I recently chatted with Jason about his new series, Kevin From Work and his character Ricky. To find out what he had to say, read on.
What made you decide that you wanted to pursue a career in acting?
“My dad was a musician and we did a lot of singing when I was little. I did a lot of performing in the house with my family and my dad. I kind of picked up performing then. But I didn’t fall in love with acting until high school. I started exploring the theater department. I was doing high school musicals. I got to take the singing I did with dad and transition it to doing theater and acting.”
You’ve worked in theater, television and film, is there any medium that you prefer?
“My favorite so far has actually been taping before a live studio audience. I worked on a series called State of Georgia, which was also for ABC Family which was a really great experience. It was the best of both worlds I guess you could say. The instant reaction that you get from the audience is there, like with theater. I love doing live tapings. On films, you’re basically doing it for the scene and getting the point across for the scene.
With a live studio audience, you’re performing for the audience directly! You hear what they think, you get that feedback right away. You know if the jokes are hitting. You know if the scene is working. I don’t know how else to describe it. I guess, I just love the instant gratification you get from performing live.”
You’ve played a variety of characters. Is there any one character that stands out in your mind?
I had a great time doing The Mistle-Tones. I’ve worked with ABC Family on my last couple of projects. I’ve been very fortunate to have worked with them. The Mistle-Tones combined everything I loved growing up. I started out doing musical theater, so I got to sing, dance, and perform . Plus it was about Christmas! It was the best of everything I love. ABC Family has played it the last couple of years. People are still enjoying the movie and our fans continue to grow!”
Can you tell us about your audition for Kevin From Work?
“It was just a regular audition for me. My manager called to let me know that I had an audition for the show called Kevin From Work. I knew that Barbie Adler was involved. I had worked with her before on a show called Man Up for ABC. When I went into the room to read for her, we recognized each other. I wasn’t sure that she would remember me. I just read for them and she gave me a couple of adjustments. I thought I did great, but I wasn’t sure. Then the next day they told me that I was on hold for the role!”
Is there any of your own personality that you bring to your character of Ricky?
“I think so. I love juicy gossip. I’m not as much of a gossip monger as Ricky is. He has his nose in everybody’s business. However, the fun side of gossiping I can relate to with Ricky. He seems like a caring person and that’s definitely something I can relate to as well.”
You mentioned Barbie Adler. She did How I Met Your Mother where you had a brief part on one of the episodes.
“I had a little part back in season four! It was one of my first TV gigs. I had a scene with Neil Patrick Harris actually. It was the episode where he was smashing televisions, taking his anger out on televisions instead of people.”
Can you tell me what’s it like working with your Kevin From Work co-stars?
“We just hit it off as a group. I remember at the table reading, it was the first time I was meeting them and I think they had just met each other. Everyone is so welcoming and excited about this show. I think because of that we all bonded. We all want the show to do well. We really formed this friendship! Getting along with everyone is really a rarity in this town.”
Is there any path that you’d like to see your character Ricky take in the series?
“I think Ricky has aspirations to maybe move into an upper level position. It would be interesting to see how he would go about moving into Julia’s position. Or maybe to see some rivalry between him and Kevin for an upper level position. That would be kind of fun.”
Without giving away spoilers, is there any episode you’ve filmed thus far that you think fans would enjoy?
“There’s so many! What I can say is I have a twin sister. That comes up in the fourth episode. That was a lot of fun to shoot. I got to shoot it with a dear friend of mine who actually plays my twin sister. That was my favorite episode so far. You really get to see more of Ricky’s storyline. I’m really excited about that one.
The actress who plays my twin sister is Ellen Williams and she actually worked with Barbie on How I Met Your Mother. It’s just a full little circle. It’s an exciting episode.”
Why do you think people should watch Kevin From Work?
“It’s different from anything that’s on television now. It’s got a great mixed cast, a multi-ethnic cast which is really refreshing. It’s following the lead of Empire and Fresh Off the Boat. The cast is great and the writing is fresh and funny. That to me is a selling point.”
Will you be live tweeting every week?
Yes, I’m going to try! We actually watched the premiere at a producer’s house and tweeted together.”