Actor Jon Donahue has played many parts in Hollywood over the years. He can be seen on numerous television shows including his recurring role on Men of a Certain Age and guest appearances on 1600 Penn and Roadies. He's also appeared in many studio films including, Cloud Atlas, Hologram for the King, and Bridge of Spies. He recently played a pivotal co-starring role in the Tom Hanks blockbuster, Inferno. I caught up with Jon to discuss his acting career, what it's like to work with directors like Steven Spielberg and Ron Howard, his love of cinema including movie posters, doing voice work for Disney, and his humble beginnings working on the Jaws ride at Universal Studios.
E.S.: Didn’t you work as a boat captain on the Jaws ride at Universal early in your career? What was that like and were you a fan of the film?
J.D.: Yes, I certainly did! I was ‘Skipper Jon’ at Universal Studios Florida back in 1993, pretty much when the ride first opened. I had a blast, a real dream come true for this die-hard Jaws fanatic! They armed us with 40mm grenade launchers and we set sail every 7 minutes with a boatload of about 40 tourists on a pleasure cruise around Amity Island, the fictional seaside community from the film, recreated in Orlando and, of course, a great white shark attacked the boat every single damn time! It was hot, humid, very wet and I loved every minute of it! Steven Spielberg and his family even rode the boat once that was a real treat to see him, the man behind one of my favorite movies of all time. A week before the ride closed forever, some of us former ‘JAWS’ Skippers got together and we all rode it one last time, I’ll never forget it. I really do miss that ride, I mean every single day. It was replaced by ‘Harry Potter’ in 2012, and I was there for the last day, it was quite emotional. Thanks to Facebook, I still keep in touch with all of my fellow ‘Skipper’ friends, we really are like family. When I moved to Los Angeles in 1999, I worked as a Universal Hollywood tram tour guide and got to see my old friend ‘JAWS’ again every day, but it just wasn't the same.
E.S.: I would imagine it must have been a big thrill to work with Steven Spielberg years later on Bridge of Spies? What was that experience like?
J.D.: Another “pinch me, I’m dreaming” job! To be honest, Raiders of the Lost Ark is my all-time favorite movie, and JAWS comes in second; actually, screw that, they tie at this point! So to work with the man behind both of those films? Incredible. I learned so much just watching him on set. I played ‘F.B.I. Agent Faye’ in the film It’s not a huge role, but just to have my giant Irish cranium in a Steven Spielberg movie is something I’d never thought would ever happen. Yes, I mentioned to Mr. Spielberg that I had worked as a ‘Skipper’ at ‘JAWS’; and he replied, “We’re working together again, but this time on dry land!”
E.S.: Earlier in your career you voiced the character of ‘Antonio’ in the Disney comedy, Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2. Do you enjoy doing voice work and what was it like to voice a character in a Disney children’s film?
J.D.: I absolutely love doing voice work, you don’t have to comb your hair or wear nice clothes to record! I’m mostly kidding about that, I comb my hair every day. Seriously, it’s a great gig, when you can get it. I’ve been impersonating family and friends as far back as I can remember, but I never thought I’d actually get paid to put it all to good use one day! Voicing ‘Antonio’ the K-9 German Shepherd was a lot of fun, I just had to deepen my voice a bit more and sound authoritative. At one point I deepened it so much that I sounded like Ray Romano! Voicing a Disney character is such a big deal for me, as I’m a proud Disneyland season pass holder, I go to the park(s) just about every week! Yeah, I’m a Disney nerd, and what’s wrong with that? It’s always fun when kids meet me and know who ‘Antonio’ is from the film. It was pretty popular on Blu-ray and spawned a sequel, which I wasn’t involved in, but if there is a part four, I’m down! Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2 led to a gig on another Disney project, the scratch (temp) track to Tim Burton’s Frankenweenie. I had a great day in the recording booth with the awesome Catherine O’Hara. Did I mention that I also worked at Disney World in 1997? Yeah, I was the host of the ‘Backlot Water Tank Special Effects Show’ or, whatever it was officially called. Disney has always been a part of my life.
E.S.: You also host segments on the website, Beyond the Marquee regarding pop culture and the movie industry. What has that experience been like and what are some of your favorite interviews you've done so far?
J.D.: Yeah, I’ve hosted a few episodes for them. I used to be an entertainment reporter for a CBS affiliate in Upstate, NY and always enjoyed hosting and reporting, so doing Beyond the Marquee was a no-brainer. My favorite interviews were with Back to the Future writer/producer Bob Gale. We went to his house a few times over the years and always had a great time with Bob. Another favorite is, of course, my friend Drew Struzan. I love and collect original movie posters, you know, illustrated ones like The Goonies, Indiana Jones, Back to the Future, Star Wars, Big Trouble in Little China, and The Thing, to name just a few; and Drew painted them all! He’s such a sweet, humble, honest guy and I just love sitting and chatting with him and his awesome wife Dylan on or off camera. You can find the episodes online. Hopefully I’ll get a chance to sit down with Drew again for another segment or two? Fingers crossed! There’s also a great documentary called Drew: The Man Behind the Poster, it’s all about his amazing career as an artist. Have you heard of it Erik? Movie poster art hasn’t been magical lately like it was up until the late 80’s. Now everything is a photograph of a giant head or a group photo of the cast doing their sexiest pose; how does that tell me about a movie? I hope illustrated movie poster art comes back, I really do.
E.S.: I actually have heard of the documentary, Drew: The Man Behind the Poster, because I directed it (which Jon already knows)! I'm glad you liked it and I appreciate that you interviewed me at Drew's art show with the late Bob Peak a few years back for Beyond the Marquee.
E.S.: You recently played an important supporting role in the Ron Howard film Inferno. Can you tell us about your character in the film and what it was like working with such an iconic director like Ron Howard?
J.D.: I played a character named ‘Richard’ in the film. He’s an agent for the World Health Organization and was hot on the trail of Tom Hanks and Felicity Jones. Most of my scenes were opposite the wonderful Danish actress Sidse Babett Knudsen. She was on the first season of HBO’s Westworld, where she also played a badass. Have you seen that show? It’s pretty great. Anyway, she’s the head of the W.H.O. and I take my orders from her. What’s cool about it is, the audience doesn’t know if we’re on the good side or the bad? This was another role where I had to be very authoritative, but I didn’t have fur this time. It was pretty exciting chasing Tom and Felicity through Italy and Budapest. Yeah, there was a lot of running, which is a good thing if you were eating a lot of gelato like I was. Ron Howard is another incredible Director that I really enjoyed working with. He’s been in the industry practically his entire life, acting and directing; he really knows how to talk to actors and explain what he wants from you. He also has the best stories about his experiences on other projects he’s worked on, I hope he finds the time to write a book someday, I would totally Amazon Prime it!
E.S.: How was your experience working with such an amazing cast on Inferno that included actors like, Tom Hanks and Felicity Jones?
J.D.: I’ve known Tom for fourteen years now and have worked on multiple movies with him. He’s everything you’d hope he is; kind, funny, very smart, obviously talented…I mean, he’s the real deal. I really adore Felicity. ‘Sienna brooks’ wasn’t an easy role and she pulled it off beautifully. It was a real pleasure working with her and I hope to do it again! Did you see her kick Empire ass in “Rogue One”? I’m so happy that I’m one degree from “Star Wars” now!
E.S.: What projects do you have coming up next and what kinds of parts would you love to play in the future?
J.D.: Well, there’s a few things cooking. Let’s see…I start working on Steven Spielberg’s newest project very soon, so there’s that. I’m sorry, what was the second part of your question? ...Oh, and what parts would I like to play in the future? Good question, Erik! I’d have to say being Indiana Jones’ sidekick wouldn’t be so bad.