Exclusive Interview: Jesse Kove Talks A Taste of Love, the Filming Experience, and More

Jesse Kove is a dynamic storyteller who has worked in front of and behind the camera. He’s best known for projects including The Audition, Cobra Kai, and On Wings of Eagles.

This spring, he stars opposite Erin Cahill in the romantic drama, A Taste of Love. Struggling to find her culinary voice as a Network TV star, Taylor (Cahill) returns to her hometown to visit her parents. She must choose between her renewed relationship, saving her family restaurant, or her dream career as a worldwide known chef. Jesse shines as Jacob, the small-town boy with a heart of gold who reminds her what matters most in life.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to chat with Jesse about A Taste of Love, his multifaceted career, the overall filming experience, and more.

PC: Tell us about A Taste of Love and your character in the film.
Jesse: A Taste of Love is a great, heartwarming story set in Dunedin, Florida against the backdrop of cooking, family, and old love from childhood. It’s a beautiful story. I play Jacob, who is Erin Cahill’s old boyfriend from when we were young. She comes back to the small town to see her parents and to get a break from city life. She’s become a famous chef in Atlanta. Seeing me again rekindles this flame that we once had. She has to make a decision in the end as to whether to stay in the small town for love or go back to the city for money.

PC: You’ve brought so many dynamic characters to life throughout your career. What was it about Jacob that resonated with you?
Jesse: I felt like Jacob was very close to who I am. I’m not trying to self-proclaim myself in these ways at all, but he’s a very humble guy and he loves animals, nature, and food. He helped run a farm in the movie, and there were just all these great qualities. I loved his storyline and what was happening with him. He never pushed Erin Cahill’s character towards love. He wanted to see what she was going to do in the movie and how she was going to change her actions to better suit herself and possibly their relationship. It was really interesting to see how they wrote that. I really enjoyed that aspect of it.

PC: Like you were saying earlier, Taylor and Jacob have such a rich history together and quite the journey throughout the film, which you and Erin brought so much nuance to. How were you able to build that necessary bond? What kind of preparation did you do to build that backstory that we see unfold throughout the film?
Jesse: Erin is one of the most amazing people I’ve ever met. She’s beautiful, heartwarming, and as lovely as she is onscreen. She’s like that in real life. She’s so giving and gracious. As soon as we met each other, we hit it off right away. We rehearsed and hung out. We had dinner with the cast and crew when I first arrived in Florida where we shot. We got along famously. She was so wonderful to work with and such a professional. She’s so good at what she does. We had great chemistry. We both love horses and nature. It was the perfect match.

PC: You all shot this on location, and the setting feels like a character within the film. How helpful was that as you immersed yourself in this world?
Jesse: It was amazing. As you said, it was another character in the movie. Dunedin was so beautiful. The people were wonderful. They loved that we were filming there. A lot of the locals were in the movie as well. The restaurant that we shot at, Sea Sea Riders, is actually in Dunedin. You can actually go there and eat in the same restaurant where we shot. A lot of the movie takes place where we fall in love again. It’s a fun little Easter egg for people. It definitely has its own dynamic. When you’re watching it, you’re seeing all these big ocean views, palm trees, and the beautiful water everywhere. The beaches alone were their own characters. That’s part of the storyline. She lives in Atlanta and she comes back to this beautiful beach town and it brings out all these old memories for her. There are these wonderful actors who play the younger versions of us in the film, and that’s all built into the story as well. Dunedin is definitely its own character in the film.

PC: One of the interesting themes that this film explores is the idea of finding your passion in life and how the relationship of your craft can change over time when outside forces are involved. For you as a storyteller, have you ever experienced something similar? If not, how have you been able to avoid that?
Jesse: There’s a big message at the end that basically talks about what matters most in life. Is it the job with all the money, or is it the romantic love that provides you happiness in your soul? That’s always a big battle that people deal with. The movie touches upon the idea that it’s a good balance of both, and it’s important for people to see that. Even in playing the character of Jacob, I definitely learned some things as well.

PC: You’ve worked on projects of all sizes. What is it about independent filmmaking that excites you as a creative?
Jesse: I love working on stories that help move people. I really love being in a theater and watching people’s reactions to things that we did, whether they’re reliving a memory or tearing up from joy. It’s about that escapism. Even in Dunedin where we shot, people got lost in that environment. We wanted that. It’s important for people to have that fantasy, love, and sense of being lost in those worlds. That’s why I watch movies. That’s why I think people go to the movies. I get moved by watching other artists and actors. I love doing that for people. I try to challenge myself to do that.

PC: Michael and Conrad co-wrote and co-directed this project. Is the filming experience different when the people who created this universe are also at the helm directing? What was that collaboration like?
Jesse: They were great. It was really fun to work with them. Our producer Lincoln Lageson and our DP Michael May and all of us really worked hand in hand together to create this beautiful story. Michael and Conrad were awesome. They had a specific vision of what they wanted, and they were eager to work with us and our interpretation of certain scenes and what we wanted. It was a collaboration. We bring our own ideas to the scenes. Some of them we use. Some of them we don’t. But we had a blast. I just saw them recently for the premiere that we had. It was great to see them. It was great to see how the movie turned out.

PC: In addition to acting, you’ve also directed and produced. How have your experiences behind the camera impacted the way that you approach your work on screen and vice versa?
Jesse: It’s important for all actors to get behind the camera, whether it’s directing or producing. You really understand what it takes to make a movie and all the different hats that you can wear, all the different jobs, and what you have to do. Producing is literally everything. It means to create something, right? So as a producer, you’re literally doing everything that it takes to get the movie moving, whether it’s finding the money, making sure the actors are happy with the scripts, or making sure the locations are good. Then when the movie’s done, you’re in the post-production process as well making sure that the movie has everything that it needs to be done. And then it needs to be distributed or put in a theater or streaming service. It’s really important to learn about all that, and it makes you a better actor to understand all of those things and what is needed by people. It’s a lot of fun. It’s definitely a learning experience. It’s made me more competent in the real world. It definitely helps with your drive and being able to accomplish things. Because making movies isn’t easy at all. If you’ve done that, you can pretty much do anything.

PC: This film has been incredibly well received. What do you think is resonating most with audiences?
Jesse: It’s funny. I’ve had conversations with Erin about this too. There’s so much honesty in it. It has so much heart. You feel for all these characters. You fall in love with all these characters. Susan Gallagher is in it. She plays my real dad’s wife in the movie. She plays Erin Cahill’s mom. She and I had this wonderful scene together where we talk about how she’s basically a second mom to me. Some of the stuff that we did on the day was a bit improvised and it worked so well. It’s those moments that people watch and see how real these characters are. They’re real people in a real setting dealing with real problems. It’s great. I’ve talked about this movie more than any of my other films because we had such a good time down there. It was like what you see on screen because we were having a great time making this movie.

PC: Memories are such a focal point within this narrative. When you look back at this experience, what will you remember most? Do you have a favorite behind-the-scenes moment?
Jesse: Every week when we would finish shooting, a small group of us would go out to dinner on Fridays because we had the weekends off. It was a small group, mostly comprised of Erin, my dad, a couple of producers, and our cinematographer. We would talk about the week. We would talk about our favorite scene that we shot. We would talk about the work that we’d done. It was so nice to have those moments together because we all loved what we were making and it reminded me of when I did off-Broadway. My favorite moment wasn’t doing the show. It was when we had finished the show and everybody was so excited that we had done another show. At the end of the day, we were like, “You were so great when you did this tonight. It was amazing.” Or, “You had this moment today. It was incredible.” It’s always different. I loved the camaraderie that everyone had on this movie. It was a beautiful friendship that was created between everybody.

To keep up with Jesse, follow him on Twitter and Instagram.