Interview with Thomas Kasp on the new FOX show, Surviving Jack
Glitter Magazine recently sat down with Thomas Kasp to discuss his role as Mango on the new FOX show, Surviving Jack, what it’s like to work with Christopher Meloni, what makes him quiet competitive, what he plans on doing for the holidays and what other projects he has coming up.
GLITTER: Can you tell us about Surviving Jack? What’s it about? When does it air?
THOMAS: Surviving Jack is an upcoming show on FOX about a dad raising his kids when the mom goes back to law school. It follows the son as he becomes a man and the dad, Jack (Chris Meloni), as he becomes a father. Our show will air in the 8:30 p.m. time slot after American Idol.
GLITTER: Can you tell us who you play on Surviving Jack?
THOMAS: I play the character of Doug Manganaro, aka Mango. Mango is Rachel’s (Claudia Lee) boyfriend and he’s a little goofy and simple. The dad always laments him being over, and the dynamic between Mango and Jack is a great one to play and it will be very funny to see on screen.
GLITTER: How alike or unalike your character are you?
THOMAS: I think that Mango is a lot more simple than I am. He’s always smiling and he’s always easily excited. He’s a little uncoordinated and nervous, but he’s a lovable guy. I think its fun to play Mango because there’s no limit to how intimidated he can be around Jack. I think that Mango most relates to me and every other teenage boy in the way he behaves around his girlfriend’s dad and its a very funny situation every time.
GLITTER: How did you get the role?
THOMAS: When I first auditioned for Doug, I loved the role and I was passionate about how fun playing him could be. I got the chance to show a few different sides of Doug at the audition and it was a blast. I think that I bring a lot to the role.
GLITTER: What’s it like working with Christopher Meloni who was on both True Blood and Law & Order: SVU for years?
THOMAS: Chris is a genius and a lot of people don’t realize he’s also an expert at comedy. He’s brilliant in his character. Often times when I am doing a scene with him, I forget what show we are on. Sometimes if feels like I’m being interrogated on SVU. He’s a great person and makes our scenes very funny.
GLITTER: When did you start acting?
THOMAS: I started acting when I was eleven and I haven’t stopped since!
GLITTER: How do you deal with rejection?
THOMAS: The more you want a role and the more you prepare and work hard to get it, the more disappointing it is to lose it. As an actor you’ll experience hundreds of auditions where you think you did well but you just won’t get the role, so you learn to desensitize. But there are always those ones that got away. Over the summer, I went through several callbacks for a brilliant film. I began obsessing over the role and I worked my butt off to polish the role and to be the best person the director saw at the final chemistry call. It was a competitive call and I was in the zone. Needless to say, I spent the next week waiting by the phone and when the call never came it was disappointing because I knew I had given everything I could to nail that job. That is what is so difficult about being an actor. Lots of times, its completely out of your hands.
GLITTER: We read in a recent interview that you’re quiet competitive. Can you explain that more?
THOMAS: I’m competitive in that I compete against myself. I constantly want to be better than I am and I think that fuels people to become great at what they do. Im always hard on myself to become a better actor and to be the best actor the casting director sees for the role. You have to have that drive in order to stand amongst the crowds in Hollywood.
GLITTER: What other projects do you have coming up?
THOMAS: The past few months I’ve been hard at work on Surviving Jack and now I have the chance to audition for some great upcoming roles. I’m looking forward to working on some more great roles.
GLITTER: What are your plans for the holidays?
Editorial Director | Writer | Tweet me @heatherriccio
