Actor Jake Raymond stars in the new coming of age indie feature drama Ashes which recently made its world premiere at the 2017 Milledgeville Film Festival. Jake took home the award for best actor at the festival. Following a successful reception of the film in Milledgeville, Ashes is also proud to announce its official selection at the 2017 Hoboken International Film Festival in Greenwood Lake, New York. Now in its 12th year, the Hoboken International Film Festival will be taking place from May 19 to May 25, 2017. The festival received over 1,500 submissions this year making Ashes one of the ten percent of the projects that were selected. The screening will begin at 6:00 PM at Thomas Morahan Waterfront Park followed by a Q&A. Watch the trailer here.
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We had an opportunity to chat with Jake. Check out the interview below.
Hi, Jake! You are an actor, writer, and producer. How do you keep the different skill sets balanced?
Great question and one I think I’m still trying to figure out myself (laughs). Honestly though, I have to give the rest of my team all the credit on that one. I was fortunate enough to hire my dream team and because I trusted them with everything, it made it much easier to balance my responsibilities and know I had support wherever I turned.
Let’s talk Ashes. You recently completed filming, and it’s making the festival rounds. How has the feedback been, thus far?
We recently had our world premiere at the 2017 Milledgeville Film Festival in Georgia and were so honored to take home a nomination for best narrative feature. Sara Mitich also took home a nomination for best actress and I’m so grateful to have won best actor. We got a true taste of southern hospitality in Georgia and were able to have wonderful conversations with people that enjoyed our film. It’s always an amazing feeling as an actor when an audience member explains how your performance resonated with them.
We read the logline for Ashes – a great story, by the way! Could you share your inspiration and a synopsis with our readers?
Thank you, and of course! The inspiration for the film came from wanting to create an acting opportunity for myself and my friends. There are so many talented actors these days, most of the time just getting an audition is a win in itself, so I wanted to write a script that I could cast my friends in and give us all an opportunity to work together. In the story, we find my character Liam, after discovering his parents’ final wishes are to have their ashes scattered where they first met. Joined by his closest friends, they set out to explore the place for themselves as they navigate old memories while creating new ones. It was an incredible experience to tackle these heartfelt characters with my real life best friends.
When you’re writing, what experiences do you draw on to create your characters?
My friends are my biggest inspiration. I write characters with them in mind and try to find the balance between characteristics I know they can bring to the table and also characteristics that will be exciting and challenging for them. As actors, we face so much rejection, but I’m fortunate to have an amazing group of friends to lean on when times are tough. I will always want to write roles for them and create opportunities for all of us to work together.
You have starred in some of the hottest shows on television, such as Being Human and American Gothic. Any plans to appear on other shows?
I just filmed a role on the new CBS series Salvation which will start airing this summer. It was a really fun role so I’m anxiously waiting to see it.
You’re also going to appear in My Roommate’s an Escort. Awesome! Tell us about your character.
I loved working on that show! I play John, an arrogant young Wall Street type whom Heather (one of the lead characters, played by Trish Rainone) has her eye on. Unfortunately for Heather, John doesn’t quite think she is up to his standards. Trish and I are great friends in real life so it was a lot of fun working against that and playing rival characters on set.
What has been your favorite performance to date?
I would have to say Ashes for sure. There was something magical about getting to work with my best friends and it created chemistry among the characters that the audience can really feel. The role of Liam is also the most challenging role of my career to date and has offered me the biggest breakthroughs as an actor.
What types of stories you would like to tell one day?
I love character driven emotional dramas. It’s what I aimed for in making Ashes and it’s what I’m aiming for as I write my next feature film, Chalk. It’s somewhat of an autobiographical script and loosely based on my own experiences as an elite gymnast and my regrets in not fulfilling my Olympic dreams. Writing Chalk has been an incredibly personal experience so far and I can’t wait to see how the script turns out.
Thus far, what has been the best experience working in the industry?
As a big fan of Orphan Black, getting to work with Kristian Bruun on Ashes was a dream come true for me. Kristian is an unbelievably generous actor and human being – getting the opportunity to act alongside him is definitely one of the best experiences of my career.
What do you like to do between productions?
Although I don’t compete as a gymnast anymore, I still love training and try to get into the gym whenever I can. I’ll be training much more frequently in the near future though as I start preparing to play the lead character in Chalk, who of course, is an elite gymnast.
Do you have any upcoming projects that we haven’t mentioned?
A feature film I had the privilege of being cast in just made its world premiere at the Julien Dubuque International Film Festival in Iowa to rave reviews and is now available on Flix Premiere in the United States and United Kingdom. It’s called White Night and provided another opportunity for me to play a fun, yet not very likeable character.
Complete this sentence; if I had an opportunity to do anything I want, I would ___________.
Make more movies.
Connect with Jake:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Actor_Jake
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/actor_jake
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3635960
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