Jackson Davis [Interview]

Welcome to Day 7 of Trainwreck’d Society’s Annual Month of Horror Showcase! We have a fully loaded month of all things horror for you fine folks! October is our favorite month for this very reason, and we are so excited to share 31 full days of film showcases and interviews with some of the finest folks from the world of horror, just as we have been doing for the last 6 years. What started as a simple 5 day showcase, has now blossomed into a full blown month long event. You’re going to love this! Enjoy!

Welcome to Week 2, Folks! And we are kicking the week off on a high note with some words from an absolutely brilliant actor. It’s Jackson Davis, Everyone! For regular readers around here, you will recognize Jackson as the man who brilliantly starred in one of our favorite films of 2018 known as The Basement. Jackson have over a dozen wonderful performances in just one film. I was truly fascinated in watching him move in and out of different characters throughout the film, and I remain so today! I had been wanting to talk to Mr. Davis about his work on this gem of a film for quite some time, and I am very excited that we were able to include him in our biggest celebration of the world of horror. To say he is a perfect fit would be an understatement to say the least.

So Folks, please enjoy some wonderful words from the brilliant Jackson Davis!

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What inspired you to get into the world of entertainment? Was it an early aspiration you can always remember having since your youth, or did you just find yourself in this world one day?

Growing up I always wanted to be a standup comedian. Or on SNL. That was the dream. But, life happens and I just ended up being an actor 🙂 Growing up I didn’t really think about acting or dream about it.  I just wanted to make people laugh and be on stage.

What was your first paid gig in the world of entertainment? And were there any kind of lessons learned from this project that still affect your work today?

My first job was a pilot called wrigleyville. It was a great project and I was just so excited to be there.  It shot in Chicago and All the actors lived together in this apartment building.  I am sure I learned a lot but what exactly I couldn’t tell you. It was 14 years ago. But I know that every time I work on something I learn something.

Your performance in 2018’s The Basement was absolutely wonderful, the stuff that genius is made of, I seriously believe. Your role seemed like it would be a lot of work to pull off. So, I am curious to know what it was like to take on multiple insane roles in one film?

Well first thank you so much for that. You’re too kind 🙂 I’ll take it though haha.

This was unlike any other job i’d done before. There was a few challenges. The first and most obvious was there is a lot of dialog. We were lucky that I had a month or two to prep before shooting which doesn’t ever happen. Usually it’s, ya know, we start next week. So I had time to learn the lines.

The second challenge was figuring out all these different characters. And how to make each one of them different from one another. With the characters that I felt were nurturing I tried to give them a feminine touch. The more violent characters had a lot more testosterone. I wanted them to be big and broad. We are gonna be in that basement for a long time with just the two of us so we felt it was okay making them bigger.

We also had a few rehearsals before so I got a chance to show the directors what I was thinking and vice versa. We shot basically one character a day. So there wasn’t a lot of time on the day. They had to be ready to go.

In your own personal opinion, what do you believe it is that makes the horror genre special? What sets it apart from other genres you have worked in?

I think what makes it special is the fans of horror. I don’t think there are any other genres quite like it. They enjoy it to the max. They Will find it wherever it is. And they let each film be what it is.

What is your favorite scary movie?

In truth I didn’t grow up with horror films. I wasn’t aloud to watch them. I think my parents knew I couldn’t handle it, haha. I once as a kid saw a scene from some piranha horror film from the 80’s and I wouldn’t go in pools for months. I honestly still think about it when i’m swimming laps at the gym sometimes.

Editor’s Note: the film reference is most likely Joe Dante’s “Piranha”, and yes is a completely rational fear. Also our dear friend Pete Goldfinger is one of the geniuses behind “Piranha 3D” & “Piranha 3DD”. Also terrifying! Okay, back to the show!

Do you have any plans for this coming Halloween? And fun traditions that you try to stick to every year?

No each year is different and it’s always very last minute. A few Halloweens ago I was at a party and Mike Tyson was there!! Everyone saw him but somehow I never did. Maybe it was just someone dressed up like him. I like to think that cuz I was so bummed I didn’t see him.

What was the last thing that scared the hell out of you?

The serious answer is I see things on the news every day that scare the hell out me. But the more fun answer is, I like to hide and scare my friends so in revenge one of my friends just did it to me. I was walking out of my house and he jumped out from behind a car. It was at night and I knew he was there, but still it got me.

What was the last thing that made you smile?

Right after the dude scared me. I laughed. You got to respect a good scare.