Google, Internet Movie Database, Facebook all offered tantalizing clues: Not long ago, Hurst, 33, had worked out of Austin on movies, including Terrence Malick’s “The Tree of Life” and Robert Rodriguez’s “Shorts.” He ran triathlons here and - wait a minute! - changed his name.
Jackson Hurst was, at one time, Ryan Hurst. Born and raised in the Houston area. Attended Baylor University. Played volleyball, soccer, with some basketball and baseball on the side. Held down day or late night jobs in Austin while navigating movie gigs in the New Mexico and Louisiana.
Two weeks ago, out of the blue, a Lifetime publicist offered me an interview with Hurst. While this assignment would normally go through the entertainment editor or the television reporter, with their permission, I took the bait.
Last week, in between scenes, Hurst spoke to me by phone from Atlanta. Hold on there, you say: “Diva” is set pretty convincingly in Los Angeles.
“Yeah, the landscape and helicopter shots are done in Los Angeles, but we shoot our scenes in Georgia,” he says. “They built 10 whole, ridiculous stages. When you’re watching, you’ll see a detail and say: ‘Oh my God, that’s not L.A.!’ You can make it into a drinking game.”
Already, I like him. So unruffled and unstuffy for a newly anointed star of a hit TV series that premieres its second season June 6.
“It feels pretty damn good,” Hurst says. “You never know when you start out. I mean, I knew it had a lot of potential: A special chemistry among the cast mixed with the quality of the scripts. And we are given a lot of latitude as actors to create our own worlds, to let us grow our characters.”
Hurst works closely with the creators to coordinate his role’s development.
“What we talk is the trajectory,” he says. “Where are they taking Grayson? Where am I taking him? Last season, it was very much about dealing with grief. But he also has to live a normal life. Now he’s got the mindset of a fighter. He fights for the less privileged. He’s emboldened, impassioned, sometimes too aggressive. You’re going see him fighting.”
Hurst landed the job while working on “Living Proof,” the TV movie with Harry Connick Jr., in New Orleans. Its producers were developing “Diva” simultaneously and expressed interest, so Hurst put together an audition.
“I performed in a small room for 20 executives,” he says. “It was like my own one-man show.”
Indeed, Hurst had acted on the stage at St. Pious X High School in Houston and at Baylor in Waco. He actually majored, though, in international economics and management information systems (yawn), with a minor in Spanish. He took off a year to work for a transport company in Mexico City.
“I couldn’t shake the need to act, though,” he says. “I promised I wouldn’t put on another business suit. Here I am playing a lawyer. Can’t escape the suits.”
So why the name change? As anyone in the entertainment industry will tell you, only one person per moniker. Otherwise, mass confusion. And the “Sons of Anarchy” star whose career dates back to 1993 already had dibs on Ryan Hurst. “I was working on a movie about Jack Kerouac when I made the change,” he says. “Jackson is a tribute.”
Yes, but how did I know him? This has been bugging me for more than a year. Without getting stalkerish, I had to know.
We made a checklist of Hurst’s activities during his time in Austin. “Well, I was the VIP manager at Qua,” he laughs. Bingo! Together, we recall the early days of the controversial ultra-lounge on West Fourth Street — yeah, the one with the shark tank — smack in the middle of the Warehouse District.
“I had a lot of fun in Austin,” he says. “You might have seen me at another party. Or at a few. Like I said, I had a good time.”
註：
1、 以上相關資料源於Austin360 blogs！
2、 Jackson Hurst年齡得問題，有另一個數據是1965年4月26日，可信度不及Michael Barnes。
3、 個人力量有限，希望大家更正完善！
經典台詞
Grayson:
People say there are five stages of grief: denial, anger, Bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Well, I can't get past my anger. Standing here today, I can't help but remember Deb's first words to me... "Are you seriously trying to pull off acid-washed jeans? "
She changed my life. She gave me something to look forward to at the end of each day. Deb taught me to listen to my heart.
She was sweet and kind and unselfish.
And in the worst of times, she could make me laugh. And without her...life will never be the same.
