Q&A - Jarod Joseph

When
Jarod Joseph
strapped on the goalie pads as a kid, he was absolutely hooked on hockey.
The speed, the energy, the excitement ... the sport engrained itself into the fabric of his day-to-day life.
That love of the game naturally led the Calgary native to becoming a devout Flames fan. In his early childhood, watching Mike Vernon cement himself as one of the franchise's greatest goaltenders solidified his love for the team and inspired him to stick with the position.
As he grew older, Jarome Iginla became a role model for the actor, who plays Nathan Miller on The CW's 100, and remains one of his all-time favourite athletes today.
Joseph sat down with CalgaryFlames.com to discuss his love for the game, his passion for the Flames and his career:

CALGARYFLAMES.COM: When did you get into hockey and did you play?
JOSEPH: I started playing hockey in Novice and I played up until Bantam. I was a goalie. I think I started playing before I started watching. On the virtue of playing, I got into hockey. My grandfather was a big fan so watching Hockey Night In Canada -- specifically Flames games -- became our thing. His love made me love it and I wanted to play and make him proud and stuff like that.
I was living in Ontario and there was a point where it got a little expensive so I had to pick up a basketball at a certain point. Even though I stopped playing, when I moved from Calgary, my love for the team never waivered ... I've never switched allegiance and I've been a huge fan ever since.
You always have that proximity thing that gets you started. When I started playing you start to investigate players you might latch on to and Mike Vernon was my favourite goalie plus he was born in Calgary as well so I had that hometown hero affinity for him. Some of it was my grandpa. He always had Flames stuff around. It's a family thing, it's a family affair. My mom is a huge fan, everybody I know is a huge fan and a lot of our family connects on the basis of the Flames. It's always been that way.
CALGARYFLAMES.COM: Do you have any particular hockey memories from your childhood that stand out for you?
JOSEPH: When I was young, there was a game I played ... it was kind of like Patrick Roy's last game in Montreal. I was letting in every goal and it was gross. It got to about 7-0 or 7-1 or something. When the eighth goal went in I faked a groin injury and I started crying on the ice. They had to get the stretcher and everything. I remember my mom watching me in the stands and she shook her head at me when I was getting pulled off. I just couldn't understand why the coach wasn't pulling me out. It was a bad game and that really hurt me. I didn't stop, though.
CALGARYFLAMES.COM: Did you grow up playing any sports other than basketball as well as hockey?
JOSEPH: I grew up playing basketball as well as hockey. It was an easy summer game. I didn't really play in high school. One of those things where my grades weren't great so I couldn't make the teams. But up until I was 17, I thought I was going to make the NBA. I still play about three times per week. It's really easy to do and good exercise.
CALGARYFLAMES.COM: What are some of your favourite Flames memories?
JOSEPH: The 2004 Stanley Cup playoff run. It's the thing for me that I was old enough and was really able to resonate what was going on. I'd like to say '89 but I wasn't old enough to really get it. The vibe in the city was crazy. I made a lot of friends during that run. I just remember that feeling was amazing. I knew that I was locked in with team for the rest of my life.
CALGARYFLAMES.COM: Any particular games from that 2004 run that stick out?
JOSEPH:Game 6. Game 6 was intense. I remember going home and feeling like any moment they were going to reverse the call on the no-goal, but that never happened. Every last game when they beat San Jose and Vancouver ... it was just like 'This is really happening'. Each series was so much fun.
Tweet from @JarodJoseph: Family ritual. #FlamesTBT pic.twitter.com/IhG7i2M1Ky
CALGARYFLAMES.COM: Any other sports teams you follow on a regular basis?
JOSEPH: I'm a big Jays guy and I'm sure most of us are. The Raptors, I follow them. As much as I was a Flames fan growing up I was also a Raptors fan. Those are my three big ones. Living in Ontario I was close to it as well.
CALGARYFLAMES.COM: Who are some of your favourite athletes?
JOSEPH:Allan Iverson. He was that guy I saw when I was young. He had some trouble in Georgetown and he was the first athlete that I saw that wasn't perfect and that really resonated with me. He changed my style of basketball ... probably for the worst because I never got good at shooting or anything, but I looked good doing it.
Jarome Iginla. Jarome was my guy. I would say that before 2005 a lot of people would say that he was even the best player in the league. Seeing a player that looked like me -- because I never really saw that in the 90's -- was like, cool ... that's my guy.
Michael Jordan too ... this list could get really long.
CALGARYFLAMES.COM: Favourite Flames player on the current roster?
JOSEPH:This is the first time in my life as a Flames fan that if you were going to buy a jersey tomorrow you would have a hard time picking a player. Monahan, Bennett ... the list is so long. Johnny. It's pretty cool. The roster is so deep. I love everybody, I really do. We have a cool team, we have cool, young guys. As long as I've been a fan we haven't had four or five stars at the same time. It's really cool.
CALGARYFLAMES.COM: How often do you get to go to games?
JOSEPH: I move to California every February for about three months and I go to every game when they play the Kings. I try to make the drive to Orange County when they play the Ducks. I try to make every Vancouver game and whenever I'm home, I go to games.
CALGARYFLAMES.COM: Do you follow any other Calgary sports teams?
JOSEPH: I do. I follow the Stamps very closely. It was a crushing loss in the Grey Cup. I thought we had that one. I'm watching the Hitmen a lot closer this year, for sure. When I lived in Ontario I was following the Soo Greyhounds a lot. I spent a lot of time in Sault Ste. Marie. They had a long lineage of great players, Gretzky and what not. I was never around for the Hitmen when I was a kid ... when Geltzaf was on the team I watched them a little but this is the season I have been watching intently.
Tweet from @JarodJoseph: #YYC pic.twitter.com/dj1ANsErWH
CALGARYFLAMES.COM: When and how did you get into acting?
JOSEPH: I was living here. My first reason for doing it was getting away from winter. I wanted to stay in Canada so I was like 'Where is the best option for me in Canada?' and Vancouver was it. Not as much snow. But I had told myself and people around me 'Hey, I'm going to go do this movie thing' and they were like 'Yeah, sure man' ... they believed me. So, I was like 'I gotta do it now.' I got there and enrolled in school. It took a while to make a dollar from it. But when it did it's been rolling ever since and I'm having the blast.
CALGARYFLAMES.COM: Was The 100 your first big gig?
JOSEPH: I guess in terms of it being a show that people actually watched. I had been on shows for 10 episodes or 16 episodes at a time, but they didn't really didn't have the fanfare that The 100 does. I would say this is my first foray into a successful show and being a big part of it and a major character on it.
CALGARYFLAMES.COM: Who has been your favourite character to play to date and why?
JOSEPH:I'm loving this guy, I'm loving Miller on The 100. Not just because of who he his or who the character is but because it's afforded me so many opportunities. Everything that you imagine when you start doing that might have cool benefits I'm starting to enjoy it. You get to meet fans across the world because of this character. I get to make people's day and they make my day. It's cool to have affected other people in a positive effect. He's a gay character so having that influence in the LGBT community has meant a lot and I get people coming up to me saying that. I'm very proud to play him.
CALGARYFLAMES.COM: What is the shooting schedule for the show?
JOSEPH:We go back in the summer and we finish mid-January. It's pretty long. The leads on the show will be on set a lot more than a lot of us will. 15-hour shoot days, maybe three days a week for my character for that duration.
CALGARYFLAMES.COM: What would you like to do as an actor in the future?
JOSEPH: What got me into acting was conversational films, character films. Nobody in my family is perfect or normal so I've always related to movies that showed flawed people having conversations of conflict and going and doing things in their life with true adversity. Personally, I wasn't a huge fan of explosions and things. Moving forward into the future I'd like the opportunity of doing a nice character flick.
CALGARYFLAMES.COM: What is your schedule like in the near future?
JOSEPH:I have the new season of Saving Hope -- the fifth and final season. I'm the new doctor on the show. I'm really excited for that. I finally get to be that doctor my mom wanted me to be for a couple of episodes. I'm the new doctor and I'm really excited.
CALGARYFLAMES.COM: Finally, favourite thing about Calgary?
JOSEPH: I always get the feeling I'm coming home. I know that's a bias thing to say since it technically is home but it's true. I love the people here. I love the simplicity of it. I love people are hard working. Christmas means a lot. The holidays mean a lot. Family means a lot. In my game, it's pretty transient ... you're living in place you don't have pictures on the wall and you're not there for a long time but you come here and you're back in the midst of people having a life. It's very Canadian to me and I love it.