Daytime Digest
Inside General Hospital
July 1999
By: Debra LiCausi
Jonathan Jackson is not your average teenager. This talented 16 year old has done more than most teenagers could ever dream. Being on General Hospital for nearly six years and earning two well- deserved Emmy awards for his prtrayal of Lucky Spencer, has given Jonathan the opportunity to shine. And with numerous movie credits under his belt, this soap sensation is already a star, rising more and more each day.
Since arriving on the set of General Hospital at the tender age of 11, Jonathan soon became the nucleus of the Spencer clan. For years, his talent has incubated, strengthning along the way. Today Jonathan emerges as one of the hottest young actors in Hollywood and his opoularity keeps on soaring. He admits he's fortunate to have the show as the pathway to his success. "The chance to do so many different things throughout the time I've been there has been really fun. I think the show's done a good job at giving Lucky a lot of different chemistry with different people. I like having so many things play out. Plus, the friends I've met over the years and just being apart of it all has been really fun for me, too. I have a lot of good memories.
IN addition to his major role on the show, Jonathan also ventured out to pursue other projects. Currrently, Jonathan stars along with Michelle Pfiffer and Treat Williams, in the film The Deep End Of The Icean, now in theaters, based no Jacquelyn Mitchard's novel of the same name. "I'm really excited about it. It was a very fun experience because as an actor, it was really a well written role. Jacquelyn Mitchard wrote a really cool character and it was very fun to be able to dive into that." He continues, "It was a very very fun movie to do. Working with Michelle Pfeiffer and everybody was great. The whole production was really cool."
Even starring in a major motion picture doesn't inflate Jonathan's ego. He's refreshingly down- to-earth, without a trace of arrogance or prentension - something that's not to be expected of soaps' hottest star and Hollywood's newest heart throb. Yet Jonathan is the first one to admit he lives an ordinary lide and his family keeps him grounded. "I don't really get special attention from them when I get home. Just the normal family get togethers and I don't consider it anything real different. As far as my hometown, I don't get a fanfare welcome or anytyhing like that. I don't drive up in limos or anything. Just the normal was ‘hello' It's definitly not a big to do" That's not to say Jonathan's family over looks his talents, however. In fact it's quite the contrary. "My family's very excited about seeing me on television. They're the kind of people who have supported me even when I didn't have, you know, the "big" movies or TV shows. It's kind of nice to have the confidence that they'd be excited about what I was doing, no matter what I was doing.They're both proud of both my brother (actor, Richard) and me." Not suprisngly,Jonathan and his family get along harmoniously. So well that Jonathan and his brother Richard, father Rick and Uncle Gary have collaborated together and formed a music band, Scarlett Road. Jonathan hopes their second album will be released by early spring. "Our next album is going to be called God Candy. There's 16 songs on it and they range from soft rock love songs to some edgier stuff. I wrote all the songs on this one except my brother wrote the lyrics to two of them. We tried to mix up the sounds quite a bit on this one, so we're pretty excited about it."
Actor and musician, multi-faceted Jonathan is an accomplished artist in evey sense of the word. With a front-burning storyline, Jonathan and costar Rebecca Herbst are the most dynamic young couple in daytime today. Jonathan attributes this in part to the innate chemistry they share. "Even since the first few days when she came on, it's been a really cool experience. It's a natural thing to gain respect for the other person you work with, the longer you work with them. And the more good work that Rebecca does and the kind of person that she is, there's something that's definitley to be respected." The compatibility they share may be because they're friends off- screen, too. "We spend some time together when we're not working. I go over to her house, have dinner or stuff like that. She's a very cool person and so is her family, so it's fun hanging out with them."Jonathan's off-screen friendships branch out to other actors as well. "Maurice Benard (Sonny) and Steven Burton (Jason) are very, very cool guys and I hang out with them every once in awhile. Tyler, Steven and I and a few other people are on a basketball team together, so we've been doing that which is fun. It's a cool set and everyone's extremely nice."
Now almost 17, Jonathan's future can go nowhere but up and continue to soar. So, what does this extraordinarily gifted actor have in store for himself by the time he's 21? "Specifically, I don't have a clear picture. I'd like to keep stretching myself as an actor and with music and learning, as well. I'd also like to continue to do movies. I've always liked going to movies in the theater and watching them so as a long term career, I kind of look towards movies as being more of a direction I'd like to go in, but I defiantly like television , too. But mainly, as a life motto, I try to take things day by da and not really focus too much on the future or the past. I think that's the safest way for me to live. I just focus on what I'm doing today and try to make that the best it can be."
