411mania Interviews: Jon Foster (Accidentally on Purpose)

Posted by Al Norton on 11.23.2009

411's Al Norton sits down for an exclusive interview with Accidentally on Purpose star Jon Foster



Jon Foster's first big introduction in the acting world was when he co-starred with Jeff Bridges and Kim Bassinger in A Door In The Floor in 2004. Since then he has been a regular on both Windfall and Life as We Know It. Currently he co-stars with Jenna Elfman in the CBS freshman comedy Accidentally On Purpose.

Al Norton: I am also Boston born and raised.

Jon Foster: That's right you are.

Al Norton: I know you grew up in Greater Boston but where specifically?

Jon Foster: Well we were born in Newton and they we lived in Cambridge until our house got robbed. My parents decided to move us out to Fairfield, Iowa, which they thought was a little safer.

Al Norton: Was there that much of a direct cause and effect? You had been living in Cambridge with no issues and then after they break-in they said, "we're moving to Iowa"?

Jon Foster: It kind of was, it kind of wasn't. My parents are transcendental meditators and that's where they met, at the TM Center in Boston. A lot of their friends who were having kids around my brother and my age were moving to Fairfield, Iowa because they were setting up a new community for TM'ers, for them to live and their kids to be able to go to school and be educated in that type of way.

I guess the house getting robbed was a sign for them. My brother Ben and I were both in the house when we got robbed. The robbers came into the actual rooms that we were sleeping in. I guess my folks were like, "forget this, we're going to Iowa."

Al Norton: Both you and your brother Ben are successful actors; do you think the way your parents brought you up played a large role in both of you choosing acting as a career?

Jon Foster: I think it really did. My parents are the most supportive people on the face of the earth. They've totally given up their lives for us and, that being said, have never intruded on our lives, either. They are not movie set parents, running around all nutty. They just wanted to gives us what we needed to have to go where we wanted to go, and then kind of watch us do it. That was really amazing of them since so many parents want to get so involved in the business, and they just wanted to see what we did with it.

To be honest, I didn't really want to do it. My brother kind of made me do it, and still to this day kind of makes me do it, even though I have found a passion for it. I do believe that the way we were raised had a large impact on how we view the world.

Al Norton: Have you had a chance to see The Messenger (Ben Foster's new movie)?

Jon Foster: Yes, I have.

Al Norton: Understanding you are going to be a little biased, is it as good as the reviews I have read?

Jon Foster: It will knock you to the ground and take you months to come back up. It's the most incredible piece of art I have ever seen in my life. It's so heavy and so real, it's such a reality check that I won't be able to see it again for quite a long time because it messed me up so bad. All the reviews, they don't even scratch the surface of what this movie actually does to people. I'd prepare yourself for it because it's a real heart piece.

Al Norton: Let's talk about you; tell me the process you went through to get the part of Zack?

Jon Foster: You know what? It was very little. I was actually in a very weird place in my life. I was living in Venice and we go robbed, again (laughing). There was kind of a run-in with the robbers, enough to make us want to get out. At that time I was completely broke and didn't care about anything; I was loving life and loving not having anything.

We didn't have a home and then I got this call to go meet the creators of the show and sit down with them. I talked with them and then two days later, still homeless with no belongings because all of our stuff was gone, I walked in and did the audition. Two days later I found out that I got it. It was a very, very easy process. My head was in such a different place at the time, I was thinking, "what am I doing with my life?" rather than "what's the next job?" I think that's what made it such an easy process. Most of the time that you're hungry for something and you really, really want it, you don't get it. The times where you sit back and are distracted by other things, you get it.



Al Norton: When I talked to Jenna (Elfman) she mentioned you were "oddly confident" during the audition, which impressed her. It seems like the part not being the biggest thing in the world to you helped you get it.

Jon Foster: Yes, I'd say it played a huge part. There were so many other things happening in my life. I lost my house 48 hours before I walked into that room. Also, I'd watched Jenna on other shows and projects growing up and had always had an affinity for her, her view of the world and the way she sees it. I'd always related to her so when I walked into the room it felt like I already knew her. It wasn't like "the Jenna Elfman" but more like, "oh, Jenna." It felt very nostalgic for me to be in there. It wasn't intimidating, it was being with someone I connected with even though we had never met.

Al Norton: How's the grind of series TV treating you?

Jon Foster: This is my fourth show but my first half hour comedy. Hour longs are a beast; no one understands how hard those 18 hour days can be. And most of it is all drama, so you're crying all day and being melodramatic the whole day, which is exhausting.

This is different. The thing I love most about it, and it's like crack, is that we get to play all day. Our whole job is just to make laughter, which is so uplifting. That being said, it's still exhausting because our job is to make laughter all day long, which can be tiring.

Over all, hour-to-hour, the job is a lot of fun. I mean, we rehearse three days and shoot two, and that's it.

Al Norton: Do you find yourself following the ratings and reviews?

Jon Foster: I don't. I don't push it away – if people are talking about it I will ask how we did – but I never go on the internet, I never look at reviews or anything like that. Fortunately I've been doing this for 14 years now and I'm grateful to know that now I understand the things you want to stay away from, and that's one of them. How much attention I pay isn't going to make any difference; the ratings are going to be whatever they are going to be and my focus on it isn't going to do much. I just try to enjoy the process as much as possible and whatever happens happens.

Al Norton: You and Nichols Wright have a great, real friendship chemistry down and had it from the first episode.

Jon Foster: He's the best human being on the face of the earth. That guy (laughing)…we're inseparable. I don't know what else to say, we're constantly hanging out, on and off set. He's part of the family as far as I'm concerned. I love him .

Al Norton: If someone had never watched Accidentally on Purpose before they might be surprised by how raunchy the humor is.

Jon Foster: It totally is. That's really why I love the show so much. We've got some really, really ballsy writers who are getting in there and riding that fine line, especially for an 8:30 show. If we were on at 9 or 9:30 we could go a little bit further but we are limited to what the timeslot allows. Even with that, their writing these topics that are completely unacceptable in some people minds but to me it's what television should be. It's honest and it's totally brilliant.

Al Norton: I thought you were going to say you loved doing the show because every few weeks there is another really attractive girl for you to make out with.

Jon Foster: That's not bad either (laughing). I should than them for that, too.

Don't miss Accidentally on Purpose, Mondays at 8:30 pm on CBS