Vents Magazine

From Setbacks to Spotlight: Shaw Jones’s Journey of Resilience and Passion

[as originally published on ventsmagazine.com]

Shaw Jones is a stage and screen actor known for his captivating performances. He can be seen on Amazon Prime with leading roles in the feature films Proximity—praised by Rolling Stone’s Peter Travers—and Blue, for which he has earned two Best Actor awards. On television, Shaw has built an impressive resume with appearances on Your Honor, Star Trek: Picard, The Upshaws, NCIS, Criminal Minds, Snowfall, Grace and Frankie, The Affair, 911, The Cool Kids, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, For All Mankind, and a recurring role on Jimmy Kimmel Live, among many others. In theater, Shaw is preparing to star in the explosive Off-Broadway drama Wounded at the renowned SoHo Playhouse, opening in March 2025. His previous stage credits include No Place to Be Somebody at the WACO Theater and portraying Lee Harvey Oswald in Stephen Sondheim’s Assassins. With a story as inspiring as his performances, Shaw sat down with us to share insights into his journey from humble beginnings to celebrated roles.

How did your upbringing or hometown influence your interests and career path?

Manners were a huge part of my upbringing, which I believe made an impact on my life. My parents taught me to respect other people, no matter their background, upbringing, or position in life.

Can you share any childhood experiences that you feel shaped who you are today?

One of the most powerful experiences I had was being bullied as a child. It mainly started in middle school. I attended an all-boy prep school. I was a late bloomer, physically, and lacked self-confidence because of it. After being beat up a few times, I went to my father and told him what was going on and asked him for help. He got me started in boxing, where I excelled. My path was the golden gloves boxing tournament and then onto the Olympics, which led me to the second most important experience of my childhood. I severely broke my back snow skiing. I was extremely close to being paralyzed from the waist down. I underwent two major surgeries and was able to recover, albeit slowly, having to learn how to walk again. It gave me the courage to face extremely difficult situations and find strength within myself to push through no matter what emotional or physical pain I felt.

How did you get your start in acting?

My first experience trying to get an acting job was auditioning for Interview with the Vampire. I tried to get all my classmates in Dallas to go with me, and they were all on board until the week of. They all bailed on me, and I decided to go anyway to New Orleans. While I was in acting school, I had read in USA Today that they were having open auditions in New Orleans. I didn’t have any credits yet, but I decided to book a flight and fly there for the audition. I didn’t even have a headshot—just a photo of myself with my name, height, and weight on the back. When I told the casting directors that I’d flown in from Dallas, they looked at me like I was crazy, but then they told me that they were impressed by my effort and to never give up on that level of drive. I did not get the job, but that experience taught me to always strive and give everything I’ve got. My first acting job actually came while I was still in acting school. A teacher of mine had a friend that was shooting a movie, and he brought some of the scenes to class to work on as an exercise. The teacher showed his friend the tapes from class, and the director asked me to come in and read for the lead. I ended up booking the role, costarring with Willie Nelson and Robert Vaughn.

Were there any specific mentors or teachers who inspired you along the way?

Laura Gardner for stressing organic, natural acting and digging deep emotionally. Richard Lawson for teaching me to act using all the colors of my emotional palette, from the light to especially the dark, and to embrace my faults and use them in my art.

What have been some of your proudest moments or accomplishments in your career so far?

Being awarded with a full run of the play Wounded at the Soho Playhouse this coming year. And also having my late father, after seeing my work in a short film, being impressed by my work and telling me that he finally understood why I wanted to be an actor.

Can you describe your creative or professional process when approaching a new project?

Becoming the character is one of the most important things for me. The physicality of the character, the wardrobe of the character. I do an incredible amount of research on what makes up and drives the character. In essence, I have to be wearing the right shoes of the character. I then go into myself and find what I have in common with the character and bring that to the forefront and blend it with the traits of the character.

Have you had the chance to collaborate with any industry icons or professionals you’ve admired?

I recently worked with Bryan Cranston. He was extremely kind and giving as an actor and was very complimentary of my work and instincts. John Hawkes is another actor whom I admire that I had a chance to work with. He was very helpful to me and gave me some incredible insights into his process for me to use.

Have you ever worked on a project that was particularly challenging or rewarding?

I recently went to New York and did an Off-Broadway play. It’s a two-person play. It’s an extremely intense play. My goal as an actor is to move people emotionally, and with this role, I got to do that.

What motivates or inspires you in your work today?

I always strive to be a real person in a real situation. No matter what is happening in the scene, I always want my performances to be organic and natural.

How do you handle rejection or setbacks, especially in such a competitive industry?

Rejection is constant in this industry. But if I’ve done everything I can for a role and do not get it, I’m okay with that. I only struggle when I know I could’ve done more. I also pursue other creative outlets, like writing.

What are you currently working on, and what excites you most about it?

I’m starting rehearsals for the production of Wounded at the Soho Playhouse, which starts in March. Doing live theater and putting all of myself out there for people to see is the most rewarding thing I do. Walking that tightrope live on stage with my costar is extremely thrilling. I’m also working on a short film about my days as a young boxer. It deals with bullying and ultimately fighting at a maximum-security prison. It’s a true story. And I’m also writing a one-man play that deals with the true story of my child battling pediatric cancer while struggling with addiction.

What advice would you give to someone aspiring to enter your field?

Be yourself! And say “yes” to all acting opportunities.

What legacy or impact do you hope to leave on the industry?

I was put on this earth to move people emotionally as an actor. If I can do that, I’ve done my job, and I’m content. I also want to show my sons that if you work hard and never give up, you can succeed at anything… READ MORE