| Jon Bon Jovi's Movies. |
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| Taking full advantage of the band's hiatus and in between making a solo album, Jon went on to co-star in Billy Bob Thornton's "Homegrown", "No Looking Back" with Ed Burns and Lauren Holly, "Little City" opposite Annabella Sciorra, and "Row Your Boat" co -starring William Forsyth and Bai Ling. |
| Jon's next big break came in 2000 when he won a part in Universal's WW2 submarine drama U571. He was playing with the big boys now and Jon seemed to love every minute f it. The first class cast comprising of and starring Mathew McConaughey, Bill Paxman, Harvey Keitel, Jack Noseworthy, amongst others, helped make the film a world wide smash hit and catapulted Jon "The actor's" career to block buster movie status. |
| John Carpenter cohort Tommy Lee Wallace (HALLOWEEN III: SEASON OF THE WITCH) wrote and directed this sequel to 1998's JOHN CARPENTER'S VAMPIRES. Jon Bon Jovi stars as veteran vampire hunter Derek Bliss, who is called down to Mexico for a special mission to get rid of a gang bloodsucking undead. Tragedy forces him to quickly assemble a special team to accompany him. There, he finds a group of vampires who are once again attempting to make themselves immune to daylight, but this time, their fierce leader is female. Natasha Wagner (TWO GIRLS AND A GUY) costars. |
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| The submarine parts were mostly shot in Malta and involved spending lots of time in a confined space, full of water. Now you would have thought that claustrophobics couldn't possibly endure this kind of torture but Jon did. He went the whole distance and even let them shave his head too, well almost! He was totally convincing as Lt. Pete Emmett and so far removed from his rock star persona that some people weren't even aware that "Jon Bon Jovi" was in the film. Much to the horror of his millions of fans, Jon unfortunately cops it and gets his head blown off about half way through the film. Thankfully though the fans were sparred this visual as the gory scene was edited out for cinema, however they did actually leave in for the American video format. |
| Vampires Los Muertos (2002) |
| Pay It Forward (2000) |
| Little City( 1998) |
| Row Your Boat ( 1998) |
| Homegrown ( 1998) |
| No Looking Back ( 1998) |
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| Watch out for a scene stealing Jon Bon Jovi in a two scene cameo. - --eFilmcritic.com "He has what it takes to be a serious leading man; this guy is going to be a star again." --Stephen Gyllanhaal, director |
| Bon Jovi, stuck with the thankless job of playing decency, does it with such subtle humor and raw feeling that you wonder why Claudia would ever stray. The rocker turned actor is strikingly good, and his scenes with Burns are the best and most honestly rendered in the film. --Peter Travers, Rolling Stone 4/16/98 |
| "The character is such a working-class Joe," he says, "I thought how audiences might react to seeing a rock star in that role. But Jon's acting coach, Harold Guskin, had been telling me for years what a good actor Jon was. And he just sort of slipped into the character's skin. Unlike a lot of rock stars who've tried to act, it's not an affected performance," says Mr. Burns. "Jon doesn't feel the need to try and act. It's very still and internal." --New York Times, 3/22/98 |
| I pleaded but they didn't give me any love scenes with Jon...Jon is so very cute and he's equally charming. He's having great fun acting, but he insists he's a rocker to the core. --Penelope Ann Miller, co-star He has this combination of being confident, yet humble and then sexy. So all that wrapped into one is really good. --Penelope Ann Miller, E! Celebrity Profile 2001 |
| It was considered a coup when Burns got Bon Jovi to play his rival. "I wanted Bon Jovi because he grew up in exactly this kind of world. I knew the dialogue would just roll off his tongue. Luckily, I know his acting coach. I got him to get Bon Jovi to meet with me. I was pretty nervous the day we met but he put me at ease right away." --Ed Burns, Calgary Sun, 6-11-98 "Jon's from a sort of blue-collar town, like his character, and immediately he had it all down--the cadence of speech, the look, the mannerisms. There was no rock-star nonsense. He'd hang out all day on the set, even helping the crew. He's totally professional, and you couldn't ask for a sweeter, nicer guy." --Ed Burns, Elle, 10-97 |
| Yes, before I met him, I did wonder about the wisdom of casting a rock star in the role. But he came in respecting the craft. He came in humbled by the craft. That's a great attitude because it shows that he is taking acting seriously. He didn't show up with any of that rock-star baggage. --Matthew McConaughey, (Lt. Andrew Tyler) He's definitely professional. He came to work and he was ready to work and he seemed really focused to me. I think he always really cared about what he was doing. --Will Estes, co-star Rabbit, also star of It's My Life video), E! Celebrity Profile 2001 |
| U571 (2000) |
| Well cast... (the) film manages to stay above water most of the way on the strength of the unusual give-and-take between appealing leads Jon Bon Jovi and Bai Ling.... Jamey's initial attraction is delightfully conveyed in a light, credible manner... Despite the rote action elements, the sweet grace notes, especially in the early going, are a credit to writer-director Mitchell and attractive thesps Bon Jovi and Ling; he's charming in self-deprecating way, while she puts on a winningly sunny and sometimes madcap facade to mask her inner tension and worries. --Todd McCarthy, Variety, April 10, 2000 |
| I was a little apprehensive about putting him in the movie because I was doing a very realistic period piece and what I said to Jon was, before the picture, was I said "You have to be twice as good as anybody else because you have to be great for the part and you have to be twice that great to make me forget that you're Jon Bon Jovi." --Jonathan Mostow, director, Bravo Profile 2001 He's so accessible that the audience watches it and they go, "I believe him. He's credible. I believe him. He's just like me." Jonathan Mostow, director, Bravo Profile 2001 I was impressed with the guy. He came in with none of what you would expect. There was no attitude at all. He wasn't a rock star; he was an actor. And he was an actor who delivered. I was ecstatic with his performance. --Director, Jonathan Mostow |
| Jon's next project was playing the part of Helen Hunt's estranged husband in the incredbily moving "Pay It Forward." Although his appearance is a breif one, it's very solid and believeable. A great cast and an excellent film. |
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