Credit: IMDB
It would seem that the University of Alabama at Birmingham is now a movie star-making factory! First, swimmer Georgia Luch became a mermaid in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, and now 2008 alum Nick Jones plays John Stewart in Green Lantern.
Sadly, Jones’ scene isn’t in the theatrical cut of the film, but seeing how Warner Brothers is already working on a Green Lantern sequel, I feel quite certain John Stewart will make his long-awaited appearance.
Jones got his start in acting as a kid. “I started it in high school,” he said. “Did a few plays and caught the bug. I was
a pretty good liar back in the day so I figured I could act.” He also studied theater at UAB. “When I took theater at UAB I learned just how serious the arts are,” he said. “People live to breathe theater. People live to act. You have to want it. You have to live.”
He’s also one of the best people to play John Stewart; he’s a huge fan of the character. “ I watched the Justice League cartoon and John Stewart was a character I instantly liked,” he said. “I guess if you’re a brother you have to really appreciate a superhero of color. There’s not many out there. I think John Stewart was the first and only mainstream African-American superhero.”
Another reason Jones is tailor-made for the role: he’s a member of the Marines, just like Stewart. “I work at Marine Forces Reserve or MARFORRES as we call it,” he explained. “It’s the headquarters for all the Marine reserve units in the country. And those experiences would Marine Corps not Army. John Stewart is a Marine and I definitely think my life has prepared me to portray him…It does influence my approach because I don’t have to pretend. I can just pull that from my own life.”
(And like Stewart, Jones is classy. “I’ve noticed men don’t wear suits anymore,” he said. “I guess every generation has its style. I’m old school. There’s no substitute for a well-fitted three piece suit.”)
Jones’ character in the film, John Stewart. This picture is the depiction of Stewart as seen in Justice League, where he’s voiced by Phil LaMarr. Credit: WB/Google
Jones was able to use his real-life experiences in another film involving the armed forces, Battle: Los Angeles. This was the first film Jones was cast in. “Battle: L.A. seemed so big at times,” he said. “Maybe part of the reason it felt that way was because it was my first movie. There were always so many people on set. The battle sequence always involved a lot of actors. Green Lantern was more centered on one or two people at a time. The scale of the scenes were a contrast but both were incredibly fun to be a part of.”
Jones recalled some of the stories from set, all of which not only showed how much fun he had on set, but how much he learned as well. The set of Battle: Los Angeles sounded like a home-away-from-home for Jones. ”Neil Brown Jr. [LCpl. Richard Guerrero in Battle: Los Angeles] is a fool. He had me rolling every day on the set. I remember we used to give Lucas Till [Cpl. Scott Grayston in Battle Los Angeles] a hard time about the Hannah Montana movie. He’s a super hero now as well! He’s Havok in X-Men First Class. That’s crazy! Seems like yesterday we were both trying to survive an alien invasion and now we’re both comic bookcharacters. Those guys were like family at the end of the day.”
The Green Lantern set, however, was not only a fun atmosphere, but also a great learning experience. ”Green
Lantern was more of a learning environment,” he said. “Battle: L.A. I was doing what I’ve done everyday of my life for the past six years, that’s be a Marine. It came natural. Green Lantern, I was learning everything I could. Seeing our director Martin Campbell do his thing and Ryan, Mark, and Blake perform, it was like being front row at an acting seminar. I did everything but write down notes on a pad.”
Jones with the film’s “Hal Jordan”, Ryan Reynolds.
The next acting gig for Jones: “Weather Wars is in a few weeks,” he said. “‘SyFy: Imagine Greater.’ Sorry, soft
promo. I couldn’t help myself.” Promotion is all good, since hopefully, with all of the press Jones has been receiving, he’ll be able to successfully promote himself into the next Green Lantern film. All of his new fans are banking on it.
