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I was lucky enough to be one of a few that were able to sit down and have an exclusive interview with Jake Robinson, who stars as political activist Harrison Walters in NBC’s conspiracy drama American Odyssey.
Robinson was born and raised in Ohio, where he was introduced to acting in his hometown of Loveland, a suburb of Cincinnati. After attending St. Xavier High School, where he caught the acting bug and performed in numerous plays and musicals, Robinson attended Otterbein University in Columbus, where he earned his B.F.A. in acting in 2012.
Upon moving to New York City, Robinson immediately started working as an actor, doing a series of independent features. He then appeared on the NBC series “Smash” in a recurring role and went on to play a recurring character on “The Carrie Diaries.”
Robinson’s New York stage credits include August Strindberg’s “The Stronger” as well as readings of “Dead Poets Society,” directed by John Doyle, and “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil,” directed by Rob Ashford.
In addition to his passion for acting, Robinson is an avid basketball player.
Were you much of a conspiracy theorist before and has it changed your attitude about these types of conspiracies, government conspiracies now?
Jake Robinson: Great question. Absolutely. I think initially I was a pretty straight-laced, like this is how they’re reporting it and this is how it must be and this is how it is. Definitely after doing the show and doing research and reading various books and kind of delving into things more, I think I’ve definitely gone out and started to question what’s right and what’s true and what’s actually going on and really trying to research myself and find answers for myself which I think is what Harrison is also doing in American Odyssey.
I think there’s certain conspiracies that are way further out there than others, some things are closer to home. And hopefully what the show does is gets people to question is this actually happening? Is this what’s going on? Is our government doing these things? And that’s what’s exciting about being on the show to me.
Do you think that’s a good thing to be questioning what we’re told?
Jake Robinson: Absolutely. I think we have to exercise our rights whether you’re a political activist, whether you’re protesting, whether just – something as simple as the right to vote which so many people don’t. Hopefully, this gets people active. I think if we have an active population and a free thinking population, then we have a better country.
Were you privy to the entirety of the first season story before you took the role, or did you have only the first couple scripts with the info and then you learned how it unfolded as shooting progressed?
Jake Robinson: Initially when I took the role I only had the pilot script, which was fantastic. There’s a couple other things that I was being considered for at the time and it was just heads and shoulders by far the best script that I read. And then what was rare about the show was all the ideas were in place before we started shooting the pilot.
So I did know the beginning and the end how to form my character before we began treating for the pilot, which was great because knowing where I was going with a clear head and able to do research that was relevant and not really waste my time or waste other people’s time about what was important and what was necessary for the character.
What are we going to see for your character over the next few episodes?
Jake Robinson: The biggest change in what happens in the occupy movement in the G8 protest and that sort of thing kind of gets left behind a little bit and it becomes much more of a personal journey for him where there’s things that are affecting his personal life, affecting his family as he delves deeper into this, and it definitely has a more personal note for him and the things that are happening around him.
That incites him even more to go after it, to uncover what’s going on, to figure out why these people are doing this, and where Odelle is and what’s going to happen to her and how it can get that out there? That ties in with some familial stuff that you’ll see actually get started in the next episode and then continues throughout. I think episode 11 it finally gets resolved for him and then there’s more stuff that happens.
Do you think social media changed the way that everybody looks at news and conspiracies versus how they used to?
Jake Robinson: Yes great question. I think it absolutely does. I think it changes – I think there’s good and a bad side to it. I think the good side to it is that people are generally more aware of what’s happening on a consistent basis. I think the bad side to it is it’s not necessary. There’s a lot more sources out there so it’s hard to really know who you’re trusting or who’s putting false information or good information out there.
I think the other bad thing about it is that social media allows people to hide behind the platform or the Internet, and they really don’t have to have a face to face interaction and there’s something to be said for being somewhere face to face with people and telling them what you believe and think versus writing whatever – a tweet – and saying, “I can’t believe this is happening” and send it out.
So I do think it’s good that it’s getting more news stories and causing discussion among people. I think that we also do have to be very careful though about what the cost is of spreading that information out there without really knowing what’s going on.
What was it not only about your character but the show as a whole that drew you to this role?
Jake Robinson: It was – I mean the initial script was just so edge-of-your-seat. Even when I was reading it… I was on the subway and I was reading the pilot script trying to decide whether I wanted to audition for it or not and I missed my train stop home because I was so engaged with what was going on and I just loved the idea.
I love the conspiracy aspect of it. I love the thriller aspect and it was incredibly relevant to what was going on as well with the political activist role and being in his 20s and struggling with a lot of things that I felt like I was searching for in my own life at the time.
And so it was a natural fit and it was really exciting. And I thought – I could tell it was going to be something big in the way it was filmed and it was going to be epic. It really came through on that at the shoot itself. It didn’t really feel like a typical television shoot. It felt more like we were shooting this giant epic movie over four months.
What would you say sets American Odyssey apart from all the other political dramas currently on air?
Jake Robinson: I wouldn’t necessarily say that it’s a political drama. I think it’s more of a human drama. It’s about three fairly normal individuals. It’s not about a President. It’s not about a Congressman. It’s not about the White House. It’s about us as citizens in the United States and how when something’s going horribly wrong and we’ve realized it, how can we make a difference? And it’s told from three different perspectives which I think is unique to the show.
And it also makes you sit down and have to really pay attention to it because there’s a lot of stuff going on throughout every episode and I think that’s the main difference, is that it really is a human story and heartfelt, whether it’s about her family, and you get introduced to my mother and my father in the next episode and getting to know how it’s affecting everyone’s home life, what’s going as well as the bigger picture of the government’s bad or these corporations are bad. It’s more about how these people are struggling in their lives to make decisions and go after what they want.
Can you tell us if there’s a possibility of additional seasons of this show with these same set of characters or is it set up to mostly be a one and done type series?
Jake Robinson: No. The end is definitely a cliffhanger and it’s a big cliffhanger. The final episode has a lot of stuff in it that’s left unresolved. Certain major things get resolved, but I think the majority of the story continues and I think it’s definitely set up to be a multiple season show and hopefully people tune in and the network decides that it’s worth keeping on its schedule. I know I’m certainly incredibly proud of it and I think it tells a very relevant and important story.
Have you worked with any of your fellow cast members before the show and become particularly close friends within that?
Jake Robinson: Yes absolutely. For better or for worse I conduct myself on set in a very personal way. I’m not standoffish and I try to make dinner and lunch with the crew and the camera crew and the grips and everyone.
So our set was definitely a big community and I came into it with the attitude that I was going to be a lead on a TV series and that people look up to you and look at you as an example of how to act on set. And my goal was obviously to create a TV show but also make it a home because you’re there 12 to 16 hours a day with everyone and you spend a lot of time together so what’s the point of keeping everything impersonal?
Peter Facinelli and I became good friends. We talk. Nate Mooney, who plays Bob Offer, I stayed at his house out in L.A. Daniella Pineda and I still have conversations. She plays Ruby. And Anna Friel and I, we email and call about once a week just to talk about everything. So I’d say we’re a really tight cast even though the stories are so separate.
The show doesn’t feel like your typical network show. Do you think that it’s something that will change the way the network does television?
Jake Robinson: That’s a really great question and a tricky question. I definitely think that it doesn’t feel like a typical network show. I think there’s great things about that and I think it was incredibly brave for Bob [Greenblatt] and Jennifer Salke and everyone to – Quinn and everyone that was involved in this to NBC and Universal to put this on the air. I think it was a brave choice.
Now the question is in the payoff. While we’re incredibly fortunate to tell this story and to do something that’s pushing the envelope for network television the bottom line is NBC is a business and people often make money off it at some point. That’s the nitty-gritty.
Everyone creatively is in it to tell a good story. But at the end of the day, if it doesn’t produce good numbers, if people aren’t tuning in and people aren’t watching, then you might not see this kind of television on the network, which is a shame. So hopefully they stick with it for a while and continue to give us the benefit of the doubt about what we’re doing.
What’s been the hardest part about filming such an epic production?
Jake Robinson: The hardest part about filming this production was how emotionally involving the entire story was. It wasn’t a project that you could show up to and go through the paces. It demanded so much of you everyday emotionally, physically, whether we were shooting outside in the cold or whether we were running around, whether it was being at your lowest – experiencing your lowest of lows versus experiencing highest of the highs.
Across the board it was just an incredibly soul searching and really emotionally challenging production to work on. And it was a blessing absolutely for me because I definitely pushed myself in ways that I didn’t really imagine I could, and I went to places that I didn’t really think were accessible to me. So that was exciting and nerve wracking as an actor.
I absolutely loved chatting with Jake and want to thank him for his time & NBC for taking the time to put this interview together
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Catch American Odyssey Sundays at 10/9c