Thomas Jane on Opening Up Wounds, Opening King Novels, and Being Open to Possibilities
Jane as Ted Conkaffey in ‘Troppo’
Jane’s Australian thriller-mystery Troppo looks at yet another damaged character for Jane, while the actor looks forward to new projects.
If there was any doubt that Thomas Jane was a trooper, any casual fan simply needs to hear about how much he’s put into his work in the last few years. More importantly, Jane, very much under the weather during this virtual interview, was still very kind with his time, despite being utterly exhausted. His newest show, ‘Troppo’, which just released its second season on Prime Video for the lucky American audience is celebrating its first season finally being streamed in Canada on Superchannel.
Troppo follows American Ted Conkaffey (Jane), a former cop living in Australia who was recently framed for a disturbing crime. He escapes to the tropical region of North Queensland to try and distance himself from his tainted reputation and give his family space. His reclusive lifestyle is suddenly interrupted when an ex-con turned private investigator, Amanda (Nicole Chamoun) wants him to partner up to investigate a local disappearance.
Much like his character, Jane pushes through the challenges in life. He’s been producing, filming, and promoting this show for almost four years now. “…season one is just coming out in Canada, now?” Jane clarifies. He takes a moment to reflect on where this journey started and can only utter one word at first. “Jesus”.
Click below to see the full interview with Jane as he discusses TROPPO, STEPHEN KING and his love for THE PUNISHER, or continue to scroll for the remainder of the article.
Jane takes a pause as if to try and remember the actual start of the Troppo and a contemplative chuckle escapes. “I guess the pandemic shut the world down in ways that we're still trying to wrap our minds around. I was grateful to have the job as a producer and an actor to go to Australia. We shot this smack dab in the middle of the pandemic. So I was the only person on the plane to Australia. I had the entire plane to myself. Then spent four or five months out there shooting that sucker, and then flew home with a slightly more crowded plane.”
It’s easy to see how appreciative Jane was, not only for the opportunity to play yet another ‘wounded hero’ as he calls it, but to be given a chance to produce (and occasionally) direct this show. The actor famously played The Punisher in the cult-classic 2004 film of the same name. Jane noted that these type of characters, depsite perhaps being ‘cliche’ come in so many flavors, and so will take an opportunity he can to play one. Also an avid reader, without prompt, Jane jumps into how much he loved the work of Aussie author Candace Fox.
Nicole Chamoun (left) and Jane (front) in season 1 of ‘Troppo’. Image courtesy of Superchannel.
“Mystery thriller readers should check out Candace Fox. Highly recommended. Her books are called the ‘Crimson Lake’ series. That's what we base Troppo on. We fill in our own twists and turns, but I think we're faithful to the characters that Candace created.”
Looking back even further, Jane remembers why he fell in love with the books, and the show. “They sent me the book to produce, and I fell in love with the characters. That's really what you're looking for.” Jane continues by revealing what makes Troppo different from other mystery-thrillers, aside from the Aussie flavor. “You can always kind of come up with a murder mystery, a whodunit, but the tougher part is coming up with some interesting characters that you want to watch. That's the golden ring and Candace certainly did that with Ted Konkaffey and Amanda Farrell.”
The respect train rolls on with Jane, who does seem like a genuine team player. When asked about some of the amazing casts he’s been a part of, it becomes evident he’s not out just to find a vehicle for himself, but create something worthwhile. “That's what you're always looking for - an ensemble of great actors that you can bounce off. That's the dream.”
Jane (left) and costar Chamoun (right) behind the scenes.
The humorous part is, if you ask Jane, while he loves being a part of a team, he’s also very happy to embrace the standoffish attitude of his character. While he sings the praises of his costar, Chamoun, he is also very clear that they maintain a specific working relationship on set.
“These characters are tough to play. There's no room for interpersonal relationships, it just gets muddy. So I'm happy to show up to work as ‘Ted’ and then go home as Thomas.” Jane apparently separates his on screen persona so deftly, that Chamoun didn’t even recognize him in another part of the process. “I directed a couple of the episodes, and Nicole looked at me, and I could see she was thinking ‘Who am I talking to?’ Jane chuckles. “She hadn't really met me. So that was an interesting moment”.
Jane is no stranger to adaptation, but his work tends to lean towards the king… or the King, if you will. This writer couldn’t help himself but ask the actor about some of the tremendous Stephen King adaptations where Jane has been fortunate enough to find himself a part of the ensemble. Before counting his own fortunes, Jane once again focuses on the writing. “He just happens to be, I think, he's the greatest living American writer. Somehow I ended up in three [adaptations]. I'd love to do a fourth. I just got lucky.”
Those who know Jane however might not see it as luck. It’s likely Jane earned that badge once again, worked hard, and went after the properties he wanted to be a part of. A pandemic wasn’t going to slow him down from working, and a flu wasn’t going to make him miss this interview.