Actor Jonathan Keltz. Photo copyright of Brian Higbee.
Something is cooking in the 16th century kitchens of the new hit CW TV series Reign, and it is more than just daily sustenance for the king and his court. The show boasts a bevy of handsome men and beautiful women, all of whom are looking for his or her ideal match. One of the kitchen’s cooks, Leith, has set his sights on a girl who he feels could be his special someone. Unfortunately, this young woman is out of his league when it comes to wealth and status, but he is not about to give up hope just yet. Leith is willing to do whatever it takes to woo his heart’s desire, and actor Jonathan Keltz, who plays the young cook, is thrilled to be taking that journey with him.
“I met with the producers and production team for Reign back in March when the pilot script first began circulating,” says Keltz. “I spoke with them and auditioned for everyone there in the room. We were trying to figure out if I was right for either one of the two lead male roles, but then they decided to go in a different direction, which happens a lot of times. Once, however, the pilot got a pickup order to go to series, I received a phone call asking me if I was available for and interested in playing the role of Leith.
“So everything sort of happened completely by accident and ended up working out well for all those involved. The thing for me that has been such an absolutely joy since I first became involved in the show and even from the first table read of the first script, is that the chemistry between the cast, the crew and the production team is just so wonderful. It’s a really great group of people, all of whom are eager to collaborate and make this the best show it can be. The energy and attitude right from the start has been terrific. In the first episode I shot [Kissed], most of my scenes were with Celina Sinden, who plays Greer, my character’s love interest. I’ve since had scenes with some of the other actors on the show and enjoyed watching our characters’ relationships develop in front of the camera as well.”
Jonathan Keltz as Leith in Reign. Photo copyright of The CW Network.
Set in 1557 France, Reign tells the story of Mary, Queen of Scots (Adelaide Kane), who has been living in a convent in France since the age of nine, and is one half of an arranged marriage to Francis (Toby Regbo), heir to the throne of France. Following a failed attempt to poison her, Mary is brought to the French court for her safety. There she is reunited with her handmaidens and childhood companions – Lola (Anna Popplewell), Kenna (Caitlin Stasey), Greer and Aylee (Jenessa Grant). It is said that all is fair in love and war, and Mary quickly finds that nothing is for sure when it comes to her impending nuptials or the safety of her native Scotland.
“I don’t want to give too much away, but there appears to be quite a bit of danger and mystery happening at the French court, and neither King Henry II [Alan Van Sprang] nor Prince Francis are as eager to set a date for the wedding as Mary initially thought,” explains Keltz. “So there’s a bit of back and forth as well as various assassination attempts and all sorts of trouble afoot.
“Again, I show up for the first time in episode three, and through some accident and being in the kitchen at the same time, Leith meets Greer. He sets up a picnic for her and someone else, whose identity she is keeping secret. The date, however, doesn’t end up happening, and when Greer, heartbroken and crying, returns the basket of picnic goods to him, Leith sets up a little picnic for the two of them in the kitchen to try to cheer her up. That’s when you see the beginning of their affection for one another.
Leith (Jonathan Keltz) and Greer (Celina Sinden). Photo copyright of The CW Network.
“There was a prophecy that Nostradamus made that Greer would fall in love with the man with a white mark on his face, and as she walks by Leith at the end of the episode, he brushes his hand across his face, leaving a trace of white flour from the dough he was working with. From that it’s implied he will be the destined love of her life, and that is when the romance begins. Leith has to then try to convince Greer that she should embrace this and it’s OK to be truly in love with someone as opposed to just marrying for a title and land.
“As the episodes go on there’s quite a bit that happens at the castle, and Leith and Greer even wind up in a life and death situation. We’re not even close to done shooting the [first] season and we’re getting updates on the story as the weeks pass. I’m not exactly sure where the writers are going with Greer and Leith, but the hope is that they’ll find a way to be together, and if anyone does find out about them, that they’re able to prove that they’re meant to be together and no harm will come to either of them because of their relationship. Greer is risking being declared ruined and no longer a lady, while Leith is risking imprisonment or even death.”
Unlike his previous projects, Reign is very much a period piece. As such, are there any specific acting challenges that Keltz has found in taking on this role? “When you’re dealing with a period piece, there’s definitely all types of research as well as other pieces of the puzzle to consider, including this being a character that I had to prepare an accent for,” says the actor. “I’m fortunate, though, that I’ve prepared and done this accent before, so it’s more a matter of brushing off those skills rather than starting from scratch.
Actor Jonathan Keltz.
“As far as the character itself, Leith is a servant who cooks in the kitchen and serves at all the feasts and parties. There isn’t too much revealed about his past; there’s a brief story told about my character’s father and the farm that he grew up on. Although Leith comes from this very modest beginning, there’s almost a fearlessness that comes with it. He has no problem acknowledging his love and affection for Greer, and it’s more about him trying to get her to forget her upbringing and pressures from back home about marrying a royal and bringing home land and money to the family. I’m trying to get Leith to be much more of a beacon of love for the show, and he and Greer have this very sort of sweet relationship that develops because of that.
“Honestly, working on Reign is such a blast because as an actor you get to engage in this fantastic world of make-believe and where you’ve got these sets, wardrobe, props and all kinds of other details that have gone into creating such a world and making it feel real. It’s a beautiful thing to be able to escape and get to ‘live’ in a different time. I’ve played other roles where the story has been set in the 60s or even the early 1900s, but this is the first time where I have gone back centuries in time with a character. I’m just hoping that I get to hop on a horse and swing a sword at some point,” he says with a chuckle.
From 16th century France to present day in St. John’s Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, this congenial and busy actor can also currently be seen in the recurring role of Grayson Mann in the Canadian-made TV comedy/drama Republic of Doyle.
Jonathan Keltz as Darryl Hutchinson and John Stamos as Connor McClane in season three of Necessary Roughness. Photo copyright of The USA Network.
“My character first appears in the season four two-part finale to stir the pot and sort of cause some trouble for Tinny Doyle, played by Marthe Bernard,” says Keltz. “Grayson is also a member of the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary and a fellow cop who is a little flirty as well as a little cocky but at the same time a little oblivious about what’s going on. In between last season and this [fifth] season it’s implied that he and Tinny have been dating and are in a relationship. She, however, is conflicted between her feelings for Grayson and his jock-like, childish behavior and her feelings for Des Courtney [Mark O’Brien]. That’s probably where her true love lies, but Grayson’s the guy with the initiative and the moment is his. Tinny does, then, in fact, break up with him, which causes a bit of professional tension since they’re both assigned to multiple cases.
“So we’ll have to see where it goes from there, but Grayson Mann is definitely still on the force and a force to be reckoned with. This is the first time I’ve gotten to play a cop, and it’s been fun and interesting. I’d like to think I’d be a spot-on, terrific cop and detective, but Grayson certainly does not prove to be. He’s a bit of a bungler when it comes to the actual police work. One of the highlights for me this season was working with the amazing Victor Garber [in the episode The Works]. He’s a master and pro and everything one would want to be as an actor. It was an absolute pleasure getting to play a comedic scene with him where Grayson is escorting his character of Garrison Steele in handcuffs and he ends up escaping.”
Sandwiched between his work in Republic of Doyle and Reign, Keltz had the opportunity to stretch his acting muscles in some very different directions when he was cast as baseball player Darryl Hutchinson in a multiple-episode arc during season three of the USA Network series Necessary Roughness. “This show is about a female psychiatrist [Dr. Danielle Santino, played by Callie Thorne] who works primarily with professional athletes and gives them that necessary toughness, roughness and tough love they need,” says the actor. “This season has had a bit of a twist where she ends up working with an agency called V3 that’s headed up by Connor McClane [John Stamos].
Darryl Hutchinson (Jonathan Keltz) and Connor McClane (John Stamos) in Necessary Roughness. Photo copyright of The USA Network.
“Darryl Hutchinson is an up and coming pitcher who’s about to go number one overall in the draft, but then suddenly starts having all these problems, including panic attacks and a fear of flying. Ultimately, he gets sick and loses feeling in his pitching arm. It was an incredibly challenging acting experience but great fun, too. Most of my scenes are either on the baseball diamond or in the therapy office and were challenging for different reasons. I got to work with pitching coaches to really perfect my pitch, so it looks like I’m throwing at 100 miles an hour, and in one episode I got to pitch most of the game, which was fantastic.
“Darryl is dealing with the challenges of being as talented as he is and having his dream about to come true, and all of the pressure, guilt and tension that he’s feeling because of it,” continues Keltz. “All he wants to do is play the game that he loves and make all the people who have helped get him to where he Is, especially his father, proud. Unfortunately, Darryl becomes involved in a genetic doping scandal and ends up having a complete meltdown. There is some redemption for him, though, and he ends up becoming the smoking gun in the case and bringing the scandal to light. It was fascinating getting to dive into a profession that’s so different from mine but also has some of the same types of pressures that many of us deal with when faced with the possibility of having our dreams come true and whether or not we’ve really done the work and deserve it.”
Having duel U.S. and Canadian citizenship, Keltz was born to parents who both worked in the entertainment business, so it is little surprise that he eventually decided to follow a similar career path. “My father was the co-founder and president of Scholastic Productions Inc., which adapted various books, like The Magic School Bus, Goosebumps and The Baby-Sitters Club, to the small screen,” notes Keltz. “My mom was also involved in the industry and PR [public relations] side of things, so I had very passionate parents who were extremely dedicated to what was their life’s work. From a young age that commitment was, I think, instilled in me, and I knew I wanted to find that same type of thing for myself.
Actor Jonathan Keltz. Photo by Brian Higbee.
“When I was 10 or 11 years old we were living in Woodstock, New York and I was taking any available [acting] classes and doing whatever theatre productions I could. I was fortunate that Victoria Silvestri – this amazing and inspiring woman who was head of the drama department at my school – encouraged me to go further. She had me doing Shakespeare at the age of 12 or 13. When I moved to Toronto with my family and began going to high school, that’s when things really took a shift for me professionally. I was doing unpaid PA [personal assistant] work and before that I took whatever on-camera classes I could. Once I was able to work in Canada, I got an agent and hit the ground running. Right after I graduated high school I moved to Los Angeles, and for the past six years I’ve been going back and forth between the States and Canada working as an actor.”
Along with several made-for-TV movies, the actor has appeared in such TV series as Degrassi: The Next Generation, Queer as Folk, Cold Case, Heartland, CSI: Miami and Murdoch Mysteries. His big screen credits include Cake, Prom, 21 & Over and Dead Weight. Keltz’s breakout role was that of Jake Steinberg in the popular cable TV series Entourage. “That started off as a one-scene role for me and I ended up doing 15 episodes,” he recalls. “I couldn’t be more grateful, not only for the experience but the launching pad that Entourage became for me. Jeremy Piven [Ari Gold] is a brilliant actor and it was a real education getting to work with him as well.”
2013 has been a banner year for Keltz, and there is one particular thing that he attributes to helping him get to where he is today. “What I think is most important in order to have a career in this industry is determination,” says the actor. “I’ve been acting professionally for about 10 years now, and I’ve been studying for 13 or 14 years. Over the past 10 years I’ve auditioned for countless roles, and I’m so fortunate to have been part of some 30 or so projects. I act because it’s a part of me as well as a journey of self-discovery and a chance to learn more about the human race. These are the true rewards of being an actor and I feel so lucky when I get to say that I truly love what I do.”
Steve Eramo
As noted above, first and last photos of Jonathan Keltz courtesy/copyright of Brian Higbee, while all Reign photos copyright of The CW Network and all Necessary Roughness photos copyright of The USA Network, so please no unauthorized copying or duplicating of any kind. Thanks!
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