Other than the fact that they were both raised in Texas, actor Jackson Rathbone doesn't have much in common with Jasper Hale, his character in the Twilight saga.
Jasper, born in 1843 and immortalized at the age of 20, is blonde and pasty, with a quiet, reserved personality and an over-sensitivity to people's emotions. Rathbone, on the other hand, is a vibrant and friendly 24-year old with a mop of dark hair and a tendency to speak about a mile a minute.
While Jasper is most concerned with curbing his lust for human blood, Rathbone is all about exploring his lust for life by pursuing a dizzying amount of creative activities.
While teens, suburban moms, vampire lovers and closet fans in just about every other demographic are over-the-top excited about Rathbone's appearance the new Twilight movie, New Moon, the actor himself is most enthusiastic about another project all together.
While acting pays his bills, Rathbone clearly wants to talk about his band, 100 Monkeys. A blues/funk/rock 'n' roll combo comprised of Rathbone and some old pre-fame friends, the band are about to release a new album called Grape. Rathbone audibly lights up when asked about 100 Monkeys, but unconvincingly denies being more into his music than his acting.
"People say that [I'm more excited about music than acting], but I just feel like I have more control over music than I do over, say, playing Jasper in the Twilight series," Rathbone said late this summer from the set of the third Twilight movie, Eclipse. "Because I get to write the words that I sing. As opposed to as an actor, I wear what people want me to wear, I stand where they want me to stand, I say what they want me to say.
"That's great — I love being an actor and I've been studying to be an actor since I was about 14 years old. But music balances it out. I can't have one without the other."
Music provides something else for young Mr. Rathbone: a reality check. With the huge amount of attention directed towards the New Moon stars (though, he at least has to worry about the spotlight less than Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson), it would be easy for a young actor to develop an ego worthy of a sparkly vampire.
Since Rathbone spends his free time riding around the country in a van with an indie rock band that includes members who have known him since high school, though, he doesn't have much opportunity to morph into Mr. Movie Star.
"We don't have a cushy life," Rathbone says. "We're not playing arenas and selling them out yet. We play dirty dive bars and love it. Whenever we're on the road we sleep in two motel room and take turns sleeping on the floors. It's not all glamourous and it's great. If it were all glamour, it'd be boring."
100 Monkeys' next performance is Nov. 15 in Los Angeles at The Viper Room.
New Moon, the next installment in the Twilight movie franchise, comes out Nov. 20.
