June 4, 2025 • 22 mins
Episode 156 - From White Water to The Silver Screen
In this episode of the Faith and Family Filmmakers Podcast, Jaclyn interviews actor, writer, director, and stuntman Jesse Hutch. Highlighting his 24+ year career in network television, action-packed films, and heartfelt family stories, the discussion delves into Jesse's unexpected entry into the entertainment industry and his personal growth journey after surviving a near-death experience. Jesse shares insights into his multi-faceted career, his passion for storytelling, the importance of practical advice, and his transition towards writing, directing, and developing new projects.
Highlights Include:
- Welcome and Introduction
- Canadian Roots and Early Life
- A Life-Changing Experience
- The Breakthrough Moment
- Moving to the West Coast
- Venturing into Production and Directing
- The Magic of Filmmaking
- The Global Impact of Film
- Upcoming Projects
Bio:
Jesse Hutch, born in the same province as the comic book character Wolverine, is an actor, director, and stuntman whose 24+ year career spans network television, action-packed films, and heartfelt family stories. Best known for his roles in Homestead as a Green Beret, Batwoman as the DC villain known as Menace, an upcoming feature film about Abraham Lincoln playing a navy officer, and multiple romantic comedy leads, Jesse brings grit, charm, and authenticity to every performance. Off-screen, he’s a devoted husband, father of three, and advocate for faith, fitness, and personal growth. Whether he’s performing stunts, directing behind the camera, or creating content rooted in values and adventure, Jesse’s passion for storytelling is matched only by his commitment to inspiring others. He currently lives in Tennessee, balancing Hollywood and the kingdom of heaven.
https://www.instagram.com/jesse_hutch/
Imdb: https://m.imdb.com/name/nm1237948/
Editing by Michael Roth
Content Christian Media Conference: https://www.christianmediaconference.com/
FAFF July Filmmakers Bootcamp: https://www.faffassociation.com/filmmakers-bootcamp
Screenwriting Foundations Class: https://www.faffassociation.com/screenwriting-foundations
FAFF Association Online Meetups: https://faffassociation.com/#faff-meetings
Screenwriters Retreat - Mexico: https://www.faffassociation.com/writers-retreat
Jaclyn's Book - In the Beginning, Middle and End: A Screenwriter’s Observations of LIfe, Character, and God: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D9R7XS9V
VIP Producers Mentorship Program https://www.faffassociation.com/vip-producers-mentorship
The Faith & Family Filmmakers podcast helps filmmakers who share a Christian worldview stay in touch, informed, and inspired. Releasing new episodes every week, we interview experts from varying fields of filmmaking; from screenwriters,...
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jaclyn (00:00):
Hey, you're listening to the Faith and Family Filmmakers Podcast.
My name is Jaclyn, and today I've got Jesse Hutch with me.
Jesse Hutch.
Born in the same province as the comic book character.
Wolverine is an actor, director and stunt man whose 24 plus year career spans network television.
Action packed films and heartfelt family stories.
(00:22):
Best known for his roles in Homestead as a Green Beret Batwoman asthe DC villain known as Menace and upcoming feature film about Abraham
Lincoln playing a Navy officer and multiple romantic comedy leads.
Jesse brings grit, charm, and authenticity to every performance.
Offscreen.
(00:42):
He's a devoted husband, father of three, and advocate for faith, fitness, and personal growth.
Whether he's performing stunts, directing behind thecamera, or creating content, rooted in values and adventure.
Jesse's passion for storytelling is matched only by his commitment to inspiring others.
He currently lives in Tennessee, balancing Hollywood and the Kingdom of Heaven.
(01:04):
Welcome to the podcast, Jesse.
Jesse (01:06):
Hey, thanks for having me.
It's quite the intro.
I'll take it.
Jaclyn (01:09):
Right.
I know.
I was thinking this is gonna be really fun.
I mean, I love talking to a fellow Canadian for one.
There's not too many of us here.
Jesse (01:17):
Amen to that.
Gotta start somewhere, right?
Everybody's from somewhere.
Jaclyn (01:21):
That's right.
But I think some of the best comedians, some of my favorites anyways are from Canada.
So I, I think that we make our mark on the film industry,even if it's just here and there, you know, we're there.
Jesse (01:35):
Well, I always joke, I'm sick of all the Ryan, the Canadian Ryan's taking all the jobs.
So Ryan Gosling, Ryan Reynolds, and then of coursewe got, we got, you know, Jim Carrey, Rick Moranis.
I mean, the list goes on and you're just like, all right, it's my turn.
Let, let me do some comedy
Jaclyn (01:49):
There we go.
Yeah.
And then of course, Jesse Hutch comes along.
So now you're taking over some of those, uh, roles.
I see you have like a, a lot of leads in like romantic comedies and stuff like that, Okay.
Let's back up and see.
I mean, growing up in Canada, unfortunately it's not as easyto break into film there, but how did you get your start?
Jesse (02:10):
Oh man, that's always a great question 'cause I was not on the trajectory of joining or getting myself into the entertainment industry when I was a kid.
I loved watching movies and I collected posters that.
So beyond that, never ever, ever was interested in film or television as faras making it, creating it, being in it, being an actor never crossed my radar.
(02:32):
There was one time that I had to do a play in high school, but that was because it was like forced.
It was like part of us having to get part of our mark.
My shop teacher all of a sudden became interested in theater and was like, all right, wellpart of your shop mark is if you guys come and help me out in in the theater program, then.
You know, we'll bump your mark on the shop side.
And I was like, what?
(02:52):
Like what?
What I, I already had like a 99 in shop.
I think it was the best class I ever had in my life.
And so anyway, I went over and I did one play and I was like, okay.
But that was it.
I wasn't like, oh my goodness, I'm inspired.
It was just, I did it and I was done.
And so long story short, what ended up happening was I was a professional whitewater raft guide.
(03:13):
I was going to college for outdoor tourism andbusiness, and I actually drowned to death when I was 21.
So when I recovered from that, which was very quick, it was anabsolute miracle that I survived, a miracle that I could walk and talk.
My eardrums weren't completely blown.
I. I did collapse a few of my like kind of breathing tubes and windtubes, but it wasn't anything that was like life threatening per se.
(03:35):
And so when I came out of that experience, I was immediatelyimpacted in the way that I started questioning everything.
I was like, well, why?
Why am I here?
Why do I exist?
What am I using my life for, what do you want me to do?
That turned my life around quite quickly and it was honestly an ad that I heard on the radio.
I was working in the kitchen of the same whitewater rafting company.
(03:58):
It was called Wilderness Tours.
It's on the Ottawa River.
And I was in the kitchen picking up an extra shift to make a little extra money.
And I heard this ad on the radio and it was like for thissort of money grab situation called Model Search America.
And I was never interested in modeling, but.
As that was going on, it said, you can meet will Imodels and blah, blah, blah, models and blah models.
(04:19):
And then eventually it said, and maybe meet the casting director from 20th Century Fox.
And I was like, whoa.
They have cool movies.
I've collected their posters.
Yeah, that's cool.
I'm just gonna go to this thing.
And I went, I literally left work that minute.
I skipped out on the rest of my shift and I just left.
I, I just, I didn't even care if they fired me or not.
I just felt somehow led that I was supposed to go to this event.
(04:41):
I went there and it was quite.
Theatrical and comedic in some ways because I was justthis farm town boy who was spending a lot of time outside.
I was quite tanned in pretty good shape from being on the river every day.
And I show up and there's all these, you know, ly folks that are definitelyblowing me out of the water when it comes to like, looks and wardrobe.
(05:02):
And they got their pictures and they got their hair did and, and they're just like rocking it.
And I'm like, jeans and t-shirt probably had my flip flops on.
I'm rolling in there and.
I just got in line and waited in line like everybody else, and eventuallymade it to a bigger convention, which you have to pay to attend.
That's where I was like, really?
You gotta pay for this thing?
(05:22):
Okay, whatever.
Never done anything like this, did it?
That was in Rochester, New York, and ultimately I got a, what I guess was called a callback, andthe casting director at 20th Century Fox actually called my number and I went and met this guy.
And I did an audition for him, which I didn't know what an audition was.
And so I had a crazy, wild Canadian accent.
(05:45):
My pictures were horrible.
I had no wardrobe that was worth anything.
And I went and did this audition for, uh, Christian Kaplan was hisname, and he's now, I believe, the head of casting for 20th Century Fox.
He still works there and.
I mean, he might even be the president of the company.
This point, I, I'm not sure his official job title, but regardless, at the end ofmy sort of audition with him, he just looked at me and was like, where are you from?
(06:11):
And I was like, Gonville, Ontario.
And he's like, where's that?
I'm like, it's in Canada.
And he is like, okay, whatever.
He goes, I'm not gonna guarantee anything.
'cause this is one of the toughest businesses that exists.
But he goes, your accent's horrible.
You're clearly new.
You're clearly green.
You have zero experience.
need better pictures, you need training.
(06:33):
But he goes, I'll tell you if you were to pursue this.
He goes, maybe.
And he goes, there's a small maybe, maybe there's something.
But he goes, it's up to you.
And I can't guarantee none of that.
And that was sort of the first breadcrumb from the kingdom ofheaven in my eyes, where I was like, huh, maybe I should try this.
That just led to another thing, which led to another thing, which led tome moving to the west Coast, eventually started to learn how to audition.
Jaclyn (06:59):
I love that he, gave you like the tools.
Like he didn't just say, this is a really hard business to get into.
You've got a ton of work to do.
He actually like laid out.
This is the work that you would need to do.
And then he was real with you and said, it's still gonna be a reallytough go at this, but if you wanna do it, this is what you need to do.
And I love when people actually give like that concrete,practical kind of advice and direction for people.
Jesse (07:25):
He ended up being, uh, you know, we still text once in a while.
Uh, I've never officially worked for him, but I'm very thankful for sort of his, beginning.
He, 'cause he had something, he said, Hey, stay in touch with my office.
Lemme know if you're training.
Lemme know what you're doing.
Ultimately became quite a pillar, sort of speak in my early stages of getting into this careerand was an advocate and sort of cheered me on and in a way that was, you know, very, uh, real.
(07:54):
You just put it to me straight, like, you have zero experience.
Your accent's horrible, like you got work to do.
And so I went and did the work.
I started putting in the time and the effort and the energy.
I ended up moving to the West Coast, to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
I had checked into Toronto.
Just didn't feel like the right place for me to go at that point.
I have also always loved mountains.
I love the outdoors, so Vancouver just kind of drew me a lot quicker, and that allowed me tojust really quickly get into, okay, I'm very technically driven, so I was quite attracted to.
(08:25):
Camera work and cameras and how do you use 'em in eye lines and whydoes it matter and what does it look like and what's it feel like?
And so that sort of was enough to keep me invested, keep me learning, keep me growing.
And of course, I'm, I'm still doing that.
It's, it's been 25 years of learning and growing, and I still have so much to learn.
It's crazy how much you can learn in this business.
Jaclyn (08:47):
well, the learning never stops, right.
Jesse (08:49):
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
There's a lot of pieces to the pie.
Jaclyn (08:52):
Yeah, exactly.
And so then I think whether I read it in your bio or we just had a differentconversation at some point, are you also getting into production as well?
Jesse (09:02):
So about 15 years ago, I started writing scripts with a good brother, Christ of mine.
His name's Don McLeod.
He's from the sort of musician background.
Him and I just started writing scripts 'cause we were like, Hey, one day IP is gonna be needed.
And I. Only now are we starting to pursue those scripts,actually, but we have about 24 projects on a pitch deck.
Jaclyn (09:23):
That's a big pitch deck.
Jesse (09:24):
It is, uh, of those 24, we have 11 that we've really kind of honed in, in on.
And of those 11, we have maybe four or five that arekind of, you know, just rising to the surface right now.
People are kind of interested.
There's talk, but it's a lot of work.
It's constant getting on phones and zooms and just havingconversations and trying to find the right investors, uh, the right.
(09:45):
Sort of means a distribution.
And so yeah.
I also love directing, that's kind of my, one of my passions is like I just love telling story.
And so I've been so blessed and honored to have stood on the mark.
And there's this sort of hierarchy in the business where if you're the lead actor, theydon't really kick you off the mark that might pleasantly ask you to get outta the way.
Right?
If fork's happening, and I mean, you, you have to discernthat, like get outta the way if you're in the way.
(10:08):
But generally.
I'm just saying, Hey, they usually don't kick you out and you get to stand thereand listen if you want, so you can stand there and listen and pay attention
and talk to people and just, I learned that early, early on and I was like,wow, I get to talk to that director of photography who like worked on X-Men.
Like that's crazy.
I wanna go ask him like, what was it like?
What kind of cameras did you use?
(10:29):
What kind of film?
You know, why, why do you move that dolly?
What, what's going on?
What's that equipment called?
You know, I start learning from the grips.
I start learning about gels and different color schemes andlighting and, you know, I start, uh, talking to the focus puller.
I'm trying to figure out, you know, how fast can you do this or that.
I, I started doing stunts early on, and that's something that I've been really dialed into.
I love being physical and active, and so eventually I got into editing.
(10:51):
I, you know, I was.
Helping shoot people's weddings.
I was getting hired by churches to like shoot videos for them.
And so I've just found throughout the years that there's all theseskills and I'm like, Lord, what do you want me to do with all this?
Like, I can't wear all these hats, but yet I love trying the hats on.
Now, as I've gotten along in this career a lot further, I realize, ah.
(11:12):
It's like God wants me to understand how this machine works.
He wants me to honor and respect people, and he wantsme to be able to place people where they will thrive.
And so as a direct, that's my approach is all right.
You know that man, that woman.
That person, whatever their skillset is, is like, let's set up a playing fieldthat these people really thrive in, because I'm telling you, there's nothing
(11:35):
better than being able to, able to place somebody where they love to be.
Jaclyn (11:38):
Exactly
Jesse (11:39):
Giving them creative space to be creative and understanding their job does not mean that I, I hold it over them and I, micromanage them.
It means.
I understand what I'm not gonna ask you to do.
Right.
I'm, I'm gonna be appropriate with, with where we're gonna use your.
Jaclyn (11:56):
I find too, like it helps me to even respect the work more when I have a degree of understanding about it.
And then I see that this person has really honed in on that skill.
Like it just, it opens up that that degree of respect even more.
And I. Even for myself, like as a writer, the more that I've learned aboutit, the more that I've realized, oh, there's still a lot more to learn.
(12:19):
You know, like, and that part never goes away.
But I love like what you're saying when, when you can see somethingin someone and you can put them in a place where they can just shine
and where everybody's doing something that they were designed to do.
The whole thing just, it flows not only with an ease or skill, but like with joy.
Jesse (12:40):
So right now I've been wearing a lot of the hat of like fine financing, fine distribution.
I do not enjoy that hat.
So I have a, a definite respect and honor for those people who can do that well.
So if there's anyone out there who wants to put that hat on and would love to just be the financerdistribution person, I'm all ears because I definitely thrive and do a lot better on the ground.
(13:02):
Uh, you know, you put me in the trenches, you put me on set for 14hours a day, turn the stress on, and that's when I actually calm.
And chill out and become focused, and I love to help people bring their visions to
Jaclyn (13:14):
Absolutely.
Jesse (13:15):
But I'll tell you, it's like it's so, it's so cool when you get to witness, like this never gets old for me in the film industry.
Those moments on set when it's like action and the scene takes place, and let'ssay I'm in, I'm in the actor role, well I'm doing my thing and I'm working with
other actors and they're doing their thing and we're sort of playing metaphorical.
Cards with someone else's writing and, and we're passing things back and forth and there's thingshappening, and then you, you can literally feel the focus puller, like you can feel the camera move.
(13:41):
Like I know that if the camera's doing a slow pushin,the focus puller's slowly moving with that pushin.
And if the dolly's moving that you know, has a certain, uh, speed that it's trying to match.
And then as an actor and a performer, you don't.
Step out of what you're doing, but you can be sort of aware in this sort of like thirdparty world, if I can call it that, where you feel that and you know it's happening.
(14:02):
So now you're trying to like find your light and make sure that you honor everyone else's joband make sure you hit your market, find your light, and don't block your other actors' light.
And yet all at the same time, you're not aware of any of that and you're fully.
Enveloped in this character and just telling this story right now in this moment.
And when they say cut, and all of a sudden it's like everybody was just dancing together.
(14:25):
It's like one of the coolest feelings on the planetwhere you're just like, yeah, like that was sick.
Jaclyn (14:30):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Jesse (14:31):
Man.
It's like some of my best memories are just literally scenes just talkingto others and being in it, and everybody's working together and I mean,
and this includes everybody who may be sitting over there now, right?
It could be the hair and makeup team.
It's the set dressing.
It's the, it's the special effects team.
It's the visual effects team.
It's, there's smoke coming outta the ground.
There's somebody putting fog into the air.
(14:52):
There's, I don't know, there's just so many.
Cool things to this career that I love and I have such a passion for, and it justmakes me think of the Bible because it's filled with stories and I'm going, wow,
Lord, like even with all this technology, with all the developments that we've hadin life since Jesus Christ walked the earth, I get to be a part of storytelling.
(15:14):
And that's what Jesus did.
He just told stories and like some of them were.
Just like quite known to people.
It was like, hey, you have someone who's walking around with seeds and they're planting them.
This is what happens to the seeds.
But now to be able to be a part of that sort of modern daystorytelling, you know, we gather around a digital fire
Jaclyn (15:30):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Jesse (15:31):
It's one of the only mediums that you can bring in a a plumber and a single mom and a married couple, and people that are just in
different political arenas and have totally different opinions on society.
And yet they could all go into a movie theater.
Sit down and watch one movie and all their hearts are connected to this one thing.
(15:52):
And man, it's one of the only mediums that you can do that.
There's not very many places that you can put up a sign and say, Hey we're having a liberal party.
And like all the Democrats show up, you know But if youhave a movie, you, you don't know who's gonna show up.
Anybody could
Jaclyn (16:07):
Right.
Yeah,
Jesse (16:08):
doesn't, doesn't matter.
Age, race, financial status, uh, they just show up and so, I don't know.
I think it's a fantastic opportunity.
Jaclyn (16:17):
Yeah, it really is, and it's one of those things where being alive during this time in history is like it really is unlike anything else.
The technology that we have, the ability to.
Create the films and distribute them like all over theworld because it's not even like what you were saying.
All of that is true, but then also you can have that happen in countries that you may never evenvisit in your lifetime, and people can watch your project and you may never get to meet them.
(16:47):
Like it just boggles my mind.
'cause for so many centuries, millennia art was one ofthose things that had to be experienced live in person.
And with film we have this ability to send it outand for it to have its own life and its own journey.
And we don't even meet or interact with the vastmajority of the people who will actually watch the film.
Jesse (17:11):
Very true.
Uh, the work that we do is very, it's separated from many people, and it's a box, and that is weird.
It's, it's so weird that we, we live in this box and we think we know what people are gonnaenjoy, and we create something and we're all like, there's hundreds of us that are part of this.
In some cases, thousands.
Yet, we have no connection to the audience until we put it out there.
(17:34):
And even then, sometimes you're not connected.
I mean, I'll get messages on social media and stuff like that, but there's so many peoplethat, like you said, you know, they're dubbing me over in Poland right now probably.
And I have no idea who's watching that.
Jaclyn (17:46):
Yeah.
Jesse (17:47):
It's like, what do I sound like in Polish?
I wanna hear that.
Jaclyn (17:50):
Yeah.
Yeah, no doubt.
Well, and there's even technology now that can do that.
I don't know, you know how much the film industry is moving in that direction.
I know it is, but the AI ability to take your voice andtranslate it into another language, but it's still your voice.
It's not like dubbing and they can even make their mouths match.
The words in the other language, like the technology is absolutely insane right now,but it's cool, and I know some people are nervous about it, but I think that it, it
(18:18):
really will come down to having, you know, guidelines that will serve everyone involved.
But yeah, I mean, how amazing would it be for you to actually not only have your voicein Polish, your mouth moving in Polish, like people will think that you speak Polish?
Jesse (18:33):
Uh, Well, I, I am Ukrainian, but I used to speak French, but you know, just growing up in Canada was.
Jaclyn (18:40):
Yeah.
Yeah, I remember.
I only know words.
I don't know enough to actually have conversations, but I, I know the words.
'cause you know, in Canada everything's labeled in both languages, so you pick stuff up.
Well, this has been a really fun conversation and I'mlooking forward to talking more with you in our next episode.
As we finish off this episode, I just wanna give you an opportunity to let people know wherethey can find you or find your films, or the best way to connect with you and what you do.
Jesse (19:07):
Instagram's probably my main social media thread.
If you have IMDB Pro and you really wanna reach out to meon a professional level, then I have information on there.
And then as far as projects go, I mean we, it was just announced today in the Hollywood report.
Order from Angel Studios.
That homestead is officially a green lit.
The rest of filming is season one and season two, so we go to camera probably in July.
(19:30):
And then I'm also working on another project that hasn't beenannounced yet, so I don't know how to share that one yet.
Jaclyn (19:37):
They'll have to just follow you on Instagram.
Jesse (19:40):
I know, but I am working on it right now.
So they're sort of flying me in and out of Canada actually.
So that I can say that that one does film in Canada.
And so yeah, there's, there's a few, uh, irons in the fire.
Until then, I am just hustling on working on a Christmas comedy that I wrote that I'd really loveto film a science fiction action movie that's quite giant that I would love to get on the roster.
(20:03):
And then I have two series that we're sort of trying to develop.
one will be in the kid space and another one will be in sort ofa Bad Boys Meets Lethal Weapon, but it's family friendly space.
Jaclyn (20:12):
All right.
Jesse (20:13):
So I, I just think people need to laugh.
Uh, I think action's fun and amazing.
I love old music and cars and so any opportunity to bring that stuff to life for people
Jaclyn (20:23):
For sure.
Awesome.
Well, thank you so much.
I look forward to talking with you more in the next episode.
Hey, you're listening to the Faith and Family Filmmakers Podcast.
My name is Jaclyn, and today I've got Jesse Hutch with me.
Jesse Hutch.
Born in the same province as the comic book character.
Wolverine is an actor, director and stunt man whose 24 plus year career spans network television.
Action packed films and heartfelt family stories.
(00:22):
Best known for his roles in Homestead as a Green Beret Batwoman asthe DC villain known as Menace and upcoming feature film about Abraham
Lincoln playing a Navy officer and multiple romantic comedy leads.
Jesse brings grit, charm, and authenticity to every performance.
Offscreen.
(00:42):
He's a devoted husband, father of three, and advocate for faith, fitness, and personal growth.
Whether he's performing stunts, directing behind thecamera, or creating content, rooted in values and adventure.
Jesse's passion for storytelling is matched only by his commitment to inspiring others.
He currently lives in Tennessee, balancing Hollywood and the Kingdom of Heaven.
(01:04):
Welcome to the podcast, Jesse.
Jesse (01:06):
Hey, thanks for having me.
It's quite the intro.
I'll take it.
Jaclyn (01:09):
Right.
I know.
I was thinking this is gonna be really fun.
I mean, I love talking to a fellow Canadian for one.
There's not too many of us here.
Jesse (01:17):
Amen to that.
Gotta start somewhere, right?
Everybody's from somewhere.
Jaclyn (01:21):
That's right.
But I think some of the best comedians, some of my favorites anyways are from Canada.
So I, I think that we make our mark on the film industry,even if it's just here and there, you know, we're there.
Jesse (01:35):
Well, I always joke, I'm sick of all the Ryan, the Canadian Ryan's taking all the jobs.
So Ryan Gosling, Ryan Reynolds, and then of coursewe got, we got, you know, Jim Carrey, Rick Moranis.
I mean, the list goes on and you're just like, all right, it's my turn.
Let, let me do some comedy
Jaclyn (01:49):
There we go.
Yeah.
And then of course, Jesse Hutch comes along.
So now you're taking over some of those, uh, roles.
I see you have like a, a lot of leads in like romantic comedies and stuff like that, Okay.
Let's back up and see.
I mean, growing up in Canada, unfortunately it's not as easyto break into film there, but how did you get your start?
Jesse (02:10):
Oh man, that's always a great question 'cause I was not on the trajectory of joining or getting myself into the entertainment industry when I was a kid.
I loved watching movies and I collected posters that.
So beyond that, never ever, ever was interested in film or television as faras making it, creating it, being in it, being an actor never crossed my radar.
(02:32):
There was one time that I had to do a play in high school, but that was because it was like forced.
It was like part of us having to get part of our mark.
My shop teacher all of a sudden became interested in theater and was like, all right, wellpart of your shop mark is if you guys come and help me out in in the theater program, then.
You know, we'll bump your mark on the shop side.
And I was like, what?
(02:52):
Like what?
What I, I already had like a 99 in shop.
I think it was the best class I ever had in my life.
And so anyway, I went over and I did one play and I was like, okay.
But that was it.
I wasn't like, oh my goodness, I'm inspired.
It was just, I did it and I was done.
And so long story short, what ended up happening was I was a professional whitewater raft guide.
(03:13):
I was going to college for outdoor tourism andbusiness, and I actually drowned to death when I was 21.
So when I recovered from that, which was very quick, it was anabsolute miracle that I survived, a miracle that I could walk and talk.
My eardrums weren't completely blown.
I. I did collapse a few of my like kind of breathing tubes and windtubes, but it wasn't anything that was like life threatening per se.
(03:35):
And so when I came out of that experience, I was immediatelyimpacted in the way that I started questioning everything.
I was like, well, why?
Why am I here?
Why do I exist?
What am I using my life for, what do you want me to do?
That turned my life around quite quickly and it was honestly an ad that I heard on the radio.
I was working in the kitchen of the same whitewater rafting company.
(03:58):
It was called Wilderness Tours.
It's on the Ottawa River.
And I was in the kitchen picking up an extra shift to make a little extra money.
And I heard this ad on the radio and it was like for thissort of money grab situation called Model Search America.
And I was never interested in modeling, but.
As that was going on, it said, you can meet will Imodels and blah, blah, blah, models and blah models.
(04:19):
And then eventually it said, and maybe meet the casting director from 20th Century Fox.
And I was like, whoa.
They have cool movies.
I've collected their posters.
Yeah, that's cool.
I'm just gonna go to this thing.
And I went, I literally left work that minute.
I skipped out on the rest of my shift and I just left.
I, I just, I didn't even care if they fired me or not.
I just felt somehow led that I was supposed to go to this event.
(04:41):
I went there and it was quite.
Theatrical and comedic in some ways because I was justthis farm town boy who was spending a lot of time outside.
I was quite tanned in pretty good shape from being on the river every day.
And I show up and there's all these, you know, ly folks that are definitelyblowing me out of the water when it comes to like, looks and wardrobe.
(05:02):
And they got their pictures and they got their hair did and, and they're just like rocking it.
And I'm like, jeans and t-shirt probably had my flip flops on.
I'm rolling in there and.
I just got in line and waited in line like everybody else, and eventuallymade it to a bigger convention, which you have to pay to attend.
That's where I was like, really?
You gotta pay for this thing?
(05:22):
Okay, whatever.
Never done anything like this, did it?
That was in Rochester, New York, and ultimately I got a, what I guess was called a callback, andthe casting director at 20th Century Fox actually called my number and I went and met this guy.
And I did an audition for him, which I didn't know what an audition was.
And so I had a crazy, wild Canadian accent.
(05:45):
My pictures were horrible.
I had no wardrobe that was worth anything.
And I went and did this audition for, uh, Christian Kaplan was hisname, and he's now, I believe, the head of casting for 20th Century Fox.
He still works there and.
I mean, he might even be the president of the company.
This point, I, I'm not sure his official job title, but regardless, at the end ofmy sort of audition with him, he just looked at me and was like, where are you from?
(06:11):
And I was like, Gonville, Ontario.
And he's like, where's that?
I'm like, it's in Canada.
And he is like, okay, whatever.
He goes, I'm not gonna guarantee anything.
'cause this is one of the toughest businesses that exists.
But he goes, your accent's horrible.
You're clearly new.
You're clearly green.
You have zero experience.
need better pictures, you need training.
(06:33):
But he goes, I'll tell you if you were to pursue this.
He goes, maybe.
And he goes, there's a small maybe, maybe there's something.
But he goes, it's up to you.
And I can't guarantee none of that.
And that was sort of the first breadcrumb from the kingdom ofheaven in my eyes, where I was like, huh, maybe I should try this.
That just led to another thing, which led to another thing, which led tome moving to the west Coast, eventually started to learn how to audition.
Jaclyn (06:59):
I love that he, gave you like the tools.
Like he didn't just say, this is a really hard business to get into.
You've got a ton of work to do.
He actually like laid out.
This is the work that you would need to do.
And then he was real with you and said, it's still gonna be a reallytough go at this, but if you wanna do it, this is what you need to do.
And I love when people actually give like that concrete,practical kind of advice and direction for people.
Jesse (07:25):
He ended up being, uh, you know, we still text once in a while.
Uh, I've never officially worked for him, but I'm very thankful for sort of his, beginning.
He, 'cause he had something, he said, Hey, stay in touch with my office.
Lemme know if you're training.
Lemme know what you're doing.
Ultimately became quite a pillar, sort of speak in my early stages of getting into this careerand was an advocate and sort of cheered me on and in a way that was, you know, very, uh, real.
(07:54):
You just put it to me straight, like, you have zero experience.
Your accent's horrible, like you got work to do.
And so I went and did the work.
I started putting in the time and the effort and the energy.
I ended up moving to the West Coast, to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
I had checked into Toronto.
Just didn't feel like the right place for me to go at that point.
I have also always loved mountains.
I love the outdoors, so Vancouver just kind of drew me a lot quicker, and that allowed me tojust really quickly get into, okay, I'm very technically driven, so I was quite attracted to.
(08:25):
Camera work and cameras and how do you use 'em in eye lines and whydoes it matter and what does it look like and what's it feel like?
And so that sort of was enough to keep me invested, keep me learning, keep me growing.
And of course, I'm, I'm still doing that.
It's, it's been 25 years of learning and growing, and I still have so much to learn.
It's crazy how much you can learn in this business.
Jaclyn (08:47):
well, the learning never stops, right.
Jesse (08:49):
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
There's a lot of pieces to the pie.
Jaclyn (08:52):
Yeah, exactly.
And so then I think whether I read it in your bio or we just had a differentconversation at some point, are you also getting into production as well?
Jesse (09:02):
So about 15 years ago, I started writing scripts with a good brother, Christ of mine.
His name's Don McLeod.
He's from the sort of musician background.
Him and I just started writing scripts 'cause we were like, Hey, one day IP is gonna be needed.
And I. Only now are we starting to pursue those scripts,actually, but we have about 24 projects on a pitch deck.
Jaclyn (09:23):
That's a big pitch deck.
Jesse (09:24):
It is, uh, of those 24, we have 11 that we've really kind of honed in, in on.
And of those 11, we have maybe four or five that arekind of, you know, just rising to the surface right now.
People are kind of interested.
There's talk, but it's a lot of work.
It's constant getting on phones and zooms and just havingconversations and trying to find the right investors, uh, the right.
(09:45):
Sort of means a distribution.
And so yeah.
I also love directing, that's kind of my, one of my passions is like I just love telling story.
And so I've been so blessed and honored to have stood on the mark.
And there's this sort of hierarchy in the business where if you're the lead actor, theydon't really kick you off the mark that might pleasantly ask you to get outta the way.
Right?
If fork's happening, and I mean, you, you have to discernthat, like get outta the way if you're in the way.
(10:08):
But generally.
I'm just saying, Hey, they usually don't kick you out and you get to stand thereand listen if you want, so you can stand there and listen and pay attention
and talk to people and just, I learned that early, early on and I was like,wow, I get to talk to that director of photography who like worked on X-Men.
Like that's crazy.
I wanna go ask him like, what was it like?
What kind of cameras did you use?
(10:29):
What kind of film?
You know, why, why do you move that dolly?
What, what's going on?
What's that equipment called?
You know, I start learning from the grips.
I start learning about gels and different color schemes andlighting and, you know, I start, uh, talking to the focus puller.
I'm trying to figure out, you know, how fast can you do this or that.
I, I started doing stunts early on, and that's something that I've been really dialed into.
I love being physical and active, and so eventually I got into editing.
(10:51):
I, you know, I was.
Helping shoot people's weddings.
I was getting hired by churches to like shoot videos for them.
And so I've just found throughout the years that there's all theseskills and I'm like, Lord, what do you want me to do with all this?
Like, I can't wear all these hats, but yet I love trying the hats on.
Now, as I've gotten along in this career a lot further, I realize, ah.
(11:12):
It's like God wants me to understand how this machine works.
He wants me to honor and respect people, and he wantsme to be able to place people where they will thrive.
And so as a direct, that's my approach is all right.
You know that man, that woman.
That person, whatever their skillset is, is like, let's set up a playing fieldthat these people really thrive in, because I'm telling you, there's nothing
(11:35):
better than being able to, able to place somebody where they love to be.
Jaclyn (11:38):
Exactly
Jesse (11:39):
Giving them creative space to be creative and understanding their job does not mean that I, I hold it over them and I, micromanage them.
It means.
I understand what I'm not gonna ask you to do.
Right.
I'm, I'm gonna be appropriate with, with where we're gonna use your.
Jaclyn (11:56):
I find too, like it helps me to even respect the work more when I have a degree of understanding about it.
And then I see that this person has really honed in on that skill.
Like it just, it opens up that that degree of respect even more.
And I. Even for myself, like as a writer, the more that I've learned aboutit, the more that I've realized, oh, there's still a lot more to learn.
(12:19):
You know, like, and that part never goes away.
But I love like what you're saying when, when you can see somethingin someone and you can put them in a place where they can just shine
and where everybody's doing something that they were designed to do.
The whole thing just, it flows not only with an ease or skill, but like with joy.
Jesse (12:40):
So right now I've been wearing a lot of the hat of like fine financing, fine distribution.
I do not enjoy that hat.
So I have a, a definite respect and honor for those people who can do that well.
So if there's anyone out there who wants to put that hat on and would love to just be the financerdistribution person, I'm all ears because I definitely thrive and do a lot better on the ground.
(13:02):
Uh, you know, you put me in the trenches, you put me on set for 14hours a day, turn the stress on, and that's when I actually calm.
And chill out and become focused, and I love to help people bring their visions to
Jaclyn (13:14):
Absolutely.
Jesse (13:15):
But I'll tell you, it's like it's so, it's so cool when you get to witness, like this never gets old for me in the film industry.
Those moments on set when it's like action and the scene takes place, and let'ssay I'm in, I'm in the actor role, well I'm doing my thing and I'm working with
other actors and they're doing their thing and we're sort of playing metaphorical.
Cards with someone else's writing and, and we're passing things back and forth and there's thingshappening, and then you, you can literally feel the focus puller, like you can feel the camera move.
(13:41):
Like I know that if the camera's doing a slow pushin,the focus puller's slowly moving with that pushin.
And if the dolly's moving that you know, has a certain, uh, speed that it's trying to match.
And then as an actor and a performer, you don't.
Step out of what you're doing, but you can be sort of aware in this sort of like thirdparty world, if I can call it that, where you feel that and you know it's happening.
(14:02):
So now you're trying to like find your light and make sure that you honor everyone else's joband make sure you hit your market, find your light, and don't block your other actors' light.
And yet all at the same time, you're not aware of any of that and you're fully.
Enveloped in this character and just telling this story right now in this moment.
And when they say cut, and all of a sudden it's like everybody was just dancing together.
(14:25):
It's like one of the coolest feelings on the planetwhere you're just like, yeah, like that was sick.
Jaclyn (14:30):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Jesse (14:31):
Man.
It's like some of my best memories are just literally scenes just talkingto others and being in it, and everybody's working together and I mean,
and this includes everybody who may be sitting over there now, right?
It could be the hair and makeup team.
It's the set dressing.
It's the, it's the special effects team.
It's the visual effects team.
It's, there's smoke coming outta the ground.
There's somebody putting fog into the air.
(14:52):
There's, I don't know, there's just so many.
Cool things to this career that I love and I have such a passion for, and it justmakes me think of the Bible because it's filled with stories and I'm going, wow,
Lord, like even with all this technology, with all the developments that we've hadin life since Jesus Christ walked the earth, I get to be a part of storytelling.
(15:14):
And that's what Jesus did.
He just told stories and like some of them were.
Just like quite known to people.
It was like, hey, you have someone who's walking around with seeds and they're planting them.
This is what happens to the seeds.
But now to be able to be a part of that sort of modern daystorytelling, you know, we gather around a digital fire
Jaclyn (15:30):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Jesse (15:31):
It's one of the only mediums that you can bring in a a plumber and a single mom and a married couple, and people that are just in
different political arenas and have totally different opinions on society.
And yet they could all go into a movie theater.
Sit down and watch one movie and all their hearts are connected to this one thing.
(15:52):
And man, it's one of the only mediums that you can do that.
There's not very many places that you can put up a sign and say, Hey we're having a liberal party.
And like all the Democrats show up, you know But if youhave a movie, you, you don't know who's gonna show up.
Anybody could
Jaclyn (16:07):
Right.
Yeah,
Jesse (16:08):
doesn't, doesn't matter.
Age, race, financial status, uh, they just show up and so, I don't know.
I think it's a fantastic opportunity.
Jaclyn (16:17):
Yeah, it really is, and it's one of those things where being alive during this time in history is like it really is unlike anything else.
The technology that we have, the ability to.
Create the films and distribute them like all over theworld because it's not even like what you were saying.
All of that is true, but then also you can have that happen in countries that you may never evenvisit in your lifetime, and people can watch your project and you may never get to meet them.
(16:47):
Like it just boggles my mind.
'cause for so many centuries, millennia art was one ofthose things that had to be experienced live in person.
And with film we have this ability to send it outand for it to have its own life and its own journey.
And we don't even meet or interact with the vastmajority of the people who will actually watch the film.
Jesse (17:11):
Very true.
Uh, the work that we do is very, it's separated from many people, and it's a box, and that is weird.
It's, it's so weird that we, we live in this box and we think we know what people are gonnaenjoy, and we create something and we're all like, there's hundreds of us that are part of this.
In some cases, thousands.
Yet, we have no connection to the audience until we put it out there.
(17:34):
And even then, sometimes you're not connected.
I mean, I'll get messages on social media and stuff like that, but there's so many peoplethat, like you said, you know, they're dubbing me over in Poland right now probably.
And I have no idea who's watching that.
Jaclyn (17:46):
Yeah.
Jesse (17:47):
It's like, what do I sound like in Polish?
I wanna hear that.
Jaclyn (17:50):
Yeah.
Yeah, no doubt.
Well, and there's even technology now that can do that.
I don't know, you know how much the film industry is moving in that direction.
I know it is, but the AI ability to take your voice andtranslate it into another language, but it's still your voice.
It's not like dubbing and they can even make their mouths match.
The words in the other language, like the technology is absolutely insane right now,but it's cool, and I know some people are nervous about it, but I think that it, it
(18:18):
really will come down to having, you know, guidelines that will serve everyone involved.
But yeah, I mean, how amazing would it be for you to actually not only have your voicein Polish, your mouth moving in Polish, like people will think that you speak Polish?
Jesse (18:33):
Uh, Well, I, I am Ukrainian, but I used to speak French, but you know, just growing up in Canada was.
Jaclyn (18:40):
Yeah.
Yeah, I remember.
I only know words.
I don't know enough to actually have conversations, but I, I know the words.
'cause you know, in Canada everything's labeled in both languages, so you pick stuff up.
Well, this has been a really fun conversation and I'mlooking forward to talking more with you in our next episode.
As we finish off this episode, I just wanna give you an opportunity to let people know wherethey can find you or find your films, or the best way to connect with you and what you do.
Jesse (19:07):
Instagram's probably my main social media thread.
If you have IMDB Pro and you really wanna reach out to meon a professional level, then I have information on there.
And then as far as projects go, I mean we, it was just announced today in the Hollywood report.
Order from Angel Studios.
That homestead is officially a green lit.
The rest of filming is season one and season two, so we go to camera probably in July.
(19:30):
And then I'm also working on another project that hasn't beenannounced yet, so I don't know how to share that one yet.
Jaclyn (19:37):
They'll have to just follow you on Instagram.
Jesse (19:40):
I know, but I am working on it right now.
So they're sort of flying me in and out of Canada actually.
So that I can say that that one does film in Canada.
And so yeah, there's, there's a few, uh, irons in the fire.
Until then, I am just hustling on working on a Christmas comedy that I wrote that I'd really loveto film a science fiction action movie that's quite giant that I would love to get on the roster.
(20:03):
And then I have two series that we're sort of trying to develop.
one will be in the kid space and another one will be in sort ofa Bad Boys Meets Lethal Weapon, but it's family friendly space.
Jaclyn (20:12):
All right.
Jesse (20:13):
So I, I just think people need to laugh.
Uh, I think action's fun and amazing.
I love old music and cars and so any opportunity to bring that stuff to life for people
Jaclyn (20:23):
For sure.
Awesome.
Well, thank you so much.
I look forward to talking with you more in the next episode.
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