by Dov Kornits
When we first interviewed Joel Jackson back in 2015 for his title role in Peter Allen: Not the Boy Next Door, he was straight out of NIDA’s prestigious acting course, and radiated a star quality that hinted at leading man material for years to come.
Since then, Jackson appeared alongside Daniel Radcliffe in Greg McLean’s Jungle, and on the tele in The Wrong Girl, Safe Harbour and most recently in the currently-airing Miss Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries. It’s a matter of time before he gets a role worthy of his talents, so he created one himself with Stranger, which recently premiered at Flickerfest, and is bound for many more film festivals to come.
We emailed the amiable Joel Jackson a few questions, and here’s what he had to say.
You seem to be getting no shortage of paid work, but here you are producing and starring in a short film. Can you speak to why you made Stranger?
I’m beyond grateful for the work I’ve had thus far in my short career and also to the people that I’ve been lucky enough to work alongside; Penny Chapman, Tony Ayres, Shawn Seet, Rachel Griffiths, Penny Win, Belinda Chayko, Glendyn Ivin and so many more. The thing that struck me, working with each of them, is that these great creatives got to where they are by creating. Not by sitting on the sidelines but steering their own ship, so definitively, that it made them the unique voice that they’re celebrated and respected for today. Stranger came at a time when Peter Skinner, writer/director and co-producer, and I decided; instead of waiting on someone else to let us do our job in their story, we’d tell our own. I think we both felt like we had learned enough to attempt making a stylistically ambitious and very cinematic, character short film.
How did producing differ from your normal role on a set?
I’ve always been that guy on set asking producers how a certain element of the show we’re filming is going to be done logistically and then pulling the director’s ear at lunch asking questions about how we’ll tell that story in performance and with the camera. Even in pre-production you’ll find me trawling through production designers, costume designers and make-up artist’s inspiration boards or research material; I’m infatuated with what each department brings to the story telling. In this instance, it just meant I could be so much more hands-on and involved in the entire process. And though, yes, stressful – it was thrilling to be so involved. From scouting and then securing locations, casting actors I knew would crush the material, and finding our Production Designer, Isabella Andronos, and Make-Up Artist, Reia Perkins. I couldn’t think about it as producing, because I’d never done it before, so I looked at it like another opportunity as an actor to define the story we were telling by getting the best creatives and the best tools for the job. Then every now and again, Peter or Holly Fraser, co-producer, would remind me of some logistical or expense problem and I’d be shunted into the business world of production and that was a great thing to contend with; I loved that challenge.
Is the idea of creating your own work something that you were taught at NIDA?
I think every good school teaches you to create, or at least should. NIDA definitely made me appreciate how powerful creative independence is in the artist’s life, but we were never taught to produce or create things from absolutely nothing. The process we went through for the short film was most definitely driven and filtered by Peter and that was a joy to be a part of. I’d come in with some strange poem or metaphor, we’d unpack it for an hour, improvise a scene, he’d filter that until we’d have a more succinct scene, which then we’d read with a fellow actor to see if it worked. From those small sessions the story just grew and grew in complexity and strength until Stranger was so clear it was burning in our pockets, waiting to be made. As producer, Stranger is definitely something that I could only have done after having been on sets for four years and being taught all the elements of production by very patient and kind crew members and production HODs [Head of Department].
How did you meet writer/director Peter Skinner?
Peter and I met through a joined AFTRS and NIDA course. Peter was studying Directing and I was in my third year of Acting. We didn’t get to work together, but I remember seeing his finished product at the end of the course period and thinking, “I like what this guy is doing.” He might say the same or might say I was just persistent and annoying, but we became mates and then collaborators. I think over the thousands of hours in each other’s company we’ve started to figure out how the other works, we challenge when we need to and then of course stand aside to see the other weave their magic. It’s a brilliant thing to be a part of and I’m grateful for his collaboration and creative vision.
The film is quite different to most Australian drama we see – it takes its time in building mood, and Georgie Parker is amazing playing against type. Was this part of the appeal?
Peter is a huge fan of David Lynch and I love Sam Shepard’s writing, so between those two very American poetic influences we tried to capture that strange, intangible feeling of being suspended while keeping the audience on the threshold the entire time. I have to credit Peter for his foresight with the timing and the edit; I’d always wanted it shorter – but after having seen it at Flickerfest with an audience it’s electrifying. You can feel the tension, the air being sucked out of the room and that palpable play between story teller and audience; it’s brilliant. And of course, carried by performances by bold actors. When we were in pre-production, I had someone in mind for May but then I saw Georgie Parker at the Ensemble Theatre in Barefoot in the Park and she took my breath away. I’d never seen her like that and from that I knew she’d be able to do something remarkable with May. I took the chance of reaching out to Georgie and luckily, she was eager. On set, Georgie was beyond generous with her input and wonderful talent; incredibly so. We can’t thank her enough.
Is your character something that was appealing as it’s unlike the nice guy roles you’ve mostly played in the past?
In my mind, even the nice guys I’ve played in the past have a darkness. That’s what makes those people so phenomenally intriguing in real life, you look for the crack in the mirror or the crease in the veneer of seamless perfection and it’s always going to be there. Playing someone who isn’t all together a ‘nice guy’ is a game of continuously hiding these cracks, it’s a dance and it’s electrifying to do. Like a magician distracting you with his left hand, while his right hand shuffles the cards. I wanted to explore the idea of a person who has deceived so many others that he’s lost the notion of what is real anymore. The character was inspired by interactions I’ve had with strangers in pubs and bars I played at as a young musician, before acting. The sensation that some people leave you with; your hair standing up on end for no apparent reason other than something didn’t seem right.
