Interview: Josh Stewart talks ‘The Punisher’ and New Film ‘Back Fork’

We recently caught up with Josh Stewart about his outstanding performance as John Pilgrim on season two of The Punisher and his new film, Back Fork. Stewart wrote, directed, and starred in the film alongside Criminal Minds co-star A.J. Cook. Together, they play a couple in Appalachia whose lives are rocked by addiction to prescription pills. As a native West Virginian, telling this story is important to Stewart, and we were eager to find out more.

Back Fork is now available on all VOD platforms.

Horror Geek Life: Your current film, Back Fork, takes on the topic of opioid abuse. What do you hope audiences, including those who may have dealt with it themselves, take away from the story?

Josh Stewart: Honestly, the only thing that I can hope for is that people feel like I’ve told a story that’s based and rooted in truth. I hope that we’ve done a good enough job at creating characters in a world that people can see who they are and what they’re going through. That’s the only thing that I can hope. I just want to be as truthful as possible and honor any and all that may be able to relate to the story.

HGL: This seems like a passion project for you; why is this issue so personal?

Josh Stewart: Any story that I write or tell is rooted in personal truths in some fashion or another, so they’re all very personal to me. With that said, I don’t know anyone in West Virginia who doesn’t have a family member or a friend or someone they know in the community that has suffered with addiction. It’s just an area that has been hit hard with prescription pills. It’s an unfortunate side of where I’m from. But, West Virginia is one of the most beautiful places in the world. And the people are good as gold.

HGL: What went in to preparing for what I imagine to be a demanding role, dealing with outward signs of addiction?

Josh Stewart: Most of my work as an actor was done in the writing process; flushing out the characters, flushing out the story, and how they all fit together. I would say that it wasn’t any more physically demanding than other roles that I have played, but emotionally there were some pretty rough days.

HGL: You also recently played John Pilgrim in The Punisher and gave a brilliant performance. What drew you to this role?

Josh Stewart: The character just believed in what he believed in and he followed through with it 100%; for good or for the bad. Once he was on a track, he was moving one way and nothing was going to stop him. What he believes, he believes with every fiber in his body.

HGL: John Pilgrim was inspired by the Mennonite. Did you research the character before production, and can you tell us what it was like playing such a deeply conflicted character?

Josh Stewart: No, I didn’t research that character very much. Steve Lightfoot created something that was similar but different. Nevertheless, any character that is conflicted is interesting to play. I don’t believe characters are good or bad, so to speak, I believe that they are people first and circumstance or situations have led them down a road that maybe they should not of traveled on. Conflict is interesting.

HGL: Lastly, are there any other projects on the horizon that you can tell us about?

Josh Stewart: Back Fork is the only thing I’ve been working on. I just had a film called The Mustang that was released by Focus Features as well. Now that Back Fork is out there and available, I can start writing something new. Thank you for your time.

Back Fork is now available on all VOD platforms: iTunes, Amazon Instant, Google Play, Vudu, Xbox, YouTube Transactional, Fandango Now, Dish Network, Direct TV and Through Local Cable Providers.

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