By Mike McCarthy
You’ve seen Jordan Hinson on the SyFy hit show Eureka and now stars on ABC Family’s hit comedy Kevin From Work. She started out in the Disney film ‘Go Figure’ and went on to star as Kelsey Grammer’s daughter on the show Hank. If she finds a crazy and ridiculous project you can bet that she will most likely take that project and run with it. Whether it be a raunchy comedy like A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas or a serious thriller like Trigger Point, Jordan gives you her absolute best.
Wingman Magazine: You are starring on the new hit show Kevin From Work. What is the show about, and what drew you to the part of Roxie?
Jordan Hinson: What set the show aside on ABC Family was that it’s a very intelligent comedy. I think that a lot of our characters are represented very well for people our age. The humor is very funny and a more mature kind of humor, which is what really drew me to it. The writing is something that I have never seen before, especially for the network. My character is just fun to play. It felt like something very different for the network, which I think the network realized and it’s cool that we all got to do this together. It would be more expected on TBS or HULU and not ABC Family.
Wingman Magazine: And you originally auditioned for a different part? What happened there?
Jordan Hinson: I originally auditioned for Audrey, who is the main love interest for Kevin. She’s a very beautiful, ethereal girl who sits in the cubicle next to him that he’s in love with. First off, Paige Spara is just way better at the character than I would’ve been. It’s not me and I know it. I am just not that kind of character, it doesn’t click and everyone knows it doesn’t click. Half way through the audition the casting director stops and goes, “ you know, I don’t think you’re right for this part, but you would be great for this other part.” Roxie is the crazy, party girl sister who moves to the city and I was all for it.
Wingman Magazine: Over the past couple of years you have done some Thriller TV movies (A mother’s rage and Trigger Point) definitely different from Eureka and Kevin from Work. What about those scripts drew you to the projects?
Jordan Hinson: Trigger Point I loved the script from the beginning. It was something different that I had ever done before. She was a girl in college that joined up with an activist group and it turned into being a terrorist organization. It was something completely different from what I had done before, and I just really wanted to do it. I usually just pick projects on how I feel about the character and do I believe in what the character is going through. I did Rajin’ Cajun Redneck Gators for the SyFy channel and I read the script and immediately was like I am running around with a shotgun and a crossbow and my family turns to alligators, yeah I think I’ll do it. There is no real rhyme or reason for why I pick a project. I just go with my gut and if it’s ridiculous, I will probably do it.
Wingman Magazine: Is there any genre that you haven’t done yet that you want to venture into?
Jordan Hinson: Right now I am looking into some honest independent films. I think what I do everyday is crazy sci-fi or crazy comedy and I want to change it up. I am about to do an independent film with a friend of mine, just something kind of simple in my off time. It’s called the ‘California No’. Which if you don’t know what that means, it’s when if someone asks you to go lunch and instead of saying no you come up with another phrase to fill in. I am going to be starring in and producing it as well. It’s about a couple that goes to therapy and he finds out that they were in an open relationship and the guy had no idea. It sets the tone for a self-discovery for the guy. It was written by a good friend of mine.
Wingman Magazine: You have two of the biggest show runners in Barbie Adler and McG leading the way for Kevin from Work. How involved are they both in the process?
Jordan Hinson: They are both incredibly involved. Barbie is always on set, which is incredibly rare for a show runner. I haven’t seen a showrunner on-set as much as her in the past shows I’ve worked on. McG was what really gave the show a voice. He wanted to instill something different with people our age in this kind of comedy. He added a lot of nuances to the show that we wouldn’t have thought of. He directed the first two episodes, so he has been around a lot. He’s also very hands on. We couldn’t ask for better people to make our show.
Wingman Magazine: At the young age of 24 you have had a fantastic career so far. What about being in front of the camera really gets your blood rushing?
Jordan Hinson:I think you have to be a certain kind of person to be an actor. I have always been that person and was never happy doing anything else. There is something really cool about discovering a character that you would never get to play doing anything else. It’s a new experience all the time and I can never be bored.
Wingman Magazine: Are you superstitious when it comes to auditioning? What was the scariest or funniest audition you ever had?
Jordan Hinson: I used to be very superstitious. I would never tell anyone about a call back or anything because I thought I might jinx it. Now that i am older, I don’t care about that stuff. It’s all about your work and preparation. You could have it all down and know the lines and you get in the room and you are terrible. A lot of it is just by chance. So I stopped being superstitious and just let it happen.
The worst audition I ever had was five or six years ago for a horror film. It was no cameras, and was told it was just going to be a conversation with the director. So I went in completely unprepared and the director is a japanese film maker. He told me to just give him five minutes acting possessed. I showed up in jeans and heels not expecting this. And as an actor you wonder if you should do it or not. I was just like, ok let’s do this and I was rolling around the ground, growling and about twenty seconds in I told him I was all set.
Wingman Magazine: Out of all of the characters you have played so far, which one are you most like and in what ways?
Jordan Hinson: I think I have a lot of similarities to Zoe in Eureka. A rebellious past and fixating on what I want to do with my life. There are certain parts of Roxie that are me. I would be the one to move to LA on a whim, I would be the one to be an actor and let things happen. I put some of myself into all of the parts that I play.