Jon Jon Briones’Ratchedjourney first began backstage during his run on Broadway inMiss Saigon.
“And we were talking and then he asked me, ‘What are you doing after this?’
So I said, ‘I guess I’ll be looking for a job.’
Credit: Storm Santos
And he said, ‘I guess I’ll just have to snatch you up.’
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: When you got the scripts, what was your reaction to the character and story?
So I thought, okay, he has a very Western name.
So that’s the direction we’re going.
And that made me very happy that they acknowledged my culture and the character.
And in a way, it made it easier for me to connect with my character.
He’s Filipino, he’s an immigrant, and he’s a family man.
And that made it easier for me to actually understand this character and to play the character.
Was the character written with you in mind?
I don’t know.
I really treasure that because he has a lot of actors, it’s like a repertory.
But for him to go, “Okay, newbie, come here.”
That was really special.
Let’s talk about the lobotomies that your character performs.
How did you prepare for that?
Can one prepare themselves for that?
Yes, a lot of research.
Thank God for Google and YouTube, right?
Because I’m ignorant about this.
I’d heard of lobotomies, but I didn’t really realize what it entails.
Of course, the way we did it, in the script, it was so graphic.
It’s hard to do.
So we did that.
And also it became harder when my son booked the character of one of the lobotomy patients.
Did you get woozy or nervous at all?
I think I was very much prepared by the time we filmed it.
It needs to be the right angle, the right thing.
It only got kind of a little dicey when they replaced the dummy with a real actor.
That’s when the doctor was like, “Okay, everyone just relax, but be careful.”
Most of the characters on this show operate in a moral grey area.
Do you feel like your character is more of a villain or a good guy?
All you have to play with is that the person is real.
The person has a purpose.
The purpose for him specifically is to heal people, and he truly believes that he can help people.
His mistake is his ego.
And, you know, in all our stories, we are the hero, right?
How do you hope the audience feels about Dr. Hanover or the other characters?
