Jasper Keen: From the high desert to the Big Island to a BFA, with some gay and guy-hugging roles and a hung bro

 

I was watching the first episode of Duster on MAX (I guess back to HBO now), a sort of homage to 1970s blacksploitation movies, with Josh Holloway of Lost bicker-flirting with the Get Christie Love-type Nina (who is not credited in the cast list).  While the Crime Boss is congratulating his staff on their latest caper, the long-haired, limp-wristed, femme-ringed Sean criticizes his coworker: "You're telling me you've never had fondue?  That sh*t is clutch!"

An obviously gay guy employed by a crime family in the 1970s?  He only appears in that one scene in an episode cluttered with Duster grinning as he is drooled over by endless scantily-clad women, all of whom have either had the most incredible experience of their life with him or are looking forward to one tonight, if he can squeeze them into his schedule. 

But one scene is enough.  I had to research the actor, to see if he is gay in real life.

His name is Jasper Keen.  When he's fully clothed, he's not much to look at - those long, gaunt "rodent boy" faces are a major turn-off -- but check out those biceps and washboard abs.  

Jasper spent his early childhood Cuyamungua, New Mexico, about 15 miles north of Santa Fe,  helping his parents "fix up properties in the high desert."

In fourth grade he moved with his parents to the Big Island of Hawaii, to live off the grid on a coffee farm, "working the fully off-grid eleven acres of jungle."  (he was home schooled).

He returned for high school enrolled at the  New Mexico School of the Arts.  Before graduating, he was in about 20 plays, from Into the Woods to Little Shop of Horrors.  He received the National Young Arts Award for theater in 2015.

Next Jasper enrolled at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, where he appeared in the gay-themed Spring Awakening and Cascarones.  He graduated with a BFA in Acting in 2020. 

He also took an Introduction to Shakespeare class in the Orkney Islands, which resulted in roles of Oberon in A Midsummer Night's Dream and Iago in Othello.

His on-screen acting begins in North Carolina, with the shorts Child's Play, Loser, Interstate 80, and Running, which has a gay theme: a man (Jim Boemio) goes for a run and ruminates on lost relationships, including one with Jasper.

Guest spots on tv followed, including episodes of Walker (2021) and Big Sky (2022).

A minor role in How to Blow Up a Pipeline (2022): Some environmental activists, including Lukas Gage, Marcus Scribner, and gay actor Forrest Goodluck, plan to blow up a pipeline. 

More after the break

Gogo Lomo-David: "Shameless" actor, singer, model, motivational speaker. Did I mention his cock?

Nigerian-American actor Gogo Lomo David was born in Indiana, Pennsylvania but grew up in Greensboro, North Carolina, where his Dad taught business analytics at the North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.  

He graduated from Dad's school (free tuition!) in 2013.  Summa cum laude, with two degrees: a B.F.A. in Professional Theater and a B.A. in Business Management.

Gogo has 28 acting credits listed on the IMDB, quite a lot for someone whose screen career began in 2014.  Well, except for a short, Wrap It Before You Slap It (2011).

His first major screen role was Israel in Field of Lost Shoes (2014), which, he tells us, won Best Dramatic Feature at the GI Film Festival (for movies about military veterans).  It's about the cadets at the Virginia Military Academy drafted into the Civil War, oddly presenting them, and every Confederate, as not at all racist. 

Other significant roles include:

Loterna in a 2015 episode of Zoo, with Jason Wolk as the leader of a team trying to figure out why animals are starting to attack.

Walter in Evil Nanny (2016), also starring Demetrious Stear (left)

Danjuma Okafor in two episodes of the crime drama Shameless (2019), "Adios Gringos" and "Sparky."  The character is not listed in the fan wiki or wikipedia synopsis.

Gogo's biggest role to date is Craig Simkins, the younger brother of the Simkin siblings, arch-rivals of the Gemstones, in the Righteous Gemstones.   He defeats Jesse at car racing in Episode 3.1 and defeats Kelvin at Bible Bonkers in Episode 3.9.  

And he'll be back in Season 4, maybe as an ally of Big Bad Vance Simkins, maybe working against him.  

His resume says that he appeared in Iron Man 3, Banshee, Homeland, and Under the Dome, but they aren't listed on the IMDB. Maybe he was a background player.

Also commercials for Bojangles, Inforeach, Republic Wireless, the North Carolina Lottery.

And theater: A Raisin in the Sun, A Streetcar Named Desire, The Shadow Box, Black Nativity, Midnight of the Soul, and The Wiz.

More after the break