Jonathan Cherry is a Toronto born actor who recently appeared in “Tombstone,” a wonderful Wild West episode of Supernatural. Although this is Jonathan’s first guest star on Supernatural (hopefully, there will be more?), he auditioned for the role of Dean for the pilot back in 2005. Some of you film geeks may remember him from that classic indie film Goon as Marco Belchior.
How much fun was it to play a real Wild West gunslinger?
I have always wanted to; I had no idea that that’s what it was going to be, until I got the part. I was literally as excited after that as I had ever been. It was so much fun!
It looked like a blast.
It was amazing! And playing a real guy, as well.
Did you do research the real Dave Mather for your role?
I did, and I actually – it’s fairly easy to research right now – I did what anyone would have done. I Googled him … I sort of looked like him, had they have me shave in a moustache, which I wanted to do, I wanted to have his thing. He has that really old-timey Doc Holliday type moustache. The skinny face and everything, like I do … how fast he was. I don’t remember everything I learnt, but I came into it with a tonne of questions. How much they wanted me to use …
It was funny, when I did a Google search for his name, one of the first things that came up was a theory that he was abducted by aliens.
Yes! I mean, right? Back then though, I didn’t even know they knew about aliens back then! What a trip, talking about extraterrestrials … that opened up a whole line of thinking for me …
What was your favourite part about being on Supernatural?
Looking into Jensen Ackles’ eyes, pretty much. Nah, I’m just joking.
*gales of laughter*
I know it sounds just like clichéd film talk, but that’s the nicest set I’ve ever been on. They were so welcoming. I’ve done other guest stars where you feel like you’re – there’s nothing wrong with them, but you feel like you’re in the background, even though you have a big part. I felt like I was doing a film, which was also kind of weird … because I had a full character arc. They introduced the character, meet the girlfriend – it was a full arc, in terms of everything I had done. When it was finished, it was a two- to three-week process; it felt like I had just done a film. It was really cool, because obviously it was television … I think the other thing was playing out my fantasy. My favourite movie from last year was Hell or High Water – the bank robber movie. Here I am, getting to do this … robbing the bank was pretty much my favourite part, acting wise. It was a blast. I wish that scene had been longer, it was so much fun.
How long did it take to rehearse the gunfight scene, outside of the bank?
That whole day was my favourite. I got there in the morning, we robbed the bank … honestly the best part was the director, she was awesome, she was so fast and very collaborative, took the time … I came in with some choices, we really worked it together. Because they’ve been doing it for so long, they were so confident, and diligent … Jensen did that stunt where he jumps over the car – they’re programmed at this point, they know what they’re doing, and it’s amazing to watch that. They’re a well-oiled machine. I got to work with my old pal Misha Collins, which is cool …
You’ve worked with Misha Collins before?
In 2003 or 4, Misha and I had the same manager … I recognized him from Girl, Interrupted. He had a small part, I don’t know why I remembered him. I would see him at every audition. We became friendly, just from seeing each other at auditions. I talked to him every time I saw him. I saw him more than I saw some of my friends back then.
Do you have any upcoming roles you’d like to share?
I’m actually going tomorrow to the Whistler Film Festival – I did a movie two years ago called Wolf Cop – a Canadian horror comedy. It’s self-explanatory, about a guy who becomes a wolf that’s a cop. It was pretty funny, and it became sort of a cult hit. I worked on a sequel last year, and it’s coming out in theatres everywhere this weekend, Dec. 1 it comes out. It’s premiering at the Whistler Film Festival tomorrow night.
You can follow Jonathan Cherry on Instagram and Twitter – Yonathan Cherry.