Interview: Connor Jessup Comes of Age

As the second season of "Falling Skies" comes to a close, I had the opportunity to talk with series star Connor Jessup, who plays Ben Mason, the son of Tom Mason (played by Noah Wylie), the co-head of the 2nd Mass rebellion against the alien invasion. Connor gave me some inside scoop as to what to expect for the second-season finale of the Steven Spielberg-produced sci-fi phenomenon (which airs Sunday night on TNT).

Celebrity Extra: Without divulging too much, what can you tell me about the season finale?

Connor Jessup: Let's see ... Some new people and some new characters come in and some interesting twists come up , and this is all very general and very vague, but I can’t really go into too much more. I can say that at the end of the season, there’s a tremendous cliffhanger that boggled me when I read it, so hopefully it will boggle every one else when they watch it. The final two minutes especially are not to be missed.

CE: This has been a great opportunity for you as an actor, to have a character that has grown so much, and who has a really great story arc to present. How did you prepare to play this character?

CJ: I feel really lucky. I had this character presented to me — pretty much a full season-long arc, with each episode itself being a little arc — on a silver platter, which is something you don’t expect to be as fleshed out as it was. So, a lot of my work was done for me before I even arrived, in terms of creating this character. I just happened to be in the right place at the right time in terms of his situation and his experiences and his past to work into these new plot lines that these writers came up with. So, I was just enjoying it because last season was totally different experience. I didn’t get to participate in any of the action. This season it ramped up a lot. I have scenes with all the characters. I was in almost every action sequence. I got to participate in a whole bunch of really, really fun challenging stuff that I never got to do before and that way it felt like a totally different job. Those characters interest me if they can be done well, and our writers can do them well. I’m just excited to see what they cook up for season three.

CE: Season two was a big difference for you, compared with season one ...

CJ: Yeah, definitely. In season one, there was a big difference in age. In season one, I was 16 and we’re shooting in Toronto, and the regulations are somewhat different, so the most I could work was 12 hours a day, and two of those hours had to be tutoring and then another hour for lunch. So, it’s really just nine hours a day, which is not that long on a film set. I didn’t participate in any of the action sequences, which take place almost exclusively at night, so I was shooting mostly during the day. So for me, it was relatively like a 9-to-5 job. But season two was an entirely different ballgame because I finally got a taste of the medicine of what everybody else had been going through for a year. I was 17, and the regulations there mean that when you turn 17 you can work as long as an adult. So suddenly I was working 16 to 17 hour days every day, doing night shoots every day. It became a totally different experience for me and suddenly I felt like I was with everybody else going through the most difficult times because there’s nothing quite like being on set at 6 o’clock in the morning when you’ve been shooting for 17 hours and looking around and everybody else seeing how exhausted everybody is and everyone is sort of hysterical by that point. It’s a real bonding moment.

CE: In what ways can you relate to Ben?

CJ: I felt like Ben last season was much more like I am in real life in terms of I am somewhat bookish and I wouldn’t be much good in a battle. He wasn’t exactly like me, but there are more similarities. This season Ben is cold, distant, angry, violent. I’m generally not an angry or violent or hateful person for the most part. So that part of Ben was foreign to me, which is fun because as an actor, that’s a little more challenging. What I do like about Ben, what I think everyone could relate to, is that he under all this coldness and hardness that he’s built up between the two seasons is also a kind of childlike innocence and optimism that still hasn’t quite been shattered by the horrors of war. It's because of that optimism and childlike quality that he grasps so quickly onto the idea of a skitter rebellion and skitter resistance. He’s so optimistic about this for very little reason. You do feel like there’s a conflict between the new and the old, the adult and the child, and that exemplifies that conflict. And that’s what I’ve found most interesting. I like to call it puberty on steroids.

CE: A few months back, I interviewed Will Patton, who plays Capt. Weaver, and he is nothing like you'd expect if you went only by his character ...

CJ: Isn’t he the best? I love that guy. He has a caramel core. He’s like the sweetest, kindest man I’ve ever met. I could sing Will Patton’s praises for a year because he’s the most down to earth man, but so unbelievably dedicated. He puts all of us to shame. I don’t want to go on and on and on about Will Patton, but he’s one of my favorite people in the world.

CE: Are you excited for the season finale? Will jaws be dropping?

CJ: I think so, because mine did. It’s always interesting because for me, reading the script is entirely different from watching it on TV, obviously because it’s not quite the same with the visuals and the special effects and acting. But my jaw dropped when I read the ending, so I imagine anyone’s will. It’s quite the ending and it’s quite unexpected, and it doesn’t feel like a lot of cliffhangers on a lot of shows. I feel like this one makes sense in the context of the show and also it expands the scope of the show unbelievably. I hope everyone enjoys it.

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Q and A: Week of July 2

Q: I was thrilled to read in your column that “Falling Skies” is back on TNT, and I am loving every minute of season two. Can you give me any spoilers for what to expect in coming episodes? — Jack I., via e-mail

A: I spoke with series star and all-around good guy Will Patton recently (but keep the “all-around good guy” comment between us, as Will’s Capt. Weaver has a tough-guy rep to protect!), and while he didn’t want to ruin any surprises for the fans, he did give me a little bit of a scoop on what’s to become of 2nd Mass.


“We’re all working toward a common goal, with some dissension. Many of us have bonded in a new way. I think those of us who can step up to the plate and have a solidity are becoming more solid. For those who aren’t, it’s becoming more clear that they’re not, and it becomes a little more troublesome,” he said. “I think we’re going to go through hell, that’s what I can tell you. We go through a lot of hell, but there are moments of blue sky. I think there’s probably more moments of blue sky in this season than there were in last season, but there’s a great deal of dark danger too.”


That “dark danger” is what makes Weaver so much fun for Will to play, as well as letting viewers catch a glimpse of his softer side. Will told me: “It’s very interesting when you think about what it would be like to have to command in a situation like this. What is it you would have to do is maybe not what you would think, and being fair is not necessarily what we would normally think it would be.


“I think it requires not allowing people to see certain things about you. The greatest commanders had to find ways to wear masks, which was the greatness of their command. That’s what’s interesting about Weaver: When that mask comes down a little bit, it’s powerful. That’s intriguing to me about people because I think we all, in order to survive, have to pretend sometimes to be something that we’re not.”

Q: Both “NCIS” and “Missing” did not caption their finale show with “to be continued.” I am anxious to find out if they will return to TV in the fall? — P.R., via e-mail

A: “NCIS” consistently places in the top 20 — often top 10 — of television ratings, so you can bet it will be back for a 10th season. The Ashley Judd show, “Missing,” wasn’t so lucky. ABC decided to cancel the ratings-challenged series back in May.

Q: What has Charles Dutton been up to lately? — Gerry F., Atlanta

A: Charles has a new movie opening July 13 in select markets called “The Obama Effect,” which he stars in and marks his directorial debut. Keep an eye out for it in local theaters.

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Interview: Will Patton on Saving the World

Will Patton (photo by James Dittiger)

Veteran actor Will Patton has done it all — from his earlier work in Silkwood and Desperately Seeking Susan to his almost seamless transition to big-time Hollywood blockbusters like Armageddon and Remember the Titans to critically acclaimed TV shows like 24 and Numb3rs. Now Will has a new challenge in life: saving the world from aliens. Will co-stars in the TNT hit show Falling Skies — which airs Sunday nights at 9 ET/PT — commanding the 2nd Massachusetts Civilian Resistance Group. And when Will isn’t too busy saving the world or starring in feature films, he's earning awards and rave reviews for his narration of audiobooks. I spoke with the multitalented actor recently about the second season of the Steven Spielberg-produced action drama, and he’s excited for his fans to see what the show has in store for them.

[*Note: This interview contains minor spoilers for those who haven't seen the two-hour premiere episode that aired this past Sunday.]

Celebrity Extra: Talk to me about Capt. Weaver: What are some of his qualities that you admire or that you can relate to?

Will Patton: It’s very interesting when you think about what it would be like to have to command in a situation like this. What you would have to do is maybe not what you would think, and being fair is not necessarily what we would normally think it would be. I think it requires not allowing people to see certain things about you. The greatest commanders had to find ways to wear masks, which was the greatness of their command. That’s what’s interesting about Weaver: When that mask comes down a little bit, it’s powerful. That’s intriguing to me about people, because I think we all, in order to survive, have to pretend sometimes to be something that we’re not.

CE: What can you tell me about the fate of the 2nd Mass and what they are going to face?

WP: We’re all working toward a common goal, with some dissension. Many of us have bonded in a new way. I think those of us who can step up to the plate and have a solidity are becoming more solid. For those who aren’t, it’s becoming clearer that they’re not, and it becomes a little more troublesome. I think we’re going to go through hell, that’s what I can tell you, but there are moments of blue sky. I think there are probably more moments of blue sky in this season than there were last season, but there’s a great deal of dark danger, too.

CE: One of the things I like about the show is there’s a really good balance of action scenes versus human-interaction scenes.

WP: I think so, too. It’s what interests me — it’s kind of like a weird metaphor, which I think a lot of people are feeling, like: “Is this world going to completely fall apart? And if it does, how will I really behave?”

CE: In the second episode of this season, when Tom returns from the alien ship and they discover he has that tracker thing in his eye, and Anne has to remove it ...

WP: Ew! That’s one of the craziest scenes! That scene was one of the craziest scenes I’ve ever been involved with in my whole life, and I actually really liked it because it was so far-out. I remember when we were shooting it, we were just like our minds were blown by the situation.

Will Patton (with Noah Wylie, photo by Ken Woroner)

CE: Can you take me through, say, a day in the life on the Falling Skies set?


WP: (Laughs) Because we’re shooting outside in Vancouver in winter, mostly at night, it’s freezing. Every actor got sick at one point or another, so in that way, there is a certain amount of survival that’s required. It’s like you’re shooting a whole action movie in eight days. Everyone on this crew has a really great work ethic. And every day is different, so there’s not an average day on this show. You never know what you’re going to be doing. One day you’re fighting skitters, and the next day you’re in a really intense emotional situation with another character, or you’re exploring something that you never thought about before that has to do with your life and your love. But really, a day for me is just coming in and deciding how to best make sure that I command 2nd Mass properly.

CE: Now, aside from Falling Skies, I see you’re keeping really busy with other roles. Tell me about The Girl, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival this spring.

WP: It was a beautiful script, which we shot in Mexico last summer. I have high hopes for it. I think it’s quite a beautiful story. I really liked the director, David Riker, and Abbie Cornish (who stars) is great. The little Mexican girl who’s in it — Maritza Santiago Hernandez, about 8 years old — was just beautiful.

CE: And you were just out of town filming another movie. What movie was that, and what can you tell me about it?

WP: I finished filming it in Seattle just last week. It’s called You Can’t Win with Michael Pitt, which is a pretty interesting movie. It’s sort of a true narrative about bums and thieves in the late 1800s. It’s based on the book written by a guy named Jack Black — but not the Jack Black we know. It was a memoir based on his life and published in the early part of the 1900s. It was William S. Burroughs’ favorite book. It’s an interesting script, so I’m excited to see how that turns out.

CE: Aside from all your work in feature films, TV movies and TV series, I had no idea that you were so prolific in audiobook narration — about 40 books so far, including Jack Kerouac’s On the Road, Al Gore’s The Assault on Reason, Pat Frank’s Alas, Babylon and many more. You’ve also won numerous awards for your recordings. How did you get into that?

WP: When I was a kid, I always sort of lived inside books. There’s nothing more exciting than being able to sort of live a beautiful piece of literature by reading it aloud. It’s a great thing for actors to do, you know? It’s just you with a microphone, kind of doing a little play. I’d think any real actor would be excited by it. It’s hard to do, because it’s really important you don’t try to show how well you can act, and you make sure you’re staying out of the author’s way. You need to keep it as interesting as it really is without saying, “Here’s how good I’m reading it.” It’s a tricky little thing, and it’s a constant challenge. I find it to be very exciting work for an actor — as long as the book’s good.

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