Hollywood Gets LUCKY!!! Jonathan Jackson leaves behind Port Charles to prospect for gold on the silver screen
Soap Opera InDepth May 18, 1999
The critics reviewing The Deep End Of The Ocean were unanimous: Jonathan Jackson is going to be a big star! Of course, this wasn't news to GH fans. The two-time Daytime Emmy winner has been wowing them since 1993.
Arriving in Port Charles at the age of 11, Kacjson had no idea what it meant to have been cast as the son of Luke and Laura, soaps most famous supsercouple. "But it was better that way," he reflects, "because I wasn't intimidated; they were just nice people that I was working with."
Since then, Jackson and his GH dad, fellow Emmy victor Anthony Geary (Luke), have developed a close relationship, and despite their age difference, Jackson says Geary followed Luke's lead and treated him like an equal rather than a son. "Tony's just been a great guy." signs the younger actor. "He started out as more of an actor mentor, but as I grew up, he really became one of my best friends."
In fact, the two have become so close that Jackson says Geary doesn't even want to contemplate another actor playing Lucky. "It wouldn't be weird for me to see someone else in the role, and I know Tony's going to pull out all the stops to not let that happen," he offers. "I don't know what they're going to do about recasting the part."
SCHOOL'S OUT!!!
When Jackson looks back at his teen years, he most likely will think of the ABC studio as his alma mater, for it was there that he whizzed through school, graduating at the age of 16. "I did all the classes for seventh and eigth grade in one year. After that, I was going to a school where they allowed an individual curriculum, so I was able to excel at a quicker pace," he explains. "Thanks to the one-on-one tutor I had, I was able to really speed ahead."
Jackson considered heading straight to college after GH, but when movie offers began rolling in he decided to postpone enrollment. "It's still one of my long-term goals," he offers. "Luckyily, I have quite a bit of time to think about it." If and when Jackson returns to school don't expect him to major in theater. "I've already had a couple of years of acting classes, and after five-and-a-half years on GH, that'd be just too much drama for me."
Now footloose and fancy free from both work and shcool for the first time in years, Jackson is eager to stretch his wings and take flight - literally. "I've always wanted to travel to Ireland", he reveals. "My great greanparents are Irish, I like the accents, the music {US is my favorite band!}
and even the pictures I've seen."
LUCKY STAR
If Jackson is serious about his travel plans, he'd better get packing because Hollywood is knocking. Coming close on the heels of The Deep End Of The Ocean, with Michelle Pfeiffer, is True Rights, an indie in which he co-stars with brother Richard Lee Jackson. "They're editing it now, and then they're going to shop it around and see what happens," he explains, adding that the plot concerns producers driven to extremes to obtain the rights to true stories.
At the same time, Jackson waiting for final word on two other projects: Patriot, in which he'd play Me Gibson's son, and Purple Haze, a TV movie about a herion addict. "All that stuff is up in the air," he says. "We're just waiting for things to fall."
Many of Jacksons contemporaries would love to see him jump on the band wagon with such peers as Sarah Michelle Gellas (ex Kendall, ALL MY CHILDREN) and Ryan Phillippe (ex Billy, ONE LIFE TO LIVE) who've been making back to back teen sleepers. But Jackson doesn't see himself on that career path. "I think {the current trend it} a fad that's not going to last long," he suggests. "I think I'd like to step adise and find smoe other projects that interest me more."
SO, whose career does the budding film star hope to emulate? Well, besides his personal favorite, James Dean, Jackson says he hopes to reach the career plateaus of tow other actors: "Tome Cruise has had the most steady career that a person could have, and I think he's done some phenomenal movies. And then there'r Johnny Depp, who's chosen to do more character roles. So those two opposite paths interest me - I'd like to combine them if I could."
A LAST LOOK BACK
For now, though, Jackson says he has no regrets about the years he spent working at GH - nor about leaving, despite the fact that it means he'll miss the advancement of Liz and Lucky's romance to the next level. "I've been really happy with the way the writers handled the relationship," he achnowledges. "I'm probably going to look back and be real proud of what we got done instead of what we missed."
The intense lession Lucky leanred also are likely to stick with his portrayer forever. "I thhink his passion for the people and things he loves was something that I related to." Jackson suggests. "He felt everything so deeply, and the reactions I gave as an actor came from me trying to wrap my own brain around everything that happened to him."
Jackson adds that his character's beautiful relationsgip with Liz will beone he himself now will aspire to. "I'm looking for someone who doesn't let anyone walk over her, who loves family, loves God, and who's a really great friend." he says. "So in that sense, I think I understand what Lucky was going through whenn he found {what he was after} in Liz."
Of course, that's exactly why GH viewers are so sad to see the end of Liz and Lucky. Would it be too mucht o hope that Jackson someday might return? Jackson isn't sure. "I love to think of the possibility of coming back," he says, "but it's not a 100 percent plan of mine. But if I were to return to a soap, it would definitly be GH. I wouldn't have any motivation to go anywhere else."
He Must've Been A Beautiful BABY!!!!!
....because Jonathan Jackson certainly grew up to be a handsome young man. See for yourself!!!
But How Do You Really Feel????
Jonathan Jackson opens up about ......
Genie Francis (Laura)
"The first time I met Genie was in Rochester, and I had my picture taken with her and Tony. I remember she signed my first script. I guess what I remember with her is an overall sense of openness for emotion. You can really affect her with what you say and the way you say it (in a scene)."
Anthony Geary (Luke)
"The first time meeting him was at the screen test. We did the scene once, then twice, and then he said, ‘You know, they wouldn't be spending much time with you if they didn't like you.' And so we finished doing the scenes. This was the first thing I remember about him. He treated me like a peer from day one, and even with me being inexperience and 11 years old, he never looked down on me about anything. He really has been a mentor and a friend and an amazing person from day one."
Rebecca Herbst (Liz)
"I remember rooting for her to get the job after the screentested. I think it was one of those things where we connected really well on-camera. I'm very thankfull that she got cast. I wouldn't have had nearly as much fun with anyone else. I'll miss acting with her."
Tyler Christopher (Nikolas)
"When we first worked together, it was cool, but we didn't becomes great friends until the last year. We were always friendly to each other, but we were always doing scenes where we hated each other. We enjoyed doing them - or at least I did."
Maurice Benard (Sonny)
"I haven't had as much of a chance to work with his as I'd have liked. He's just an awesome person and friend. I'd hang out in the dressing room and talk to him about acting. We kind of have different methods of acting, so it's always been fun to talk about the way he does it and the way I do it, and we both respect each others differences."
When Jackson looks back at his teen years, he most likely will think of the ABC studio as his alma mater, for it was there that he whizzed through school, graduating at the age of 16. "I did all the classes for seventh and eigth grade in one year. After that, I was going to a school where they allowed an individual curriculum, so I was able to excel at a quicker pace," he explains. "Thanks to the one-on-one tutor I had, I was able to really speed ahead."
