Catching Up With . . .
Catching up with...Jason Stuart
By Scott Lewis

Oct 24, 2006

Photo by: Michael Quain

When you hear the name Jason Stuart it might ring a bell, it might not, but you know him. You even like him. You’ve seen him on TV on George Lopez, My Wife and Kids, Will and Grace, and House. You’ve seen him in movies such as Kindergarten Cop, Vegas Vacation, and Gia. Much like Paul Giamatti (“Sideways”), Jason Stuart is a name you don’t know, but you know him when you see him, and you have enjoyed his work in the past. Jason says he is living life “In the middle”. He’s not nobody, but he’s not a household name.

I caught up with Jason recently to talk about his life, his career in the middle and the new movie he is so proud of “Coffee Date”

SL: You were born in the Bronx and raised in L. A. by what’s described as a crazy yet loveable Jewish family. That statement screams of stories.

JS: Oh, definitely! My parents are insane. They are five minutes from an O. J. trial. Ten minutes from the Menendez Brothers, across the street from Robert Blake. And yes, we all played with Michael Jackson!

Photo by: A. Karno

SL: Many think that comedy is all fun and games, and not really work. Comedy however, can be on of the toughest jobs out there. Just bomb in front of one audience and it is devastating. How did you catch the comedy bug and what was it like for you starting out?

JS: I was always funny as a kid, and I was funny because I was scared I think. You know what I mean?

SL: Do you think it was a defense mechanism to cover being gay?

JS: I think so. But I didn’t even know, I just knew that I was different. I think that when you grow up and you are different you try to figure out things. You try to figure out who to be. And there are no role models for you on TV and there is nothing to see and nobody to be. I remember seeing Rhoda on TV and thinking oh, she’s Jewish and she’s funny and she’s fat and I think in the back of my mind I thought that was me. But not really clearly. I think that if I had known that I was gay and that being gay meant that I had to work out, I mean Jesus Christ, nobody told me anything.

"Coffee Date" poster Photo by: Rebecca Sapp

SL: You talk about Rhoda and the early influence she had on you.

JS: Oh yeah, but the big mistake was that she was a woman. She was a woman and she was fat. What was I thinking?

SL: You didn’t realize you had just claimed your first Fag Hag.

JS: No.

SL: You have worked with some great talents. Joan Rivers, Damon Wayans, George Lopez, the cast of Will and Grace. Who makes you laugh?

JS: God, My mother. She is so damn funny.

SL: What does she do?

JS: Well, she can no longer finish a sentence. She has this disease. My parents have been divorced since 1977 and they both have this disease. I don’t know what happened. I call her on the phone and I tell her, “Mom, I am going to be doing the Rosie O’Donnell Cruise!” She asks “What’s that?” I tell her “It’s for gay people with families.” She tells me “How am I going to meet a guy on that vacacacta cruise?” I said Mom, it’s not about meeting a guy, it’s about bonding.” She tells me “I’m not Liza!”

Photo by: Patrick Ecclesine

SL: Your resume is one of the most diverse of a comedian that I have seen, you have to usual, comedy clubs, the big festivals, the College Circuit, but the one that caught my attention was the fact that you are a popular lecturer who has been sought out by such Fortune 500 Companies as Motorola and AT&T. How did this come about, and what do you offer in these lectures?

JS: Well the lecture is called “Coming Out in Hollywood and what it’s like to be openly gay in the workplace. This is really no different for me or you it’s just that more people know me. I had started doing colleges and at the end of the college things the college kids would be asking me all of these questions. Then a Q&A started. You know I do interviews all the time and you guys ask a lot of the same questions and I have some great stories and I put them all together for this.

SL: You are successful in multiple areas, be it stand up, TV, or movies. Given the choice, where do you prefer to perform in front of an audience, or a camera?

JS: Oh God, both at the same time hopefully! You know when you do a movie there are hundreds of people there so your not doing it in front of nobody, it’s always a show.

SL: Let’s talk about “Coffee Date: The Movie”. This project started as a seventeen minute short film (now the first 17 minutes of the feature) about a blind date between a Gay man and a straight man. How did Coffee Date go from short film to full length feature?

JS: Well the director always tells the story that everyone kept asking what happened to these people. It’s as simple as that.

"Coffee Date" Photo: Jason Stuart Collection

SL: In the movie the two characters become friends which lead to great fun as all those around the straight character refuse to believe that he is not gay. Tell me about the film, and the great cast that you got to work with.

JS: Well, it’s an incredible cast; it was such a dream cast. I remember they called me and asked how do we get Wilson Cruz, we can’t get him. I said “I’ll call him!” I got on the phone I called him I e-mailed him the script and that was it. He went in and met with them and of course he was terrific and they said he was the one to do it.

SL: Tell me about the movie.

JS: It’s romantic, it’s sexy, Wilson Cruz is HOT! HOT! HOT! I am funny and charming and the voice of reason. It’s unexpected. Jonathan Silverman is hysterical! Sally Kirkland is outrageous. Deborah Gibson is adorable. Elaine Hendrix is just such a doll and gives such a great performance. Even Lisa Ann Walter has a little part in it and is terrific.

SL: You recently toured the country with the “Looking for MR. Right Tour”. Any luck?

JS: No, it’s just awful!

SL: Your own love life is filled with interesting stories. I heard one about a guy who called just before your second date in a panic because he was being followed.

Will and Grace

JS: Oh God, yes, the crystal meth guy. He calls me on the phone and says I can’t come, I am being followed. I said what’s wrong. He say’s I’ll be there. He comes; he’s like two hours late. He’s sitting there, I asked “What happened?” He says “I was being followed!” He was chattering his teeth, and my friend says “That’s crystal meth.” I said “You cannot come over here like that, it’s over, we are done.” He asked “Why? I only do it on weekends.” I said, “Oh, that makes it better?”

SL: What are you looking for in Mister Right?

JS: Smart, sexy, job, car, doesn’t live in it.

SL: The “Looking for Mr. Right Tour” has been filmed for a cable special called “Making it in the Middle”. Explain that title.

JS: Well, it’s the middle of the country, I taped it in Columbus Ohio, and I am in the middle of a career. I am not really, really famous, I am not really nobody, I am in the middle. I am a semi-celebrity. I never expected to be a guy who made a living. I expected to be someone who was a complete failure or someone who was just wonderful.

SL: Are you happy where you are at, or do you want more?

JS: I want more. Just like Madonna in Dick Tracy.

SL: What can we expect next from Jason Stuart?

10 Attitudes

JS: Well “Coffee Date”. Then I have another movie coming out called “Monkey Man” and my TV Special we keep talking about, and more touring, and hopefully more acting roles.

“Coffee Date-The Movie” hits Houston November 17th at the Angelica Cinema info at www.angelikafilmcenter.com and Dallas on December 8th at the Landmark Inwood Theater, info at www.landmarktheatres.com. More on the film at www.coffeedatethemovie.com. More on Jason at www.jasonstuart.com.

Not since “Billy’s Hollywood Screen Kiss” have I enjoyed a Gay guy date’s Straight guy movie so much. It was “Billy’s Hollywood Screen Kiss” that introduced us to another actor in the middle. Sean Hayes, he’s now better known for playing Jack on “Will and Grace”. This could be the role that launches Jason out of the middle and lands him where he belongs. Really, really famous!



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