He's a guest on some of the top TV shows today: Lie to Me, Dexter, CSI: NY, Journeyman, ER, and The Closer. Sometimes he's a cop and sometimes he's the bad guy. Regardless of what role this hot actor plays - J.R. Cacia is here to stay.
In CSI: NY's episode "Enough" from the 2008 season, J.R. is the ultra cool and uber-confident bad guy facing off with Gary Sinise. As Metro Police Detective John Carson on the NCIS "Friends & Lovers" episode, J.R. plays it open and friendly. In Journeyman's "Friendly Skies" season 1 episode, J.R. portrays a terminal patient who receives his pilot's license just before his diagnosis. Even with the grim prognosis, J.R. plays Billy Marble with candor and wry wit that is believable and memorable. Finally, in this season's Lie to Me, J.R. does time as Mr. Fitzgerald, the P.E. teacher who doesn't understand the definition of verbal abuse. Slimy.
J.R.s talent and passion for acting lies in the psychology of a character: think back story. That is, if a character is 30 years old, J.R. logically works backwards to create the character's history. Back story is important because understanding how the character will react leads to the creation of 3 dimensional, complex characters.
Logic itself plays a huge part in J.R.s own back story.
Originally from Hammonton, New Jersey, aka the blueberry capital of the world, J.R. attended the University of Maryland, was later accepted at Georgetown University and also received a full scholarship to the University of Miami. Due to work restrictions if he accepted the scholarship and because he didn't want to create debt for college living expenses, J.R. headed to Los Angeles to check out UCLA. During the year he spent waiting to get California residency - logical since college is more affordable for residents, he began taking improv classes, wrote a script, and started doing scene work.
"The logic of the law and the logic of being an actor are similar to me. In fact, I remember watching The Usual Suspects the night before my law school admissions test and thinking 'Wow, who wrote that script?'"
Though J.R. does have his sights on films, he has two television pilots under his belt and feels blessed that he has worked as a guest on many of the most welcoming and professional sets in the business. Two examples are CSI: New York and NCIS. J.R. clarified that a set is only as professional as its top actors. On CSI: New York, Gary Sinise arrived 30 minutes before call time to work with him on the scene and Mark Harmon of NCIS met J.R. at the studio gate, had thorough knowledge of J.R.s work and made sure that J.R. knew he was pleased to have him on the set.
In addition to acting, J.R. also teaches acting two nights a week to about 35 students. He began teaching after the writer's strike and after his acting coach passed away. When he first began his acting career, J.R. had made a pact with himself that he would always be working in acting, either on television or in a play, taking classes and now teaching.
"I wanted to create a safe environment for actors. The main thing about teaching acting is to build confidence. " J.R. further explained that he doesn't teach lewd scenes because it's essential to keep the core of the actor's self pure. This pure, core self is what the actor draws on to create believable characters.
Humble and grounded, J.R. is a down to earth, regular guy. For down time he has dinner with friends, visits his 18 month old nephew or watches football. In this era of shameless self promotion J.R. doesn't even maintain a current webpage. In fact, J.R. only tweets to promote his funny friend known to Twitter readers as withoutapology. Oh, and because J.R. tweets so seldom, here are some updates on his entries. He never did start that flag football league, is still looking for the slow 1986 version of "Don't Stand so Close to Me" by the Police, and yes, regardless of the research on post-consumer recycle paper and it's positive effect on this gorgeous planet - recycled toilet paper is still scary.
In short, J.R. loves his work: both acting and teaching. And since I know that J.R. is going to have an incredible career - I presumed to ask the James Lipton Actor's Studio questions.
- What is your favorite word? No.
- What is your least favorite word? Can't.
- What turns you on creatively, spiritually or emotionally? The human condition.
- What turns you off? Stifling another person.
- What sound do you love? The crowd chant "USA, USA!" when the United States hockey team beat the Russians in the 1980 Olympics.
- What sound do you hate? The screech of tires before a crash - or almost crash!
- What profession other than yours would you like to attempt? Camp counselor to 4 year olds. (Has experience!)
- What profession would you not like to do? A career riding on the back of a trash truck. (Has experience!)
- If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates? After God hears me complain about why I had to go through all this 'crap', God's response would be "Didn't you see the fortune cookie I sent?"
- Boxers or briefs? Boxer briefs.
To view a fun sample of J.R.s acting chops, go to jrcacia on Twitter and click on the profile link under 'Web.'
