The success of "Moonlight" is attributed to many factors, one of them being the excellent performances turned in by the secondary characters such as Mick St. John's pal, an older vampire named Josef, played pitch-perfect by Jason Dohring.
Josef isn’t quite as discerning as his friend, as he feeds by biting into sexy girls’ wrists for sustenance, and eschews making pals with the mortal world, and would prefer Mick ditch his budding Beth romance.
Josef is an Armani suit-loving hedonist of the highest order; a 25 year-old hedge fund-savant worth millions, who gets to live in the swanky “The Big Lebowski” Jackie Treehorn house designed by John Lautner.
Dohring is still in awe of being afforded a career in the historic Stage 14 of the Warner Bros. lot, where a "Streetcar Named Desire" and "Rebel Without a Cause" were shot.
“It’s just amazing to be able to be there, working, ” Jason reiterated today on a phone interview with several journalists, taking turns answering our questions.
How much of the role of Josef was changed from original casting?
I saw 6 minutes of the original, he was more of a mentor to Mick, a big playboy, less dignified, I think is the biggest change. Joel Silver had called, he thought maybe we could do it, then I had to go through network, the studio and then a screen test, with full wardrobe, full makeup and then shoot the scene.
It was really cool, Alex was such a sweetheart, he was really looking at me when I was doing my stuff, then smiled at me when he was off camera.
Did you do any research for the role?
A little bit, I wasn’t familiar with it but damn, dude, there was so much, Anne Rice novels, vampires are very sharp. It came to me, as basically two pages, the audition scene. So originally it was an older guy and they hadn’t finished the script yet, so the two pages I got was essentially the first scene that was in the pilot episode, on the phone, and I’m sort of talking to Mick and he comes in.
How did Josef manage to become so rich?
He has something to do with being a hedge fund trader, and he owns a lot of real estate. In the episode this Friday, you find out basically why he’s always concerned about Mick dating humans and being with humans, like what is that? There’s basically a personal reason that Josef’s gone through. I don’t know if it’s proper or whatever, but I always kind of take the idea that maybe Josef has gone through what Mick’s going through. Maybe one time he was a good person, and you’ll sort of see glimpses of that, you know, with my former hairstyle, and my really nice suit in New York in this week’s episode.
What about the Beth -Josef bad blood, pun intended?
Yeah, Sophia is so funny, she’s from London, and she’ll make lewd references while onset that are very, very funny while we’re shooting. I like their edgy relationship, we'll see how that keeps going..
How do you feel being the youngest actor, playing the oldest vampire character in the series?
I can’t quite help that, because I just am young, ya know what I mean? As far as the role, it’s an ongoing thing. You can study all the things on the vampires for as long as you can live in LA. There’s so many books on it. We kind of have our own code, and before we even started, I was reading some Anne Rice books, getting a feel of what vampires are like, why are they different from humans. I think they can tell when other vampires are nearby, they can sense who are humans, they can perceive what’s really going on, and these are really cool character elements for an actor to work on. I’m very happy for the opportunity.
What intrigued you about Josef?
I was immediately fascinated with the character. Very, very, very sharp, you know? I don’t know, very keen, has a very hard edge. And I’m starting to get how Josef walks with references to past vampires, they’re just a little more graceful and aware of their movement, more awareness of how they are perceived.
Will love be in the cards for Josef?
You’ll see some really cool stuff in this next episode. I don’t know if that’s too much of a spoiler but you’ll definitely see some love interest. You’ll see. I don’t know how to explain it or whatever.
Like Logan, he’s probably a tough guy to live with. There was an episode with Lola or whatever. They had the on again off again thing. I would really like to see someone that could match him, they fight, they get back together. I think it would be quite a passionate relationship.
Will the strike, if it continues, cause any problems for Moonlight to return?
I can’t speak for the producers, but Les Moonves said our show and the Big Bang Theory were returning, and that was given in a press interview, which is obviously a good sign.
Our show is one of two shows that have been up-trending in viewership. So obviously that’s a good sign. We’re right around 8 million, which is great. We just finished shooting number 12 about 3 or 4 days ago. It was very good.
In an upcoming episode there’s a vampire that comes that makes me look like a complete pauper, which is cool. It goes back in history. We have some great history, makeup and sets, and like an “old world, from a different time” feel to the show and the storyline comes out. I think it’ll be really cool to see how it all turns out. Great makeup and hair and all that cool stuff. I think it will air January. 11 and 12.
What was your favorite vampire film that you reference in your own work?
'Lost Boys,' that was the film I remember when I was growing up, it was so cool, I loved that film.
How are you reacting to the growing fan base for Moonlight?
The fans are just unbelievable on this show. We were nominated for people choice for new shows, it’s so cool to go to on a mall tour and find out how many people are watching, inviting you into their homes every week, I love that. It’s funny to see people’s reactions to you.
What’s outside of Moonlight, on the horizon?
I just did a little short film called Struck that you’ll probably wind up seeing at some point. It’s only about 7 minutes long. I play a guy that’s not like any of these guys. It’s a really lovely story. I think you’ll see. I play like a really loose nice guy, and it’s a little bit cool for a change of pace. And there are a couple movies I may be working on soon. It more or less depends on the strike though. I can’t be in the middle of a movie, and they call you back to work on this project and have to abandon the movie.
For this New Years, my wife and I will be travelling to Australia, we're going to spend New Year's with Alex (O'Loughlin) and that is going to be very cool, he is such an awesome guy, so funny, we're really looking forward to it.
Moonlight, on Friday night at 9 on CBS - Moonlight is also up for favorite new drama for the Peoples-Choice-Awards
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