Rising Star Jonathan Bergman On The Five Things You Need To Shine In The Entertainment Industry
An Interview With Elana Cohen
It is important to read the director! Early on I had worked on a show with a director that was great with kids. He acted like he really enjoyed talking to me. Later, on another show with a different director I acted the same way I had before. I tried to unsuccessfully have a conversation with the director. When they didn’t respond I tried again! At the time I didn’t understand that people can work differently. That is ok. Now I know I need to “read the room” first!
As a part of my series about pop culture’s rising stars, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Jonathan Bergman.
JONATHAN BERGMAN is a charismatic young actor who is currently starring as “Owen” in the new sci-fi, coming-of-age Apple TV+ series, ME. His previous acting credits include Netflix’s FLORIDA MAN, the Disney+ miniseries HAWKEYE (starring Jeremy Renner), AMC’s THE WALKING DEAD, HBO MAX’S DOOM PATROL and the Clint Eastwood biopic, RICHARD JEWELL. He also starred opposite Colin Egglesfield in the Lifetime movie, A ROSE FOR HER GRAVE: THE RANDY ROTH STORY.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Our readers would love to get to know you a bit better. Can you tell us the story of how you grew up?
I was born and raised just outside Atlanta, Georgia. I went to Montessori school through Kindergarten. I enjoyed Montessori a lot because I was able to focus on the things that interested me and that’s when I discovered story telling! I was so into writing stories that my teacher would have story time and she would allow me to share a story I’d written with the rest of the class. When I started elementary school in 1st grade I signed up for two clubs, the Chess Club and Drama Kids International. I stuck with the drama class for a few years and it is what lead to acting! I had some early success and then Covid happened. I spent my middle school years enrolled in an online school. For high school I am happy to be back in school with kids my age.
Can you share a story with us about what brought you to this specific career path?
When I was little I really enjoyed watching movies. I was really into Star Wars, the Lord of the Rings, and The Hobbit. I would create my own movie inspired stories and act them out as if I was in a movie. It was joining Drama Kids International in first grade through my elementary school that really got me started. That first year I was asked to do the introduction for the year end production which was usually delivered by a 5th grader. In 3rd grade, my instructor contacted my parents offering to set me up with professional representation. This wasn’t even something they had considered but supported me in trying. I booked my first SAG-AFTRA job in 4th grade and have been fortunate to have worked on a variety of different projects.
Can you tell us the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your entertainment career?
I had become very intrigued with The Walking Dead. I read all of the comics and really wanted to be on the show. I finally booked a role as a Child Walker and it was amazing. I got to experience becoming a “walker” with the makeup, costume, staggering walk, and growl. Maggie killed me with a railroad spike and I got to keep it as a souvenir!
It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?This has to be when I was working on Clint Eastwood’s Richard Jewell. My character was Jerrod Braydon. He was with his family to watch the 1995 Olympics. He and his sister were really excited and apparently inspired. I was supposed to leap and say “Mom, look at me! I’m Mitch Gaylord!” But instead I was really focused on Clint Eastwood. I did the leap. I said “Mom, look at me…” and then I stopped. And it was “Cut!” I was about to say “Mom, look at me! I’m Clint Eastwood!” But instead 600 extras had to reset while I refocused. What I learned is that I need to be fully focused on my lines before the director says “Action!”
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? How do you think that might help people?
My latest project, ‘Me”, was just released on Apple TV+ July 12, 2024. It is a coming of age, family show about a 12-year old boy, Ben, that discovers that he is a shape shifter. My character, Owen, is bullied and Ben is upset about it. In episode 2, Owen is being bullied and Ben actually shape shifts into Owen! It was really cool to be Owen with Ben’s personality. The way Owen grows throughout the season might help other kids that have experienced bullying. They will see that they are not the only one but they will also see Owen overcome his fear of his bully and stand up for himself.
Most young people your age don’t have to balance work and school. Can you tell us how you manage to balance your schoolwork, auditions, and time on set?
It can be tough! When I was homeschooled it was easy to tape an audition before I started on my school work for the day. Now that I am going to school in person I have to make sure to get auditions taped as soon as I get home so I can then focus on whatever it is I may need to do for school. When I am working it is required that I “do school” with a set teacher for 3 hours each day. Usually this is enough time to stay caught up with my school responsibilities. If there is more work to be done I will do it in my hotel room after we wrap or before we start for the day. When I filmed ‘Me’ it was over summer so that was easy!
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
There are too many to mention but if I had to choose one, Ben Silver. He was my Improv coach when I first started acting. He taught me how to think fast and how to come up with unscripted dialog. He had the class do a lot of fun exercises, it was always a blast!
Now let’s jump to the main part of our interview. What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why?
1 . Auditioning can be a full time job! In the Southeast we have always done a lot of self-tapes rather than going to audition for a casting director in person. In 2020 the rest of the industry started using self tapes as a way to keep working through Covid. To do a self tape you need to have a filming setup in your house with a plain background, good lighting, clear audio and a tripod to hold a camera or phone. You also need another person to tape and read with you. I was taught to audition “off book” which means you have all of your lines memorized before you tape. The auditions I get usually have between 1 and 3 scenes that are each filmed separately. Then you usually have to do a “slate” which is when you state your name and any other information that is requested by casting. Most of the time there is also a full body shot which requires a different setup. After all of that, your files need to be properly labeled and uploaded to the casting website before the deadline. What I have learned is that it is best to tape auditions as soon as possible. You never know if something else may come up if you wait, like other auditions! It can become stressful when you have multiple auditions, so to avoid that I work to get them done early on so I don’t feel rushed by a deadline.
2 . All sets are different! I have worked on projects that were very low (or no) budget, and I’ve worked on a project with a $300 million budget. I have worked on projects in several different states as well. Sometimes it is the low budget projects that treat you the best. Sometimes a big show forgets to pick you up from lunch and you have to find your way back to set. Most of the time you have amazing production assistants taking you where you need to be. It is a good idea to know your schedule because it makes it easier on everyone else.
3 . It is important to read the director! Early on I had worked on a show with a director that was great with kids. He acted like he really enjoyed talking to me. Later, on another show with a different director I acted the same way I had before. I tried to unsuccessfully have a conversation with the director. When they didn’t respond I tried again! At the time I didn’t understand that people can work differently. That is ok. Now I know I need to “read the room” first!
4 . When I have an early call time I like to stay close to set. My mom and I will stay in a hotel close to set sometimes just to remove the stress of Atlanta traffic. When I was filming ‘Me’ we stayed at home but always left the house an hour earlier than we needed to just in case there was an accident or something. The drive took about an hour without problems. Most of the time we arrived to base camp at least an hour early. It was nice because I got to settle into my trailer and then go down to eat the amazing breakfast Apple provided for the cast and crew.
5 . I sometimes wonder if it was the right choice to do homeschool/online school throughout my 3 years of Junior High. Before Covid I had missed a week of school here and there and with public school it became an attendance problem. To relieve that stress, homeschool was the solution. It worked out great in many ways, I was able to do auditions during the day, if I had a producers meeting during the day I didn’t need to miss school. The flexibility was great! Each year I did have a job that would have impacted my attendance and school work, but I didn’t have as many jobs as we had anticipated due to Covid and the decrease in acting jobs in general. My advice is to stay in school with your friends until something comes up that makes homeschool the only option. I feel like I missed out on the social aspect of school. You never know when you are going to book a job and the average audition to booking ratio is low even for working actors!
You are a person of enormous influence. How do you think you can use social media as a platform to be a positive influence to your fans, and for society at large?
I want my social media presence to be positive and honest. There is a lot of negativity out there. There is also the fact that people only post what they want you to see. I want my social media to be real and kind. I want to help people feel good about themselves.
If you had the ability to choose to work on any TV show or film, or work alongside any co-star, or with any director, what or who would that be, and why? You never know who might see this article, especially if we tag them. :-)
I would love to be in an action project. I have always liked watching on screen fighting sequences and want to be able to do that too! I really admire Ryan Gosling because he has great range in his acting. He has had success with action films like ‘Blade Runner’, love stories like ‘La La Land’, and his comedic role as Ken in ‘Barbie’. I would like to model my career after him and working with him would be awesome!
How can our readers follow you on social media?
I am on Instagram as @the_jonathan_bergman, Facebook as Jonathan Bergman, and my Imdb profile can be seen at https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10145890.
This was very meaningful, thank you so much!
