Actor James Jordan, now workng in Hollywood, has landed roles in Cold Case, CSI and other top-rated television programs.

By Stephen Smith
News Bureau Manager

JOPLIN, MO (SNS) - If the face of the guy you see guest starring on Cold Case, CSI or some other network television program looks like the guy down the street, that's because it just might be!

James Jordan, 1997 graduate of Webb City High School and a 2002 Missouri Southern graduate, is making headway in Hollywood. Jordan, who began work on a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Acting in 2002 at UCLA’s School of Theatre, Film and Television, completed his degree in June of 2005.

During graduate school, he says, he began to rub elbows with some well-known Hollywood personalities.

“At UCLA I had numerous leads in shows,” James says. “I studied acting with such artists as Anthony Hopkins, Annette Benning, Jason Alexander and the famous acting coach to the stars, Larry Moss. I also was able to collaborate with film directors and screenwriters. I made movies and shot 3-camera sitcom style comedy.”

The glow of hot lights and smell of greasepaint are nothing new to James Jordan. The Southern graduate did nearly 40 shows in his time at Missouri Southern. They included When You Comin’ Back, Red Ryder, Guys and Dolls and Sticks and Bones.

He also directed the plays Lone Star and The Zoo Story for the Missouri Southern stage.

“The biggest challenge to this business so far is trying to set yourself apart from the pack,” James comments. “There are just so many thousands of actors in this city and there are probably a few hundred who are your twins in everyway. I've actually been mistaken for another actor who works quite a bit. One time a casting director asked if he was my older brother! So, that's the biggest challenge -- to be a beat ahead and a beat apart."

Jordan says any success he has will be in large part result from his University training, his agents and manger and his own passion and perseverance: “I've been pretty busy,” he laughs.

At the present time, James Jordan is busy in Los Angeles getting ready for pilot season. His agents and manager are submitting him for other roles in films, and television. He also is routinely meeting with Executives from NBC, Warner Bros., Fox, Touchstone, Sony and Universal.

“This is all in an attempt to get ‘known’ to people in the industry,” he says. “That way they will have the chance to keep him in mind for future and existing projects.”

Jordan has guest starred on CSI, Over There, Cold Case, Close to Home, and Just Legal. He has also just completed work on the motion picture Seraphim Falls which stars Pierce Brosnan and Liam Neeson among others. Along the way, he has paid his dues as an actor by waiting tables when auditions and roles were scarce.

He says among the many people who influenced him and his career path were his family, in particular, his mother, Chris Jordan Meadows of Oronogo, and his stepfather, Charles Meadows: “They've always been incredibly supportive of my career choice,” the young actor says. “I always dragged them to my plays at Southern and they never missed one.”

"Being a professional actor is an amazing privilege," he says. "You get to travel, be seen, play, make good money, and have a career that is in some ways immortal. Your body of work will certainly outlive you.”

He credits all his teachers at MSSU and UCLA as well as Sean Penn, whom he calls “a genius” and someone to whom he has been compared ("the greatest compliment I’ve ever had," Jordan states).

Others he counts as inspirations are Jack Lemmon, Kevin Spacey, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Billy Bob Thornton -- "who spent a decade," Jordan says, "not working as an actor and almost starving to death in the pursuit of his dream."

“I have to say human nature itself is a big influence," Jordan concludes. "The mystery of life is so interesting to me. I guess I'm just trying to figure it out.”

News Bureau Home