Today’s guest is actor Sean Patrick Flanery, and our conversation revolves around his work on the TV series THE YOUNG INDIANA JONES CHRONICLES, later re-titled as THE ADVENTURES OF YOUNG INDIANA JONES– a lavishly produced spin-off of the popular Indiana Jones movies which ran from 1992 to 1996, following the adventures of Indy as a boy, played by Corey Carrier, and as a young man, played by Sean Patrick Flanery, encountering numerous famous historical figures and events. Sean appeared in the lion’s share of the episodes, with Indy fighting numerous battles in World War I, joining Sidney Bechet’s jazz band in Chicago, getting involved with the Easter Rising in Ireland, going to Hollywood to work with John Ford and Erich von Stroheim, and meeting other legendary people like Albert Schweitzer, Ernest Hemingway, George Gershwin or Charles de Gaulle.
After some commercials and smaller roles, YOUNG INDIANA JONES was Sean Patrick Flanery’s first big role in a major production. He also appeared in movies ranging from the cult success THE BOONDOCK SAINTS (1999) and its sequel (2009) to films like SUICIDE KINGS (1997), BODY SHOTS (1999), D-TOX (2002), SAW 3D (2010), the seventh part of the horror movie series, to the recently released horror film NEFARIOUS. On TV, Sean was part of the show THE DEAD ZONE based on the Stephen King novel, where he appeared in several episodes from 2002 to 2007, and he joined the show DEXTER in 2013 for its 8th season. He’s also a martial artist and a writer – his debut novel JANE TWO was published in 2016. On the book’s webpage, Sean’s bio includes the charmingly tongue-in-cheek statement: “He has appeared in over 100 movies and television shows, some of which he hopes you’ve seen, and some of which he hopes you haven’t.”
In our conversation, Sean recalls how the Young Indy series juggled all sorts of different storytelling approaches, and how he experienced the show as an actor. He discusses the educational part of the series and remembers his favorite episodes and directors.
The interview was conducted in connection with our German-language podcast Lichtspielplatz, so if you speak German, please check out Lichtspielplatz episode #67, which features an in-depth look at the Young Indiana Jones TV series. Also, make sure to listen to my interview with Young Indy director Carl Schultz here on Talking Pictures.
So without any further ado, here’s Sean Patrick Flanery recalling the audition process of Young Indiana Jones.
The mp3 file can be downloaded HERE.
Photo courtesy of Sean Patrick Flanery
Editing: Christoph Schwarz
Music: Clark Kent