Jon Cor – Shadowhunters

By: Jamie Steinberg

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

A) Apart from “Shadowhunters,” I’ve been working on a very different supernatural pilot called “Sea Change” based on the Young Adult novel of the same name. I’ve also done a raw and mental health-addressing film called Goliath, in which I play a repressed homosexual grappling with the fallout of his father’s death and a short called Adorn that recently won the Black Film Festival in Montreal after premiering in Cannes Short Film Corner. I have done a CBC comedy called “Ghost BFF” and a Nissan spot known as Return of the Snowman as well.

Q) What is new this season on “Shadowhunters?”

A) Oh, man. What isn’t? We’ve got new characters, new plot developments, new stunt people, new showrunner(s), a darker, sexier tone, it goes on and on… Expect the unexpected!

Q) As the season progresses, how might dynamics flip or switch?

A) To be honest, there’s not a lot that I can share with you at this point. In the first season, I needed to find a way for the audience and especially the other Shadowhunters onscreen to trust, like and even to underestimate Hodge for very genuine and very informed, empathetic reasons. I’ll be able to participate in a much more interesting conversation after a few more episodes have aired.

Q) How was Hodge originally described to you and did it change at all since your audition?

A) Very much so! In the beginning, I was told little to nothing about the character, let alone the depth and scope of his lore-infused world. I think I got the sides for the audition just the night before and had no choice really, but to play the man and his situation – a good person in a desperate place – as opposed to an impossible estimation of tone or some mistaken caricature of what were then no more than half-understood buzz words to me like parabatai and angelic power rune. I guess something went right because I booked the role and soon had the joy of studying for it feverishly. I went out and bought the movie, read the books and re-read the books. I found ways to involve and consult the already thriving “Shadowhunters” fanbase in my development of the character via social media. I started tricking again – a blend of gymnastics and martial arts best described as creative kicking, flipping and twisting – for the first time since college really because I thought that level of fitness, skill and attention to detail and discipline might elevate the role from the inside-out. In short, Hodge was originally described to me as “ – a hot, American weapons trainer.” Needless to say, my original vision for the sometimes bespectacled warrior-poet with premature, trauma-induced graying would have a British accent of some kind to lend an air of erudition or bookishness and maturity to his grizzled, Institute-incarcerated Circle veteran persona. I was hired somewhat controversially or younger than expected to portray so I was overruled. [laughs] But, hey. That’s usually a good thing! Collaboration rules.

Q) Where do you and Hodge connect, if at all?

A) I think of Hodge as a wonderfully misunderstood character. To me, he seems like a deeply moral, tortured and complicated Renaissance Man because he is always, always growing even if not especially against the grain. He’s dynamic in that he’s as charming as he is brooding; as outgoing as he is the archetypal introvert; as much the Fool as he is the Mastermind. Do you know love and loss? Do you sometimes experience feelings of regret or of being taken for granted? Do you pine for and care about sh*t and struggle to achieve this and that and then some? Of course you do. You’re a human being. That same spirit exists in Hodge, too; and it makes him fundamentally relatable.

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

A) Aside from doing things like training with a Jackie Chan Stunt Team luminary, ad-libbing the occasional line such as Hodge’s reaction to Alec’s, “Jace is dead to me,” and immersing myself in “Shadowhunters” canon as much as possible, I asked for Hodge’s favorite blue-chipped mug to make an appearance because of his love of homemade tisanes both in terms of a simple pleasure and as a sort of field medic-made remedy in the books really struck me. After the idea was approved and the art department presented three or four mugs to choose from, I thought I’d invite the fans (who were thankfully so welcoming, so heartwarmingly supportive of my casting from the very beginning) to vote online via Twitter. They did! It was a lot of fun. I also thought it savvy to at least give a nod to Hodge’s apparent fondness for tweed. Fortunately, Alec (Mathew Daddario) and Lydia’s (Stephanie Bennett) wedding episode served as the perfect opportunity. These are small and arguably superficial details, sure, but I think they add up. I wanted Hodge’s arc in the first season to feel like an origin story.

Q) What are some memorable moments you are looking forward to fans seeing this season?

A) You’ll know it when you see it! Hodge sure didn’t. [laughs]

Q) What makes the series such a perfect fit for Freeform?

A) I think “Shadowhunters” is more grown up now than a lot of what you might’ve seen on Freeform’s previous incarnation – ABC Family. And I think the network wants to keep moving in that direction with increasingly diversified and inclusive programming to reach an even larger percentage of even more variegated demographics.

Q) What do you think it is about the show that has made it such a fan favorite?

A) A lot! Its huge literary fanbase and the first film helped in the beginning, there’s no denying that… but I think there’re a lot of especially passionate, fun-loving and talented people operating on both sides of the camera, too. A labor of love is more often than not a labor received in kind.

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

A) Absolutely. The fans have been so insightful, so indispensable to the project and to my process in particular that sharing a dialogue with them is nothing if not a pleasure and a blessing. I don’t think I’ve experienced a single uncool interaction with a fan to date. That has to be rare. It’s very humbling.

Q) Is there anything else you want to be sure fans know about “Shadowhunters” and your character?

A) Hmm. To consider that Hodge might be less of a villain and more of a victim who eventually took responsibility for his own longtime desire for and right to freedom instead of resorting to blame, to lashing out against the universe for his much-understood (albeit unfair) torture and imprisonment, perhaps? Maybe Hodge is a wayward soul turned martyr, pining for redemption through sacrifice like a Viking for a glorious death after unintentionally yet significantly tipping the scales against the very people he loves and seeks only to protect. *shrugs and winks* Hell. What do I know?

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

A) I am infinitely and sincerely grateful for all of your love and support. Because of you, I get to do something I love. Because of you, I remain inspired to become a better person and a better storyteller. Thank you for sharing this crazy lifetime on this crazy planet with me! For those of you who are as into words as I am, I’ll be releasing my first novel In Heat soon, which is something I’ve written for you as much as I did for myself. Feel like checking out some shorter, reposted published work in the meantime? See: joncorofficial.com–> Writing –> Short Stories. Follow me on Twitter/Instagram:@Jon_Cor and Youtube: Jon Cor