I had a blast portraying Dick Smith, famed movie make up artist, in the sizzle reel WALTZING WITH BRANDO starring the very cool Billy Zane. Feature film in the works for next year.
I played the title role in the wonderful short film CHARLIE THISTLE. It was great being a character who travels from shy, demure & frightened to bold, brave &
I had a blast portraying Dick Smith, famed movie make up artist, in the sizzle reel WALTZING WITH BRANDO starring the very cool Billy Zane. Feature film in the works for next year.
I played the title role in the wonderful short film CHARLIE THISTLE. It was great being a character who travels from shy, demure & frightened to bold, brave & victorious in a span of 15 minutes. The project was brilliantly crafted by writer/director Bragi Schut and was rightly considered a gem by critics. CHARLIE THISTLE won eight awards in 30 film festivals internationally.
Also this past year, I played CHUCK, a good-natured but comically over-serious bank loan manager, in the family feature A MERMAID FOR CHRISTMAS, available on Amazon Prime.
Another fun project was KICK! - a dark, twisted comedy short. The film showed in many festivals around the U.S. -- and we won Best Acting Ensemble in The Indie Short Fest. All my lines are in German and I'm told I look quite evocative in lederhosen, hanging from a noose.
Some other recent works include internet hit SOLVE, the comedy murder mystery from Vertical Networks. I made guest star appearances in three episodes, each receiving millions of views on this popular platform. I was a boisterous 1960s film producer, a snobbish wine connoisseur and a paranoid redneck conspiracy theorist.
I also had fun filming THE CHRONICLES OF ARA, a series pilot, portraying writer J.R.R. Tolkien, complete with tweed and British accent, and short film SILVER AGE, as a sympathetic man balancing the problems of his teenage son with the dementia of his aging father.
And also completed this past year is BUDS (short for "Ombudsmen"), a TV pilot lampooning the health care industry. I play JOE, head of the Licensing Division, in this hilarious workplace comedy.
I learned improv at the Groundlings Theater and studied the Stanislavski Method at Atwater Playhouse, where I was a company member for three years, performing in both classic and modern plays. I also studied with Christy Faison at Risa Bramon Garcia's BGB Studios, and with Kerrie Keane at her well-respected Actor's Workout for over four years.
Besides acting, I've been a long-time visual artist, putting on many one-man shows and contributing to many group exhibits. I currently offer graphic works at my online store ARTandREASON https://artandreason.redbubble.com
I also played bass guitar in LA punk band R.I.P. for eight years, performing on two albums & in countless live shows.
And for seven awesome years, I co-owned the iconic LA restaurant CADILLAC CAFE. Longue vie a la bonne bouffe et au style!
I love film, TV, new media, anything where there's a camera involved. Please see my resumé for more details!
I love film, TV, new media, anything where there's a camera involved. Please see my resumé for more details!
FILM
A MERMAID FOR CHRISTMAS
-supporting
Director: Michael Caruso
KICK!
-supporting
Directors: Alex Backes & Tanner Boyajian
CHARLIE THISTLE-lead
Director: Bragi Schut
SILVER AGE-lead
Director: Harrison Lees
SLIPPING-lead
Director: Jamie Paolinetti
AMBER-lead
Director: Michael S. Reese
WHORE-supporting
Director: P. Mohan
THE P.A.-lead
Director: Ko
FILM
A MERMAID FOR CHRISTMAS
-supporting
Director: Michael Caruso
KICK!
-supporting
Directors: Alex Backes & Tanner Boyajian
CHARLIE THISTLE-lead
Director: Bragi Schut
SILVER AGE-lead
Director: Harrison Lees
SLIPPING-lead
Director: Jamie Paolinetti
AMBER-lead
Director: Michael S. Reese
WHORE-supporting
Director: P. Mohan
THE P.A.-lead
Director: Kourosh Pirnazar
INTERNET
SOLVE (series)
recurring guest star
Director: Eric Georgeson
MEANWHILE (series)
guest star
Director: Cole Smith
ELECTIVES (series)
guest star
Director: Keith Ross Nelson
PROPOSITION 8 COURT REENACTMENT
guest star
Director: John Ireland
TELEVISION
BUDS (pilot)
guest star
Director: Annie C. Wright
ANGELS IN PARADISE (series)
guest star
Director: Jamie Paolinetti
WILL AND GRACE (series)
co-star
NBC
THEATER
THE ODD COUPLE-lead
Atwater Playhouse, LA
EDUCATING RITA-lead
Atwater Playhouse, LA
ADVISE AND CONSENT-lead
Atwater Playhouse, LA
THE NORMAL HEART-lead
Actor's Workout, LA
LIGHT SENSITIVE-lead
Atwater Playhouse, LA
THE VISIT-lead
American River Theater
BORN YESTERDAY-lead
Atwater Playhouse, LA
UNDER MILKWOOD-lead
American River Theater
DINNER WITH FRIENDS-lead
Atwater Playhouse, LA
TRAINING
IMPROVISATION
Groundlings Theater, Scott Beehner
AUDITION TECHNIQUE
BGB Studios, Christy Faison
STANISLAVSKI METHOD
Atwater Playhouse, Jamie Paolinetti
SCENE STUDY
Actor's Workout, Kerrie Keane
Acting Resume (pdf)
DownloadDo you have more questions? Are you interested in collaborating on a project? Send me a message, and I will get back to you as soon as I can.
jonkeel.jk@gmail.com THEATRICAL REPRESENTATION Susan Fincham @ David Shapira & Associates (747)205-3018 COMMERCIAL REPRESENTATION Tina Kiratsoulis @ Flick East-West Talents, Inc. (310)271-9111
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