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Peter Jason |
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| A 30-year veteran of the stage-and-screen, PETER JASON co-stars in six films for Carpenter, having logged roles in They Live, Prince of Darkness, the Showtime horror trilogy John Carpenter Presents Body Bags, the psychological thriller In the Mouth of Madness and Escape from LA. Jason is also a favorite of filmmaker Walter Hill, having appeared in the features 48 Hours, Brewster's Millions, Red Heat, Johnny Handsome, The Driver, The Long Riders, Streets of Fire and Wild Bill. The California native began acting in high school and majored in drama at Pittsburgh's Carnegie Institute of Technology before commencing a successful career in which he has appeared in more than 150 plays, scores of TV/film roles and hundreds of commercials. Additional big screen credits include Heartbreak Ridge, Arachnophobia, The Hunt for Red October, Alien Nation, Sunset Impulse, The Karate Kid, Dreamscape, Some Kind of Hero, Congo, Dante's Peak, Howard Hawkes' Rio Lobo (his big screen debut) and Orson Welles' unfinished project, The Other Side of the Wind. Jason has also guest-starred on dozens of TV's most popular series including Coach, Golden Girls, Married with Children, Rosanne, Dear John, Quantum Leap, Tom, The Jackie Thomas Show and Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. |
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Peter Jason on They Live |
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| Peter Jason co-stars in John Carpenter’s They Live as Gilbert, the organizer of Justiceville and also of an activist underground who try to overcome the aliens who have invaded their society. "I couldn’t resist the project, because John virtually had the character of Gilbert written to my specifications," said Jason. "No one ever asked me what I wanted to do before." Jason previously worked with director Carpenter on Prince of Darkness and was particularly pleased by the working atmosphere on the set. "Everyone cooperates for John; he really knows how to get the best out of people while making them want to work." Born in Los Angeles, Jason grew up in Balboa and graduated from Newport Harbor High School and Orange Coast Junior College. Although his earliest aspiration was to be a professional football player, Jason became drawn to acting after a girl he liked persuaded him to audition for a part in a high school production. "The romance went nowhere, but I fell in love with acting." Jason went on to major in drama at Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh, PA., and began acting in what has been more than 150 plays and dozens of commercials, television shows and movies. During that time, he worked on two projects with Orson Welles, who, he said, taught him a great deal about the work of an actor. "I did a part in The Other Side of the Wind for Orson, and it took me six months," says Jason, laughing. "I’ve never known anyone who enjoyed the process of filmmaking more than he did. We all pitched in and did whatever was necessary – I was the boom operator, prop man and even the cook for a while, but it was worth it to learn from someone who enjoyed the process so much. I was very shaken when he died." One of Jason’s favorite films is Rio Lobo, a Howard Hawks production in which Jason "got to die in John Wayne’s arms." Another favorite is Heartbreak Ridge with Clint Eastwood. In his spare time, Jason enjoys making his own furniture of inlaid woods. His greatest love, however, is the musical. "That’s not even work," he enthuses. "That’s just jumping up and down and having fun." A baritone, he has starred in productions of The Music Man, Stop the World, I Want to Get Off, The Roar of the Greasepaint, and as Mack the Knife in Threepenny Opera." Jason and several friends joined forces several years ago to form the South Coast Repertory Company. At a salary of $10 a week for sweeping up, building sets, acting and "doing everything else at times," he slept upstairs at the theatre with his friends until the company found enough funding through donations. Jason was then the first Equity actor hired by the company. |
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