CAUTION: The following contains mentions of events that happened in episode three, if you are watching on The CW, wait until tomorrow to read this interview. DC Universe fans just got their big introduction to Icicle, the leader of the Injustice Society of America and possibly the most terrifying villain we've seen to-date. He is driven with an iron clad will to make the country safe for his son with Project New America. Jordan Mahkent's wife's dying words were to destroy anyone that would stand in his way. If that doesn't set up a battle of wills, we don't know what does! Today, Stargirl.tv got a very special privilege to speak with the man behind the chilling exterior, actor Neil Jackson!
Stargirl.tv: It's been made official that you are playing Jordan Mahkent, aka Icicle, on DC Universe's "Stargirl". Having seen so many of your social media posts, you are such a nice and genuine person, how do you get into that villain role and what do you rely on to get you there?
Ah, thank you, that's very nice of you to say. But I do think there's a little villain in all of us - that deviant side that makes us want to ignore the rules or cause a little mischief. As for this role, I don't believe that Jordan is a villain. He's an incredibly driven man with a singular vision for how he can make the world a better place. It's easy to understand his motives and see why he's so passionate. Others may view him as villainous, but I just see him as passionate :)
Stargirl.tv: Having seen the first five episodes, Icicle is simply terrifying! The powers some of these villains have are well established and used in very creative ways. How do you weather the difficulty of having a lot of what you do depend on CGI?
Honestly, it was something of a gift in portraying this character. From the moment they showed me the early concept designs for Icicle, through to seeing the first CGI rendering of the character, I realized that the appearance of the character does 90% of the work. It's such an imposing look and that allowed me to really understate what I was doing as an actor.
Stargirl.tv: In your bio on http://neiljackson.me you joke about being kicked out of French class often for goofing around but in Stargirl, you speak some very convincing Norwegian (we think)! Was that a skill you had to pick up for the part?
Haha, I'm very glad it sounded convincing. That was a bit of a nightmare for me. There was one scene in particular where Jordan recites a Norwegian prayer. Thankfully Jim France, who plays Jordan's father, speaks fluent Norwegian and he spent the entire morning helping me work on it. The words just didn't want to stay in my mouth, but we got through it. Literally ten minutes after they called cut I wasn't able to remember a single word!
Stargirl.tv: You've had an incredible journey becoming an actor. Boxing led to a night of belting out Billy Joel songs to meeting the right people at the right time and getting scholarships from incredible drama professors. Everyone's journey is different, but what is one thing you can offer aspiring actors as a must do?
The biggest advice I could give is to not get hung up on the outcome. We are so conditioned to want quick responses and career shortcuts and I used to get incredibly frustrated that my career wasn't where I wanted it to be. I would see auditions as a necessary evil to booking work, instead of relishing the fact that I get to act today. That's what an audition is - an opportunity to act. Once I started really enjoying those opportunities to get in a room and present a character without being attached to whether I book the job or not, I started to relax and have fun and my career frustrations gradually disappeared. Having now been a professional actor for almost twenty years, I can look back and see the positive change that this perspective shift had on my career and my work.
Stargirl.tv: In 2016, you released a song you wrote called "Kryptonite" about the Superman and Lois Lane relationship; did you ever imagine you would become such a big part of the DC Comics world on television back then?
Haha, no. Maybe I should write a song about James Bond next ;)
We want to give a very special thank you to Neil Jackson for taking the time to talk with us today. We hope you all enjoyed this deeper dive into Icicle and Neil's work. For more information on Neil and to hear some of his wonderful music, please visit http://neiljackson.me. Let us know what you think in the comments below and in the forum! Follow us on Twitter to get breaking news!
