Acting Sleazy Local Actor Jason Hodgdon Delivers On A Slimy Character

All the leaves are brown (under a white coat of flurries) and the sky is gray – just the type of winter’s day to inspire a bit of California dreaming.

But on this snow-blown, frigid afternoon, actor Jason “Jake” Hodgdon is glad to be home from Los Angeles – for a little while at least.

“The business shuts down around the holiday season,” Hodgdon said.

That’s not to say the 31-year-old Tremont native’s monthlong stay in Maine has been a lazy vacation. Between spending time with his family and promoting shows for comedian Bob Marley, a good friend and fellow Mainer in L.A., his days are full.

Coming home also gives Hodgdon a chance to do research for his screenplay about the Maine lobster industry, which he hopes to start filming within a year. In reality, he said, it probably will take two or three years to finish the script, secure locations on Mount Desert Island to shoot the film, and get things rolling.

“My most immediate goal is to get my movie in production,” Hodgdon said. “I want to show the reality of what goes on in the industry – what workdays consist of, what the life is like, just to be a fisherman. A lot of people don’t know.”

Growing up on MDI, Hodgdon was exposed to lobster fishing early on. But after nine years in Los Angeles, he needed to brush up, so he came home for 21/2 months to fish.

“I needed to remember what it’s like. I needed to be on a boat,” Hodgdon said. “To me, it’s a really interesting lifestyle and I’ve never seen a movie about it, or at least one that’s been accurately done on the industry. There’s a great story behind it – one that needs to be told.”

In addition to working on his own screenplay, Hodgdon has appeared in several independent films. His most recent project, “Mint Condition,” was shot on location in Portland.

“It’s a very over-the-top comedy about three used-car salesmen,” Hodgdon said. “I play a cheeseball womanizer.”

For the part, he grew out his hair, shaved a pencil-thin mustache, and wore shirts open to his bellybutton and a necklace with a gold dollar-sign pendant.

It was a departure for Hodgdon, who looks more like he stepped out of L.L. Bean than out of a car showroom. For the interview, he traded his unbuttoned shirts and gaudy jewelry for jeans, a fleece jacket and a baseball cap embroidered with the title of another movie in which he has a lead role, “Under the Bus.”

While working on “Under the Bus,” Hodgdon met director Ashby Richardson, who later cast him in “Mint Condition.” Hodgdon also has roles in “Kevin’s Lament,” which will be shot in Michigan this fall, and “9.3,” written by his friend Marley, and based on the true story of a murder in Lewiston.

Friends such as Marley and Richardson have given Hodgdon the network he needs to work full time as an actor.

“It’s really important to surround yourself with a good nucleus of people who are involved in the business,” Hodgdon said. “Once you make the connections, things start to fall into place a little bit more.”

After nine years in Los Angeles, things are falling into place for Hodgdon. He knows what he wants now – to work solely in film – but it hasn’t always been so clear to him.

“I’ve always liked to entertain people. I’ve always liked to be the ham at a party, but I never even thought of pursuing it,” he said.

He graduated from Mount Desert Island High School in 1987 and spent a few semesters at the University of Southern Maine. He decided college wasn’t for him, and, looking for something new to do, he entered a modeling competition. There, he met an agent, moved to L.A. two months later and started going on auditions.

He landed small parts on soap operas and commercials and soon was smitten with acting.

“Back when you’re just starting out, every little thing you do is exciting,” he said. “I’d get five lines in a soap opera and I’d go home and celebrate with a bottle of champagne.”

These days, a lead role in a feature film is more likely to spark a celebration than a bit part on “Days of our Lives,” but the excitement still is there.

“I love it, and now that I’m getting to a stage where it’s getting better and better, I love it even more.”