Actor Jon Michael Hill Talks 'A Man in Full,' Says Regina King Is 'An Actor's Director'

It takes a special set of skills and talent to act both on stage and on screen, and actor Jon Michael Hill is currently balancing both. He stars in the Regina King-directed Netflix series A Man in Full while also performing on stage in productions such as Branden Jacobs Jenkins’ play Purpose.

In A Man in Full, Hill portrays Conrad Hensley, an employee at the Charlie Croker Industries warehouse. He describes the character as "sympathetic" while finding himself in a situation with the police, leaving him in jail until he can make bail. In the series, Hill stars alongside Jeff Daniels, Diane Lane and Chante Adams.

In an interview with The Quintessential Gentleman, Hill talks about the series, playing Conrad and working with Regina King.

Conrad’s story focuses on a man torn away from his pregnant wife by a corrupt law enforcement system, whose intent throughout the whole series is to make it back to his family.

Hill explains how Black men must always be alert to avoid becoming entangled in the system and emphasizes what he hopes viewers will glean from Conrad’s story.

“Conrad Hensley is facing a really small margin for error for Black men in this country in terms of the legal system, and it's because of a perceived danger. Hopefully, people walk away having a better understanding of how our perceptions play into how that plays out in the legal system."

“She's an actor's director," Hill shares about King."She's got decades in the game as an artist, as a performer. And, now just bursting on the scene as one of the most interesting directors with One Night Miami and now this. She approaches it from a character lens. A lot of television directors have to sort of focus on the technical aspects and the camera work. I feel like she really delves into character and sort of empowers you to make choices that make sense for the situation, but also to challenge yourself creatively.”

In elaborating on just how the Oscar-winning King was able to get him to where he needed to be when portraying Conrad, he added, “I certainly know there were at least two times on set where just after having conversations with her, she was able to pull some unexpected things out of my performance, which is kind of what you hope for in a collaborator. Someone that sort of challenges you and in ways that you didn't even realize you needed to be challenged. So it ended up being a very inspiring, working relationship.”

Years before stepping into the role of Conrad, Hill was honing his skills as an actor on stage, earning a Tony Award nomination for his Broadway debut performance in Superior Donuts, also starring in the Broadway play Pass Over. He also starred in a production of The Mountaintop at The Geffen Theater and now his latest Purpose.

Living within a character on-screen or onstage for so long can sometimes take a while to shake off. Normally, Hill doesn't have that issue and is "ready to be done with it" when the project comes to a close. But sometimes, “The trouble I have with a character usually comes directly after you come off stage, or directly after cut. And you're sort of having to deal with a lot of stimuli... And it's hard to just immediately reset and get back to yourself and close yourself up emotionally again, after just having done something very vulnerable," Hill shares.

Hill specifically spoke about the difference between acting on stage compared to on screen. “I think with stage you do have to be keenly aware of the audience, and making sure the people in the back row of the balcony are getting every word while it's still being intimate if the play calls for an intimate moment. That's sort of the challenge of theater, to achieve that naturalism or realism, if that's the style of the play," Hill shares.

"With television it's understanding the shot. Understanding that the director has framed something to tell this story and that that's doing some of the work and how you fit into it. You have to understand if your whole body's on camera," Hill shares about the complexities of acting on TV. “So I'm looking at takes and sometimes I'm looking at finished products. There are times where I'm like, ‘Oh, in this wide shot I need to be more alive in my body, it looks kind of stiff. Those are the sort of things that onstage you don't really have to worry about. You're just trying to inhabit the character's full body all the time. But for the camera, it sees everything. You don't have to do as much all the time,” he adds. 

Beyond Purpose and A Man in Full, Hill has a lot of other projects in the works. A dinner with friends inspired Hill to think about telling a story about Black male friendships and masculinity and how it’s often put in a box, however, Hill explained that “the world is far more gray than we care to admit.”

Hill will also return to the stage in Chicago after Purpose in a play called Leroy and Lucy, which is inspired by the story of Robert Johnson.

A Man in Full is currently available to stream on Netflix. Check out the trailer below.