Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

My Acting Bucket List: Jeffrey Jones

The Craig Noel Award winner talks "back-pocket roles."

Jeffrey Jones
Jeffrey Jones

I’m asking veteran local actors to name five dream roles and say why. The answers not only reveal aspirations, they may put an idea in the minds of artistic directors and producers – even some choices that might seem outside the box.


Jeffrey Jones

“I have these ‘back pocket’ roles. Those little Samuel French actor’s editions you carry in your back pocket? I’m always meditating on them, studying lines, relating everyday things to moments in them, practicing them while folding clothes, washing dishes, and mopping floors at work (a great way to find new stuff), or reading them at 2:00 a.m., when the brain is more open to out of the box.

Sponsored
Sponsored

“I have a lot of back pocket roles. But these five are very personal to me and from what I’ve seen of life. I might be too old for some, but I still work on them all the time.”

1.) Hamlet. “Because he’s the most of the most. It would be great if somebody did Hamlet every year! The first time I did it, I wasn’t ready. I’m too old now, but when I walk home from work I still go over his speeches.”

2.) Astrov, Uncle Vanya, by Anton Chekhov. Some call him Chekhov’s philosopher for his visionary brooding. “He’s the new thinker. Astrov’s like a doomed prince who had the mistake of being born in a field of corn as opposed to a tide pool of gems. A poet, a philosopher, like Wallace Stevens and Rilke all mixed in one ball of DNA.”

3.) Charley Castle, The Big Knife, by Clifford Odets. The highly successful actor wants to free himself from his studio’s control. “Hey, Garfield played him! He’s a big influence on me. Also, it’s personal: being torn between your own integrity and something outside yourself you have to please. Charlie knows he’s giving his soul to a jury of misfits.”

Jeffrey Jones

4.) Val Xavier, Orpheus Descending, by Tennessee Williams. “I think I’m too old for him. I read it years ago and it went BAM!! Like, hardcore. This is poetic instinct. I mean beyond talk, about the bird that never lands, untouched, and the price of what makes one truly free. This is the prehistoric level. I still relate to him, feeling like a bow being pulled way back, way back, just waiting for the arrow to release. I love working on this one!”

5.) Julian, Tiny Alice, by Edward Albee. He’s a lay brother sent by a Cardinal to live with Miss Alice. In return he’ll receive 100 million dollars a year for 20 years. ”Mr. Gerrish [Martin Gerrish, built drama program at Grossmont College, artistic director Octad One] would work with me on this years ago. He said ‘you must play this role in your life!’ Julian is Hamlet-esque. I love how belief can be overtaken by something greater than ourselves – the demands to go through something like this, like an exorcism. How we must look at our belief systems. And faith. What is TRUE faith?

“Well, those are my pocket roles. I relate to these guys.”

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Tyler Farr, Blue Water Film Festival, Mustache Bash

Events March 21-March 23, 2024
Jeffrey Jones
Jeffrey Jones

I’m asking veteran local actors to name five dream roles and say why. The answers not only reveal aspirations, they may put an idea in the minds of artistic directors and producers – even some choices that might seem outside the box.


Jeffrey Jones

“I have these ‘back pocket’ roles. Those little Samuel French actor’s editions you carry in your back pocket? I’m always meditating on them, studying lines, relating everyday things to moments in them, practicing them while folding clothes, washing dishes, and mopping floors at work (a great way to find new stuff), or reading them at 2:00 a.m., when the brain is more open to out of the box.

Sponsored
Sponsored

“I have a lot of back pocket roles. But these five are very personal to me and from what I’ve seen of life. I might be too old for some, but I still work on them all the time.”

1.) Hamlet. “Because he’s the most of the most. It would be great if somebody did Hamlet every year! The first time I did it, I wasn’t ready. I’m too old now, but when I walk home from work I still go over his speeches.”

2.) Astrov, Uncle Vanya, by Anton Chekhov. Some call him Chekhov’s philosopher for his visionary brooding. “He’s the new thinker. Astrov’s like a doomed prince who had the mistake of being born in a field of corn as opposed to a tide pool of gems. A poet, a philosopher, like Wallace Stevens and Rilke all mixed in one ball of DNA.”

3.) Charley Castle, The Big Knife, by Clifford Odets. The highly successful actor wants to free himself from his studio’s control. “Hey, Garfield played him! He’s a big influence on me. Also, it’s personal: being torn between your own integrity and something outside yourself you have to please. Charlie knows he’s giving his soul to a jury of misfits.”

Jeffrey Jones

4.) Val Xavier, Orpheus Descending, by Tennessee Williams. “I think I’m too old for him. I read it years ago and it went BAM!! Like, hardcore. This is poetic instinct. I mean beyond talk, about the bird that never lands, untouched, and the price of what makes one truly free. This is the prehistoric level. I still relate to him, feeling like a bow being pulled way back, way back, just waiting for the arrow to release. I love working on this one!”

5.) Julian, Tiny Alice, by Edward Albee. He’s a lay brother sent by a Cardinal to live with Miss Alice. In return he’ll receive 100 million dollars a year for 20 years. ”Mr. Gerrish [Martin Gerrish, built drama program at Grossmont College, artistic director Octad One] would work with me on this years ago. He said ‘you must play this role in your life!’ Julian is Hamlet-esque. I love how belief can be overtaken by something greater than ourselves – the demands to go through something like this, like an exorcism. How we must look at our belief systems. And faith. What is TRUE faith?

“Well, those are my pocket roles. I relate to these guys.”

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Taco Taco Poway still has 99-cent fish tacos

Tacotopia prizewinner is well known among Powegians
Next Article

Tyler Farr, Blue Water Film Festival, Mustache Bash

Events March 21-March 23, 2024
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.