Legendary movie ‘villain’ Jasper Cole (MacGruber, The Purge Anarchy, American Horror Story) on why his look lends so well to ‘nasty’ roles and playing a desert rat in his new film Anyone Home?
Guess it goes without saying, since you’ve won awards for those turns, but you make for one heck of a villain Jasper! Is it funner playing the bad guy?
I love playing the bad guys. It took me YEARS to get type cast and to be on a LIST of any kind so I'm forever grateful. I always try to bring my own twist to these roles. I like to bring humor and sarcasm to the bad guys if I can, which is closer to my real personality.
Do you have a favorite part?
That’s a tough one. I have favorite parts in different genres. In theatre my favorite role was playing "Harold" in the classic BOYS IN THE BAND which I did in 2000 in LA. On film, there have been so many great roles but one of my favorites will always be ZEKE PLESHETTE in MACGRUBER. It was a big break for me ten years ago and it opened lots of doors in my career. On the TV side, wow...it's like SOPHIE'S CHOICE lol trying to pick a favorite. More recently, it would be playing "Jacque De Leon" on TRAINING DAY opposite the iconic Bill Paxton in one of his last roles. On the comedy side it would be playing "The Oolong Slayer" on BROOKLYN NINE-NINE opposite SNL alum Andy Sanberg and the amazing Andre Baugher.
Yeah it has a lot to do with my LOOK. I bring a certain intensity and severity on screen with my face and hair and beard so it lends itself to these Villainous roles. Thankfully, casting director and Producers now know me in these roles so I'm blessed to be in a great group of fellow character actors whose work I greatly admire. I'm just always grateful to be in the mix at all.
TV seems to be a lot of your bread-and-butter. Is that where the gold is these days, too, material-wise?
TV has always been my goal as an actor. When I moved here in 1987 I was hyper focused on comedy and always thought sit-coms would be my career path lol and here I am now as "Hollywood's Bad Guy" playing Serial killers, Drug addicts/dealers, Homeless characters and villains. Tell God you're plans, right? I love the steady schedule and pace of a series. My dream job would be to be part of an ensemble TV series and then do Theatre when I can. I'm dying to get back to the stage. I used to do at least one play a year and it's been over 7 years now.
But you’re still a big supporter of independent film, too - - tell us about the latest film, “Anyone Home”, its part horror film – part female empowerment piece, right!?
I'm so proud of ANYONE HOME? and the great response it's getting from audiences. Bravo to Writer/Director/Producer Patrick Cunningham and Co-Writer/Producer William Frank for the amazing work they did on this film and for the incredible cast and crew they assembled. It was a true labor of love for all of us and it took quite a long time for this film to finally come out but it's well worth the wait. Thanks to caster Kendra Patterson for offering me the role of WALKER, a desert Rat living off the grid in his RV, who stumbles into a situation that goes from bad to worse very quickly, It’s very timely and is a look into Mental Illness, The Opioid Crisis, the housing crash and the lack of affordable housing for people especially single Mothers. It shines a light on today's society and how it's all about THE HAVE AND THE HAVE NOTS. No real middle class anymore.
