Today we’d like to introduce you to Jon Michael Simpson.
Hi Jon Michael, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Howdy – my name is Jon Michael Simpson and I am an Emmy-nominated, filmmaker and actor based in Austin, Texas. As a kid, I remember finding my family’s home video collection for the first time and being completely mesmerized. I watched them over and over memorizing all the details I could, telling my brothers and sisters about hilarious moments they had to see, and marking my favorites. We started viewing these as a family over the holidays and it was magic sharing experiences that made us laugh, cry, and rediscover things like the incredible mustache my dad used to have.
I loved watching films growing up and equally enjoyed the attention and trying to make my family and friends laugh so I began performing at a young age. Performing in theatre was incredible and I was immediately hooked by the experience of creating with a team. In college, I studied film at the University of Texas at Austin, focusing on directing and producing while continuing to perform. I remember the experience of creating my first short. I spent hours writing, editing, and crafting it – it was not really any good – but the feeling that something you wrote could become this living, breathing “thing” was amazing to me. It was over for me after that, and I’ve been fortunate to be able to continue telling stories and hope to continue doing so for a long time.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Oh yes, there have been several challenges. If I didn’t have the buds and community I’ve been blessed with, it could have been very easy to throw in the towel on filmmaking and performing. A couple of specific challenges I can think of are tied to my first film “Hi I’m Blake” which just released.
“Hi I’m Blake” is my first baby and feature documentary. It is a personal film to me that follows my childhood neighbor Blake and his family’s recovery. After a gymnastics accident leaves him severely brain-damaged, Blake Hyland creates a platform to bring awareness and hope to everyone he meets on the road to recovery while his family wrestles to restore him to his former self.
From a narrative perspective, one challenge was the reality that having a brain injury meant a lifetime of recovery. Blake’s journey wasn’t going to simply wrap up in a bow in a year and I would be lying if I said I knew exactly where the story was heading initially. As we followed Blake through key events in his recovery, I constantly wondered “what’s the ending we’re heading for?” This eventually revealed itself in Blake’s goal to attend his former school and graduate high school. Once this clicked, I set out to follow Blake and his family’s attempt to achieve this and it led to incredible moments following Blake through the hallways of his first days at school.
Making a film is a roller coaster and I think the best way to not only find success but to enjoy what you do is by surrounding yourself with a community of friends and mentors to help you figure out the next step. I don’t mean this in a hokey way, but my advice would be to find close collaborators that you enjoy creating with, can support one another in projects, and keep each other levelheaded when you fail or are riding too high. You don’t have to have the whole beast tackled at once, just keep showing up (and stepping away when needed) to focus on one step at a time so you don’t get lost in unfulfilled expectations or a project not going the way you initially hoped.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
My first short documentary followed my neighbor Blake Hyland’s initial recovery from a traumatic brain injury in 2014. This film went on to win the grand prize for Participant Media’s national competition and developed into my first feature documentary “Hi I’m Blake” which I began directing while studying film at the University of Texas. “Hi I’m Blake” was licensed by Warner Bros. Discovery and inspired the “Hi I’m…” doc anthology series that was released on Chip and Joanna Gaines’ new Magnolia Network. I’ve produced eleven narrative and documentary feature films in addition to directing and acting in multiple films, commercials, and digital series with entities like Snapchat and NBC.
Most recently, I starred in the Shudder Original: Sorry About The Demon which releases January 2023 and was directed by my pal Emily Hagins. I currently serve as an Executive Producer and director for the Emmy-nominated “Hi I’m…” series including the episodes “Hi I’m Sevy” and “Hi I’m Travis Mills” (which releases on Discovery+ Veterans day). We find out in December if we win the Emmy or not so – fingers crossed!
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
Christmas mornings are magical in my family.
I’m one of five kids and growing up (and still today), my mother would decorate the house to the nines, my father would always be cooking an incredible meal, and in the days and weeks leading up to Christmas, we had a calendar where we would take turns moving a little mouse one day further until it landed on Christmas eve. It was a HUGE deal when you got to be the chosen one to move the mouse into the coveted 24th position and was always a topic of debate of who got to move it there the year before.
On Christmas morning, my siblings and I would line up from youngest to oldest at the top of the stairs (I was lucky to be #2 in the lineup) and when you heard Charlie Brown’s Christmas theme play, you walked down as the anticipation built to the glorious moment seeing all the presents laid out….and then JUBILATION, BREAKFAST CASSEROLE…CHAOS!
One particular Christmas morning that comes to mind is when I got up especially early, felt especially curious/devious, and wanted to defy the newly planted Buzz Light year toy set up to sound “INTRUDER ALERT INTRUDER ALERT” if anyone crossed his laser arm too soon.
I vaulted (lightly/barely stepped) over the invisible line, went downstairs, and got a first look at all the toys laid out for everyone. Word got around quickly after I spilled the beans to my brothers about what they got (thanks Jarrod and Alex). My punishment wasn’t too bad all things considered. Just had to go to the back of the line behind my sisters – THAT DAY, I VOWED TO NEVER TO CROSS BUZZ AGAIN. No, I suppose there’s no point to this story, but had to make it dramatic at the end.
Contact Info:
- Website: Personal: jonmichaelsimpson.com | Hi I’m Blake: HiImBlake.com
- Instagram: personal: @juhmichael | Hi I’m Blake: @HIBfilm
- Facebook: facebook.com/HIBfilm
- Twitter: personal: @realjuhmichael | Hi I’m Blake: @HiImBlakeFilm
- Other: Twitter | Personal: @realjuhmichael | HIB: @HiImBlakefilm
