Movie american star Jason Collett has been acting on film and stage for over 15 years and is also a trained stunt professional. French series fans, streaming platforms addicted, will recognize him for sure with his appearances in television include HBO’s “Watchmen,” HBO’s “Hung,” and NBC’s “Chuck”. He’s now acting in the upcoming star-packed gothic noir drama “The Devil all the time” written and directed by Antonio Campos (The Sinner), among Tom Holland, Haley Bennett, Robert Pattison, Bill Skarsgård, Jason Clarke and Riley Keough, premiering on Netflix later this year. And Jason is actually telling us how he’s dealing with family quarantine (AND Food !), in Atlanta. We’re so happy to welcome him today, in LCV Magazine.
Instagram : @actor_jmc
LCV Magazine : How are you, Jason, at the moment ?
Jason Collett : At this exact moment I’m actually feeling great. I’m stuffed (I just ate dinner). Just to warn you, I’ll probably be bringing up food often throughout this interview, haha. What can I say? I love to eat.
LCV Magazine : Where are you currently living?
Jason Collett : I’ve been staying with family during the quarantine in Atlanta. Before the shutdown, I was staying with them while in the process of building my very first house! Since lockdown began, the home building process stalled a bit, but its recently started back up.
LCV Magazine : How are you currently living with confinement?
Jason Collett : Confinement, for me, hasn’t really impacted my day-to day routine, aside from the fact that I’m eating more and not working at the moment. Even before the confinement I’ve always been a bit of a homebody. My days of going out and socializing outside of work have been few and far in between lately.
LCV Magazine : Was your outlook on humans changed in recent weeks?
Jason Collett : Absolutely ! Its been wonderful to see people coming together and support each other during this time of crisis : food banks, donations, the overwhelming support and acknowledgement of people in healthcare… Its all been very inspiring!
LCV Magazine : How do you spend your days?
Jason Collett : Ive been very fortunate in having a lot of distractions to keep me busy during this time. Writing, auditioning, painting, and DIY projects, just to name a few. I recently started work on building my very own home arcade. Its been a project ive been wanting to get done for awhile now, so Im glad that I actually have the time to do it now!
LCV Magazine : How do you approach post confinement?
Jason Collett : Its going to be a very unusual, confusing, and scary time once the world jumpstarts again. I feel as if we will be feeling the residual effects of this whole experience for months, possibly years, to come. I plan on approaching it with researching what is and isn’t still safe to do, and taking it day by day. One thing is for sure ; the world is going to look a whole lot different than what we were use to. How that change manifests itself, is still anybody’s guess.
LCV Magazine : What do you miss the most?
Jason Collett : The food ! ( I told you it wouldn’t be long before I brought food back up). Im a lover of all types of cuisine, and trying new authentic foods is something I miss dearly. And oh yeah, I guess I miss spending time with friends too. They are alright. But mostly food.
LCV Magazine : Where would you rather be in this moment?
Jason Collett : Before the lockdown I had plans to go snowboarding up in the mountains of Colorado with a good friend of mine. I wish I could be there right now, but a secluded beach in the Bahamas wouldn’t be a bad destination either.
LCV Magazine : What little pleasure are you still holding onto ?
Jason Collett : Well, because Im unable to dine out right now, Ive recently rediscovered my love for cooking. It’s something Ive always loved to do, so im thankful that the quarantine has allowed me, or forced me, back into that habit. Its very relaxing for me ( the cooking AND eating part !) My guilty pleasure though, is, and always will be desserts. Ive always had a bit of a sweet tooth, so thats something I’m still holding onto with everything I have. They’ll never take my sweets from me!
LCV Magazine : What is a typical day like ?
Jason Collett : I usually wake up around 10am for my daily workout. I have a home gym where I’m staying so I’ll weight train 3 days a week, and jog around the neighborhood the other days of the week (gotta work off those sweets!). After that I’ll try to sit down and work my creative side by doing some writing. I’m currently working on two full length features; one of which is nearing completion and looking very promising. The other one… not so much. but theres time. Lately, as I mentioned earlier, Im currently building a home arcade cabinet, so my time has also been devoted to that. Ive always been an avid fan of retro arcade, so I figured “why not have one for myself?”. Its been a fun project! In the evenings I like to relax by painting. When the lockdown started I found some old canvas’ in storage and thought it would be fun to try my hand at painting. Turns out I’m actually pretty good! And this should probably go without saying, but in between all those activities throughout the day, Im constantly eating and snacking.
LCV Magazine : How do you stay in shape ?
Jason Collett : There are tons of workouts you can do with just your body weight, such as push/pull ups, squats, lunges, and planks, but my favorite thing to do to keep fit is to go for a run while listening to music. Ive charted a 2 mile route around my neighborhood and Ive been slowly working on lowering my run time.
LCV Magazine : How do you stay mentally active ?
Jason Collett : In addition to writing, there are also a few books Ive been reading to keep sharp. A few books on screenwriting such as “Save The Cat” by Blake Snyder and “Story” by Robert Mckee, but some acting books as well. Ive recently started studying the Meisner acting method, so Im currently reading through “Sanford Meisner On Acting”. And one of my favorite books I just finished was “Sapiens” By Yuval Noah Harari. Its eye opening and thought-provoking.
LCV Magazine : How do you stay positive ?
Jason Collett : Its hard to stay positive when everything we had planned for ourselves 2 months ago has suddenly been placed on hold, but this is a moment unlike any time we have ever lived through right now. I try to stop, take a breath, and be thankful for this momentary break in what is normally a fast paced life. I stay positive by thinking about all the good that will come from this confinement. People are already displaying tremendous acts of kindness toward each other, and I look forward to seeing how that continues. That, and I just imagine how good that first bite will be when my favorite restaurant opens back up !
This interview has been organized overseas with talent by Caitlin & Whitney from Anderson Group PR in Los Angeles. Thank you so much ! 😉
