an assortment to choose from, I invited the fans to vote online via Twitter. I know the mug isn’t a big thing, but in similar ways, over and over again, their input from start to finish helped illuminate the character and what makes him so interesting and relatable and meaningful to people like me immensely. It felt like a collaboration. It was.

 

Q) You often take on dramatic roles. Is there something about this genre that draws you to it?

A) Food and shelter? [laughs] Jokes aside, I’m as drawn to drama as I am to comedy and anything else in between or combined. Running the gamut over the length of one’s ideally unpredictable and transformative career is the goal, I think. The Great Work. “A poet makes himself a visionary through a long, boundless, and systematized disorganization of all the senses. All forms of love, of suffering, of madness; he searches himself, he exhausts within himself all poisons, and preserves their quintessences.” — Arthur Rimbaud

 

Q) What advice would you give to up and coming actors and actresses?

 

A) Put the time in. That’s it, that’s all. The big, summarized, not-fancy secret: Keep. Putting. The. Time. In.

 

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

 

A) Thank you for taking this incredible journey with Hodge Starkweather, the rest of the cast, crew and production team and I. For welcoming me into the Shadow World and the fandom so warmly despite my (at first) controversial casting. [laughs] And, most importantly, to the entire, incredible community you’ve all built and found, thank you for functioning as a flagship for all kinds of diversity, acceptance, kindness, grace and integrity. The show couldn’t have broken the new ground it’s said to have without you! It’s been an honor and a joy. I hope we get to see more of each other!

 

 

Follow Jon Corr on Social Media:

 

Instagram and Twitter: @Jon_Cor

New and Previously Published Fiction

YouTube: Jon Cor