Friday The 13th’s Jonathan Sadowski

Posted on 09. Feb, 2009 by Administrator in Profiles

by Todd Gilchrist, photos by Robert Todd Williamson

Every year, real-deal “event movies” come and go, and most of them amount to little more than the cumulative total of a studio’s marketing budget. But in rare cases, a film possesses enough of an existing history that provokes a certain kind of intrigue. Most importantly it offers a unique promise of greatness with its impending release that folks just cannot refuse. And while the franchise’s inconsistent pedigree might leave skeptics doubting whether or not a good film could ever be made from its ramshackle and oft-recycled parts, the upcoming Friday the 13th remake contains all of the qualities (and plenty more) that demand it be seen by longtime fans and newcomers alike.

Directed by Marcus Nispel, whose terrifically terrifying 2003 Texas Chainsaw Massacre kick-started the current glut of horror remakes, Friday the 13th classically follows a group of teens and twenty-somethings (including Jared Padalecki, Amanda Righetti, Aaron Yoo, Willa Ford, and Jonathan Sadowski, among others) as they stumble across the path of the murderous, disfigured Jason Voorhees (Derek Mears). In addition to abandoning the trips to hell, outer space, or Manhattan that later installments took in lieu of the series’ original summer-camp locale, the new film offers plenty of what made the series so satisfying during its heyday, including nudity, and you guessed it, exactly 13 murders – although we can’t say whether one of them is the inexhaustible Voorhees.

I was lucky enough to be on the set of the film last year towards the end of shooting – on Friday, June 13, no less – and offered to go undercover as Jason himself if necessary in order to get the inside scoop on this highly-anticipated remake. Before I could find a properly-fitting jumpsuit and hockey mask, however, actor Aaron Yoo reached out to h Magazine and offered to interview his co-star Jonathan Sadowski. Meanwhile, we also recruited actress Amanda Righetti for our fashion story. While personally I happen to think I look better wielding a rusty machete than she does, Yoo and Sadowski gamely provided plenty of behind-the-scenes secrets about Friday the 13th and offered a rare, inside perspective on playing Jason’s potential victims.

Jonathan Sadowski: Gentleman/Scholar

Aaron Yoo: In F13 you play the character Wade. What would Wade put in the “about me” blurb of his online social networking profile?

Jonathan Sadowski: How does that compare to how I might describe him if I met him on the street, or in his basement lair? About me: Live long and prosper. Use the force. And always wear sunscreen. If you met Wade on the street, he’d probably be able to tell you your exact location because he’d probably be holding a handheld GPS…and he might be wearing a cape.

Aaron: There are seven pints of blood in the human body. How much did they use for your “grand mort” scene? Was that your first on-screen death? And was it everything you’d hoped it would be?

Jonathan: I’m not exactly sure how much blood they used on me, but hot damn it was a lot. In one of the death scenes, they used FOUR GALLONS of fake blood! I mean, I was dripping. When I stood up, my clothes were completely stuck to my body. It wasn’t my first onscreen death, but it was by far the goriest.

Aaron: This is my description of the plot of F13: Boy meets girl. Girl gets hacked to itty bitty pieces. Boy gets impaled. Give me your description of F13…

Jonathan: Jack and Jill go to the woods to fetch a pail of water. Neither one comes back. And I think there’s a hockey mask somewhere in there, too. And maybe a machete.

Aaron: What was your favorite thing about shooting Friday the 13th other than getting to do a movie with me?

Jonathan: Let’s see….what was my favorite thing other than getting to work with the most influential Asian actor of our time….hmmm…I’m gonna have to say that being killed by Jason Vorhees was surreal.

Aaron: I think we were all surprised to discover that you and Michael Bay are two peas in a pod. So now that you and Michael are like BFF, what other horror franchise (not Nightmare on Elmstreet which Platinum Dunes has already targeted) would you pitch to Michael to remake? Who would you play? Give me the pitch, 25 words or less.

Jonathan: Well, I think all the franchises are already being remade. I wouldn’t mind seeing Bay remake The Lost Boys. That’d be pretty sick.

Aaron: You just got back from Sundance where your film Spring Breakdown premiered. It was your first time having a film at the festival. Tell me one thing you wish somebody had told you before you’d gone?the movie played…I think that helped take the edge off for everybody…probably because it was an open bar…but I digress…Everyone in the cast was very pleased with the outcome, and our director (Ryan Shiraki) couldn’t have been happier. We’re all keeping our fingers crossed for a theatrical release.

Aaron: Okay, so how were the parties?

Jonathan: Oh. My. God. They. Were. Nutty. It was weird, man. You would find yourself at an open bar (yes, I like saying “open bar”) at like 11AM. Rocking out in the ROCKBAND SUITE by lunchtime. Seeing a movie. Grabbing a drink or four at the movie reception…and so on and so forth until you look at your watch and you realize it’s 3AM and you’re drinking Absinthe at TAO. There was one night me and my roommate Ricky (who I promised I’d give a shout out to) were at TAO and I look to the left and Woody Harrelson is shaking his caboose like its nobody’s business. Another night, 50 Cent was singing happy birthday to Jim Carrey as Jim was throwing it down. T.I., Robin Thicke, and Ryan Cabrera all performed at Sundance, along with DJ’s like Paul Oakenfold. So, yeah — The. Parties. Were. Crazy.

Aaron: Other than myself and Ben Feldman, who gets you into the most trouble in your life?

Jonathan: Hahaha! Wow. You guys are in a league of your own. No doubt about that. I’m twitching just thinking
about it.

Aaron: If you weren’t an actor, what other line of work could you see yourself in? I could see you on a cruise ship.

Jonathan: I actually thought about being a janitor on a cruise ship. It makes for a great screenplay. A young man’s only wish was to be a cruise ship entertainer, so he gets hired as the custodian to bring him closer to the action. Very RUDY. I see shots of him singing into his mop handle while swabbing the deck….Ah, well…a man can dream can’t he? I always loved the idea of being a doctor. I think those guys are incredible. Or maybe a rock star!

Aaron: You’re an accomplished pianist, you’re a pretty mean magician, you’ve got a Chicago boy’s rolodex of dirty jokes…what is one talent that most people would be surprised to know you have? (besides literacy)

Jonathan: Beesides litterasy, I wood say that yoo named it. Most people don’t know that I studied magic as a kid. I started when I was in second grade, and I’ve been making brain cells disappear ever since.

Aaron: WHAT is the deal with your foot thing? Were you traumatized by a sock in elementary school?

Jonathan: Pretty close. There are two reasons why I am so protective of my tootsies: One, my older brothers used to hold me down and tickle my feet. It was torture. Literally. It was like Guantanamo. Two, when I was a little kid (around 2 or 3 years old) my dad traveled for work a lot, and my brothers were in school. So, I was at home with my mom all day. She said I wore her out. She would try to lie down for a minute, and she’d put my on the bed and say, “Don’t leave this bed because there’s monsters underneath it. If your feet go off the side, the monsters will eat your toes.” True story. That’s one way to fuck a kid’s head up for the rest of his life. To this day, I can’t sleep without my feet covered up.

Aaron: Jason Statham, Steven Segal, or Jean-Claude Van Damme?

Jonathan: JCVD…one word: BLOODSPORT

Aaron: Alessandra Ambrosia, Carrie Underwood or Halle Berry?

Jonathan: Double A…

Aaron: James Bond, Jason Bourne or Ethan Hunt?

Jonathan: (In his best Sean Connery) Well, Mish Moneypenny, thish ish eashy…BOND. JAMES BOND.

Aaron: You recently played Jeremy Piven’s son in the upcoming film, Don Ready. Would you want him as a father for real? Why or why not?

Jonathan: Jeremy is a really cool guy, but I gotta say I’m pretty happy with Airbob (that’s my dad’s nickname). I’m not gonna trade him in.

Aaron: Have you ever taken a girl to a horror film as a date? Did that work out for ya?

Jonathan: I did actually! In high school I took this girl to see Scream. We were already dating, but yes…it did work out… wink, wink…

Aaron: Whose biopic would you like to do?

Jonathan: HERE’S TO YOO: THE AARON YOO STORY

Aaron: What actor from the past would you like to bring back to life or youth to play you in the biopic “Jonathan Sadowski’s A Series of Unfortunate Events?”

Jonathan: Jack Lemmon. That would be awesome. Either him or Marlon Brando. I think Brando is more of a “Jonathan Sadowski”, but I think Lemmon might have better comedic timing.

Aaron: Finish this hypothetical quote: “Hey do you remember my friend Sadowski? He’s…”

Jonathan: “…the guy that got us arrested.”

That’s all for now!

Aaron: I can find all the following words in SADOWSKI. Associate a memory with each one:

Jonathan:
SAD - the day my grandmother passed away

SKI - my first trip to Sundance

ADS - getting excited when I saw the poster for my first movie She’s The Man

SAID - all the stupid things I’ve said…ever…

WAS - my friends back home always say I pronounce “was” with a “z”

KISS - my first “real” kiss — in grade school me and my friends would make out with our girls in my buddy’s tool shed…haha! Good God…

SOW - The time me and Aaron Yoo went cow tipping.

AID - applying for financial aid in college — that paperwork SUCKED.