This story about Joe Jonas and the movie “Devotion” originally appeared in the Race Begins issue of TheWrap Magazine.
When Joe Jonas signed on to be a part of “Devotion,” director JD Dillard’s drama about the friendship between naval aviators Jesse Brown and Tom Hudner during the Korean War, it had nothing to do with his day job as a singer. Instead, Jonas was hired to act in the film, playing a pilot who fought alongside Brown, one of the Navy’s first black aviators. It was only later, after the film was completed, that Dillard asked Jonas if he would be interested in writing and performing an end credits song.
“I had been trying to separate my two passions, acting and music, but this project was so dear to my heart that I wanted to do it,” he said. “It was exciting but also overwhelming.”
JD Dillard (Photographed by Jeff Vespa for TheWrap)
The fact that he had a role in the film, he added, drastically changed the nature of the assignment. “Other projects have come up where I’ll watch the movie or read the book and think about what I can do,” she said. “But being on set every day and getting to know the families of some of these living legends and people who have passed away makes you feel more connected.”
The key, he added, was to take the specific and make it universal. “I think there is only one part of my personal life that I feel I can share and that is relatable,” she said. “You have to say, ‘OK, how can I relate this to the audience?’ I only have a small understanding of what it’s like to be in the military from talking to some of my family members, but this story is relatable for people who miss their partner, miss their kids, miss their grandparents.”
Jonas watched a preview of “Devotion” in West Hollywood with his wife, Sophie Turner, and their friend, singer-songwriter Ryan Tedder. “I was impressed with the film and very moved by the emotion of what we were seeing,” he said. “There was a grand piano in the screening room, and at the end of the movie, Ryan went over to the piano and started playing the first three chords of ‘Not Alone.’ We started the writing process right there.”
Read more of the Race Begins issue here.
