Interview with Jonathan Torrens about J-Roc
Actor Plays Rapper in Trailer Park Boys - Countdown to Liquor Day
Sep 28, 2009
With the release of Trailer Park Boys: Countdown to Liquor Day, Jonathan Torrens is hanging up the fake gold as aspiring rapper J-Roc. After 7 seasons and two films, the actor agrees with creator/director Mike Clattenburg that the series needs to end on a high note.
In Part #1 of this interview, Torrens talked about developing the character of J-Roc and the advantages of Trailer Park Boys' cheap aesthetic. In this installment, he talks about his musical influences, why there won't be a J-Roc television show, and the lines Trailer Park Boys won't cross.
S101: What were some of the initial concerns about J-Roc?
“We didn’t want to offend the hip-hop community; we hoped they would take it in the spirit with which it's intended. And we didn’t want to offend the white dudes who act like J-Roc.
“But hip-hop community told us, ‘Thanks for making fun of those kids in North Battleford, Saskatchewan who roll around in Chevettes with 20” rims.’ And the kids in North Battleford, Saskatchewan are saying, ‘Thanks for representing us, Dog.’ Every hamlet across the country has J-Rocs. That's pop music; that's mainstream culture.
“We had a lot of discussion about the ‘N’ word. In hip-hop culture, that word’s bandied about like crazy. But, in terms of comedy, it’s ugly and irrelevant.
“People would be surprised at how rigid Mike Clattenburg’s moral lines are; the ones he won’t cross. You won’t see the female ‘C’ word on our show. He won't have any kids near scenes with very adult or questionable content. He doesn’t want to cross those lines because they’re not funny.
“Though some characters are gay, you won’t see anyone call them the ‘F’ word. Although Bubbles may be developmentally delayed, you’ll never hear people call him a retard. You’ll never hear people call J-Roc a ‘whigger’ and that’s one of the things I’m really proud of in the show.
"Even though Trailer Park Boys is laced with swearing, it’s creative swearing.
“Ricky will say, ‘If I can ref**kulate this machine,’ which kind of makes sense. Ricky, as a character, is almost like Humbert Humbert. You find yourself sympathizing with him when he says, ‘If I could just start growing dope and get my family back together,’ you think, poor guy. And then you have to step out of it and go, ‘Wait a minute. That’s awful!’ (laughs) But Ricky has a sympathetic quality that I think people really pick up on.”
S101: When developing J-Roc, who were your inspirations?
“He’s a salad of people I went to school with, people that Clattenburg’s crossed paths with over the years. It was kind of pre-Eminem though that’s the person J-Roc’s been likened to the most.
“I think the problem with J-Roc is, he could easily cross the line into cartoon. Just his patois, the way that he speaks is best served as garnish. I don’t know that you’d want him as the main dish.”
S101: Have you had people saying, ‘We should make a show around J-Roc’?
“It’s certainly come up, but I think anytime something develops an underground following, people are trying to figure out how to get their hooks in it anyways. But you want to preserve the natural integrity of the thing before it becomes a carnival of profit. Julian can only drink so many rum-and-cokes, Ricky can only mess up so many words, Bubbles can have only so many kitties before you have to evolve your characters out of their core DNA.
“I think it was time to pump the brakes on the Trailer Park Boys Express and go out on a high note: that’s the best thing Clattenburg’s ever done.
S101: You wrote your own raps. Is that something you’ve always done, or something you had to work on?
“That’s been the funny offshoot of this experience: I’ve been getting calls to appear at nightclubs and rap. (laughs) Do an album. I’m not a rapper, I just play one on TV. Though I like words, and I do listen to the music.”
S101: Which rappers do you, and, J-Roc, admire?
“Although I think J-Roc’s more skeptical of Eminem – thinks he sold out early – you can’t deny his lyrical prowess. The the way Eminem riffs in and out of the beat with all kinds of clever rhymes, he’s a smart cat. I gotta lot of respect for him.”
S101: Any others?
“I know it’s not politic to say in the wake of Taylor Swiftgate (laughs) but, persona aside, Kanye’s a really talented dude. And Drake, from Degrassi: The Next Generation, he's got good flow. But really, I prefer Gordon Lightfoot and James Taylor!” (laughs)
S101: So, if you actually put out a Jonathan Torrens CD, what music would be on it?
“Probably more like The Waltons, Blue Rodeo, Tragically Hip more than hip-hop . . . Tragically Hip-Hop: maybe that’s a project! (laughs) I could be onto something there!”
S101: What did you think of J-Roc getting his dream while all the other Boys are going to jail?
“I think that’s the basic positivity of Clattenburg coming through. Because – after 7 seasons, a special, a Christmas special and one movie – J-Roc gets his due, and he believed in himself when no one else did: after all those dark days, 14 unreleased albums. The idea that, if you persevere you can realize your dreams, is a pretty Disneyed ending, right? (laughs)
S101: Or an Anvil ending.
“Right. It’s the only natural place to go for the character. People have asked me if I feel sorry for J-Roc: I don’t think he feels sorry for himself. If he did, he wouldn’t be able to get out of bed! (laughs) All these guys can do is play the hand they’ve been dealt. I think, at Trailer Park Boys’ core, that’s what people really respond to. There’s some positivity in knowing these guys haven’t given up.”
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