I remember the first time I realized I enjoyed acting. I was around 13/14 and it was a school drama lesson. We had been asked to create our own superhero’s and I came up with some ridiculous idea of a sumo wrestler who caused earthquakes with a magic watch. It was the ‘making people laugh’ part that I enjoyed most, and it was the first time I noticed that I wanted to do it more. I’d be a liar if I told you I didn’t still get that buzz from making people laugh today, it definitely brings me great satisfaction.
indieactivity: Did you study acting?
Jordan: I did study acting, after A-Level I went on to do a HNC in performing arts at Liverpool Community College. It was there I realised I wanted to actually be a jobbing actor and also where I noticed that I could actually seriously act, and it wasn’t all about doing silly things to make people giggle, I wanted to make people feel something; an emotion; a smile; heartache.. even nauseous.
indieactivity: What acting technique do you use?
Jordan: I find this one tough, I don’t use any specific techniques. I stay true to the script, I listen to my opposing actor and hear their words as if it were the first time they were said and I react accordingly with a reaction true to that moment. I do not force anything, I take a realistic approach. I don’t try to cheat an audience, I build trust to achieve the belief in the performance I give. I use exaggerated parts of my own personality rather than pretending to be a completely different person.
indieactivity: Do you take courses to improve your craft?
Jordan: I learnt the best parts of the trade at the Manchester School of Acting. I spent 4 years there and the knowledge I gained was second to none. A school I’d recommend to anyone with the ambition of becoming a screen-actor.
indieactivity: What acting books do you read?
Jordan: I don’t read acting books, I like to read a lot of scripts, but not books… I probably should.
indieactivity: How do you keep fit as an actor?
Jordan: Mentally can be difficult, especially during a high energy scene, you can be waiting around for hours on end in between takes while shots are set up, and you’re expected to deliver the same amount of energy as you did in the previous scene. I try to stay on my toes, I don’t sit down, I bounce around a bit trying to keep active. Lazing around between takes only creates a dull atmosphere. I create my own entertainment, I’m always in my own world anyway.
indieactivity: How do you prepare for a role?
Jordan: I read the script a couple of times, trying my hardest to read it as a reader and not skim read until I get to my lines. Which is very hard to do as subconsciously as an actor I want to start planning how I say certain lines. This is something to avoid doing as automatically I would be making myself less artistically free. Once I’ve established the writer’s intentions I rehearse my lines, I go over them until I’m confident I know them, but I don’t overdo it, I still want the words to feel spontaneous when they come out of my mouth and not said in a certain way every single time.
indieactivity: How do you create a character from a script into a person?
Jordan: I look into the writer’s intentions of the character, I look at what the character is trying to achieve in each scene to fully understand what kind of traits and personality the character may have. I look for something that I do in life that may match those qualities. I then build on physicality, I start to imagine how this person walks, sits, talks, eats etc…
‘My Mother The Monster’ – Manager
indieactivity: Describe a memorable character you played?
Jordan: My favourite character I have played was Dylan in the independent feature film ‘SNOW’ back in 2015. I spent well over a year as this character and I had license to pretty much do what I wanted. The film had a story to be told without a script, so all dialogue within the film was improvised. The film also included talking to real people on the streets so it almost had a documentary feel to it.
indieactivity: Explain one creative choice you took on set?
Jordan: During the filming of a Western short ‘My Mother the Monster’. I played a pretty dark and twisted Bar Manager, in the scene I was meant to be show how creepy I was and the director Lee Lennox suggested that I licked the cheek of the lead actress. The character the actress was playing only had one eye, I went one step further and not only licked her cheek but made sure I got a bit of the eye patch as well… Just straight up nasty!
indieactivity: What do you want most from a director?
Jordan: A realistic approach! I want a director that can give clear instruction on what they want, safe in the knowledge that what they want is 100% achievable,
indieactivity: What actors do you long to work with?
Jordan: Stephen Graham
indieactivity: Why?
Jordan: I think he’s one of the most underrated actor’s with one impressive CV. I’d love to work with him, get tips from him, seems like he’s a good laugh and a genuinely nice bloke as well.
indieactivity: What advice would you give to actors?
Jordan: Stay true to yourself, keep pushing even if you feel like it’s not going to happen. Stay positive, as difficult as that may be. Create a dream board so you have a visual reminder of where you want to be in life, and what you want to take from it.
Jordan Hale as Dylan in ‘SNOW’
indieactivity: Briefly write about your career?
Jordan: Like most jobbing actor’s, my career has been up and down. I started out in theatre, having various parts in different plays. My first lead role in film was back in 2012. It was an independent short called ‘NEET’. https://vimeo.com/43786637
I loved working on it, mainly because my daughter had a small cameo appearance in it. She still talks about it to this day. I moved on to other roles, one being a short called ‘Last Chance’ https://vimeo.com/55762158 This not only won the NSW Bingara film festival in Australia for Best International Film, but it was also selected as one of 26 short films to be integrated into a feature film called ‘50 Kisses’ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2249786/ Which premiered on Valentines Day 2015. The film itself was screened all around the world, even having my face spread across an IMAX screen in Birmingham. It went on to be entered into the ‘Guinness Book of World Records’ for having the largest number of writer’s for a feature film.
I’ve also enjoyed doing commercials, though I don’t see myself as a commercial actor. I have played the lead in online adverts for ‘Typhoo’ and ‘Just Eat’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcfjbESw3Ac These were fun to create, but not what I see myself doing for the rest of my career.
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