QQ. What are some of the recent projects that you've been working on?
A. "Hellcats" has pretty much taken up all of my time and it's a very involved project where there are aspects of cheer and dancing that are involved in the character. We have to do cheer rehearsals and dance rehearsals and stuff like that along with shooting. It's pretty time consuming so there hasn't been a whole lot of time for anything else.
Q. How draining has all of that training been on you?
A. I wouldn't say it's been taxing, it's actually been fun to get more in touch with my masculine dancing side. It's been fun learning some things and learning about something I had no knowledge of prior to the start of this project. Coming from an athletic background, I just knew about athletics, I grew up playing on athletic teams but I had no idea about cheerleading and the whole concept of just cheers as a true athletic art form.
Q. What can you tell us about the show and about your character?
A. The show is based around a young girl named Marti Perkins and her mother works on campus and she has a scholarship because the school extends scholarships to the kids of the workers of the campus. They cut the financing for that program and her mom didn't really tell her about it until the last minute. She'd depressed and in a funk because she doesn't have the money to keep her in school so she needs to apply for some sort of scholarship to stay in school. She has a background of gymnastics and as a last ditch effort she rents Bring It On and tries to put together some moves that encompass her own unique dance style and her gymnastics background and bring it to cheerleading tryout. It's about her and her journey to try and keep her scholarship and her joining the cheerleading squad. They are down one man and they needed her and it turns out to be a little more than they bargained for. My character Lewis is an ex football player who ends up coming out for the squad to keep his scholarship because he had some issues with the football team and he ends up coming out for the squad because of his girlfriend who is on the squad. He ends up liking it for obvious reasons, his girlfriend is around him all of the time, it's kind of a cooler thing than what he thought it would be. It follows him and the progression of his relationship with Marti and his relationship with his on again, off again, girlfriend Alice.
Q. Is there anything about the role that you find challenging?
A. I feel like the cheering and dancing part has been a real challenge for me. I have always had a mean two step but I've never been a dancer and I don't have any gymnastics or tumbling or stunting background. To jump into that full steam and to really have a lot expected of me as far as physical stunting and learning routines has been a challenge for me. It's a fun challenge, it's been great, the cast is wonderful. The girls keep the energy really high and it's contagious. I'm having a lot of fun on it.
Q. Where did you draw from for your portrayal of Lewis?
A. I had a misconception about cheerleaders and male cheerleaders and all that entailed. We came out and shot the pilot and I met a lot of guys who do cheerleading and I got a completely different perspective from it. I was able to utilize their experiences and some of the things they told me to kind of add the depth of my character and some of the things that Lewis is going to go through. At the end of the day it's a college show, cheerleading is just the back drop of the show, it's about some college kids and their lives and cheerleading is the back drop. It wasn't really hard to relate to being a guy who went to college myself.
Q. Was there instant cast chemistry or did it take some time to develop?
A. When you're making a pilot it's like everybody just meets each other and we're working all of a sudden. Surprisingly everybody hit it off really well and there was instant clicking. Everybody was going out to dinner together and hanging out and going to the movies and hanging out away from the set. We had rehearsals all the time and so we were really having a good time. I think it was really advantageous that we got to spend a lot of time together working and rehearsal time and doing preparation for the pilot as opposed to everybody just showing up on set and meeting each other that way or showing up at a table read and everybody meeting that way. We actually got to log some hours before we got to work together on screen which I think really helped with our chemistry.
Q. Why do you think people will want to take time to check out the show?
A. People will really relate to these kids and some of the adults because whether you are young or you are old, most kids in America go to high school and they have aspirations to get a job or do something or have some goals that they want to set and a lot of them go to college. This show is like that show that will be relatable to a lot of people who have personal goals that they want to set or something that they want to focus on. They will be able to see that and relate to some of the fierceness in these cheerleaders. At the same time, it's college life so kids and adults will have those experiences to reminisce upon. I am sure we'll be doing things on the show that people have gone through and will be like, "Man, I used to do that in high school!" I think as a cast and a show we'll probably touch on a lot of topics and have a lot of stuff that most people can relate to.
Q. Is there a place online where those interested can go to learn more about you and keep up with your projects?
A. I am on Twitter, I just recently got on there and it's been interesting. I am still learning and I am @TheRobbieJones and I also have a Facebook page which is www.facebook.com/RobbieJonesOnline. There is also a Myspace page which is www.myspace.com/RobbieJonesOnline. I like to try and stay connected to people who want to stay connected to me.
