Jon Briddell
Jon Briddell s an American actor who has more than eighty acting credits in films and television shows such as Lucfurs (1998), Pensacola: Wings of Gold (1998-1999), Falling Rue (2000), 18 Wheels of Justice (2001), The Chronicle (2002), The Marred Men's Club (2005), Seasons of Life (2006), CSI: Miami (2008), Criminal Minds (2010), Castle (2011), Dead Stop (2011), Collision Course (2011) and Revolution (2013), among many more.
Jon also has the starring role in Michael Matteo Rossi's newly released thriller Misogynist in which he plays 'Trevor', a disillusioned male chauvinistic guru who holds underground seminars for young men, for the purpose of teaching them the art of controlling women.
SN: Welcome, Jon. Thank you very much for taking the time to speak with me. Firstly, I'd like to congratulate you on your performance in Misogynist, and well done on your 'Best Actor' award at the Los Angeles Underground Film Festival. You have a long list of film and television credits; I'd like you to take me back to the beginning and tell me about your early life and how you first got into the world of acting.
Jon: Thanks Mike. As for my early life, acting was never really an option growing up in the conservative Midwest. Kids in Ohio did not study acting, they studied the sciences or business. My father was a chemist and my mother a management diversity trainer at a Fortune 500 energy company. That was the influence I had growing up and my degree in chemistry reflected that. I was always fascinated with acting and in particular daytime soaps to be honest, and that is what I secretly dreamt of doing. During my sophomore year in college I began taking acting classes as electives and 2 years later had accumulated enough for a theater minor. I was lucky enough to have a fellow student in one of my classes who had a father that was head of a big ad agency in Chicago, so we both were cast as brothers in a department store regional commercial and I got my SAG card from that in 1989. After 2-3 years of modelling in Chicago, I moved to Los Angeles and the rest they say is history.
SN: Tell me about your first ever acting role, and how it felt to see yourself onscreen for the first time?
Jon: Wow - we are going way back! Let's go with my first TV role. It was on a show called Pensacola, Wings of Gold on CBS. I had a bit part, but a fun one where I get in a fight with one of the stars - very exciting for me until I saw the show on TV and most of the coverage was on the star. I learned an important lesson there..... Be the star !
In general, it is nerve wracking for me to see myself on TV, so I rarely watch my own stuff. I recently found out there are numerous big stars that feel the same way, so I'm not alone.
SN: What aspects of being an actor do you find the most challenging, and what has been your biggest challenge to date?
Jon: I think any occupation where you have to interview for each job you get and live pay check to pay check for a long time has its challenges. You really need to learn budgeting and keeping a positive outlook and frame of mind at all times.
Artistically, it's shying away from the easy choices, the stereotypical performances that we see all the time and making a role your own. All the great performances in cinema or stage are unique and that is what is memorable for us audience.
SN: What elements of a script (film/series or character) make you sit back and think 'I want this'? What is it that you look for?
Jon: Well, obviously good writing is important. A decent story as well. A good well written character speaks to you as a reader, no matter if it's a script or a novel. Sometimes I shake my head and think, this script and character sucks and I don't want to be involved. Other times, as in the case of misogynist, the character is so poignant, so meaty that I had to get involved.
SN: Which leads me nicely into Misogynist. You're probably already aware how much I love this film; how did you perceive the character of Trevor when reading the script?
Jon: Oh man, that's a great question. I didn't know Mike Rossi at all when he somehow found me and sent me the script. I read it and said no way , this guy is sick and twisted. No way I'm doing this and I chucked it. Then, laying in bed that night I told my wife about it, and she laughed. When I woke up the next morning she said to me that it would be a great challenge - a great actors part.
So I re-read the script more carefully and saw the beauty in the character and the story. I digested it I guess you would say.
As a point of interest, I was raised in a family where my mom was and still is big into women's rights and equality. She was a leader in women's Toastmasters and the NOW organization. When I told her about the project I could see her eyes rolling through the phone line.
SN: Michael comes across as a genuinely nice guy, who seems very passionate about what he does. What was it like to work with him?
Jon: Mikey is great. He loves what he does and goes after it. It looks like there is no stopping him. And yes, he is a really nice guy. While on set, he would come up with these absurd things for Trevor. And I would always say, "from the sick and twisted mind of Michael Mateo Rossi"...(in the voice of the movie trailer guy).
As a director, Mike welcomes ideas and encourages cooperation between the actor/director which is vital to creating a character like Trevor. I would come up with ideas like the panties thing with Alia or the glass sliver in my shoulder, and he would get all excited about it and let me run with it. But to be perfectly clear, this story and movie was his genius.
SN: He certainly has created a unique and exciting thriller. As an actor, how does it feel to take on a role with such dark and despicable values?
Jon: It's fun. Bad guys are always more fun than good guys because they are usually more complex and interesting. It's fun to play them and find the humanity in them as well as the evil. Hopefully people find them fun to watch, even if they hate them. Look at Hannibal Lector, or Kevin Spacey in Seven, or any of the bad guys in the Avengers franchise or Bond franchise.
SN: You and Jonathan had great onscreen chemistry and Alia was fantastic as Cheryl, and I particularly enjoyed the scenes between yourself and Kris Black. What are some of your favourite moments during the filming of Misogynist?
Still of Jon Briddell in Michael Matteo Rossi’s Misongynist.
Jon: So many it's hard to point out only a few. Kris and I cooked on that scene after I hit him and that was fun. The rooftop with Jonathan was great as well. My fav was the scene with Eve Mauro and the broken glass. Everyone was so talented and easy to work with on this shoot. Our DP, Austin Nordell, and I clicked, and he was a blast to work with. I'm looking forward to shooting again with him. Alia and Danielle were incredible as well. In the sequel I get more scenes with the lovely Tracey Bregman though.
SN: Wait what? Sequel?
Jon: Hopefully, we will see : )
SN: Now, given the subject of the film and the definition of 'misogynist', there will no doubt be people out there that will say this is nothing more than a film that glorifies woman-hating. How would you respond to that?
Jon: I would tell them that it is a movie reflecting a small but dangerous percentage of the male population and if this movie gets people talking about them and talking about abuse towards women, it has done it's job. I would also tell them it's just a movie...Relax.
SN: I think that would be my response too. As I said at the beginning, you have a long list of film and television credits. Which ones stand out as some of your favourite roles, and which did you find less enjoyable?
Jon: Definitely Misogynist was fun. Last year I did a movie called Beacon Point that was shot in the Smokey Mountains in Georgia. I spent weeks in the mountains in my own log cabin on a white water river. Working on KnightRider for NBC was fun and I made some life-long friends during that time. My wife and I entertain the troops on the USO tour and that will always have a special place in my heart. I've been fortunate to work with a lot of great actors like Juliette Lewis, Tim Roth, David Caruso, to name a few. Of course there are always less enjoyable ones as well, but it is best not to call them out by name. You never know who is going to hire you again, so you don't want to burn bridges : )
SN: Who would you say are your biggest influences in regard to your career, and what is your greatest inspiration?
Jon: I have a lot of influences from actors to teachers to my parents. My mom was a theater producer part-time and has always been interested in my career. My dad has been a backbone of support for me the whole way. My teachers, Judith Weston in particular, have played a big role in my development as an actor. And most importantly, my wife, who is always there to help in whatever way is necessary. She is also an actor, and a far better one than me for sure.
As far as actors go, Michael Douglas, Gary Oldman, and a few others constantly inspire me to do my best work and provide role models for me so to speak.
SN: Is there anything you would like to tell people about that we haven't already discussed?
Jon: Get a copy of Misogynist soon! Also watch for me later this year in the feature Beacon Point as well as my character Sam Morrison on ABC's Secrets and Lies opposite Juliette Lewis. Thanks, Mike and keep up the good work : )
SN: Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me, Jon. Congratulations on all your success so far and best wishes for the future.
Jon: Thank you.