Jason Earles

How did you get into acting?
I’ve been acting since really early in elementary school. The first play I was ever in was Hansel and Gretel in the 3rd grade. I played Hansel and I always did plays in school from then on and tried to get into summer stuff. Then once I moved down to California from Oregon and that’s when I started to try to act for film and TV.

Best parts/worst parts
The best parts would be that you get a chance to do and say things that you would never be allowed to do in real life. Not that you believe what you say but it’s fun to sometimes put yourself in these outrageous situations and see crude things or funny things etc. the worst part is that it’s more work than what people think. You read scripts over and over again and you have to memorise lines. Also the more successful you get in Hollywood, the more pressure there is to do a good job so you want to make sure you know your lines and where the cameras are. The more successful you are the more pressure you get so yeah that’s the bad part.

What future projects can we expect you in?
Well we’re in the middle of season two for Hannah Montana, so that’s going pretty well. I’ve also been doing a bunch of voice over’s for Disney Animations. I did a pilot called Smart and she’s Elle. It’s about a boy who finds this ring and wears it and it turns him into a super hero. It’s really funny because every time there’s danger, he turns into a girl because the ring belonged to his aunt! It’s a funny little cartoon.

Coolest celeb you’ve met?
Probably Wayne Brady who a lot of people know through his own talk show. He’s the friendliest, funniest guy! Probably because of his show! His daughter Miley watches the show!! I didn’t think it was a common name but there you go!

Person you want to work with?
I would love to work with Michael J. Fox. I don’t know how much he works anymore due to the Parkinson’s but he’s someone I’ve always looked up to and if my career could be a quarter of the career he had, I would be ecstatic! He just seems such a cool and down to earth guy! So I’d love to work with him.

Nicest thing a fan has said?
Usually its high school guys that confess that they watch Hannah Montana and then they tell me the only reason they watch it is because they think I’m funny on the show. The fact that there is this whole new demographic of dudes that watch the show because me and Billy Ray are funny…I think that’s pretty nice!

Weird reactions from people about who you are?
It depends on the day and the situation. When you go out in public, you get some attention depending where you go. For example if I go to Chucky Cheese, I’m going to get swarmed by a bunch of little kids so I don’t. I’m a homebody anyway! I like to sit at home and watch TV, play video games, read, surf the internet so I spend a lot of time at home doing non acting, non Hollywood type of things so it’s easy for me to shut that stuff down and forget about them. I just do the regular stuff that I’ve always done throughout my life but it does change how you go out in public. You have to be aware that if you go out to the movies on a Friday night, that all of the other teenagers are out, you’re probably going to get more attention than you used to before the show went out.

Have money and success changed you at all?
I don’t think it’s changed me as a person. It’s definitely my situation! As an actor you always wonder what your next job is going to be, there’s always the fear of not working again. Since the show is doing so well and we’re already committed to 30 episodes for season 2, I’m more confident and secure, not as worried currently. Once the show is over, I’ll probably go back to my neurotic: when am I going to work again? I still have all of the same friends though and do most of the same things in my private life. I drive the same cars that I drove before the show. So in general no, I haven’t changed.

What’s your dressing room in Hannah Montana like?
It’s actually cool! I call it the dirty dorm room! I bring my playstation in there and it’s got my guitar which I’m terrible at playing, pillows, blankets, we have a little bathroom attached to it with a shower so that when they get me all messy on the show by throwing pudding at me for example, I pop in and clean myself! It’s a pretty comfortable room! It has a couch, a couple of chairs, a little table, a small TV! It works!

What advice would you give upcoming actors?
I think that the most important thing to remember if you’re an aspiring actor is that you to be really tenacious. You have to refuse to give up! There are so many things that you have no control over! Casting directors can just be having a bad day in their personal life so decide they don’t like you! Or maybe they just need someone a little bit taller or they want an Asian kid when you’re a black kid. You have no idea what they’re looking for so you can’t take the no’s personally! You just have to fight through it and hang long enough that you get your opportunity and when you get your opportunity, you have to make the most out of it!

Jason with Miley Cyrus and Emily Osment for Hannah Montana

Best moment?
The moment I’ll never forget is the episode where Billy Ray and I were pranking each other and he tricked me into running through a door and falling into a pool of pudding! I’m supposed to just come crawling out of the door, dripping in pudding and say, oh you got me good dad! But Billy Ray and I like to improve and do extra stuff on the scenes so I started to chase him through the set like I was going to hug him because I was covered in pudding and as I am running and chasing him out of the room of the kitchen, I slip and fall on my butt really hard! So I’m just rolling around of the floor and chasing him! Everyone thought it was so funny that it ended up being in the show! If you watch the fall on the show, it hurts! It was a big fall!

Most embarrassing?
When I had to wear a red, magician’s assistant dress and cracked an egg on my head! It was another one of those funny scenes we had to do!

Crushes?
No. I do my best to try and not mix work and my love life. A lot of the guest cast boys come in and I think they have crushes on Miley and that can lead to a bit of drama on set so just watching that, I try to avoid it as much as possible. I did have a bit of a crush though on Dolly Parton when she was here! She may be a bit older but she’s still foxy!

Favourite person to work with?
Billy Ray Cyrus because whenever they put us together to do all the fun guy stuff, whether it’s to prank each other or to joke around about girls or cars. My favourite episode we shot was one where I tried to set him up with a teacher at school. Sort of the whole episode I’m playing match maker and he’s just so calm! Jackson on the show is just so crazy that it’s fun to work with someone who’s funny yet so calm at the same time.

Are you similar to Jackson?
I think Jackson is a bit more outgoing than I am. I tend to be pretty calm in my regular life unless I get excited about something. Then I can be a little bit out there but Jackson is a bit more nuts than I was and he gets into more trouble than I did. I always try to avoid situations that cause trouble. I don’t like being yelled at or being told that my parents are disappointed at me. That’s the worst!

Jackson is younger than you are. Is it hard to play someone who’s younger?
No not really because I think if you talk to any guy, you get to about 16 and that’s pretty much where you stop! You never feel older than that! Your interests stay the same! You like to work, you like to earn money, you like girls, electronics, cars, and it’s all sort of the same! You learn when you have to be mature and when you’re allowed to let loose and be crazy! Since I’m on a kids show, I’m allowed to let loose and be crazy! It keeps you young at heart!!

Car Colour: Metallic Silver
Food: I love Taco Bell! It’s so bad for you but so good!
Soda: Coca Cola
Candy: I’m not a huge candy eater but I do like the Cadbury Eggs around Easter time!
Ice cream: Moose Tracks
TV show: Lost!
Website: www.google.com because if I need to find anything, I google it and it’s right there!
Book: the Lord of the Rings trilogy
Movie: the Lord of the Rings trilogy
Male actor: I would see anything Brad Pitt is in! He’s surprisingly funny in certain movies!
Female actress: Julia Roberts or Nicole Kidman
Band: I’m a big Pearl Jam fan! It changes. I tend to like songs more than bands. A sort of old folk/alternative/grungey rock music.

Blue or Green
Blue

Computer or TV
Computer

TV or books
Books!

PC’s or Macs
Macs

Coke or Pepsi
Coke

Beach or mountain
Mountain

Forest or field
Forest

Dogs or cats
Dogs

Sky diving or bungee jumping
Sky diving

What do you look for in a girl?
Someone who’s shorter than me! Nah just kidding! Someone who has a good sense of humour! I know that’s a cliché/dumb answer but actors are really neurotic, especially comedians so I like having a girl laughing at me! Laugh with me! A girl with a similar sense of humour and doesn’t get worked up about things!

Would you prefer to date an actress or someone that has nothing to do with the business?
Absolutely nothing to do with the business!! Just because there’s a couple of things that can happen if you date someone from the industry. There’s the jealousy factor if someone is more successful than the other, and also if you have a desire to have a normal life, you have to have things that have no part of the business in them. If you have someone who has a completely different interests, when you’re not working you can go home, hang out and do things that don’t have to do with TV and acting all the time. You would have a more well rounded life in a different prospective. It’s easier if the person isn’t related to the business.

Are you single?
No I am in a very serious relationship.

Ideal date?
It would probably be something that required you going away. Maybe taking a trip for a long weekend, maybe to the mountains, someplace cold so that after the skiing or shopping activities out in the cold are finished, you can go back and huddle on the couch with a blanket and watch a good movie, all of that good stuff.

Worst thing that can happen on a date?
Her ex-boyfriend calls in the middle of it! Or her current boyfriend calls in the middle of it! That would be bad!

If you were a super hero, who would you be?
I would like to be Super Man!

Favourite Holiday
I like the 4th of July quite a bit. I’m a big fireworks fan! I like to watch other people play with fire!

Least favourite Holiday Ever
Valentine’s Day simply because for somebody to tell me that today is the day that I need to treat my girlfriend better than all other days, in any case that I don’t treat her well for the rest of the year! I don’t need somebody to tell me that I should treat my girlfriend well! I would hope that I would treat that well every day of the year and she wouldn’t need that one day for me to catch up on being good to her.

If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?
I would go to Ireland! My ancestry is Irish but I also have heard that the people are friendly and it’s a beautiful country! Everybody that I’ve talked to that has been there said it’s amazing!

What are your hobbies besides acting?
I do play an unusual amount of video games which I am not proud of, I like to go running, I like horse back riding and I love snow boarding.

Absolute Favourite Sport to play?
To play is football but in general baseball. I love watching baseball!

If you were stuck on a desert island with only three things, what would they be and why?
My girlfriend, some fishing gear so I could eat and a TV so we could keep up on Lost!

Tell me a secret!
My very first pets were two ferrets called Brutus and Cleo [short of Cleopatra].

Best piece of advice
In general, just don’t give up! If there’s something that you really want, you just can’t get it always right away but if you think about it, work at it and put time and effort, eventually you will succeed!

Do you have a myspace? If yes, what is it?
I don’t have a myspace page yet but I plan on putting one together soon so look out for that!

How can fans contact you?
People usually mail stuff to Tribune Studios or to my agent at Defining Artists.