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Jackson began acting at the age of 5, when he had a supporting role in the 2006 feature, Lime Salted Love. Just two years later, Jackson landed the role of the loveable James Lucas Scott on One Tree Hill, where he currently portrays the son of Nathan and Haley James Scott. “I wasn’t nervous, just excited,” states Jackson. “I really like being on the show and my cast mates are very, very nice!”
And his cast mates adore him, too. “They are like my big brothers and sisters on the set.” Jackson’s eyes lit up as he proceeded to talk about his co-workers. “I remember going to the movies with Shantel (Quinn) and Robert Buckley (Clay). After the movies they took me to Game Stop, and as we were about to leave, Robert said, ‘here you go,’ and they spoiled me with an X-Box! How cool is that?”
This is Jackson’s fourth season on the show. “It’s so weird when I look at myself from the first and second season I was on the show,” states Jackson. “I looked so small and had such little legs. Now I look at myself and I’ve grown so much. It’s insane.”
With his charismatic smile, Jackson tells me what life is like as an actor on One Tree Hill. “I get the episode script about a week before we start doing the episode. I’m a very good memorizer and have a really good memory,” states a confident Jackson. “Sometimes there are sad and emotional scenes, sometimes there are happy and upbeat scenes. It changes all the time and we have to really be prepared.” And when it comes to the crying scenes, those have proven to be quite the task for Jackson. “It’s just not that easy for me to cry on command. It’s like I have to scratch myself just a little bit to get that one needed tear!” Jackson had stated it’s easier for him to be funny, and it’s no wonder why. His personality shines when you’re around him. “I am way more funny than I am sad or serious.”
But the fourth grade homeschooled actor has to make time for studying as well. “It’s not really hard to manage school and work. My teacher comes on set with me and we will work between scenes. But on days I’m not working, we spend a lot of time at home working.” And like any other kid, Jackson has his favorite and least favorite subjects. “I like math and science, but I don’t like writing, even though I’m really good at it.”
One Tree Hill is now in its eighth season. Filming is done entirely in North Carolina, where Jackson spends 9 months of the year on the east coast for work. “When I’m not in an episode, I come home and visit family and friends,” states Jackson. In fact, at the time of the interview, Jackson and his mother were on a break and preparing to head back to North Carolina to film. “I’ve lived in Santa Clarita all my life and I love it. There’s so much to do and I like how everything is close to where I live.”
A message for his fans…”Keep watching the show! There will be a lot of crazy stuff happening this season!”
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