Neil Jackson

Hi Neil! So you’re currently starring in the hit television show, Make It or Break It. How was the whole experience been?
The whole experience has been absolutely incredible! I was really lucky in the way this turned out, because I had booked to go back to Britain for a month as I hadn’t seen my family for 14th months (back in April 2009). They asked me to audition and I couldn’t because I had already booked my flights. Whilst I was in England, they asked me to audition again and I couldn’t do it because I was staying with my little brother, who doesn’t have a video camera. So they really nicely organized a place for me to do my audition in London, they paid for it, and send it across the wire and they booked me off that video audition! The creator of the show really fought for me to get in and really fought for me to get the role, which is incredibly flattering, and Sasha Beloff is a lot of fun to play.

The role really suits you! You portray the strict and mysterious gymnast very well!
He’s definitely the mystery of the gymnastics world. He finds ways to push the girls’ buttons to make them better human beings and better gymnasts, though his methods sometimes seem mad. At the end though, it all works out and everyone grows from the experiences. It’s a very well written show.

Definitely! And much loved by the fans!
It is! It’s actually startling to me, because I’m not the catch audience for ABC family; a 34-year old guy. So I don’t really know the world very well. It’s amazing that people come up to me on the street and tell me they love the show; and people of all ages! I spoke to a 40-year old guy the other day who told me he started watching it with his daughter, who’s into gymnastics, and now the entire family is hooked on the show. It seems to be hitting all of demographs!

The show revolves around the world of competitive gymnasts. Before the show, had you any relation with this world?
I had a passive relationship to this world. When I went to university in Wales, I studied sport and did two degrees in sport science. Two of my best friends in university were competitive gymnasts, one competing in the Commonwealth championships and the other in the LA Olympics, so two phenomenal male elite gymnasts! I used to train at the gym, doing pull-ups and roly polys, but I got a brief glimpse of how hard these guys worked and the level of dedication required to succeed in this world, and the show really captures all that! It also is a great allegory of girls growing up, looking at body image, sexuality, boys, interpersonal relationships, but all the time looping them through the sport, so it doesn’t feel as if they’re hitting you on the head with moral messages. And another treat of the show is that you get to see top gymnastics! They get elite gymnasts to come in, national champions, people who have competed in the Olympics, gymnasts with world records, and do this amazing stuff that I could never dream of doing!

Many fans would love to see your character, Sasha Beloff, do some gymnastics himself! Is there any possibility of that happening?
We’ve discussed it actually! Last season you saw Sasha doing pull-ups. They wanted to see Sasha training, so they got me doing that. It was actually the first time Sasha was out of his jeans and boots! All he wears are these boots, some jeans, and either a button-down long-sleeved t-shirt, or just a plain long-sleeved t-shirt. This season…we’ve started wearing t-shirts!! We’re pushing the barrel! So anyway we did some pull-ups last season, and we’ve discussed it, and it would be great to see him training, or doing something! It’s definitely circulating around the writers’ room. It would be great fun to see him do some rings, or some floor work…I’d have to get a great double. The problem is, there aren’t many 6 foot 1 gymnasts around! So hopefully! Watch this space…

Sasha Beloff is a famous gymnast, who disappeared for many years. Even after a whole season, we still don’t know much about Sasha and his past. How did he manage to be so involved, and yet keep so private?
It’s actually another thing that I’ve talked with the writers about, because it’s a fine line he has to tread with the girls; he has to be the disciplinarian and he has to be the leader. He certainly has to distance himself from the girls a certain amount. The lovely thing is that through his on/off relationship with Summer, which started at the end of season 1 and actually continues at the beginning of season 2, we’re starting to get to know more about Sasha and who he is as a person, because every other relationship he has is regarding the fact that he’s the head of the gym. It’s just a nice way to get to know him, and slowly feeding pieces of information regarding who he was and why he disappeared from the gymnastics scene for so long. By the end of this season though, we’re going to know a lot more about him.

Summer definitely reveals a more vulnerable side to Sasha, who otherwise seems quite harsh to the outer world.
He’s a funny one, because he is harsh, but he’s harsh with a purpose. There’s nothing mean or menacing about him; he always has a purpose and is in control. It will be interesting to see him out of control, and of course love is the one thing that takes us out of control. It will be fun to see him in a situation where he doesn’t have all of the cards and is floundering a little bit.

We actually saw Sasha lose a bit of control at the end of season 1, where his rebellious streak emerges. For someone who is so set on following rules, how did this rebellious act fit into his character?
There’s a thorn in his paw about the gymnastics establishment, about the way they treat the girls and about the way (all pun intended) make or break their careers. He wants the girls to regain some sense of control over their identities and careers, but in doing that he breaks the rules, and that’s a dicey choice to make. We see whether it pays off in the first two or three episodes of season 2, but things don’t always look too rosy for Sasha at the beginning of this season.

Well season 1 ended off with someone from the National Committee saying, ‘This isn’t over Beloff…’
Yeah, far from over!! They make Sasha pay for his rebellious ways…

So it’s not about sticking to the rules for Sasha, but for the end product?
With him, the end always justifies the means; he always puts them through a process which at the end is justified by the product, whether that be their performance or self-confidence. The beauty of this character is that he’s not only interested in making them Olympic gymnasts, but he’s interested in making them fully-rounded human beings. He understands that they are 16-year old girls, going through so many changes and hormones, and though gymnastics is an important part of who they are, they need to grow as human beings. He always looks at their self-confidence, their relationships with friends and family, their identity, all of which ends up making them better gymnasts and not solely focusing on the sport, which is a healthy way to approach.

Most definitely! They’re not robots after all…
Yeah exactly! They play into that when the Chinese team visits at the end of the season, and is displayed as products of the sport, not being allowed to express their personalities, and that was set up in a very stagey way to show the girls that that is exactly what he doesn’t want them to become. Personality and self-identity are very important factors of becoming a fully-rounded performer. It definitely accentuated the difference. It was also funny because it made me feel really old. The girls are all so young, and physically small! And then the Chinese team comes in, and those girls were about 12-13 years old, and even smaller! Something like 4 foot 9…and I’m 6 foot 1! It was like wow, when did I become that guy??

On what level do you relate to your character?
I relate to him in a lot of ways, such as the fact that he’s incredibly focused and he has a great sense of honour and morals, and doesn’t do things out of spite and without purpose. I think I’m a reasonably controlled person, and I relate to the fact that Sasha looks at a bigger picture, looking at their entire careers. This is something I tend to do, looking far ahead and thinking of the ramifications of every act.

And in what ways are you different from Sasha?
My sense of humour. From the side that we see, he doesn’t seem to just kick back and relax very often. There’s a wry sense of humour to him, but he doesn’t have laugh out loud moments, and I’m very sarcastic and I love practical jokes. Typical Brit! There’s a lot lighter side to me.

Season 1 ended on a very powerful note. Will Season 2 live up to that power and energy?
Absolutely! There are a couple of new writers on, who are fantastic! We also have some amazing directors, there’s a new character coming in who adds a lot of drama and conflict in the gym, and even by the fourth episode (which we are shooting right now), the level of drama is incredible! As I read the script, I flip to the next page; I can’t wait to read the new script! I’ve become a fan myself!

Now you’re both an actor and a writer. Do you have any projects you’re working on writing-wise?
I do actually! I’ve written a TV pilot, which is a 1 hour drama set in the world of boxing, because I used to be a boxer.

Wouldn’t want to get on your bad side!
I was a friendly boxer!! I also have feature which is in the process of getting financed, and is an English period piece, set in the 16th century. So yeah, lots going on with my writing!

How do you find time for everything?
Well we’re really privileged on this show because it’s an ensemble cast, which means that the burden of the show isn’t on one person’s shoulders. The by-product of that is that it takes 7 days to shoot an episode, and I’m filming no more than 5 of those days, which means I get 2 days off to pursue my writing. Also on breaks, I go to my trailer and write on my laptop or do some research. I just love them both equally. I’m very lucky to have found my passion! I feel that I’m meant to do both, and luckily I’ve found a way to balance them both.

You have a very rich and interesting resume. What advice would you give to upcoming actors?
I think perseverance is the main one. Obviously study, and make sure your skills and understanding of the industry is as good as it can be. Go to whatever classes you can and do any preparation needed, that’s a given. Apart from that though, it’s just perseverance, which is rewarded. It is a tough industry, and a lot of people think that you need to have something of a rhino-skin in order to brush off all the rejection. People normally go to a job interview a maximum of once or twice in one to three years. An actor sometimes goes to a job interview 3 or 4 times a week, and you can’t help going to that audition without absolutely wanting that job. Each job becomes a commitment of your time, so you have to want the project. When putting that much emotion into something and getting rejected, especially for personal reasons such as you weren’t tall enough or good enough, can start to chip away at your confidence. But believing in yourself, having a good support system around you of friends and family, and just sticking to it if it’s what you truly love, regardless of what anyone says, that’s my advice.

Let’s get a glimpse of who Neil is. Tell us a secret!
I’m a film addict! I love movies, and I have a very large collection at home, which fills a wall at my house. It’s the only thing I’ve ever collected in my life! I have about 2000 movies…I love watching movies, discussing them, analyzing them, and just being immersed in film. I just love the romance of being drawn into a story, which is why I write as well as act.

So you prefer film to theatre?
I actually studied theatre, and the first thing I did was theatre! But my love has always been film. I remember my dad taking me to the cinema when I was 8 or 9 years old, and just sitting there with a huge screen in front of me, with this world that can just pull you in…I just love the power and emotion of it.

Describe your ideal day.
I’m engaged to my beautiful fiancée Kylie, who is a stunt woman, so my ideal day would be somewhere on a beautiful beach, it would be hot, and we’d have to do nothing but wake up, sit by the pool, read, walk on the beach and stuff like that.

What can’t you live without?
Oxygen, food, water…this is a bit corny but my fiancée obviously and this industry; I just love it so much. It’s very much a part of who I am. I also can’t live without training. If I took more than a week off, I’d start twitching…very unattractive.

Finally, how can fans contact you?
I have a website, www.neiljackson.info And my twitter! www.twitter.com/neiljackson1