spotlight
STARDOM STALKS JASON STUART
MEGA- by thom senzee
If you’ve never had the experience of catching a rising star up-close-and-personal when they’re right at the cusp of mega-stardom, seeing Jason Stuart this month in his one-man show at the Purple Room in Palm Springs may be just the chance you’ve been looking for.
Stuart’s certainly not a new name in Hollywood.
In fact, he may be the industry’s poster boy for tenacity. Stuart consistently lands enough roles in film, television, stage and online entertainment to have made his mark as one of the most prolific character actors in showbiz today. Monique Moss, one of Tinseltown’s most sought-after publicists for character actors, set her sites on landing Stuart as a client after seeing him as southern slaveowner, Joseph Randolph in the critically acclaimedThe Birth of a Nation, directed by Nate Parker. Asked if Stuart had already been on her radar beforeThe Birth of a Nation made headlines for being purchased at Sundance by Fox Searchlight for $17.5 million (more money than had previously been paid for a film in the festival’s 33-year history), Moss was unhesitating, saying that Stuart is one of Hollywood’s most underrated actors. “Jason Stuart’s grasp of his Birth of a Nation character, plantation owner ‘Joseph Randall,’ is absolute perfection,” says Moss. “He is so very comfortable in the role and so fully immersed in the
character, that one never even contemplates that it is a current-day actor portraying a mid-1800s fictional individual. In fact, it is Stuart’s effectiveness in becoming ‘Randall’ that, indeed, drives the story forward along its ultimate progression.” Stuart’s disarming demeanor and easy approach-
ability are hallmarks of his personality. But could it be that those attributes have denied Stuart the veneer of big-name celebrity this creature of Hol- lywood has earned? A better question may be, does he even care to be incredibly famous?—a status that is likely to supplant being “just recognizable” once the media blitz that will accompanyBirth hits. “Mark my words,” says Monique Moss. “Jason Stuart has arrived.” Stuart’s acting colleague and best friend, Alexandra Paul of Baywatch fame thinks she knows why it’s taken Stuart a hot minute to get the kind of roles he’s now getting. “It is very much a case of Hollywood being ready to go to the next level with him,” says Paul. “He has been ready for a long while, but Hollywood has had a hard time
understanding that being a fully out gay man does not mean he cannot play straight characters. I have seen him play macho hetero douchebags and Joe Middle America Dad and he is wonderful in those roles. Jason can play anything and Sean Penn would be lucky to act with him.” Focusing on his live, one-man show at the Purple
Room in Palm Springs, following isThe Rage Monthly’s Q&A with Jason Stuart conducted just as the announcement was made thatThe Birth of a Nation, arguably the most anticipated film of 2016, will enter general release October 7.
Congratulations on all of your recent successes and the big buzz about your role inThe Birth of a Nation. Didn’t Fox Searchlight pay a record- setting amount for rights to the film at Sundance this year? The film was bought for a record-breaking
$17.5 million. When we were at Sundance, it was overwhelming and so wonderful to be a part of such a historic film, one that brings to light the history
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RAGE monthly | JUNE 2016
RAGE monthly | JUNE 2016
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