Why Jonathan From Superman And Lois Looks Familiar
If you've been keeping up with the latest entry in The CW's Arrowverse, Superman and Lois, you've been following along as the Kent family — Clark, Lois, and their two teenage sons, Jordan and Jonathan — goes through life in Smallville after moving back from Metropolis. The series stars Tyler Hoechlin and Bitsie Tulloch as the title characters, Clark Kent and Lois Lane, who have appeared in the Arrowverse before in shows like Supergirl and The Flash.
The show has been airing since February 23, 2021, offering an interesting new take on superhero life as a grounded family drama, where some of the family just happens to have superpowers, as noted by Deadline. The story also focuses on Jordan's newly discovered powers, and how the two boys handle going to school at Smallville High. You're going to see a lot of these young Kents in the future, especially as the show has already been greenlit for a second season, but you might have seen one of them before already. Jordan, the oldest son, is played by 20-year-old Jonathan Elsass, and he recently broke out with a rather large role on one of Hulu's prestige dramas.
He played Reese Witherspoon's son in Little Fires Everywhere
Elsass' most notable previous project is Reese Witherspoon's Little Fires Everywhere, an eight-episode miniseries based on the book by Celeste Ng that is available to stream in its entirety on Hulu. He plays Trip Richardson, the golden boy of the Richardson family and the son of characters played by Witherspoon and Joshua Jackson. Naturally, part of the "amazing" experience he had on the set had to do with working with these seasoned professionals.
"They're both incredible actors and I spent a lot of time with both of them before we even started shooting," Elsass told Herald & Review. "It was amazing working with Reese. She's so professional and so sweet and a really kind person, just in general. And Josh Jackson was amazing, too. He's hilarious. He had us laughing our butts off all the time."
He gets a love interest, Pearl (Lexi Underwood), who is the daughter of a character played by another veteran actress, Kerry Washington. However, there is one aspect of his role on Little Fires Everywhere that seems perfect for a young actor trying to show his range. According to Elsass, Trip moved from what appears to be a one-dimensional character to someone with "a lot going on below the surface and a lot of strain on him to fit this image that's been placed on him." It certainly helped the actor get on people's radars, and that was important to his prospects.
"For me, landing this role meant that I could truly start to envision acting as a career," he told Schön! Magazine. "It was a validation of the work I had put in up to this point and showed me that I can have confidence that when the right roles come along, I have a real shot at them."
Elsass was in People with Issues, an indie film from 2018
People with Issues, a romantic comedy from director Dan Siegelstein, started out life as a 14-minute short that became a web series. The full-length version was filmed in Elsass' native Austin, which may explain how he got involved. The film had a rocky road to production, according to the Austin Chronicle, as the 2013 short shown at festivals didn't draw enough investors. Siegelstein raised money through Indiegogo for the project and did the script as a web series, then redid it as a movie with cast changes.
The story focuses on three mid-20s protagonists — cartoonist Darren (Dana Colón) and musicians Aaron (Adam Mengesha) and Jack (Tanner Kolina) — in their quests to reconcile their artistic ambitions with the realities of their personal lives. Elsass has a minor, but featured role in the film as the younger brother of Jen, the woman who is Aaron's best friend and secret crush. He's first seen in the film when he fakes sickness to get out of a math test, requiring Jen to give him a ride.
Despite its problems getting off the ground, People with Issues received decent reviews, and holds a 7.8-out-of-10 score on IMDb. The Movie Buff said, "There are numerous LOL moments throughout the 1:40 run time, and while fairly predictable as far as rom-coms go, your investment in the people on screen make it an intriguing watch until the very last scene." If you want to catch it now, you can rent or buy it on Amazon Prime Video.
The People with Issues Facebook gave Elsass a shoutout when the casting news for Superman and Lois came out. The post read, "Remember us little flicks as you continue making it big, Jordan!"
Elsass played the young version of a main character in The Long Road Home
As an up-and-coming talent, not all of Elsass' roles have been big parts. In National Geographic's dramatic scripted miniseries The Long Road Home from 2017, he comes in way down on the cast list. The miniseries recounts a seminal event during the Iraq War in 2004 when a cavalry division from Fort Hood, Texas was ambushed in Sadr City, Baghdad — "Black Sunday." It cuts between soldiers on the ground and their families at home waiting for news and is based on a book by Martha Raddatz.
The series lasted for eight episodes, and he played a young version of the character Sgt. Eric Bourquin (Jon Beavers) in the sixth episode, "Abandon All Hope." That episode focuses on Bourquin as he tries to save his men, who are trapped and running out of ammunition, by signaling helicopters. In a flashback scene in which he sees the school nurse after fighting in high school, and she tries to tell him things won't be terrible forever, Elsass as Bourquin gets to utter the devastating line, "Because people always fail you in the end." Immediately after, he leaves school to join the army.
The miniseries received good-to-mixed reviews; Variety said it does a nice job of putting viewers in the boots of individual soldiers, but drags when it comes to the homefront scenes. It has a 77% on Rotten Tomatoes. If you haven't seen it, you can catch it streamingon Hulu, or at National Geographic's website through your cable provider. It's also available for purchase on Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, and on other sites as well.