'This Is Me.' Out Actor Jordan Doww on Queer Thriller 'Ganymede'

Actor/singer/songwriter/content creator Jordan Doww got his start on YouTube doing sketch comedy and vlogs in his teens. Projects such as "Coming Out: I am gay, I am Human," "Hollyweird," and "It's Sketchy" led to two Teen Choice Award nominations and his first two film roles in LifeTime's "Stalked By a Reality Star" and "Reach," opposite his friend Garrett Clayton, where Doww played a repressed high school bully. He has also released heartfelt, honest songs (and will be releasing more soon).

But nothing could prepare audiences for his fierce and committed performance in the new queer-themed film, "Ganymede," a Southern Gothic thriller about a high school wrestler, Lee Fletcher (Doww) who develops feelings for Kyle Culper (Pablo Castelblanco), an openly gay classmate.

Lee is the son of a rigid, homophobic, small-town politico and his uber-religious wife (Joe Chrest and "National Anthem's" Robyn Lively). Lee's parents turn to a conversionist pastor (David Koechner) who believes that Lee is possessed by a "Ganymede," defined by him as "an unrepentant homosexual with demonic forces that overtakes others with sex urges." Lee's mind begins to manifest a stalking demon that threatens to destroy him.

It's interesting to note that Ganymede in Greek mythology was the divine hero that Zeus abducted to serve as his cup-bearer. The myth was the model for the romantic relationship between an adult male and an adolescent male.

Filmmakers (and life-partners) Colby Holt and Sam Probst have created a true nail-biter, and Doww dives so deep into the role that the audience can feel his struggles, his longing, and his torment.

"Ganymede" had its festival premiere at Reeling, Chicago's LGBTQ+ International Film Festival where it won the audience award for Best Narrative Feature.

The thesp has an untitled Christmas film coming up, as well as the short film "Fairlane," which will drop on YouTube at the end of August. (Watch the trailer below.)

Doww came out as gay at 19 in a video that went viral. He has become a staunch LGBTQ+ advocate ever since.

EDGE had a pleasant zoom interview with the actor, who discussed the film, his career, and some serious reflection about his decision to come out.

EDGE: How did the project come to you?

Jordan Doww: (dramatically) The year was 2020. I was taking a bath, a much-needed bath. I got an email from my agent saying, "Hey, we got the script. The filmmakers are trying to shop it around to a bunch of actors, would you mind reading it?" So, I read it right then and there. And within 30 pages, I was like, I have to do this... It was one of those roles that was just a necessity for me.

Having auditioned for probably over 500 projects in the 8 to 10 years I've been doing this, this was like, "Oh no, this is me." I felt it in my gut, my spirit, my brain, my body, everything. So, when I was finished with the script, I asked my agent for the filmmakers' email, which is unconventional and unprofessional. And I sent them a really long, heartfelt message saying, I loved the project, I loved them, and I need to do it. I finally got the call around April, and then we went lockdown.

So, we had no idea when we were even going to film. It went through a lot of changes in that time. This is when I also left LA to work on myself so I could handle this material. We didn't end up filming till 2022 and I just think the timeline has just made the story so much more prevalent.

EDGE: Your performance is perfectly contained. Playing that kind of repression could not have been easy. Can you speak about diving into Little Lee.

Jordan Doww: Yeah, so, having done theater and comedy and improv and sketch comedy my whole life, the biggest compliment to me is that it was played with containment. I love that because that was the intention. And it was a struggle for me, too, because the character is so internal. And he is struggling so much within himself. However, it is exactly how my childhood was. I was a really shy, closeted kid, and I dealt with my own problems secretively. Not that anyone in my family or community made me feel that way. I was just such a quiet kid. And it wasn't until I found theater that I broke open my shell.

EDGE: What prep work did you do?

Jordan Doww: I watched a bunch of films. I watched "Donnie Darko." That movie scared the living shit out of me when I was younger, but now, as an adult, I can recognize the absolute beauty of it. I think Jake Gyllenhaal's performance in that is just incredible. And with the monster in our film, it's more subtle. That's why I loved drawing inspiration from "Donnie Darko." I also watched "The Babadook." "Love, Simon," because, why not? I also went to the gym a lot. (laughs) They were like, "You're gonna play an athlete." And I was like... okay, let me pack on some muscle to make that look a little bit more believable.

EDGE: Lee is filled with so many demons. Were you able to shake him at the end of the day, or did you find yourself taking him home with you?

Jordan Doww: I run a little bit on the anxious side, so first week of shooting we were doing school stuff. There wasn't much scariness. Then our second week we went into the households, the families. That got a little bit more heated with the familial stuff. And then the third and fourth week was mainly the horror. And I would say that by [then] it was harder to shake, because I was running high on that adrenaline, and especially with the ECT (electro-convulsive therapy) stuff... With the ECT, the wrestling and the underwater stuff, I was having to put my body through so much that it was like there was residual tension. I'm no method actor, but it helped our scenes a lot, and it allowed for a much more truthful performance.

EDGE: You got your start in comedy – YouTube videos – but lately, with "Reach" and now "Ganymede," there's a dramatic shift. Has it been deliberate on your part?

Jordan Doww: No, absolutely not. The main intention was always to do comedy, but as soon as I started auditioning, I was getting more and more dramatic roles, and then after "Reach," most of my auditions were for bullies in horror films and jocks. I am excited, though, my very next project is a comedy, so it was a dream to play.