Dealing with a life of loss, grief, and unexpected circumstances, viewers know Brent Jennings best as “Ernie Fontaine” on AMC’s hit comedy-drama series Lodge 49.
“I got “Ernie” at a time in my life when I could really empathize with what he was going through because of recent events in my own life. I had sort of an emotional reserve to call upon about which I really wasn’t conscious until I started the show.”
Right before reading the script of Lodge 49, Jennings lost his younger brother.
“Having dealt with a loss in my own life and to deal with my own personal grief, opened me up to how the theme of loss had become something that has to now live in me. I sort of used it and gave myself to it.”
Jennings describes his character “Ernie” as a complicated, multi-faceted, three dimensional character who is still operating as a younger guy trying to achieve something in life. Just like his character who stays resilient through his ups and downs, there are those in the entertainment industry who can attest to Jennings showing that same spirit. With a smile, he related that encounter:
“One time I was sitting at a restaurant in Los Angeles and a producer came up to me and said, ‘Hey, how are you doing? I really like your work, every ten years or so you turn up in something really great.’ I wish he used a smaller figure, maybe five years instead of ten, but his point was a very good testament to longevity. He was noticing that I keep showing up and over the years always turn up in quality projects doing quality work.”
Jennings shared the comment and the great compliment it was to his career as a character actor who has remained passionate about acting on any platform, including as the director of a play at his alma mater.
“It was the premiere and it went really well with a standing ovation opening night. I remember walking back to my apartment and feeling really happy and blessed, I remember saying to myself ‘Thank God I have not wasted my life, I’m good at what I do and I enjoy it at any level, including at a college working with students; I enjoyed that just as much as I enjoyed Broadway or being in the Oscar nominated film Moneyball.”
Working on these different platforms for these many years has allowed Jennings the chance to work with many people of all backgrounds. He speaks about how the diversity in entertainment has evolved over the years and of the diversity of the crew on Lodge 49.
“When I asked our show’s creator Jim Gavin about that he said, ‘It’s Long Beach, it’s a very diverse community. A lot of different kinds of people are here, the Samoan, African American, and Asian community and more.’ He wanted the show to look like the Long Beach he sees. I feel it’s great to see this diversity of types in a show, with all characters playing equal. They’re not prototypes or stereotypes of who they are so they’re individuals and I love it, I think it’s great.”
Aside from acting, Jennings recently celebrated his mother’s 100th birthday in Little Rock, Arkansas. He continues practicing yoga at Bikram Yoga in Marina Del Rey, California. Our photographer Laetitia Hugues shot the photos of Jennings for this article at Bikram Yoga where Jennings shared with her that his career started in 6th grade in Arkansas. Hughes went on to share more of her conversation with him:
“A teacher recommended that he should become an actor. He took that advice to heart and followed his destined career. Jennings told me that his schoolteacher mother wanted him to get a job but that his father was always supportive of his career choices. He went to Emerson College in Boston and then moved to
New York to become an actor.”
Jennings also shared with Hugues that he always carries with him a very valuable piece of advice he got from his father before his father passed away. Jennings told Hugues that his father took failure out of the equation by putting it in perspective:
“This is something you’ve always wanted to do and if you make money it will be good, and if you don’t, so what? It was the path you were meant to travel.”
Jennings is guiding his two sons who are also in the entertainment industry.
“I tell them that there’s times that it’s going to go smooth and there’s times when you have to be resilient and you have to always continue to believe in yourself and know that your talent, if you’re true to it, will provide for you and it will give you what you need. You have to believe in the hard times and you have to not go overboard in the good times, you have to try to stay even.”
These words are as true for the character of “Ernie” as they are to Jennings himself.
“An actor is an interpretive artist. His job is to interpret the work of the creative artist (the writer) and present his version of the character. Hopefully there is a synergy and agreement between the creative and interpretive artists as their job is to work together to create that synergy.”
Jennings gets his inspirations and influences, first and foremost, from his faith in God. His spirituality is something he is always working on, believing that you need to gather enough positive experiences to keep believing in yourself during the drought signs.
Brent Jennings is today one of the leading actors in a comedy-drama television series called "Lodge 49". It is a fable that tells a story with a moral. The series does not promote antagonism or violence. It is the story of a working class community who encourages each other while going through the common dramas of life: loss, grief, and unexpected circumstances.
Creative credits
- Written by
- Jodelle Maglaya
- Photography
- Letitia Hugues
- Photography
- JOYSTYLE
