Number One with a Bullet

Jocko Sims isn’t a doctor and doesn’t play one on TV. But had life taken a slightly different turn, this rising star would probably currently be practicing medicine instead of dia­logue lines with the likes of Dennis Hopper. “I was heavily into education and graduated high school in the top five percent of my class,” remarks the native son of San Antonio, Texas. “I thought that being great meant becoming a doctor or a lawyer, so that’s what I had my mind set on, but when I got to college, I took a the­ater class and fell in love with acting.”

While some mothers might object to a son’s desire to trade in a stethoscope for klieg lights, Sims says his mother not only sup­ported the change, but predicted it. “I had always been creating music and dancing, and my mom always encouraged me to take drama classes but I didn’t listen to her and never did it until I got to college. After a year at the University of Houston, I transferred to UCLA where I got a degree in theater.”

After Sims turned pro as an actor, he won guest roles on the series “Cold Case,” “The Shield,” and “NYPD Blue,” and the film Jarhead. But after dabbling with music playing DJs on the series “10-8: Officers on Duty,” “Rock Me, Baby,” and the film Dream-girls, his love of music and his passion for acting have met a per­fect synchronicity with his current gig on the Starz cable network’s original series, “Crash.”

Spun off from the Oscar-winning film, “Crash” intertwines the disparate lives of people living in the City of Angels as they go about in pursuit of their dreams, or whatever they need to get by each day. Sims plays aspiring hip-hop artist Anthony “Panic” Adams, who moonlights as the chauffeur to music mogul Ben Cendars (Dennis Hopper).

Sims is thrilled to be part of the series as he was a fan of the orig­inal film. “When I saw Crash in the theater, it moved me to tears so much that I was embarrassed in front of my date. I called all of my friends and told them, ‘You have to go see this movie!’ So when I heard about the series and had the opportunity to audition for it, I felt blessed that I could be a part of it in any way.”

Part of the gig was that he’d be working closely with the leg­endary Dennis Hopper. “I was a little bit worried to meet him,” Sims recalls, “but he’s definitely one of the warmest people I’ve ever met and I’m happy to say he’s both a friend and a mentor. During the first season I had a small gathering to watch one of the episodes and I called Dennis. I didn’t tell my other friends, but when he walked into the room, their jaws dropped!”

This season on “Crash” Sims and Hopper reteam as they go about solving the mystery of the murder of Ben’s daughter. “Last season his character convinced mine that he was going to have a booming music career, but, ultimately, it didn’t come to fruition. This season, he comes to me asking for my help because he doesn’t trust the police will put in the effort. So we go on this journey together that’s vastly different from the movie, or even the first sea­son. But I think the audience is going to really enjoy it whether they’re a returning fan or a new viewer.”

The series also resulted in a case of life imitating art for Sims as he wrote and performed the song “Head Up” for the series after the producers discovered his musical talents. “Glen Mazzara, the show’s creator said, ‘Hey, I remember that you do music. We have this big performance that you’re supposed to do next week and…’ So my writing partner and I took about three days and came up with this song that really captured the idea the writers wanted about Anthony’s struggle and I got to perform it on that episode. It was more than I could have imagined. The feedback was so good from the fans after the show that we made it available on I-Tunes, and it’s going to be on the first season soundtrack.” ▼

“Crash” Season 2 premieres September 18th at 10pm on Starz