Originally from England. You were an amateur boxing champion and personal trainer. When did you turn your interest into acting and how did you initially get your start?
Acting was something that I came to, by accident. When studying in high school, we had to chose just one arts subject from the curriculum and I chose Music. I suffered from dyslexia when I was a kid. But it went undiagnosed, as it wasn’t something they acknowledged or tested for back then, so languages were hard for me. English, though I loved it, was a challenge, and foreign languages were especially hard. And so, I would misbehave. I would mess about in class and make jokes, in an effort to get my classmates to laugh. This meant I would, ultimately, get removed from my French class and pushed, instead into German. At the same time, as the German class was on, several friends of mine were attending the Drama class. They said it was the best fun, as all they did was tell stories and play games and mess around. It sounded like my perfect class, so I asked to be moved from German to Drama, but I was told I had already chosen my one arts class and could not change. And so, like a brat, I continued to be unruly in the German class until the poor German teacher spoke to the principal and he finally agreed to let me take Drama instead. Gradually, over the two years that I studied it, I developed something of a love for acting and the process of working on scenes. However, I never even considered it could one day become a career choice. It wasn’t until five years later, as I was completing a Masters degree in Sports Science, that I started to think about exploring acting professionally. I was doing a degree I had very little interest in, I was boxing five nights a week and competing every six weeks or so. And, I was earning money working as a bouncer in some rough clubs. My life had taken a sharp turn away from the creative and I realized I needed to course correct, so I completed my Masters and moved to London to enroll in a part-time acting course that was taught by my, now friend and mentor, Michael Armstrong.
Which actors body of work have impressed you and had a positive impact on your career thus far?
I’m a huge fan of the classics. I look at the work of Jimmy Stewart with awe. His performances always seemed so honest and authentic, regardless of whether he was playing a cowboy or a school teacher, addressing congress or an alcoholic with a six foot rabbit as his best friend.
You’re currently juggling two projects. Let’s first talk about DC Universe’s STARGIRL. How were you first introduced to the series and what made you want to jump on board?
I have known the show creator, Geoff Johns, for almost fifteen years now, ever since we worked together on “Blade: The Series” back in 2006. Geoff called me to say he was going to adapt “Stargirl” into a series and asked if I would join to play Jordan Mahkent/aka Icicle. I knew very little about the project, other than it was a hugely personal one for Geoff. So, the fact that he wanted me to come on board, was a huge honor. But, when he started telling me about this deeply tortured character, I was hooked. What fascinated me the most was that, even though Jordan is labelled as the “villain” of the show, in his own mind he is a hero. He believes he is doing something incredibly important for the benefit of all mankind. And, when he talks about it, it’s hard not to see his point. This makes for an incredibly complex and compelling character to play.
What more can you tell us about about your character Jordan and how he fits into the grand scheme of things?
Jordan is a man dealing with an immense amount of tragic grief. Having watched his wife die from a disease, brought on by the arrogant negligence of a large company, Jordan vowed to ensure that no one would ever have to suffer from such injustice again. That’s the reason he formed the Injustice Society. Ultimately, Jordan is a humanist and believes that he alone has the strength and volition, to make the hard choices necessary to ensure this positive change. It’s an incredibly moral mission. It’s just that his methods of achieving it are a little harder to condone.
What can viewers expect to see from your character in this first season of STARGIRL?
Well… in addition to his work trying to reshape the fabric of America, Jordan can also turn his body completely into ice and freeze anything around him. He’s a pretty powerful man with a very passionate and unwavering drive. He does not tolerate anyone or anything that stands in the way of his mission. That makes him particularly dangerous.
Next up is Amazon’s ABSENTIA where you play the role of Jack Byrne. For those who don’t already know, what can you tell us about Jack’s personality and what you enjoy most about bringing his character to life?
Jack is a beautifully tragic character. When his sister, Emily, disappeared, believed dead, Jack took it incredibly hard. He started drinking and ended up losing his medical license due to alcoholism. Since then, it has been a fight for him to claw his way out of that dark place. At the end of season two, Jack seemed the happiest he had ever been. He was in love, and back practicing as a doctor. But in true Jack fashion, his relationship was complicated as it was an affair and, to top it all off, this woman (spoiler alert) died at the end of the season. In season three, Jack is dealing with all of that grief, but it is compounded by the fact that he cannot tell anyone about the relationship. He’s alone and grieving and that’s a dark and dangerous place for Jack to return to.
On the horizon is the film, The King’s Man. You got to play alongside Djimon Hounsou and Ralph Fiennes among others. What was your experience like on that project and what can we expect from your character in the film?
The scope and scale of “The King’s Man” was breathtaking. It’s set during WWI and they converted a vast stretch of farmland just outside of London into trenches and no-mans-land. I play Captain Forrest, a high ranking commander in the British army. He is charged with recovering some secret information from the enemy that could turn the tide of the war. Standing in those trenches, surrounded by all those guys dressed in WWI fatigues, and looking out over fields and fields of barbed wire and craters was incredible. It really made it feel like we were going to war.
You have been quite busy. If you weren’t working on a career as an actor, what line of work would you consider instead?
That’s a great question, and something that I’ve been thinking a lot about during this current pandemic. I love storytelling in all its forms, as an actor, writer, director, musician. But, if I had to choose another career away from telling stories, it would most likely be in health and fitness of some sort. I was a personal trainer whilst I studied to become an actor, and I’ve always loved helping people to achieve their health and fitness goals. For me, I’m fascinated by optimization. Basically, exploring how I can feel the best in all areas of my life, mental and physical. This includes fitness, looking at functional movement, strength and flexibility as well as nutrition and, most importantly, my mental health. My younger brother, Iain Jackson, has a company based out of Brighton called MNP Training, which stands for Mindful, Nutritional, Physical Training (it’s also a play on words as M, N and P are the initials of his three brothers, me being the “N”). That’s the kind of life-long work that I will always be involved in and would most likely make my career focus if I couldn’t be a storyteller.
When it comes to fashion, which designers and styles appeal most to your personality?
I oscillate between comfortable every-day fashion and high fashion. I love a well tailored suit and shirt combo, like Tom Ford and Hugo Boss. But, one brand seems to match my style and taste perfectly, and that’s AllSaints. Whenever I’m back in London, I always go to their main store on Regents Street. It can be a little dangerous as I may pop in to just get a t-shirt, but I end up leaving with bags and bags of clothes.
We look forward to viewing the TV series and film we previously discussed. What other projects do you have coming up?
Before the pandemic locked everything down, I was set to direct my first feature film from a script I have written. That’s been something I have been pursuing for a long time. I have had scripts of mine produced before, but getting to direct my own feature length story is a dream come true for me. Hopefully, once we all emerge from our quarantines, things will get back on track and I will be calling “action” on the set of my own film by the end of 2020.
Twitter: @TheNeilJackson
Instagram: @TheNeilJackson
Facebook Page: The Neil Jackson
Website: www.neiljackson.me
Photos: Lesley Edith