Interview: Gavin MacIntosh on Jonnor’s future & legacy – Exclusive

The Fosters 3×11 left fans with even more questions about the future of the Jonnor ship. We spoke with Gavin MacIntosh in a bid to get some answers! Read the full interview below.

So the big thing for Connor going into The Fosters season 3B is that he’s moving to L.A. to live with his mom. What does that mean for him and what he has with Jude? How are they going to weather the obstacles of a long-distance relationship?

Gavin MacIntosh: Well, I think any long-distance relationship is gonna be hard, especially for two 15-year-olds. Them also being gay is gonna make it even tougher on them, so it’s definitely gonna be a rough road, but we will see which direction it goes because there are a lot of directions it could go.

How did you find out that your character was going to be moving? Did you read it in the script or did someone give you a heads up beforehand? What reaction did you have?

I read it in the script for the first time. It wasn’t too much of a surprise because we’d been leading up to it. I think that Connor was getting a little annoyed with Jude, to be honest, because Connor had stuck up for Jude so many times and I think that he was getting a little bit aggravated with him, so that could contribute to him wanting some distance.

Is it weird to get a script and know that when you turn the page, anything could happen to your character?

It’s kind of something that comes with being on a TV series and it just comes with the deal, I guess. I had to get used to it during the first season because things would change that you didn’t really expect, but you get used to it.

At the end of season 3A, Jude said he supported Connor moving to L.A. because he loved him and wanted him to be in a situation where he was safe and with family. What do you think it meant to Connor to have that support?

I think that Connor really loves Jude and I think he appreciated the support that Jude gave him because [Jude] has kind of been slacking off on that lately. It did mean a lot to Connor for Jude to support him. It made [the decision to leave] a little easier. We’ll see what direction the writers take it!

There was a really emotional exchange between Connor and Jude in The Fosters 3×11 after Jude went over to Connor’s house and saw his room all packed up and ready for him to move. Is it emotionally draining for you to shoot a scene like that when you have to cry or act really upset – especially when you have to do that multiple times for multiple takes?

It can be emotionally draining some days. When you go on set and there’s an emotional scene and you know you have to prepare for it, there are some actors’ tricks: You use something in your life that has been hard and you basically turn that and push it in the direction of the scene. If you’re doing it too much and there are a lot of takes, at the end of the day, you can be pretty drained.

I bet. I can’t imagine spending the better part of a day being upset or mad or whatever you have to do for the scene.

Yeah! To be honest, those are my favorite scenes – scenes like that. I’d love to be in a cool movie where the whole thing is just like, crazy scenes. I can only imagine what those actors go through.

Connor mentioned in The Fosters 3×11 that he’ll be coming back to visit his father, and that his mom was cool with Jude visiting L.A. anytime. Do we see more of Connor later in the season?

That’s probably a little too much of a spoiler! I actually really don’t know. Creatively, it’s really where the writers and producers take the show. I’m not informed whether or not Connor will be coming back later in the season, so we’ll wait and see.

Do you have anything you want to say to the Jonnor fans who are no doubt extremely worried about what’s going to happen with their favorite couple?

Oh, yeah, I bet they are! They’re probably freaking out right now! We all have to remember the reason that Jonnor were created as characters. Jonnor will live on in history no matter what happens with Connor – 2015 was a very impactful year and Jonnor will never die for the people they impacted. I think fans need to remember the message that Connor himself spread to break the stereotype of a typical gay guy. He’s a jock, so I think that him being gay and showing you don’t have to act in a way society would say was gay to be gay was one of Connor’s most positive and impactful messages.

Jonnor will definitely live on in history. Their kiss was the youngest same-sex kiss on TV, and that was awesome.

Yeah, that was a big thing – even just the emotional side, showing two gays kids having a relationship with each other, that they have feelings and they have emotions and they have heartbreak and that all this stuff goes on, just like in [heterosexual] relationships. I think a lot of people don’t realize that and they just don’t think about it, so I think that was something that was really big for the world to see. It’s crazy to me how a 13-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl can have a relationship and nobody really bats an eye, but a 13-year-old boy and another boy have a relationship together and people are going insane, and I’m getting interviews about playing a gay character. Really, if the world was a perfect place, I think there should be no interviews about it. It should just be something that is woven into society as a normal thing, but for some reason it’s so out of the ordinary right now.

Even as short of a time as a few years ago or a decade ago, there weren’t nearly as many same-sex relationships on TV – of any age.

Yeah, there really weren’t. That’s why The Fosters is such a successful show and why I’m so proud to represent Connor, because of the message it spreads. There really aren’t any other shows like it.

That’s why I’m so excited for season 3B, and about the renewal for season 4! I know you’re not sure if Connor’s going to be around for season 4, but congratulations on that anyway – I’m sure you were part of the reason the show got renewed.

Thank you, I appreciate it!

Thanks to Gavin MacIntosh for talking with us, and we hope to see more of him (and Jonnor!) on The Fosters soon! Tune in to Freeform next Monday at 8/7c for the next episode!