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 "Duplicity"'s
Andrew Jackson
Interview conducted by Craig Byrne - KryptonSite Webmaster -
April 2004
Andrew
Jackson made
his Smallville appearance playing locksmith Ray Wallace
in the episode "Duplicity," whose truck flipped conveniently
near Clark's ship soon after Dr. Hamilton drove him off the
road. He's been in many projects with which you may be familiar
- appearing in episodes of Charmed, Andromeda, All My Children,
and more, miniseries such as "Taken," and movies including
"Scooby Doo 2." He is also an accomplished voice actor,
having done voice work for series like Beast Wars: Transformers
and providing the opening title narrations for Earth:
Final Conflict.
Jackson
is now currently filming the movie "Edison" which
stars Morgan Freeman, Kevin Spacey, Justin Timberlake and others,
Jackson took some time out of his busy schedule to answer some
questions about his Smallville experience for KryptonSite.
The interview follows....
KRYPTONSITE:
What was the audition process like for getting your part
on Smallville?
ANDREW
JACKSON: When I heard about Smallville shooting in
Vancouver, I was excited about the prospect of working on the
show. My hopes sank when I heard that the talented John Schneider
was playing superman's dad. Over the years, people had made
the physical comparison between John Schnieder and myself. Beyond
the height and colouring, there really isn't a strong likeness.
That said, I figured the similarity could cost me a job.
I auditioned for the show with the director and a producer present.
Both were very warm & receptive. The producer made the comment
"He looks like John" as I started my dialogue. After
completing the scene, I thanked the room of smiling faces. My
agent informed me that I was going to book the job, but one
of the LA executive producers felt I looked too much like John
Schneider.
While living in New York City & working on "All My
Children", I had the good fortune of seeing the infamous
actor/singer, John Schneider on stage in a musical. His powerful
operatic voice & performance blew me away. A far departure
from the character he played on the "Dukes of Hazzard".
Here was a multi-talented individual that could likely pursue
many venues in the entertainment world. During my AMC experience
in NYC., a fan approached me & said "I loved your work
on stage, you have such a beautiful voice John." I was
too embarrassed to correct the woman, thanked her & excused
myself.
After completing the filming of "All I Want aka Try Seventeen"
with Elijah Wood, I was asked to audition for a guest starring
role. Unfortunately I'd booked tickets to LA & could not
do the audition.
When asked to audition a third time, I'd grown a full beard,
had longish hair & hoped my altered appearance could work
in my favour. I auditioned for the local locksmith. The character
has a rough truck accident, is hospitalized and pumped full
of morphine. My audition went extremely well. The director made
a remark about how well I'd played the drug induced part of
the performance. I thought "great he's going to think I've
had plenty of practice." Yikes!!! Having had major knee
surgery in 1998 & being pumped full of morphine was still
fresh in my memory bank. I booked the job.
I was also offered a large guest starring role on the series
"Just Cause". The "Just Cause" role meant
far more screen time. The two shows had conflicting shooting
schedules. "Smallville's producers were so first class.
They agreed to hold a second casting session to try & replace
me. If they couldn't find anyone to do the part that met their
standards, I would turn down "Just Cause". The rest
is history.
K-SITE:
Do
you have any particular favorite moments from working on the
show?
JACKSON:
I loved working on the hospital scene with Joe Morton. I placed
myself in a semi sleep mode, removed one of my contact lens
and had the chance to work opposite a very talented & highly
skilled performer. It was like playing sports with a professional
athlete & simply enjoying the game. The scene is on my drama
demo reel. The crew were so together & I can't say enough
about the talent of the show's DP's & cameramen. They make
the show golden.
K-SITE:
Had you worked with members of the Smallville cast
or crew before?
 JACKSON:
Years ago I was hanging out at the cafeteria of ABC's "All
My Children" & "Loving" (The two studios
are across the hall from one another) I spotted John Schnieder.
John was shooting a few episodes of "Loving" while
performing on Broadway. That's the closest I got to working
with any of the show's cast members.
K-SITE:
What was the mood on the set like?
JACKSON: The mood on set was great. One felt like they
were travelling on a flagship of the line. The expensive health
& protein bars made craft services a DREAM. It's tough watching
one's waste line for the camera when the set's all surrounded
with loads of wonderful candy.
K-SITE: Do you perform any of your own stunts?
JACKSON: The stuntman who performed the truck accident
as my character was amazing!!! I was terrified for him. I was
genuinely uncertain as to whether he'd walk away from the accident
alive. WOW!!!
I had the
simple task of hanging upside down in my truck. I thought, "Piece
of cake". I've been accidentally engulfed in flames on
set, done major fight scenes, wrestling, boxing, prat falls
and spent 12 or more hours in prosthetics for two or three days
at a time. I had no idea hanging upside down in a van would
pose such a challenge. They dressed me in a super tight fitted
body harness, that limited my breathing & lead me through
a lush corn field to an upside down van. I stupidly ate three
or four egg rolls just before hand. Big mistake! I crawled through
the broken window and scrunched my knees to my chest as they
hauled the wires attached to my harness & suspended me in
the vehicle. The floor of the truck was covered in mud &
debris. As I placed my feet above my head on the floor of the
overturned van, mud & sand fell into my mouth & eyes.
The egg rolls made my bloated & bound belly a challenge.
Very little air or breeze was getting into the vehicle because
it was surrounded in tall corn stalks. I started to hyperventilate.
I thought, Oh God, if I pass out after everyone witnessed the
stuntman's performance, I'll look like such a wuss. I yelled
at the crew to shoot & forced my breathing to slowdown.
To this day I no longer want to stretch with my knees over my
head. Lesson learned. Avoid the egg rolls before doing that
again. By the way, the director & crew were very understanding.
 K-SITE:
I see you've done the voice of the Incredible Hulk for several
video games. If the Hulk and Superman got into a fight, who
would win?
JACKSON:
I would love to get covered in green makeup & return to
Smallville to find out. I would suspect the Hulk would kick
butt. Of course Superman would see through the nasty green exterior
& the two would team up and wreak havoc on the show's villains.
Hulk Roar!!! Rrrrrrrrrr!!!
K-SITE:
What is your role in "Edison?" It sounds like
that is a very high-profile Vancouver production that many people
wanted to get into... how did you get the role?
JACKSON: Maureen Webb is the casting director on "Edison".
She had cast me as a hick in the feature film "All I Want
aka Try Seventeen". The film stars Elijah Wood, Debra Harry
aka Blondie, Mandy Moore & Franka Potente. It was produced
by Millennium Films. The same production company is involved
in "Edison". The film stars include Morgan Freeman,
Kevin Spacey, Justin Timberlake, LL Cool J, Dylan McDermott,
John Heard and Cary Elwes to name a few. I feel very honoured
to be in the presence of such a stellar cast.
I play the
role of "Ives" in "Edison". My character
is a member of a special forces, police unit called F.R.A.T.
The unit is run by a spiritually dark, militaristic Captain
named Tilman (John Heard).
The film is a dark & gritty representation of a fictitious
city named "Edison". The film exposes the kind of
corruption, injustice and illegal activities that exist within
all levels of the judicial system. Edison could be any large
North American City. The very talented writer/director, David
J. Burke, gets to the spiritual core of our present day Rome.
I auditioned for a lead role in the film, was called back for
a supportive role & cast as a completely separate character.
To date I am slated to shoot a total of 15 days on the project.
K-SITE:
What other upcoming projects do you have that fans may be
interested in?
JACKSON: I am recurring in a new Canadian series called
"The Collector". The writing is great!! I saw the
first three episodes at a private screening in Vancouver's Tinseltown
movie theatre. Sci Fi / Horror fans are going to love it.
 I've
appeared in two episodes of Andromeda. There is talk of possibly
more episodes. Colin Cunningham (Shig) and myself (Lipp-Sett)
play two Nietzschean, interplanetary, betting game show hosts.
I play a kind of Shakespearean fop / Bob Barker / psychotic
/ Ziegfried complete with an insane, high pitched laugh &
a touch of Gary Busey. IT'S A BLAST!!!!!
Our episode "Double or Nothingness" was recently awarded
2 GOLD PLAQUE HUGO AWARDS as part of The 40th. Chicago International
Television Awards.
"Double or Nothingness" has also won a REMI AWARD
at the 37th. Houston International Film and Television Festival
(Worldfest Houston).
K-SITE:
What has been your favorite project in your career thus far?
 JACKSON:
I starred opposite Nicolette Sheridan in a thriller called "Deadly
Betrayal". I had an opportunity to play 3 characters in
one. I feel it's a strong representation of my work. I like
my acting on "Earth: Final Conflict" in "The
Gauntlet" as the original "Jaridian"; "Scared
Silent" for the Lifetime Network ( #1 cable movie in USA
for 5/02 ); "Family of Cops II" as a Russian MAFIA
priest killer; "The Last Don II" miniseries as Dirk,
the Germanic movie star; "Charmed" (That 70's Episode)
as an evil warlock who changes his age; "Highlander"
series (The Darkness) and the 5th season of "Wind At My
Back" as a Gastsbyesque leading man.
Playing
Christian in a Sterling Award winning production of Cyrano De
Bergerac with Tony Award winner Brent Carver at Edmonton, Alberta's
"Citadel Theatre" was amazing. We had standing ovations
nightly. Robin Phillips, the director, taught me so much. The
reviews were incredible / it was described as "The kind
of world class theatre that comes around once every 10 years;
not to be missed". I will never forget that feeling. It
was a gift!!
K-SITE:
Is there anything else you'd like to say to Smallville's
fan base?
JACKSON: Life's short, stay honest, positive, take risks
and keep an open mind. Thanks for reading & God Speed.
KryptonSite
would like to thank Andrew Jackson for taking the time out of
his schedule to do this interview, and to Bill Wanstrom, his
publicist, for organizing the interview and providing photos.
Look for more interviews here on K-Site soon!
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