Actor Chris McNally Stars as a Playboy Who Evolves to Find Love in the Award-winning Feature, 'John Apple Jack'

    LOS ANGELES, CA, March 30, 2016 /24-7PressRelease/ -- For more than a decade, actor Chris McNally has thrived in his outstanding character portrayals in film and TV titles. His leading role in director Monika Mitchell's feature romantic comedy, "John Apple Jack," is another testament to McNally's superlative acting that's resulted in fanfare and acclaim in the film industry.

Selena Paskalidis and Rick Tae produced "John Apple Jack" for Tae's Skycorner Entertainment (Vancouver). Tae wrote the script, which follows the story of John Jardine (McNally), a playboy and heir to a restaurant empire who discovers his sister is engaged to his childhood crush, Jack Gaang (Kent S. Leung). John's life unravels as he embarks on a desperate attempt to win over Jack before it's too late.

"My initial reaction after reading "John Apple Jack" was excitement," said McNally, who has also acted in the Emmy nominated series "Falling Skies" and "Supernatural." "I thought Rick created a very fun, light-hearted and humorous world, while still covering deeper issues like identity and love, as well as our cultural evolution. What I mean by that is the story wasn't focused on "coming out." It's just a romantic comedy that happens to be between two men. I think a lot of LGBT films in the past have been about the journey out of the closet or the struggle of staying in it, but we are in an era of equality now more than ever that Rick really wanted to celebrate."

Mitchell has accumulated an impressive directing record and has won 10 awards, including for directing the films "Night Deposit," "Break a Leg" and "Witness." She said, "Chris is such a committed actor and was so perfectly casted for the role of John. Directing him in "John Apple Jack" was pure pleasure. He brought a tremendous amount of likability and depth of character to the "playboy" role. And in spite of his obvious preparation, he remained open to me, his scene partners, the writer and other collaborators to make the most of the creative process."

The film was shot in Vancouver primarily in the city's Kitsilano area. Within the story is an homage to the fusion of Eastern and Western cultures with the fictional Jardine's restaurant serving French cuisine, while Jack's background and culinary artistry represents Eastern society.

"We were shooting in Vancouver for Vancouver because almost all the productions that shoot over there are doubling the city for someplace else," said McNally, who was raised in the city. "It's pretty rare that a film's story actually takes place in Vancouver."

"John Apple Jack" made its world premiere at the Vancouver Asian Film Festival in 2013. It won the 2014 FilmOut (San Diego) Audience Award for Best International Feature and McNally won the FilmOut Audience Award for Best Actor.

"Chris is a dedicated, committed, smart, insightful and talented actor," Mitchell said. "He was the perfect fit for the role of John not just because he is tremendously handsome, but because he is so generous with other actors and so accessible to the audience. He threw himself into the movie and the role with no holds barred and gave the opportunity all he had. It has been great to see him rewarded and publicly acknowledged for his performance."

The film was an Official Selection at Image + Nation Montreal, the Reelout Queer Film + Video Festival (Kingston, Ontario, Canada), the Kashish Mumbai International Queer Film Festival, Out Twin Cities Film Festival (Minneapolis-St. Paul), RDC LGBT Film Fest (Roanoke, Va.), Out Here Now (Kansas City), California Independent Film Festival (San Francisco) and the Hong Kong Lesbian & Gay Film Festival.

McNally, who last year acted in Moviehouse Pictures' "Mortal Remains," Mark Chisholm's "How You Think of Her," and with Tae again on the short drama, "Windfall," was charged the task to carry out John as a promiscuous, life-in-the-fast-lane character. Arrogant, wealthy and with everything handed to him, John has given up on idealistic love and is consumed with lust.

"John is definitely motivated by pleasure and power," McNally said.

But the catalyst for change is when Jack re-enters John's life.

"It sparks that forgotten idea and prompts John to chase after love. He doesn't really know how and it's trial and error until he finally gets it right and is able to climb out of his protective narcissistic shell," said McNally.

Proving opposites attract, Jack is the more responsible and hasn't slept with one man. His lifestyle is far more settled, and Jack's ambition is to sidestep his feelings for John and to focus instead on running the restaurant with him. Complicating the situation further is the fact that Jack is a chef at the restaurant John owns and manages.

The role provided McNally the opportunity and challenge of playing a leading character that undergoes an evolutionary change from the film's opening act to its finale. Before John can achieve his ultimate goal and find true love, he's humbled when he loses his life of extravagance and indulgence.

"I honestly had such a great time exploring that journey," McNally said. "I had the opportunity to play with a lot of levels: being completely entitled and narcissistic at the beginning, which allowed me to just let go and embrace my inner child, then slowly shedding those traits little by little and maturing until the real life, vulnerable adult emerged at the end. I had a lot of help from Monika and Rick though. They were excellent guides."

McNally's layered performance didn't go unnoticed by Mitchell either. "Chris brought an unexpected innocence and vulnerability to the character," she said. "Although these qualities would have initially been thought contradictory to the character, Chris used them in his performance to make John relatable. It was sheer magic to watch and I believe is what brings such charm to the movie."

Internal changes played a part of the development of the character as well. That component was an added nuance McNally welcomed and mastered.

"John is looking for deeper meaning in life though and keeps getting in the way of himself. He is his own biggest obstacle," said McNally. "As the story goes on, love becomes the biggest motivation, and also the need to honor the person you truly are in order to find happiness."

The film featured a script McNally described as dialogue heavy and with strong comedic sensibilities. It delights audiences with quick-witted characters, clever food metaphors and effective situational and physical comedy.

"I think the writing is really funny. My character spends the majority of the film with a giant bruise on his face after being hit by a flying apple," McNally said. "Monika and Lindsay George, the Director of Photography, did a great job of capturing Rick's comedy and then complementing it with their own colors as well."

The movie's final scene unfolded the wedding where John makes his final bid for Jack. It turned out to be one of McNally's favorite scenes of the entire production.

"That was our final day of filming and it was pretty magical to have almost the entire cast and crew all together," he said. "As a viewer though, I really like the kitchen scene with the grilled cheese. I think it's shot beautifully, edited seamlessly and I love the original track Heath Whitelock composed and laid over it. Jack asks John what he knows how to cook. I've learned a lot since, but at the time we shot that scene, a grilled cheese was actually the only thing I knew how to do."

"John Apple Jack" is available to stream online and for more information, visit the film's official website: JohnAppleJack.com.

Chris McNally is a film and television actor.

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