Ramona Saviss Ramona Saviss | September 17, 2021 | People, Television,
PHOTOGRAPHED BY JOHN RUSSO
THE TALENTED ACTOR (@JAMESWOLK) TAKES ON THREE ROLES AS JOE KIMBREAU IN NBC’S ORDINARY JOE, WHICH BEGS THE QUESTION: WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF ONE LIFE-CHANGING DECISION WAS MADE DIFFERENTLY?
Where did your love of acting first come from? My love of acting came from going to see a play when I was in middle school at my local high school in Michigan. They put on these amazing plays. ... My cousin was in it, and the energy from the stage, just being totally captured by this play [Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat]—that was the first time I had that experience. I was probably 13 years old and I couldn’t wait to go to high school and get involved with theater.
Throughout your career you’ve worn many hats, similar to your starring role in NBC’s Ordinary Joe, where you play a nurse, cop and rock star. What’s your favorite role from your career thus far? I would say my favorite role was the first big break I got, which was a movie about a guy with Tourette syndrome called Front of the Class, and it was very much an Ordinary Joe moment. Up until that point nothing was really breaking for me, but it was one of those moments where I went in for this audition, got this role and it started my career, but it’s also because of that film that I met my wife. So that specific audition definitely changed the course of my life.
PHOTOGRAPHED BY JOHN RUSSO
The “what if” storyline is the central theme in Ordinary Joe. Did you have a “what if” moment deciding what to do after college? There was definitely a ‘what if’ moment for me after college [at University of Michigan]. I had gotten into law school and I questioned, ‘Who can make a living as an actor? This is insane. What am I signing myself up for? Maybe I’ll just go to law school.’ I was considering law school for a moment and then luckily stuck to my guns and pursued my passion [for acting].
“I’VE NEVER HAD A ROLE THAT’S BEEN SO DEMANDING; IT’S LIKE TRAINING FOR A MARATHON.” –JAMES WOLK ON PLAYING JOE KIMBREAU IN NBC’S ORDINARY JOE
PHOTOGRAPHED BY JOHN RUSSO
Why do you think people are so fascinated with this idea of “what if?” I think everyone has these moments in their life where they go, wow, if I had taken a different path, this would have happened or that wouldn’t have happened. And what I love about Ordinary Joe is that it doesn’t play the game of if I had taken that path, my life would be so much better, because that’s a dangerous game to play. This show doesn’t do that. This show goes, this is your life if you take that path and you still have challenges. What I like about this show, what I think people relate to, is the “what ifs.” But not playing the ‘grass is greener’ thing, just the ‘what would that look like’ thing.
PHOTOGRAPHED BY JOHN RUSSO
How do you tackle playing three roles in one? My head is just diving into this character. I’ve never had a role that’s been so demanding; it’s like training for a marathon. I’m switching characters midday and it’s a head trip, but we’re getting it done. There’s one role in one particular scenario that’s the easiest: Cop Joe has Friday night dinners with his family where we always eat ziti. There’s this chef who actually makes ziti for me with vegan cheese, so we basically sit there for a few hours and eat and just bullshit. We say the actual lines but it feels real and it feels like a family.
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