My Acting Bucket List: 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.

“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.

“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.”

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.”