Pop-Culturalist.com

Jake Foy is a multifaceted talent and one of the breakout stars of 2023. The actor, writer, producer, and director is best known for the dynamic characters that he’s brought to life on the stage and screen. Earlier this year, he made his debut as a series regular in Hallmark’s must-see series, Ride.

Ride is a multigenerational family ensemble following the lives of the McMurrays, part of a rodeo dynasty going back a generation, as they struggle to keep their beloved ranch afloat. After a tragic loss, each character embarks on an empowering journey of transformation and self-discovery while also uncovering a twisted web of secrets, threatening to tear the family and their small Colorado town apart at the seams. Jake shines as Tuff, the youngest McMurray brother, who is grappling with holding things together for his family while finding his own path.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to catch up with Jake to talk about Ride Season 1, Tuff’s hero journey, living with a character for an extended period of time, and more.

PC: So much of Tuff’s journey in Season 1 is about the responsibility that he feels to hold everything together. You’ve brought so much nuance to his journey. As an actor, how did you create this space for yourself to dive into his arc? Did you channel any of your own personal experiences when building this character?
Jake: Wonderful question. I agree that Tuff is at the center of a lot of our story. Valeria and Tuff have opposing perspectives on the same anchoring point. Sara [Garcia] and I bonded over that quite frequently, and by proxy, we talked about our real-life experiences. I don’t want to take away from crediting myself for the acting choices, but being a person with family values and for whom family is a priority, I do try and keep the love together for the people in my life. I try to stay connected and remind people how valued they are and how lucky I am to be doing what I love to do and taking up the space that I get to take up. I’ll admit it’s not that big a jump to imagine wanting to be that way for the McMurrays as well. As Jake, I root for Cash’s bull riding. I root for how Mom wrestles with it. I want Missy to find love. I want Gus to have good intentions. I’m really Team Tuff even though I’m lucky enough to bring him to life, so it’s not as difficult to work as I would like to claim it is. [laughs]

PC: Music is one of the ways that Tuff is able to express himself and everything that he has bottled up inside, which hits close for you. How much does music play a role in your preparation for a character and scene before and after?
Jake: I use this sound bite when I pitch my own work in the music space, but we are the only species capable of perceiving rhythm and pitch. There are some birds that can feel the rhythm and other animals can sense those highs and lows like dolphins and whales, but we’re the only species that can perceive music. When we talk about storytelling, whether it’s theater, film, or television, we’re talking about our shared humanity. Having a musical component to the story is impossibly lucky for someone who cares about that. It’s also a catalyst for Tuff’s self-discovery in the matrix of supporting everyone around him, as you talked about.

He’s got so much energy to help lift others up, and the space that he’s carved out for expression through music is one that we will enjoy getting to follow over the course of hopefully a few more seasons with him finding his voice and what it means to embark on his own hero’s journey.

PC: That sense of responsibility starts to affect his relationship with Julian. What has it been like getting to collaborate with Vasilios [Filippakis] as you brought that dynamic and all of the ups and downs of that relationship to life?
Jake: Similar to Tuff and Julian, Vasilios and I come to our work from really, really different perspectives and priorities. Vasilios calls L.A. home. I’m in Vancouver. We don’t have a lot of working days together when we shoot because of the nature of us being in Calgary and with him in and out of town as well. What’s really interesting is there’s a bit of art imitating life there in finding the common ground between our difference of perspectives and being in this tornado of shooting Ride and coming and going from that space. What’s great about that is that variety is the spice of life. The ensemble is just that. There are a lot of different perspectives that get to create the world of Canyon, Colorado one at a time. Our dynamic is no different. I’m really excited for audiences who have been shipping their relationship or are not sure how they feel about it to get more answers out of Episode 10 as we approach the season finale.

PC: In addition to the incredible work that you’ve done on the stage and screen, you’ve also written, produced, and directed. How have your experiences behind the camera impacted the way that you approach your work as an actor and vice versa, especially with a character like Tuff?
Jake: Thank you for that question. Everyone in our business should take some time to put the shoe on the other foot. As far as the relationship between being in front of and behind the camera, I’m lucky enough to have some people who believe in my vision for musical storytelling, so I have a little more practice than others. But what it really resulted in is an enormous reverence for the creative team, the network, and all of the people in our crew that come together to tell this story so vividly. It’s an epic tale of family, love, loss, grief, and risk. It’s not easy to do that at this scale. The long and short answer is I have such a respect for everyone that comes to work on our show because they seem to arrive there only by caring deeply about representing the people that really do live in this world.

What’s funny is that they’re not necessarily behind the camera, they’re behind the TV when they watch. But they are who are most important to all of us. It’s the people who really live this ranching and rodeo life, of which there are many. We want them to feel respected. When we wrap up an episode, they feel like they’ve been honored a bit, and that’s what really counts.

PC: There’s so much authenticity that comes off the screen with this project, outside of the guitar and bullfighting training that you had to do. You all shot on location with actual rodeo performers and riders. How did those collaborations help you immerse yourself in this world?
Jake: One of the biggest parts about it and the first thing that comes to mind is that it’s not a space for ego. There’s a lot of bravado in the world of rodeo and ranching and yet a lot of humility. We were very fortunate as a cast to be observing that dignity all the time. What’s really cool that we don’t talk about very often is that many of these people who are small-time rodeo queens or on their way to rising or legacy trick riders from Alberta, Canada also make cameos on the show because they’re around us all of us all the time. To speak to that authenticity, we’re lucky that we have people of that level of skill around all the time as a resource.

We’d love to take full credit for the amount of research and preparation that we could bring to a show like this, but a television shooting schedule is one of the most rigorous that there is. Having people around that are willing to check their egos at the door, they’re not mad that they’re not the ones on screen taking the credit, they’re lifting us up to make the story as real and gritty as possible. So thank you to everyone who might be watching that worked on our show and to everyone that is able to immerse themselves in the world because of their hard work. Tip your hat to them the next time you’ve got your cowboy hat on.

PC: This is also the longest that you’ve lived with a character on screen. Has anything surprised you about the overall experience? What’s been the biggest takeaway thus far?
Jake: That’s a wonderful question. It’s so great. A whole season with the character is the most that I have spent personally. What’s been so enriching about it is the freedom that someone who is as much of a perfectionist as I am gets to have in acknowledging that we don’t necessarily start shooting knowing the full map of what a season will look like or where we’re headed. So it’s been an exercise in learning a new skill set for the tool belt that I have to throw caution to the wind a bit and allow myself to be present and authentic to what Tuff might be feeling at any given time and allow that to be flexible in the same way that we let ourselves have a bit of a change of opinion in our real lives. Fully fleshing out that world of opinions that is ever-evolving is great. It feels like getting a good workout.

PC: One of the benefits of television as a medium is the opportunity to grow with a character and learn more and more about them as the series goes on. What’s been the most surprising part of Tuff’s development in Season 1?PC: Another benefit is that as creators get to know each of the actors, they’re able to incorporate elements of them into their respective characters. How has that collaboration grown throughout this season and allowed you to take agency over Tuff’s journey?
Jake: Our creators, Rebecca [Boss] and Chris [Masi], are like family at this point. They’ve been so curious about our unique perspectives on these characters as individual actors. Then, of course, as our directors come and go from blocks of the season, that’s an inspiration as well. To go back to your earlier question, if you come onto set with rigid decisions about what this character is or can and cannot be, there’s a place for that. There’s a place for creative guardrails. But what’s been great about the process is everyone is bringing curiosity to the table. There’s not just Valeria’s mystery, but there are so many mysteries of what McMurrays have been, are, and can be hopefully. We’ve been able to explore a great deal of that in Season 1 and hopefully we’ll continue to in the future.

PC: There are so many possibilities where this story can go. If we’re lucky enough to get a second season, what else would you like to explore and dive deeper into with this character? Is there another relationship that you’d like to explore further?
Jake: I am not shy about saying that I would love to explore Tuff’s passion for music and finding his voice. It’s been really fun to be seven years senior to Tuff in my real life. It’s both flattering to play a little younger than myself because it’s therapeutic to explore what it was to be 25, 26 and on the cusp of that maturity and adulthood.

As Tuff finds his voice in music, he’s also finding a new challenge in balancing a love for his art and finding a love that can both rival and complement that. It’s no secret that I’ve found that in my life. It took a number of years to make space for both things. I’d love to explore that because beyond what we’ve already talked about regarding Tuff’s story not being written from trauma or suffering, one of the greatest joys I’ve experienced is balancing love for my career and my calling in the world with another person. If we’re able to watch Tuff wrestle with that, it would set a lovely, lovely precedent for a lot of young people, gay or not. That would mean a lot to me.

PC: Outside of Ride, you’ve got tons of other projects that are in process. Are there any that you can talk about at this time?
Jake: The one that I can talk about is this 38-minute musical short film that I wrote the original screenplay for with Drew Gasparini, who did the pre-Broadway debut of the Karate Kid musical. They’re shopping around for a space for that. Fingers crossed for him. But it’s a really special story about two young teenagers in love that I adapted from material that’s been around for quite some time. It’s great to make a bit of a statement of empowerment and choice for young women through that story. We’re really excited to see what festivals it’s received at as our producing team continues to submit to them.

To keep up with Jake, follow him on Twitter and Instagram. Watch Ride every Sunday at 9/8c on Hallmark Channel.

Photo Credit: Kyrani Kanavaros // Stylist: Kristine Wilson // Hair and make-up: Sonia Leal-Serafim