Posted in: Lionsgate, Movies | Tagged: heather graham, Jeremy Kent Jackson, lionsgate, nicolas cage, stephen dorff

Gunslingers: Jeremy Kent Jackson on "High-Stakes" Western, Cage & More

Jeremy Kent Jackson (You) spoke to Bleeding Cool about his latest Western, Gunslingers for Lionsgate, stunts, prep and more.

No challenge is too physical or grueling for Jeremy Kent Jackson, who's done everything from a wide range of dramas from medical, procedural, and supernatural, like NBC's ER, CBS's CSI, and the WB's Charmed. He's also dabbled into video games, voicing characters in the Splinter Cell, Lost Planet, Killzone, Call of Duty, and Dynasty Warriors franchises. Given his performance in the two Red Dead Redemption games for Rockstar, he seemed a natural fit for the Lionsgate Western, Gunslingers, which follows a wanted man who surfaces in a small Kentucky town and a bounty of his head as forces start losing in. As brothers face off against one another and bullets tear the town to shreds, this lightning-fast gunslinger makes his enemies pay the ultimate price for their greed. Jackson spoke to Bleeding Cool about being reunited with writer-director Brian Skiba, his creative approach to his roles, getting a crash course performing stunts in Westerns, and his dynamic with co-star Stephen Dorff, who plays his brother, Thomas.

Gunslingers Star Jeremy Kent Jackson on His "Hyperdrive Preparation" & Acting Philosophy

Bleeding Cool: What intrigued you about 'Gunslingers?'

Oh, man! What didn't intrigue me about Gunslingers?! The first thing that intrigued me about Gunslingers was who directed it, Brian Skiba, who I worked with a long while back, about seven years ago, on a little much smaller film, a Lifetime movie we worked on ('Left for Dead' in 2018). I auditioned for him, got cast, and I loved working with him then. He didn't have much to work with, and he created some magic out of that little film, or at least I thought so.

I was looking forward to the opportunity of working with him again, and he popped up out of nowhere and sent me a text that said, "Hey, man, I got the role for you, and we ended up having a conversation." He tells me who's in the cast, which definitely intrigued me with Stephen (Dorff), Heather (Graham), Nicolas (Cage), and the list goes on. He sends me the script, which reads like "high-stakes Shakespearean." I always say, "As an actor, your job is either to be a detective or an inventor." In the less developed scripts, you're inventing a lot, and with the well-cooked ones, you're a detective. You're finding all the info that's in there, and boy, did Brian write a detective-worthy script for sure!

How do you describe Brian's creative process compared to others you've worked with?

Oh, man, that's a good question. I've studied as an actor for a long time. I have my process I apply to about everything that I do. This particular one, because the role was so significant, the time on set for me was so long. I was there for the entire run of it. I did not have that much time to prep because I was told about this not even a week before we started shooting. I had to lean on my technique, practice, push the hyperdrive button on it, and get going quick.

I came up with a system for myself once I got to Kentucky. My room was mapped out, and I had stuff stuck all over the wall. Helping me understand where [my character] Robert was at any given point in the script. And I got myself a big walking path around Cave City, Kentucky, where I could go out there, memorize my lines, and stop and practice wherever I could. From the time I got on set, it was hyperdrive preparation, so I didn't have to think about any of that, and I could play with these superstar actors I was put up against.

How did you physically prep on set in your crash course setting?

In terms of some of the technical stuff, the gun shooting, horse riding, and all that stuff, that came from the support team around us, which was incredible. This group called 5150 Action [Production Company] ran all our stunts and the horse stuff. We had an incredible handler and had these awesome armorers, which were important on a set like this. You've got guys who not only know their way around the weapons but are following protocol to the letter, not to mention they can teach you some history about what you're using because there's a lot of creativity in that, too. Right away, any breaks between shoots, which I had a few days before I started cooking because Cage was in town and knocking his seeds out. I had a bit of time to meet my horse, whose name was Card Shark, get a pistol in my hand, learn all about that, and start prepping. Every bit of downtime, we were given opportunities to engage with those things. A lot of training was happening right on set.

How do you break down your brother dynamic with Stephen Dorff's Thomas? Was it something you worked a backstory with him to help your chemistry?

It's interesting with films; you arrive at the set, but you're a fish out of water, no matter what. I didn't know any of these people before I showed up on set, other than the director. I must tell you, it was not hard for me to drum up some tension between Stephen and me because, in real life, this is an actor I've admired for a long time. I've been watching his work. Both the little things and big things and everything he does are pretty cool.

I showed up on set a little angsty and energized anyway to meet this guy. When I met him, he was a pretty intense cat, but you break that seal with him, start working with him, and he realizes you've shown up and come to play. It's naturally a bit of competition. It's like two bull elks meeting in the field, and he doesn't know who the heck I am. I know who he is because I've been watching his work, and I aim to prove myself, right? That natural dynamic of two actors coming together is like two competitive brothers coming together, trying to earn each other's respect. I like to think I earned his respect, and he's certainly earned mine. By the end, I felt like he was my brother without all the dysfunction, too.

Gunslingers, which also stars Randall Batinkoff, Cooper Barnes, Tzi Ma, Costas Mandylor, Scarlet Stallone, William McNamara, Mohamed Karim, Bre Blair, Forrest Wilder, Forrie J. Smith, Laurie Love, Eric Mabius, Mitchell Hoog, and Ava Monroe Tadross is in theaters, on-demand and digital.

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