Get to know the actor and fellow geek behind ‘The Outpost’ captain, Jake Stormoen

Jake Stormoen’s childhood fantasy of being a Knight has come true with his role in CW’s hot new series “The Outpost“. A fantasy-loving kid, Jake grew up on Dungeons and Dragons, World of Warcraft. He painted minis, and to this day still has his lucky D20 in his pocket. Born in Minneapolis, MN, he is known for playing Duncan in “Extinct” and is loved for his Mythica film series. Now in the lead role as Captain Garret Spears on “The Outpost” that just premiered in July, fans will be seeing a lot more of this talented actor.

Colleen Bement: You play Captain Garret Spears on CW’s “The Outpost”. Is there anything that you’re allowed to share about what is in store for fans of the show?

Jake Stormoen: I do, yes! Garret is the Knight-Captain of the guard stationed at The Outpost, and since the show airs on The CW in the U.S. and SyFy everywhere else in the world, there have been several staggered releases. Here in the States, we just aired episode 8 (of 10) and have a week hiatus before the final two episodes. So I guess my answer really depends on where you are in the world (and how much you’ve seen so far). I can definitely say that Garret goes, over the course of the season, from being a very closed off person who tries to color within the lines as much as possible, to being someone forced to make decisions quickly when the fuse is lit. His walls crumble substantially by the end of the season, and I’m so thrilled that audiences get to see that take place and unfold.

I absolutely loved playing Garret. I loved being a Knight; getting to don armor, ride horses, and fight villains. It is my childhood dream realized. So I hope audiences enjoy that journey with me! By the end of the finale (which SyFy Australia just saw), Garret comes full circle and is primed for some exciting moments, should we get a second season. Fingers crossed!

CB: Would you happen to have any stories from the “Outpost” set that you can tell us about?

JS: Hah! Where would I even begin? I think it was no secret that I was the lifelong geek amongst the cast, so much of what I’d say would revolve around my general sense of excitement. Everyone I worked with was so lovely, and it was so much fun on set. There are countless stories I could tell, I’m sure, but the honest answer is that we laughed daily. Jess (Talon) is ever the prankster, so I’m sure if you were to ask her she’d have some favorites to tell you! The story for me personally that always comes to mind first though, was my first day (night) of production. It is actually the scene where Garret is introduced, so I was in my armor for the first time, on horseback in the mountains with mist and fog rolling by and it just kind of hit me: This was truly my oldest childhood fantasy. I grew up wanting to be a Knight, to slay monsters, fight evil, the whole stereotype. So I was on Cloud 9!

CB: Let’s chat about the series you were recently on called “Extinct”. What was that experience like?

JS: “Extinct” was the series I did right before “The Outpost.” It was a Sci-Fi series that took place hundreds of years after human extinction by an alien species, and humans were slowly being brought back or “reborn” with their memories in-tact up until the moment they perished, and they had no idea why. In a sentence, that experience was absolutely wonderful. I met some incredible people on that set–Chad Collins, Victoria Atkin, Yorke Fryer, Jaclyn Hales, and Matt Bellows: All wonderful actors and people. The crew was tremendous. I’d worked with Ryan Little (who directed much of the show) previously, and later in the season got to act opposite Melanie Stone who is super talented and who I’ve worked with extensively in the past, so that show as a whole is VERY near and dear to my heart. To this day I wish we could have shot more seasons of it and I would love for some miracle to come along that lets us continue the story, but I’ve kept in touch with everyone and they’re all doing tremendous things.

CB: Tell your fans what it was like making the “Mythica” series of movies.

JS: “Mythica” is another very geeky (we see a pattern here!?) project I was involved with early in my career. We shot a series of five films, the first three of which were my first real job as a principal character in something. The five-part series is really quite similar to an on-screen D&D campaign: we had the tank (warrior–Adam Johnson) the healer (cleric — Nicola Posener) and the DPS (necromancer — Melanie Stone and myself, the rogue). Making those films was SO much fun. They were incredibly independent productions, but we four main characters became a family almost immediately. They have aired on TV worldwide for years now as well as Amazon Prime, sold in stores, VOD etc. They’ve done surprisingly well, and I attribute a good portion of that to the fact that the cast and crew both poured their hearts into those films. If you like High Fantasy (my personal favorite!), definitely check them out and just have fun!

I read that you’re a geek and a climber. Two questions:

CB: I’m a major geek as well; shocker! What do you “geek out” over?

JS: I love it! I grew up a massive Marvel fan, but I do enjoy both Marvel and DC. I love Sci-Fi as well, but my biggest Geek love is 100% in Fantasy. As I said above, I literally wanted to be a Knight growing up. I was constantly out in the woods behind my house sword fighting with sticks, slaying imaginary monsters, and exploring imaginary dungeons. As I grew up, my nose was often buried in a fantasy novel and then expanded into a lot of gaming as well, both tabletop and video. I played D&D as a kid and we (my friends and I) had no idea what we were doing–only that we had saved up to collectively buy the Players Handbook and were obsessed with it. We’d buy/paint minis and go on all sorts of adventures. As an adult and after moving to LA, D&D was reignited with a wonderful group of players that became some of my dearest friends and kept me sane amongst the madness that can be Los Angeles. I’ve also played Magic: The Gathering since the Urza sets (another hobby I’ve jumped back into substantially as of late) and love a good MMO (dating back to EQ and WoW since launch. These days its WoW and ESO). The majority of art in my home are Fantasy pieces (Tolkien, dragons, forests, and castles) that I saw and fell in love with. I could go on, but I think I’ve made my colors known ha-ha! To this day I carry a lucky D20 in my pocket that my buddy gave me, everywhere I go.

CB: I see that you’re an avid climber. Tell your fans about what type of climbing you do and what inspires you.

JS: I love climbing! Shortly after moving to LA I enrolled in acting class at the Ruskin Theater down in Santa Monica, and my friend Ari from the class was a member of an indoor climbing gym. I’d loved climbing *things* my whole life, but had never properly done it until I joined that gym with Ari. Climbing became my place of meditation. I’d put headphones in and boulder for hours, or do some top rope if I was with someone. It has been one of those hobbies that I’ve never had time to properly hone. My first-time sport climbing outdoors was in Utah where I’ve shot a TON (almost all?) of the projects I’ve done lately, and it is just…the best. So yes, I’m far from professional, but I absolutely love it and seek out both indoor bouldering and outdoor climbing whenever I can!