Brian:
What were you're earliest performing
influences - Kermit the Frog trying to woo Miss
Piggy - the saber wielding heroics of Luke
Skywalker - a crazy uncle's punk rock band?
Jay:
Ha-ha. Though all those choices had influenced me
one way or another, I would have to say some of
my earliest came from 'The Monkees',
old 'SNL' sketches and of
course, the king of pop.
Brian:
As a musician do you find that music informs your
choices and characterizations as an actor?
Jay:
Coming from a music background has helped me
connect and better understand character and
emotion. It frees me.
Brian:
As Juan in 'Snakes on a Train' you
were all heart! Were you around for the gooey
gore stuff or were those scenes inserted later? I
am, also, assuming you filmed on an actual train.
If that was the case I imagine it was incredibly
helpful in getting you in the right mood for the
action at hand.
Jay:
I was around when they were filming the gory
parts, but I believe I was at the craft service
table at the time. We did film on an actual train
located in Santa Clarita. The train hadn't run
for I'm guessing decades. Being on it definitely
added to the mood, ha-ha, there were moments
where it felt like it was actually moving.
Brian:
Having seen so many horror films I find I am
immune to a lot of stuff. BUT - I love those
snake films because snakes freak me out. I can
actually get a little shiver going watching them.
Were you around many live snakes during the
filming of 'SOAT'?
Jay:
I can see where you're coming from. I was around
at least 6 or 7 live snakes, but they behaved. I
even got to play with a couple of them. Not as
bad as I thought.
Brian:
How did working on 'Halloween Night' differ
from your experience working on 'Snakes
on a Train'?
Jay:
Unlike 'Snakes On A Train', when
I worked on 'Halloween Night' I already new some
of the people involved. I pretty much hung out in
the make-up room with Gage Hubbard and Liz
Mendoza (both from 'Butcher House',
'Socket') whenever I wasn't
filming, I love those guys. We all slept on
location, so after we'd wrap for the night, we'd
have a few drinks and hang out (this was around
8am). Then we'd go to sleep, wake up, and film in
the night again. Good times.
Brian: 'Butcher
House' just got a nice profile in
Fangoria magazine and recently debuted on cable.
What was it like working on that project?
Jay:
'Butcher House'. What can I say? It was
one of the best experiences I've had working on a
film, and others will agree. The cast and crew
were amazing. Chris Hutson kept things
professional and fun. It was a great ensemble,
no, family. I still remain good friends with some
of the cast and crew. I look forward to working
with these people again.
Brian:
'Socket' has a much more Sci-Fi,
emotionally obsessive quality to it than other
horror films. What was it like working with Sean
Abley and your fellow cast members in the group?
Was there any kind of improvisation done to help
you bond?
Jay: Sean Abley was a phenomenal director. Easy going
and gets the job done. The others were also
awesome. They all made my job a lot easier. We
had a few rehearsals to get that "AA"
chemistry between us. We'd have it at the
producers' place, very welcoming. I enjoyed my
time spent on this film.
Brian:
'Socket' deals somewhat with addictive
personalities. What could you get hooked on in
real life - Cadbury Easter eggs - long naps -
Country Western CDs?
Jay:
Ha-ha. You know, I actually do have an addictive
personality. I can get hooked on almost anything,
as long as it catches me in some way. But at the
moment, I can get hooked on pursuing a dream...
Brian:
What is 'Torture Room: Cerebral
Experiment 6' about and how much
research did you have to do to play a patient
suffering from seizure activity?
Jay: I
can't really say much about 'Torture
Room', mainly because I only worked for
one day. But from what I've seen, it is
definitely a crazy Eric Forsberg creation and
fans of gore will love it. I wish I could say
that I had months of researching through books,
internet and actual epileptic patients, but that
wasn't the case. Tom Devlin ('Butcher
House', 'Poultrygeist')
called me and I simply showed up without knowing
what I was going to do. They told me that I was
going to have seizures so I relied on what I knew
already, and good ol' improv.
Brian:
Lastly, any future plans or words of wisdom (IE:
Don't hop on a freight car filled with child
eating cobras) that you'd like to leave us with.
And - thanks for doing this! It's been a trip!
Jay: Future
plans: I have a couple of films coming up, but
I'd like to get recurring role on a series or
something. We'll see. But don't forget to check
out 'Edges of Darkness' and
'The Unfortunate', two great films made
by people who love horror, they'll be releasing
in the near future. As for words of wisdom: do
what you love and always enjoy it. Thanks for the
interview!
Brian:
You got it, man - looking forward to seeing you
on that TV screen! |