Jason McKinnon appears opposite Katherine Heigl and Sarah Chalke in Netflix’s new series “Firefly
Lane.” The show premiered on Feb. 3, 2021, and fans have been staying up all hours to binge it. Based on the novel of the same name by New York Times bestselling author Kristin Hannah, it is proving to be a great story. Along with his stories about the series he dishes on working with “Supernatural’s Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles.
The actor was born and raised in West Vancouver, BC, and grew up playing sports such as basketball, hockey, and soccer. Although he has a passion for both, acting became the frontrunner. Since then he has become known for his roles in “DC Legends of Tomorrow” and “Travelers,” “The Flash,” “Supernatural”, “A Million Little Things,” “The Man in the High Castle,” and Amazon’s “Loudermilk”.
Colleen Bement: Congratulations on your new series “Firefly Lane.” The trailer tugs at my heartstrings and I am loving it so far. Tell us a bit about your role in the series.
Jason McKinnon: The story is based on the best-selling novel by Kristin Hannah “Firefly Lane” which revolves around two central characters – Tully Hart & Kate Mularkey – and I play Kate’s brother – Sean Mularkey in the ’80s and 2000s. He has yet to confide in his sister Kate with regards to his own struggles with his sexuality, but since Tully caught him and his friend Robbie kissing in the 70’s era, she and Sean have made a stronger connection which Kate has never understood.
CB: What was the experience on set like?
JM: Oh man, unreal. This has been a dream job for sure. Cast, Crew – everyone. It became a family. It wasn’t just all the actors separated in one area and the crew over there etc. Often times I’d be sharing some funny Meme or story with one of the crew to break up the day (especially if there were some serious scenes) of which Sean has many lol – and then right back into preparing for the next scene and working with the other actors. And usually, it’s the #1 and #2 on the Cast list that sets the tone for the show/filming, and having Katie and Sarah as the leads were literally the best duo you could ask for. They work so well together, on top of being amazing individuals in their own rights. So yes, a dream job for sure.
CB: Have you had many chances to travel in your career, and what has been your favorite filming location?
JM: Actually I have! Which is something I’ve always wanted. Coming out of High School I think I struggled with wanting to travel and see the world at that young age, but then decided to just dive headfirst into this pursuit of acting in the hopes that the work would take me places! Best of both worlds! I’ve gotten to go to Toronto, New York, Mexico – but the best place was a Mountain Range in Eastern B.C called “The Bugaboos”. It was a plane ride – followed by a long car ride up through the snowy mountains to this resort. Surrounded by untouched, pristine, powdery snow and a view of the mountains for miles. It was newly renovated, heated floors, outdoor hot tub under the open sky and stars, all you can eat, all you can drink, movies, PlayStation, ping pong, etc. So as a 20 something-year-old it was pretty idyllic. We were there for 5 days and I think I filmed for a whopping 45 minutes! And met friends that I still stay in contact with til’ today.
CB: I see that you were on an episode of “Supernatural.” Do you have a story from the set?
JM: Funny enough I actually knew Jared Padelecki and Jensen Ackles previously, and so it was cool to be able to work together on set. In fact, what was even more random is that Jared’s buddy had visited him from Texas to Vancouver and even had his hockey gear with him – or had it flown out. And so his buddy ended up playing out at 8 rinks in Burnaby in a League Hockey game with our team LOL. As far as filming went it was a trip for my character to just be slinging insults at the leads of the show (Jared, Jensen, and Jim) – this was because the character was infected, much like many in the town, which made him quite agro!
CB: How did you end up switching from playing sports to acting?
JM: I have always done both. But when I was younger I think in the back of my mind I always leaned toward pursuing acting 1st. I was pretty good, but it would have taken a concerted effort and training and dedication to really make a go of it – if that’s what I decided to do. But it seemed that acting was the frontrunner for sure.
CB: Have you found any interesting hobbies that you discovered during the pandemic?
JM: Lol not really – I never got into the bread thing – people doing science experiments in their kitchen and whatnot. It was actually just really nice to spend time with my family and our son. He was still only 7 months old when Covid hit – so it was really a blessing in disguise to spend so much time with him and have that opportunity to witness and be part of all his ‘firsts’.
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Written by Colleen Bement
Lynn Makes
Evan Conroy
Ron Peterson