Interview with Jon Armstrong Genii Magazine, December, 2004
On April 30, 2004 (the day before the Academy
of Magical Arts Awards banquet), I joined Jon Armstrong for our usual Friday
Lunch, and used the opportunity to interview Jon for publication. As usual,
we dined with Dave Cox and Derek Hughes and as usual as I asked Jon Questions
they couldn't shut up.
Lovick: At Disney, what was it like trying
to pass yourself off as a Limey?
Armstrong: At the audition, I said, “I can do a British
accent!” and they said fine, and I got the gig. I walked in with my fake
accent and immediately got slammed by the Brits. “You’re American!” No matter
how amazing I was, as long as they knew I wasn’t from England, they now
had a weapon to use against me. I might have considered this as a good thing
to let them have that one little victory to counter any negative feelings
toward being fooled, but I wasn’t going to do that.
Cox: Because that would require you to actually fool them?
Derek: Yeah, that would take too much practice.
Armstrong: (laughs) I wanted to appear authentic. I wanted
people to actually believe. I’ll give you an example of how unprepared I
was. My accent was basically a southern England Oxfordian accent.
Lovick: I believe the correct term is “Oxonian.”
Hughes: Whatever. What does that sound like?
Armstrong: Think Hugh Grant. (With accent) This is how
I spoke. And then, I said I was from Manchester. (everyone laughs).
I basically threw a dart at a map and picked Manchester.
Cox: That’s like adopting a southern drawl then claiming
you’re from New York.
Armstrong: Exactly. It’s about as stupid as you can get.
The other Brits at Epcot told me what Manchesterese—
Lovick: I believe the correct term is “Mancunian”.
Hughes: Thank you, Captain Dictionary.
Armstrong: — they pulled me aside and said, “Jon…no.” So
I was from Manchester for about three weeks. Then I was from Oxford. The
other big flag was when I would say things like “elevator” or “How are your
French fries?” I was 20, what did I know? I bought a English/American dictionary.
It eventually became a prop in my show. When Americans would talk to me,
I would say, “I don’t understand what you’re saying,” and I would pull out
the dictionary to translate.
Cox:(with British accent) A spool of thread in
my trunk? Oh, you mean a reel of cotton in my boot?
Armstrong: Exactly. And to make it more believable, I told
people my mother was American and that I’d lived in the States for four
years. This helped explain certain Americanisms that would slip in.
Lovick: After your recent appearance at the World Magic
Seminar, several people on the internet commented on the balance in your
act between comedy and magic, that they are equally important and neither
overpowers the other. Was that a conscious goal or did it just happened
naturally?
Armstrong: I would love to say that was my master plan
from the beginning, but it wouldn’t be true.
Cox: That’s never stopped you before. Hughes: I’ll say
it for you, if that helps.
Armstrong: However, I always knew I wanted to do both things.
I had a natural aptitude for humor and character. When I did plays, I was
never a leading man. I was always the character actor. I played the Gravedigger
in Hamlet, for example. And when I considered blending character work with
magic, I thought there are a lot of technically great magicians who are
deadly dull, and there are guys who are really, really funny, but don’t
have any chops. There are exceptions, of course. I think if they are both
as strong as you can make them, then one can never overpower or detract
from the other."
