Waukegan native Jon Michael Hill stars in Steppenwolf ’s ‘Purpose’
When he was six, Jon Michael Hill wrote a story that ended up being acted out in front of his elementary school. He watched other people say the words he had written and decided he wanted to do that, too.
That sent him down the path that would eventually lead him to a starring role on a long-running CBS show, a Tony Award nomination and where he is now, a member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company acting in a play directed by Phylicia Rashad.
Hill, 38, grew up in Waukegan and graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree. He joined Steppenwolf ’s ensemble in 2007.
It was at Andrew Cooke Magnet Elementary School where he wrote the short story about his brother getting lost at the zoo.
“They turned it into a play. I was sitting there in the audience watching the actor playing my brother and that’s what inspired me to get into it,” he said.
In high school, he attended a summer drama program at Northwestern University, where a professor encouraged him to pursue acting as a career. In college, he participated in as many plays as possible; including “King Lear,” “Six Degrees of Separation” and “A Chorus Line.”
He loves acting in both comedies and dramas, but “once they find out you can cry, they cast you in all the dramatic stuff,” he said.
“The best projects are ones like ‘Superior Donuts,’ where it’s dramatic but it makes you laugh a lot,” he said.
He starred opposite Michael McKean in that play, which was produced by Steppenwolf in 2008 and premiered on Broadway in 2009. It was that play that nabbed Hill his Tony Award nomination for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play as the young assistant who wants to shake up the establishment.
He was also nominated for a Jefferson Award for his role in “The Tempest” at the Steppenwolf in 2009.
“The TV stuff affords me the freedom to do plays,” he said.
Although he lives in New York now, he still returns home to act at Steppenwolf. He can be seen in the world premiere of the new play, “Purpose,” which opened March 14 and runs through April 28 at Steppenwolf. It was written by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins.
“Purpose” is a family drama about a Black family deeply involved in politics and the church with a strong matriarch and patriarch, Hill said. Hill plays Nazareth “Naz” Jasper. His character functions as the narrator of the play and delivers monologues and comments directly to the audience.
“My character is the narrator but also steps into the action,” he said. “He’s a nature photographer who’s sort of an introvert. He’s coming home (to see) his
brother. A friend of his shows up who’s not really supposed to be there and hilarity ensues.”
It’s very funny and very dramatic, he said.
“There are philosophical debates, theological debates, debates on mental health, sexual orientation and self-identification,” he said. “(The playwright) manages to explore a lot of different things in a way that is conversational, confrontational but not didactic, which is a very difficult thing to pull off as a playwright.”
“Purpose” has everything you’d want from a play, Hill said.
“It’s really complicated, there’s conflict; enough gray area that’s open to different interpretations and points of view,” he said. “It makes you laugh and there’s pathos and catharsis. I think it’s a work of genius.”
Working with Rashad has been “a dream,” he said.
“She doesn’t miss much. The first time meeting her, I felt she was looking right into my soul,” he said. “She can see your impulses. She can see when you don’t follow them and then she invites you to follow them next time you go through these. It’s incredible to have such a perceptive director.
“She has such an understanding of human behavior as a great actor herself. It’s really nice to be able to collaborate with somebody who understands characters in that way and can help guide you through this narrative, which is an emotional roller coaster. All of us in the cast really look up to her, but she’s the most humble artist I’ve ever worked with.”
Hill starred in the CBS series
“Elementary” from 2012-19 for more than 150 episodes. It’s streaming on Hulu.
“I played a New York homicide detective named Marcus Bell. Anytime I got a tough case I couldn’t solve, I’d call up Sherlock Holmes, played by Johnny Lee Miller, and Joan Watson, played by Lucy Liu,” he said.
“Aidan Quinn was our police captain and he’s a Chicago guy from Rockford. He did Chicago theater back in the day and I looked up to him, seeing him in movies for so long. Getting to work with all three of them was a dream. That’s where I got my television chops.”
He also starred on ABC’s “Detroit 1-8-7” for 18 episodes and appeared on “Eastbound and Down” for HBO, “Law and Order: Special Victims Unit” on NBC and “Person of Interest” on CBS. He also stars in the upcoming David E. Kelley limited series, “Man in Full,” coming to Netflix in May and starring Jeff Daniels and Diane Lane, directed by Regina King.
Hill writes as well. “Since that story in first grade, I’ve always been interested in writing. Working on ‘Elementary’ for seven seasons, reading the scripts and shadowing the directors and directing an episode, I was able to spend time studying writing and now I feel I have the tools to actually execute scripts,” he said.
He also makes music and has a hip-hop album being mastered. He grew up playing the saxophone.
“I love performing and playing my music live for people,” he said.
“Purpose” is performed at 7:30 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays and at 3 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays through April 28 at the Steppenwolf Theatre. There will be no performances April 10 and 16, however there is a 2 p.m. show April 10.