A Skateboarder’s Guide To Acting With Jordan Taylor
Images by and courtesy of Ben Karpinski.
Welcome back to ‘A Skateboarders Guide to’ a series where I interview skateboarders about something that has absolutely nothing to do with skateboarding – today we have Professional Skateboarder Jordan Taylor giving you his guide to acting.
You may know Jordan from many video projects such as, The Tru Mon Show, Toy Machine’s Brainwash, WKND’s Bottle Neck Sewage or maybe even New Balance Numeric’s String Theory. He is one of skateboarding’s best actors, being the star of many hilarious WKND skits and his own now defunct Instagram page @shortsoverpants, where he and his friend Willy act in a plethora of ridiculous skits. Now he is the boss of Loosey, skateboardings premiere belt brand. You should buy a belt, they will help you act better, I promise. Jordan also did one of the hardest manual tricks ever done on a picnic table in his gordo2k part, switch nose manual fakie front bigspin. That trick needs as much praise as it could ever get.
Jordan is the perfect person to address skateboarding thespians, so without any further ado, here is a skateboarder’s guide to acting with Jordan Taylor.
What is acting?
I mean acting is something everyone does in their day-to-day life [laughs]. Acting in front of the camera is different because you just have to pretend the camera is just not there. I find acting normal is way harder than acting in character.
So, it’s not hard pretending to be someone you’re not?
Yeah, it’s not hard. I think it’s really fun. I feel like we all know people and characters in our lives who seem fake or like cartoon characters, so you kind of pick up on those things the more you hang out with people. You subconsciously remember things they do and when it comes to playing a character of some sort you can pull from those real people and real personalities. We all have pieces of those people we meet in us, but they are kind of just locked away, so it’s fun to let them out sometimes.
How do you act?
If there’s a script, you read the script. Then you try to memorise it so you don’t have to think about it while you’re acting so you can just live in the character. Acting with someone you trust directing is super helpful. Whoever is filming or directing it is crucial, because you could be trying to do the character and be way off the mark and they could be like ‘Go crazier for this take or reel it back in’. Everyone can act if they are directed in a useful way.
How’s Grant Yansura as a director?
He’s great. We will usually get a safe one where we are like, ‘Alright that’s usable’ then he will be like ‘Okay, turn it up go crazy on this one’. Then we have the safe one, the middle ground one and the crazy one.
How do you remember your lines?
Honestly, just reading them over and over so you have them in your brain. It is nice to listen to the music that you think the character would like. I’ll drive around in my car, listening to the music saying the lines and then see if new lines come from it or like more natural stuff that is not on the page, you know.
What are some examples of music you’ve listened to for the characters you’ve played?
Right now, Grant is trying to film a pilot and I am playing this rocker superstar skater, so I have been listening to lots of Ramones to get into the mindset of punk rock skater dude [laughs].
[Laughs] That is so sick.
Yeah, it is pretty fun. I like the Ramones, but I haven’t listened to them in a while so it’s funny being like yeah that guy would totally listen to this. It gets you in the headspace a little easier.
Damn, so you’re playing Jim Greco in this pilot?
No, no, no.
I was going to ask you how you get into character, but I guess you’ve already answered that.
Once you’re in a costume of some kind it helps a lot because then you feel like you are playing the part. Being yourself trying to play the character is much harder.
Is being able to do improv important?
I think so, yeah. It is hard to write stuff that lines up perfectly as you shoot it, so I feel like you need some improv to cut into it if it is something that didn’t line up on the page perfectly.
Is doing a flatground trick at the end of a line like improv acting?
Depends, I guess [laughs].
Was doing the best varial heelflip ever done on flatground improv?
[Laughs] Shit I can’t remember. I think we did the line, and it felt too mellow, so I was like I’m going to do a varial heel on flat after. The improv in that line was that there was a sewer, and I did it perfectly over the sewer, I didn’t plan that part.
Have you ever method acted?
No.
If you were to method act how long do you think it would be appropriate to be method acting?
I think in my personal life I could probably get away with it for a few days and then my wife would be like ‘Oh my god shut the fuck up’ [laughs]. I guess I kind of do it without even trying with random characters, putting on a silly voice or just messing around.
Would you do method acting for a whole year for a million dollars?
Definitely. It kind of depends on the character though.
What character would be too much to do it for a million dollars?
You hear about these people who method act and then lose their minds. I don’t know if that’s healthy or worth a million dollars.
Were you method acting as Jaws in your roof jumping phase?
[Laughs] Yeah for sure.
I guess you method acted as Jim Greco with the switch drop in in the hammers shirt.
Yeah, I think we are all method acting it just depends on who and what day of the week it is [laughs].
Have you ever really upset someone and then just said ‘Oh sorry I was just acting’ but you really weren’t?
No, but I’ve definitely bummed people out. Whenever I go to a place with a different accent I automatically start trying to talk in their accent. If I went to Australia I would for sure do it, butcher it and people would probably start to get annoyed. I can’t help it; it just starts happening [laughs].
I remember we were on a New Balance trip in New York, I was doing the accent for a couple of days and got everyone on the trip to start doing it. Jordan Trahan lived there at the time, and it got to the point where he was just like ‘Yo, Gordo you better cut that shit out man’ [laughs].
Which aspect of your life is the biggest act?
Being a pro skater [laughs]. Probably being an adult too. That is hard to do but I am trying to act my way through life. In the back of my mind, I am just like ‘I don’t want to do any of this and be a kid’.
Do you think skateboarding is acting?
Yeah, I think a little bit. It depends on the skater, but people have looks and gimmicks they want to portray on film, so I think there is a little acting sometimes.
Does acting make you a better skateboarder?
I don’t think it makes you a better skater, but it might make you a more interesting skater.
Do you think skateboarding makes you a better actor?
Nah, I don’t think so.
What’s your favourite character you’ve ever played?
I always go back to a bro character with a backwards hat over his eyebrows. The first time I ever acted with my friends it was that character. It comes too naturally for me, maybe I am a bro deep down [laughs]. It’s funny you act like that then you see that dude the next day.
What came first, Shorts Over Pants or the WKND skits?
Shorts Over Pants came first. We were doing those when I was on Toy Machine.
Are you guys still doing those?
No, we aren’t. I still talk to Willy who I did those with, but we just don’t meet up to film those anymore. Now I just ask him what he thinks of Loosey skit ideas. He’s down for the cause. One day we will hopefully do some more Shorts Over Pants skits for sure. I miss it.
Please bring it back, the fans are begging. Do you have a favourite skit you guys did?
Yeah, we did this one where we put ‘Peaches’ by The Presidents of the United States of America to it. It makes no sense, but we are just talking about peaches, eating peaches and puking up peaches and then it cuts back at the end and I’m like ‘But, I don’t even like peaches’ [laughs].
What about a WKND skit?
There was a karate one when I first turned pro, for me that was fun because I have always wanted to do that. The Tru Mon show one was pretty good. That one could be my favourite because it makes so much sense as a skater. It is so on point.
Do you have any funny stories from filming any of the skits?
The skit in Bottle Neck Sewage was chaotic. The chaos of filming in the LA river for two weeks straight was insane. Getting this boat, dragging it down from Grant’s van, down into the river, then taking the river for a mile and walking it back up to get the shot again. Then at the end I had to shave my head and put a bald cap on, and Alex [Schmitt] had to put duck prosthetics on his face. Then we had someone holding an umbrella over us so it wouldn’t sweat out the make-up. It was the real deal.
Being in the LA river too, coming across all sorts of characters and getting LA river water in your mouth. You’re trying to stay dry on the first day, then you realise that’s not happening and you’re all in just walking through the river.
That skit is so crazy, like the duck prosthetic on Alex is insane.
He was getting claustrophobic in that, as the make-up artist was putting it on his face he was like ‘Can you cut more out of the nose, I can’t breathe in here’.
Was it hot the day you were doing it?
Yeah, it was hot, and we kept it all on for so long because there was this bonus scene where we went into a liquor store and Alex went in and bought bread and beer with the prosthetic on.
I guess he was method acting as a duck there. I feel like if a duck could walk to the liquor store, they’d definitely be buying bread.
[Laughs] Exactly.
What are some acting dos and don’ts?
Don’t bring down the vibes. The do is just go for it, shoot for the moon. If you half step it, it takes a lot longer to get into the character. Start high and then tone it down if you have to, it’s easier to tone it down than tone it up.
What advice do you have to a budding actor?
Just have fun with it. Don’t put too much pressure on it, just have fun with it. Let it naturally take it where it’s supposed to go, it’s like skating, don't just do a trick to do a trick, like you want to be excited about the trick, the way it’s filmed and how it looks. If you’re excited about something it is more exciting for you and the people who are going to watch it.