Shane Warren Jones

Shane Warren Jones is a Canadian born actor know for playing roles in Spike TV’s Deadliest Warrior, All My Children, J.J. Abram’s Fringe and notable the character Cyrax in Warner Bro’s web series Mortal Kombat: Legacy.  Most Recently Mr. Jones can be seen on the big screen in the leading role for the film Fight to the Finish and guest starring in Dirty.

Mr. Warren Jones graduated from Baylor University where he studied acting.  After graduation he moved to Los Angeles where he continued to develop his acting skills at the acting school Carter Thor Studios.  He is a long-time fan of the martial arts and has studied and practiced in multiple disciplines.  He finds peace and solace in his life through meditation.  

Hi Shane, Thank you for joining my interview on Ninjagirl! It was last November when we met again in LA. Long time no see and it is pleasure to talk to you again on Ninjagirl!

1.  Can you tell us a little bit about your background?  Where did you grow up?

I was born in Toronto Ontario and moved to the United Arab Emirates at a very young age for a few years. Once returning from the Middle East at the start of the first Gulf War I spent most of my life in Houston Texas.

2.  You have a very unique physical appearance and it is difficult to tell what your ancestral heritage is.  What is your family’s heritage?

Thank you, I shall take that as a compliment. My family’s heritage is in Canada and the Caribbean.

3.  What did you study while attending Baylor University?

I studied theatre at Baylor.

4.  What prompted your decision to move to LA and pursue an acting career?

Though I really had no idea what I was in for, LA was a place I felt I needed to be to experience the most personal growth and expansion.

5.  Have you taken any classes at acting schools around LA?

I experienced a giant leap forward in my fine tuning of my craft under Alice and Cameron Thor at Carter Thor Studios, they have created a wonderful learning atmosphere there and I love them for that.

6.  Why did you choose to become an actor?

The performance and play aspect was the first thing that drew me to it when I was young. The upside was that the more I did it the more I learnt about myself and I love learning.

7.  If you had your choice, what types of movies would you want to act in?

Personally prefer movies that stick to one’s pallet and pushes the viewer to think about its theme long after the credits role.  Films such as Inception and Interstellar or anything that Neil Blonkamp has done so far. Films by Luc Besson and Duncan Jones I really enjoy as well if we are getting into larger picture/dream project territory. But then again movies like the film Always by Derek Ting which is a beautiful love story that my peers were a part of that I really enjoyed as well. I guess it depends on my mood and what’s going on at that particular cycle of time in my life. (smiles)

8.  You’ve acted in many action/comic book roles.  Would you prefer to play the role of the bad guy or good guy in an action movie?

I am a character actor so with that in mind it depends on the character. Being a villain in a film has it’s upside as  you can get away with more, unless you are just some screaming grunting Neanderthal with zero arc. I have zero interest in doing anything like that. I’m a hero at heart.

9.  Talk about some of the roles you’ve played so far in your career.  The most memorable?  The most challenging?  

They are all challenging in their own way, if not I’ve made a poor choice in project. I will say that I’ve made some lifelong friends from working on Motal Kombat so I would consider that to be a very memorable project for me.  Fight to the Finish was very challenging for a number of reasons, one being that we had to do a lot in a short amount of time but that seems to be the norm on most sets for one reason or another, so I have no complaints there.

10.  Can you tell us about Colton Johnson, your character on All My Children?

There isn’t that much to tell, other than it was my first and only experience on a soap opera and they do things very differently than what I was used to. I was also very green at the time if that tells you anything, so thank you for hiring me All My Children. (laughs)

11.  I heard you were a fan of the Mortal Kombat series before you were offered the role of Cyrax/Hydro in Mortal Kombat: Legacy – I even read you used to hang out in arcades and play Mortal Kombat.  

Most definitely! When I was a kid there were only a few games I played in the arcade, back when arcades were still a thing in Canada and the US. Street Fighter II, the X-Men 4 player side scroller, Darkstalkers, X-men: Children of the Atom and Mortal Kombat. To me those games were wonderful because I could play them with my close group of friends.

12.  That was a really cool role and so many people liked it and I want to know what it was like to be in such a famous series.

Thank you for saying so, the fans of the series can thank Tiffany Mac and Kevin Tancharoen for that choice.

13.  What was the most difficult part about playing your role in Mortal Kombat?

Honestly?  Having the faith in yourself to do your job. The running narrative inside of an actor’s head is his/her own worst enemy at times so when you show up on a set and don’t get that pat on the back/ validation during your work from an exterior source you just have to trust that the powers that be hired you because they trust that you know how to do what they hired you to do…so just do that and get out of your own way. Now that isn’t always the case mind you, some hire you and doubt you every step of the way and that is unfortunate because that makes for a terrible energy on set.

14.  Can you tell us about your affinity for arcade games – especially Mortal Kombat?

While I don’t play them that much now as time is a factor I do remember spending hours practicing how to pull off fatalities, animalities and the random friendships for certain characters in my basement when the game transitioned to the SNES. I then would pull them off seamlessly when friends came over and played it off like I didn’t practice, kind of like someone buying a pie at store, taking it to a party and presenting it as homemade. “Oh this delicious thing that looks complex and would take you hours to bake? Oh I just whipped this up before the party, no biggy.” Why? Because let’s face it, if you are playing Mortal Kombat, even if you win it’s so anti-climactic if you finish the match by pressing all  the right buttons for a fatality only to have the character on the screen punch the opponent in the face because you weren’t at the right distance to pull off an ACTUAL flashy finish correctly.

15.  Who is Cyrax/Hydro?  What is your character’s role in the series? 

You’ll have to go and watch Mortal Kombat Legacy season 1 for the answer to that question.

16.  What kind of training have you done in the martial arts?  How frequently do you typically train in a given week?

I’ve primarily been practicing Shaolin style Kung Fu, you can thank Chen Chang’s Film 5 Deadly Venoms for that, one of my favorite martial arts films. It wasn’t until the mid 2000’s when I began dipping my toes into Mui Thai, Capoeira and Martial Arts Tricking as well. My Judo, Akido and Ju-Jitsu need a lot of  work. I LOVE Qi-gong and hope one day to expand my knowledge of Iaido and Wushu Spear.

I typically practice 2 times a day 6-7 days a week, and that includes the meditative aspects of them as well.

17.  When did you start to learn the martial arts and why did you begin to study these skills?

I started at 15 years old on and off of course, if I was more diligent I should technically be much more proficient. I began to study for a myriad of reasons at 15 the chief reason being Dragon Ball Z and Power Rangers. That evolved into bull prevention which evolved into actual self-discipline and health. Now I do it because it keeps me centered and balanced as well as replenishes my spirit  which is paramount to me.

18.  As a component of your training you also are involved in meditation.  Can you talk to us about your meditation practices?  

It would be my pleasure.

19.  What types of meditation do you do?  

Quantum Healing meditation, Transcendental meditation, Kundalini Yoga/meditation just to name a few along with other forms of energy work.

20.  How frequently do you meditate?  

I live in it.

21.  How did you get involved with meditation?

I got to a point in my journey where I was so racked with fear, anxiety and anger that I didn’t recognize myself. I didn’t like what I was becoming and I knew that whatever it was was NOT me. So I decided to take a break from everything to heal, understand and expand rather than contract and live in an ever increasing constrictive energy.

22.  What are the benefits of meditating regularly?

Too many to list in this interview lol just dive in and make it a habit when possible. I AM grateful and it’s changed my life for the better.

23.  I understand you’re also involved in gymnastics.  Can you tell us about your experience?  Have you competed?

Oh haha, I don’t know who told you that but I really didn’t have  much tumbling experience until I began studying under a fantastic instructor and friend Nick Stanner and training with friends at JOINING ALL MOVEMENT in Los Angeles.

24.  Can you tell us about Fight to the Finish?  What is the story line and what who is your character in the movie?  There’s tons of fighting in the trailer – both in and out of the ring!

25.  What was your involvement with Dirty?  Its an interesting concept – two crooked cops trying to track down drugs and money stolen from them that they had stolen in the first place!

I play Jimmy. I had a blast on Dirty because they let me play using the other tools in my tool box, I’m excited for the public to see it because it won’t be what people expect from me and I like that.

26.  Can you tell us about Call to Heroes?

Call to Heroes is a story I had created when I first moved to LA  about a world saturated with amazing beings that was adapted into a trilogy of screen plays with my writing partner.

27.  In addition to your physical training, acting career and meditation I understand you are also a writer.  What have you been writing?

My writing partner and I also have two other screen plays in the genre of action comedy and action sci fi.

I am currently in the process of writing my first novel…it’s coming along nicely.

28.  What’s next?  Are you currently working on some projects?

I have a few irons in the fire currently.

29.  You are a very handsome man -you’re very good looking.  What do you think is your best physical feature?  How would you explain this to your fans?

Thank you for the compliment. I just put in the work and keep it moving, haha I’ll let fans speculate on my “best physical feature.”

30.  You clearly have a strong interest in the martial arts.  Are you a fan of the Japanese styles of martial arts?

Absolutely

31.  Have you ever visited Japan?

I have not but I would love to, I actually would like to go through the process of blacksmithing my own katana one day. Don’t ask me how that’s going to happen but it will, I assure you.

32.  What do you think a Japanese audience would think of your films?

I would hope they would enjoy them.

33.  Have you considered sending your films to Japan? Or, have you done so already?

Oh I’m sure the distributors of said films have, though that is not something I currently have control over.

Thank you again for your interview. I hope to see you again in LA or Tokyo, Japan!

edited by Anthony Heller