Missions Unknown » Jonathan Joss

Made in S.A.: Jonathan Joss on the upcoming “Jonah Hex” movie

Sanford Allen — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 13:51:29 +0000

San Antonio-based actor Jonathan Joss

San Antonio actor JONATHAN JOSS has a small but important part in the upcoming “JONAH HEX” movie. We spoke with Jonathan almost a year ago, but since the big-screen version of DC Comics’ eerie Western hits screens on Friday, we decided the time was right to catch back up with him.

Jonathan, who also played John Redcorn on the long running animated series “King of the Hill,” discussed rumors that parts of “Jonah Hex” had been reshot and gave us a rundown of his upcoming work, including his part in the Coen Brothers’ upcoming remake of the John Wayne classic “True Grit.” He also told us about a couple of local convention appearances he’s lined up.

MU: So, have you seen “Jonah Hex” yet, or like the rest of us, are you just watching the trailers and waiting to see what it’s going to look like?

JJ: Right now, I’ve just seen the trailers. It’s the hardest period for any actor, the waiting. You don’t want to find out that you ended up on the cutting room floor. Especially when you’ve heard that they ended up cutting some scenes and brought in another director to do some reshooting. I was just in a few little scenes, so they all matter. I’m pretty nervous. It’s just a waiting game right now, and it’s driving me fucking nuts.

MU: Is the movie going to do well? Is Jonah Hex the next comic book character to become a big-screen franchise?

JJ: I hope it’s the beginning of a franchise. I hear good things about it, but it’s also Hollywood, so who knows? I’m really excited, though. I‘ve never had my name attached to something that could make $100 million. Most of the stuff I’ve done has been TV or smaller films. So, to have it end up being a hit would be pretty fucking cool. In this environment, nobody’s going to put their money behind something if they didn’t intend on making it a franchise. But I’ve talked to some people who said they haven’t heard about the movie yet or that they thought the trailer looks cheesy or whatever. Who knows how it’s going to go?

MU: Refresh our memory, what kind of role do you play?

JJ: I play an Apache shaman that Jonah Hex encounters. Jonah’s doing his bounty hunting and tracking thing and he literally finds the shaman taking a leak in the woods. I take Jonah down into this cave, then start chanting and dancing and doing this stereotypical Native American stuff and bats fly out at him, setting off this sort of mystical thing. There are a few other scenes where I just kind of float around. The director would say, “Hey, he’d be good in this scene.” Like, there was one where I got to stand up on this sand dune and just look kind of cheesy. At this point, I don’t know how much of that’s going to end up in the film. I’m just waiting to see.

MU: Are you doing in any appearances around town to promote your work?

JJ: I was just at A-Kon up in Dallas. I’m doing the TEXAS COMIC CON June 18-20 in San Antonio, and I’ll be doing SAN JAPAN again July 9-11. I’ve been picking up a lot of these little cons, and it’s been fun. A lot of kids really identify with “King of the Hill.” What I hear a lot is, “Yeah, I watch that show with my parents, or me and my granddad watch that show together.” I guess they kind of grew up on it the way I grew up on The Simpsons. John Redcorn is an appreciated character, so that’s kinda touching to me. It’s real different from Hollywood, where nobody gives a shit unless you’ve just been in a huge blockbuster. In San Antonio, people will actually stop you in the grocery store and go, “Hey, John Redcorn!”

MU: Do you have other movie appearances coming up?

JJ: Yeah, I’m in the Coen Brothers’ “TRUE GRIT” remake, and I’m also in “RED DEAD REDEMPTION.”

MU: What’s “Red Dead Redemption?”

JJ: The videogame. It’s pretty popular right now.

MU: Oh, yeah, right. What are you in that?

JJ: I play a Native American townsman the players can run into. Some kids up at A-Kon were all excited about that game and they asked me where I was in it, and I didn’t even know. They didn’t tell me, and I wouldn’t really know how to play the game to find out. But I think it’s a decent-sized part; it was 2 hours worth of voice work.

MU: So, when is “True Grit” supposed to be out?

JJ: That’s supposed to release around Christmas of this year. I have three words in it. I’m one of three guys that get hung at the very beginning of the movie. I guess to show the injustice going on (in the place where the movie is set), the other two guys get to give these long speeches before they get hung, but I only get to say three words when it’s my turn. I do get to sing an old Mohawk song, which is cool. To even get to work on a Coen Brothers film in a small role is a real honor. Plus, the Coens call back people they work with, sometimes ten years later. I was talking to one actor who was in the “Big Lebowski,” and he had to wait all this time but he finally got cast in another Coen Brothers movie. It’s something that looks good on your resume, to say that you were in the cast of a Coen Brothers movie: Jonathan Joss—Well-Hung Indian.

Eckman’s time again

Sanford Allen — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 13:07:17 +0000

Eckman's guest: actor Jonathan Joss

San Antonio may not have a full-fledged SF convention right now, but for 16 years running, ECKMAN’S CARD, COMIC AND TOY SHOW has demonstrated that throngs of Alamo City residents just might show up for one.

The latest quarterly Eckman’s Show will take place Saturday, Jan. 16, at Live Oak Civic Center, 8101 Pat Booker Road. Over 200 dealers are expected, hocking everything from comics to old Star Wars toys – and you can count on many times that number of shoppers to be in attendance. As usual, honcho Dale Eckman will be presiding over costume contests and plenty of prize giveaways.

Doors open at 9 a.m. and the first 100 paying guests will receive a special package, including a shot at a $25 shopping spree. Admission is $4 for adults; kids under 12 are free with a paying adult in tow.

JONATHAN JOSS, voice actor for John Redcorn from the Fox animated series “King of the Hill,” is special guest this time around. Jonathan — a Missions Unknown Made in S.A. participant – also has a role in the forthcoming JONAH HEX movie.

Regrettably, Missions Unknown won’t have a table this time around. Way too many deadlines to meet. But we’ll be there in spirit, partaking in the geekery.

Konnichiwa San Japan

Paul Vaughn — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 12:00:05 +0000

Japanese culture and media have been very influential to mainstream American media in varied ways, some as obvious as Godzilla, others as subtle as an American remake of a Japanese horror flick. If you are a fan of Japanese culture, movies, anime or manga, SAN JAPAN is the place for you this weekend.

San Japan is San Antonio’s annual Japanese Culture and Anime Convention. This is the second year of the con and it is shaping up to be a big one. The 2008 show was a huge success with over 3,500 people attending! This year con organizer Dave Henken anticipates crowds in the 4,000+ range.

The list of events is lengthy. You can see and partake in Cosplay (costumed roleplay), Otaku-lympics (mock-olympic showdown), Ani-Idol (sing your favorite anime or video game song), concerts, a charity auction, panels, workshops, dance, art, interactive anime screenings and so much more.

There will be plenty of guest stars at the convention including voice actor Travis Willingham (Fullmetal Alchemist, Dragonball Z), Laura Bailey (Fruits Basket, Fullmetal Alchemist), Chris Patton (Bubblegum Crisis 2040, Nerima Daikon Brothers), Christopher Ayres, Jonathan Joss (King of the Hill, Jonah Hex) and hoards more. Antarctic Press, San Antonio-based purveyors of excellent comic titles like Gold Digger and Ninja High School will be in full effect with lots of creators on hand.

Expect concerts with musical guests the LeetStreet Boys, Tadahisa Yoshida, Random (a.k.a Mega Ran), ZeaLouS1, Katsuhiko Jinnai and Loliholix. Through in a healthy mix of dancing until 4AM and 24-hour video gaming and you have a powerful concoction of fun.

This event is definitely worth a visit.

San Japan 2.x is going on all weekend, August 14-16, at the San Antonio Municipal Auditorium (100 Auditorium Circle) and the Holiday Inn El Tropicano Riverwalk hotel (110 Lexington Ave). 3-Day Weekend Passes and Single-Day Passes are available at the convention. Get a taste of San Japan on their YouTube channel and follow the happenings on Twitter.

Made in SA: Jonathan Joss has the specs on the big screen Jonah Hex

Sanford Allen — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 13:16:28 +0000

Johnathan Joss: There's a little John Redcorn in all of us.

Jonathan Joss is an actor and musician who recently moved back to San Antonio from L.A. A graduate of McCollum High School and Our Lady of the Lake University, Joss has racked up an impressive list of small-screen credits, most often playing Native American characters. He’s probably best known for voicing “Licensed New Age Healer” and former Winger roadie John Redcorn on Fox’s animated sitcom KING OF THE HILL, which recently ended a 13-season run. His musical project, the REDCORN BAND, has released several CDs of “Native American alternative blues,” and even landed a Native American Grammy. Probably of most interest to MISSIONS UNKNOWN readers, however, Jonathan not too long ago wrapped shooting on Warner Bros.’ big-budget JONAH HEX movie, helping bring DC COMICS’ weird-western cult antihero to the big screen.

So, tell us about Jonah Hex.

It’s got a big budget, over $100 million; it’s got great actors, an incredible story line. It was an amazing project to be involved in. Just looking at the storyboards before we started shooting was like reading a really good comic book. In fact, my girlfriend and I looked through some old Jonah Hex comics, and a lot of the settings in them — this Civil War submarine, a church steeple, a mysterious sandy desert — ended up in the movie. I don’t think I’ve ever been this excited about a film. It’s going to attract an audience, a serious following. My character doesn’t appear through the whole film, but he’s got an important part. He’s this sort of mysterious Native American figure who shows up and helps Jonah as he’s trying to stop this ghostly force, these ghostly rebel soldiers who are rising up.

What’s the verdict, does Josh Brolin make a good Jonah Hex?

Josh Brolin was great. He really makes the movie. The makeup, the scar on his face, just his coolness. I mean, he was walking around in 100-degree weather in this full-length duster, and he didn’t even break a sweat. He’s one of those guys where you get the sense that still waters run deep.

Jonah Hex Movie Poster

Talk to him much?

I didn’t talk to him a whole lot. I tend to spend most of my time on the set watching people like him work and learning from them. But when I did talk to him, he was great. Very cordial.

Tell us more about your character and how he fits into the film.

I play an Apache Indian who stumbles across Jonah Hex and leads him to a cave where he can hide out from these bounty hunters. You’re not really sure whether he’s a real character or a ghost or a figment of Jonah’s imagination. I also summon these crows that attack him, so you’re wondering if my character’s a source of strength for Jonah or if he’s someone he should fear. He wasn’t a Dances with Wolves kind of Native American character, where the writers tried to make him authentic and real. It was more of a comic book character — someone fun to play. I got to smile a lot when I played him, which is rare when you’re playing a lot of Native American roles in Hollywood. He was probably the furthest from a true-life Native American character that I’ve played, but in a way he was probably the truest to the Native American spirit.

When does it hit theaters?

August 2010.

You’ve been doing a fair amount of appearances at comic conventions lately, from COMIC-CON in San Diego to the LIVE OAK COMIC SHOW in San Antonio. Are you much of a comic book fan?

I do appreciate comics. Right now, my friend Gerard and I are working on a comic about a Native superhero that we’d like to get that out by yearend. It’s going to be fun to bring a real Native American to the comics instead of a stereotype. A lot of Native American people I know on the rez read comic books. You know, they’re cheap, they let you use your imagination and they let you escape about as far as you can get from the grind of everyday life.

Let’s talk about another one of your comic book connections. You played Marshal Ohiyesa Smith on a time-travel episode of JUSTICE LEAGUE UNLIMITED.

That character was a Native American sheriff who was put on another planet to deal with the unruly populace there. He doesn’t have any real super hero powers. It’s kind of a frontier-type situation, and he’s the lawman who keeps everything under control. The Justice League comes to the planet to help him out because some super villains end up there. To be able to work with Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman was bad ass. I mean, what nine-year-old kid wouldn’t love that? I would like to see that character come back around. It was a fun experience.

Are the roles for Native American actors better now than when you first got into the business?

I would love to say things have changed over that time, that there are more mature Native American characters being written, but I’m not sure that’s happened. I can say that at least Native American characters are allowed to think now instead of being the old sidekicks like Tonto, where the Lone Ranger asks “Are those four men on horses?” and Tonto says, “Yes. There are four men on horses.” Our characters now are a little deeper. They’re allowed to have their own thoughts. Sometimes non-Native American writers have us doing things we wouldn’t do or saying things we wouldn’t say — stuff that’s just not in our DNA — but at least we’re getting to think now. I’m still riding horses, shooting arrows and killing white people, so a lot hasn’t changed since I got into the business, but at least it hasn’t gotten worse.

A lot of people probably know you best as the voice of John Redcorn on “King of the Hill.” Mr. Redcorn must be one smooth operator to keep Dale in the dark all these years. (Note: Redneck character Dale’s wife bore John Redcorn’s illegitimate love child.)

Either that or Dale’s just one really stupid white guy. It’s been a fun character to play, and it’s been a fun show. I like how he’s grown from the early episodes, where he was just this character who climbed in and out of the window, to where he has his own band, his own casino and he even becomes an agent, working with kids to make them stars. He matured and became a self-sufficient character. I tell you, it’s kind of sad the show’s come to an end. With the cancellation of “King of the Hill,” it’s like there’s another dead Indian whose spirit is out there wandering. But there’s a little John Redcorn in all of us. Hopefully a little more John Redcorn in your wife.

How’d you end up back in San Antonio?

I’m basically back here because of my mom. My dad passed away and she needed some help with things. It’s a family thing. And I’m also dating a woman from San Antonio, so that’s another reason. I’ve been in the hustle and bustle of L.A. for a while, so it was nice to get out of it. In a lot of ways, L.A. doesn’t seem real. You don’t see old people in L.A. You don’t see families going out for barbacoa on Sunday mornings. It’s just kind of a fantasy world that you see through rose colored glasses — if you can afford them. It’s a world on a diet, basically.

So what one thing did you miss about San Antonio when you were in L.A?

I missed the people of San Antonio, the families. I just missed seeing regular people in the grocery stores. The kids riding down the aisle on the skateboards they aren’t even going to buy. We’ve got our own culture here, our own way of looking at things, and it’s pretty different from L.A. I’m a Southsider and proud to be from the South Side. I’d like to get some work going in San Antonio. I get some calls from Austin, but that’s Austin. I’ll work on low-budget films; I’ll work on independent projects. I’d like to be able to share what I do, to give back. You know, I’m willing to share with my family in San Antonio.