For their breakout movie role, not many actors get to work with the likes of 50 Cent and director Josh Stolberg, who co-wrote several of the Saw films. Jacob Skidmore, who plays Sebastian Bousman in the new horror-comedy Skill House, knows how lucky he is to land such a role. Skidmore, who started out as competitive dancer before transitioning to acting, steps into the horror genre via a film that tackles the darker side of influencer culture.
We talked to Skidmore about working with 50 Cent and Stolberg, his relationship to the horror genre, and his early days as a dancer. The interview was edited slightly for clarity.
1428 Elm: It’s my understanding that you started out as a competitive dancer. Can you talk about that and also your transition to acting?
Jacob Skidmore: I loved being a competitive dancer. It was really fun. I got into that when I was in sixth grade. I did that through middle school and the beginning of high school. That gave me my first opportunity to perform on stage. It was kind of an intense environment. I worked really fast and with a lot of pressure, especially for being a child. It was really fun, though. Then I started to get interested in singing and performing in more plays and musicals. That’s how I transitioned to doing plays in my high school, which led me to joining a company in Portland, where I’m from, called Staged. That’s where I really zoned in and focused on becoming an actor.
1428 Elm: Other than the talent associated with the film, what specifically drew you to Skill House and the role of Sebastian Bousman?
Jacob Skidmore: I love horror films. I’m a huge horror nerd. I don’t want to give away spoilers regarding what happens to my character, but after I read the script, I thought it sounded fun. I wanted to do it, big time. The story and the script sounded like a fun thing to do.
1428 Elm: What was it like working with 50 Cent? What’s a specific memory that you have working on set with him?
Jacob Skidmore: In the movie, we’re not together in person. I only worked with him for one day, but he was great. I remember specifically shooting a reshoot of a scene. After it was all done, I was laying down in a driveway after shooting the scene. I felt these arms kind of lift me up and put me back on my feet. I looked around and it was 50 Cent. He was very, very nice to me. He’s great.
1428 Elm: For horror fans, Josh Stolberg is known best as the co-writer of several Saw films. How familiar were you with his work prior to this role, and what was the experience like working with him?
Jacob Skidmore: I love the Saw movies. The Saw movies are great. My horror tastes skew more towards 80s and campy, like when there’s a killer chasing hot teens. [Laughs]. I like those types of movies, like Halloween and Friday the 13th. They’re more my style.
But Josh was great. He was fantastic. It was really fun to work with him. In the movie, we die in horrible ways, just kind of like the Saw movies. It kind of felt like that.
1428 Elm: You mentioned your love of horror. In preparation for this film, what horror movies did you turn to for inspiration, if any?
Jacob Skidmore: I had to do a lot of screaming in the movie. I love the Blair Witch Project. I think Heather Donahue’s performance is criminally underrated. I think she’s incredible. It’s not the same movie. The circumstances are completely different, but the idea of being trapped somewhere and slowly things get worse and worse and worse for you, I found those two things were kind of happening for her character and my character. I watched The Blair Witch Project a couple of times to study her performance. It’s just incredible.
1428 Elm: There’s been a wave of influencer horror films over the last few years. Why do you think they’re so popular right now?
Jacob Skidmore: I think horror kind of follows the trends, and this is a popular trend right now. A lot of these influencers are trying to branch out into different aspects of the entertainment industry. Acting and performing is a very obvious transition from making content online. It makes sense to me.
1428 Elm: This is your first feature film. What were the most exciting and challenging aspects for you?
Jacob Skidmore: I was really just excited to be in a horror film, to be bloody, and to act these really dramatic scenes and circumstances. It was really fun to do. The challenging thing when shooting a low-budget, independent movie is the long hours. We’re all kind of on set in this one location. You shoot out of sequence, which is normal, but it can be hard. You have to really focus on keeping your continuity of performance throughout the shoot, especially when jumping from the end of the movie to the beginning of the movie. Josh did a great job working with us on that.
1428 Elm: Can we look forward to seeing you in more horror movies? Also, is there anything else you’d like to add?
Jacob Skidmore: I would love to be in more horror movies. That would be so much fun. The only thing that I’d like to add is that if people want to follow me on social media, my Instagram is Jacob.Skidmore.
Skill House is currently playing in theaters.