Written by Assist. Sports Editor Troy Kelleher
I got to sit down with Andrew Jacobs and Jorge Diaz, the stars of found-footage horror film Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones. Jacobs plays Jesse, a teenager possessed by a malevolent demon that gives him super powers before driving him into madness. Diaz plays his best friend that refuses to turn the camera off. For a recording of the full interview and much more, go to ncclinked.com.
Question: So did you have any on-set possessions?
Andrew: I actually did, I woke up this morning fully tattooed and I have no idea what happened [laughs]. But no, there was nothing really creepy that happened on set. Although, there were a couple of locations, like the ritual store, where we shot, that had a ton of energy. We didn’t want to touch anything in those places. There’s one place we went that didn’t make it into the film, this tiny room where there were so many creepy statues and trinkets hanging down. It’s creepy, man.
Q: One of my favorite parts of the film is when Jesse first gets possessed, gets super powers and decides to have fun with them. What would you do in real life if you were in Jesse’s position?
Andrew: The same exact thing [laughs]. I would have done tons of crazy things and had a lot of fun with it. But as soon as it starts getting into some crazy, deep shit, I would kill myself [laughs]. I have a baby boy and I wouldn’t want anything to happen to him so…I’m jumping off!
Jorge: In real life, I would have absolutely taped everything. You know? It’s so funny; you always hear these critics that are like, “Yeah, they’re constantly filming even though their friends are dead!” But, if you have a camera on you, wouldn’t you want to get evidence of all this crazy stuff that’s going on around you?
Andrew: Yeah, if there’s a crazy fight down the street, what do people do? They pull out their cell phones.
Jorge: I always say, “I wish I had a video of that.”
Andrew: And you see someone you know getting all of these crazy super powers, no one’s going to believe you. So, I mean, film it.
Jorge: At least, if I died, I’d have a video so people would know what happened and who’s responsible for it.
Q: What is an actor’s role in a found footage film?
Jorge: There were two cameras. Whenever you actually see the camera in the film I’m holding a smaller one, but when I’m actually filming I use a larger camera. It’s nothing fancy, something you could find at any electronics store. It’s a skill we had to develop as we worked closely with the cinematographer, who was really awesome, along with the director. Most of the time I filmed because they wanted my energy behind the camera, you know? If I was yelling or something then I would have to synchronize the movement of the camera with my character’s reaction. We tried to keep it as organic as possible, and we’re always open to improv. It was fun, man!
Q: How did you come across this role?
Andrew: We didn’t know anything about the script, nobody really did. They want it to be as real as possible when it comes out, because that’s the whole point of these movies. This is actually my first acting project ever! It’s an honor to be a part of this franchise. Going in, they basically just gave us a character breakdown, sort of like an interview as our character. They threw us into groups of actors and the first group I was in was with Jorge. Director Christopher Landon—it was dope—he saw us, looked at the casting director and said, “these are the guys.”
Jorge: And then, when we found out it was “Paranormal Activity,” we were like “alright!” We figured it was a legit movie, but we didn’t expect this.
Q: What is your process for getting into character?
Andrew: I don’t need to stare into the mirror and get into this demonic mood, I just like being myself and laughing with Jorge and the director. When they say “action,” I just follow my instinct and snap into character. My body changes from loose and goofy into something scary.
Q: How did you develop on-set chemistry?
Andrew: We just built that friendship—hanging out at each other’s houses and catching movies. I think that translated well on camera.
Jorge: The director really wanted to depict a bond between friends. I think that we spurted more ideas as we went along and I think there was a trust between us and Chris that really developed. I think the more fun we had, the more creative he felt and we just loved goofing around.
Q: You seem very similar to Jesse and Hector in real life. Can you talk about the similarities you noticed between yourselves and your characters?
Andrew: My character’s Jesse, in real life I’m more to myself, until you get to know me. I think that’s exactly what Jesse’s like, until the part where he starts going crazy. When I’m with my best friends, I’m definitely the goofiest guy and I portray that in the film.
Jorge: For me, my character’s really just a heightened version of my personality. I played him really naïve, and I’m really goofy and ADD so I brought that energy to it. But also he actually cares—
Andrew: –But in real life he doesn’t [laughs].
Jorge: But when shit hits the fan, that’s when he’s like, “oh man.” He wants to help his friend but he doesn’t know how. I’m a loving guy, I’m not dumb, but…
Andrew: He’s not dumb, but he’s definitely very goofy.
Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones is rated R and currently in theatres nationwide.
