Jarod Powell is quickly rising to cult celebrity status with his dreamy, brilliant novel Boys In Gilded Cages, and challenging short films. The multimedia artist started as a broke LA intern, but created his own niche in the world of indie literary fiction and poetry. He also is making his way through the film industry, working on blockbusters like Gone Girl, polishing scripts for various studio films, and serving as consulting producer on the controversial documentary A Letter To A Terrorist.
After self-publishing his first novel, it was picked up by Walrus Press in 2015, and became a critically acclaimed Amazon Best Seller, sitting at #1 in the literary fiction category for several weeks. He’s about to release his first horror anthology, It Burned Me Alive, And Then It Set Me Free, and his follow up novel TweakerBaby.
Before those go on sale (December 1), and he begins what looks to be a very busy 2017, he exclusively shared 25 fascinating facts about himself with Us Mag.
- When I was a kid, I truly thought I had a shot of one day playing for the NBA, despite all evidence to the contrary. I grew up to be 5’7’’, so I write books and scripts instead.
- My first real job was an administrative assistant for PBS.
- I find fashion interesting as an art form, but I’m not fashionable. I wear a black t-shirt and jeans every day, because it’s an easy way to not look like a bum. You know those cartoons in the ‘90’s, like Doug and Daria, where they open their closets and it’s just a closet full of the same shirt? That’s what mine looks like: 20 black t-shirts and a few pairs of jeans. I do have some nicer stuff for red carpets and events, but even those are questionable.
- I have trouble pronouncing contractions like “didn’t.” It’s the “n’t” that trips me up. My friends make fun of me for it.
- My beard is deep red, but my hair is dark brown/black. People ask me if I dye my hair. I don’t.
- When I was three or four years old, I thought there was some sort of transport system into the T.V. For example, my favorite movie was The Wizard of Oz. I thought I could somehow enter through the television screen and make friends with the Cowardly Lion. I thought what was happening on the screen, was just happening in a different room that I couldn’t find the door to. I was a three-year-old with an existential crisis, which, if you knew me, would absolutely not surprise you.
- Out of my whole family, my mom and I are the only ones with college degrees. I have three degrees, but my mom is probably more intelligent than I am.
- I know at least three people from my childhood who have been on daytime talk shows. And I don’t mean Wendy Williams or The Oprah Winfrey Show. I mean Maury, Jerry Springer, and a little-known Springer knock-off from the ‘90’s called Judge For Yourself. I find that both hilarious and mortifying.
- I’ve never broken a bone. I fractured my toe once, but that doesn’t count. That should serve me well in old age.
- I think all romantic love is illusory and temporary. Sorry, but I just do.
- I consider myself a very average filmmaker, though I will continue making films, so stay tuned for that.
- Last year, I traded a Lexus SUV for a 2008 Grand Prix, which I still drive. I love it.
- I played piano, alto saxophone, drums, guitar, and bass guitar as a teenager. I thought I’d be a professional musician. I still might some day.
- I have an obsession with outsider music. If you do a YouTube search for BJ Snowden, so will you. That woman is a treasure. She’s still recording and playing, as far as I know.
- I’ve polished screenplays for some blockbusters that you’ve probably seen, though I’m forbidden from naming them. Ironically, at least in my case, script polishing makes more money than selling original screenplays.
- I haven’t had a landline phone for over 10 years, and I go months at a time without a cell phone. Solitude is essential for me sometimes.
- I’ve lived in Denver, Los Angeles, and St. Louis, but now I prefer to live in rural areas.
- I have an Old English Bulldog named Tank. He’s the closest thing I’ll ever have to a child. Quote me on that. No children, ever.
- I used to have a podcast with the terrible title Media Culture. You can probably still find it, if you look hard enough. I wanted to be the male Terry Gross. I still would like to do a podcast someday, though I have no idea what about.
- Much to the chagrin of my friends, I spend a lot of time making mix tapes for people. I’m that annoying guy that bugs you until you’ve proven to me that you’ve listened to it.
- The only surgery I’ve ever had was on my gums when I was a pre-teen, to uncover a trapped tooth. They wrapped a tiny chain around the tooth, and tightened it during every orthodontist visit until it was above my gums. Worst two years of my life.
- My favorite food is Pad Thai.
- My absolute worst pet peeve is tardiness. Drives me completely nuts.
- I used to draw pornographic comics when I was about 13. All we could get back then was dial-up Internet, so I had little-to-no access to actual porn. Obviously, my knowledge of human anatomy at 13 was lacking, so I’d be interested to see those comics now. My mom probably burned them in effigy, but I don’t know what happened to them. That’s not a conversation I’m eager to have with her.
- I honestly don’t know what my favorite color is. If I’m ever asked that, I break out into a cold sweat. I feel like that’s something every functioning human should know. Not knowing my favorite color makes me question everything I thought I knew about myself in a matter of a split-second. Terrifying.