10 Things We Learned about The Punisher’s Jon Bernthal, Jason Moore, and Josh Stewart at Fan Fest Chicago

Even though we recently found out that there will be no Season 3 of The Punisher, it didn’t stop the fans from gathering at Fan Fest Chicago to show their support to Jon Bernthal, Jason Moore, and Josh Stewart. 

Excited devotees of the series stood in line waiting to ask questions about where the show could have gone and where the stars are headed now in its aftermath. 

The stars all kept up a good demeanor, barely showing any sign of letdown. Instead, they fed off the audience’s questions, giving back the same amount of energy they received. This left us all with enough answers to fill our appetites, temporarily filling the void the shows cancellation has left in our hearts. 

So without any further ado, let’s dive into the 10 facts we learned about the stars of The Punisher.

1. Role Research

An audience member asked Jon Bernthal if he did any major studying into PTSD or military training for his role as Frank Castle. Bernthal admitted, “Yeah, because I think that is the job. I think why the show means so much to us is because of how much the characters and the story resonates with vets.”

He went on to explain more about his experience with the veterans, “You get to talk to them a bit, and they open up to you about their experiences. That is something we hold sacred. There were a lot of great men and women that I got to talk to and train with.”

At the end of the day, this attitude really showed itself in Bernthal’s performance. The level of depth he was able to meet resonates onscreen — bringing the character to new heights. 

2. Incredible Hulk

Now that the stars will no longer be playing these characters, some people were curious if the stars were open to play other superheroes or possibly even villains. Jason Moore jumped at the chance to answer the question.

He said, “If I could, I would be the Hulk. That is one of my favorite characters. I would love to get stronger as I got angrier. If Marvel is listening and they want a black Hulk — I’d do it.”

A few other celebrities have been able to pull off the switch in recent years, so this isn’t really a far-fetched dream. If Jason Moore wants it bad enough, I’m sure he could pull it off.

3. The Cancellation

We are all devastated that the show won’t be going on any further than it has. It is easy to get caught up in emotions, but Jon Bernthal and Josh Stewart tried to help the audience keep it all in perspective. 

Stewart commented, “There is nothing we can do about it. That is just kind of how this business is. You fall in love with something, and they take it apart. It is the nature of it, the cycle of it. It sucks, but what are you going to do.”

Bernthal added, “In this business, you got to be grateful for what you got. You got the job and the opportunity to do it. The opportunity to work with people you love and respect.”

“You kind of got to leave it at that. A lot of those decisions go on in rooms we aren’t invited to. The cool thing about the way stuff is now, is that it isn’t going anywhere. It’s on Netflix, and it’s there forever,” Jon Bernthal continued.

They both had a valid point. We don’t have to be happy about it, but we have to accept it.

4. Upcoming Projects

Since the stars schedules have been freed up a bit, they are now able to work on different projects and head in new directions. All three of them were excited to tell the crowd about their current endeavors, and where we are likely to see them next.

Josh Stewart said, “I just had a movie released called Back Fork. It is about the prescription pill problem that is happening in Appalachia — my home state of West Virginia.” 

“I have a film called Honor Among Thieves that is coming out pretty soon. It is almost wrapped up in post, so look out for that,” Jason Moore noted.

Jon Bernthal may have had the most exciting news, with the announcement of his involvement in the upcoming movie based on The Sopranos.

“It is definitely an honor to be a part of that. I love that show, and all I wanted to do when I was first acting was to audition for that show. I’m enormously grateful to be part of that world,” Bernthal explained.

It is great to see these three still hard at work and thriving in the industry. I’m sure they all have long careers ahead of them.

5. Getting In Character

With the serious and dark tone of The Punisher, one often wonders where the actor’s mind goes to reach these extreme circumstances and bring the characters to life. Jon Bernthal confessed that it wasn’t as hard to get into that dark place as you would think.

“I don’t think I could do any justice to Frank if I didn’t have kids or a wife. It isn’t until you realize what it is to love something more than you love yourself, can you begin to imagine what it would be like if somebody took that from you,” Bernthal said.

He continued, “Sometimes acting can get crazy and you have to imagine some pretty dark things. When you have love like that, you can start to imagine what it would be like to lose it — and then it isn’t that hard to get angry.”

Stewart agreed, “Similar to what Jon said, we can all imagine what it would be like if someone or something took the ones we love the most. I have two little kids and there isn’t a leg I wouldn’t break if they hurt one of my kids.”

“It isn’t hard to go to those places when you put it in that perspective,” Stewart admitted.

A man’s love for his family can often take him to great, and sometimes horrible things. Hopefully, it lends itself to the great more often than the horrible.

6. Off the Job

Acting is a great way to pay the bills, but being human also means you need a bit of downtime. Although home life can get kind of hectic, these three actors have their own ways of unwinding. 

Jason Moore told the audience about his love for video games. “I turn on my Xbox. I play my Gears of War and I be kicking some ass.” He then gave out his gamer tag, inviting his fellow gamers to join him — or even challenge him.

Being family men, Jon Bernthal and Josh Stewart gave the more responsible approach to coming off the road.

“I like to kick it with my kids as much as I can. Be outside with them, their games, their jujitsu. That is what I really like to do,” Bernthal said.

“That is the hard thing about this work, we are on the road a lot of the time — like 90% of the time away from the people I love. That is where I want to be, that is what I want to be doing,” Bernthal extended.

Josh Stewart had similar feelings. “My girl and the kids — that’s it.”

7. The Walking Dead

Besides questions about The Punisher, some members of the crowd wondered if Jon Bernthal would ever return to The Walking Dead as Shane. He was quick to shut that down.

“They killed that dude twice. They want no part of me on The Walking Dead. They were like, get the fuck out, here’s your shit — go. No, they do not want me back on The Walking Dead,“ he told them.

When someone suggested he could return in a flashback, Bernthal didn’t think it was any more likely. “I wouldn’t hold your breath on that one,” he said. 

For fans of both shows, that had to be a bit of a double whammy. It is so tough losing one of your favorite characters, but that is the nature of the beast.

8. Hard Times

Each project an actor works on has its own difficulties, and The Punisher was no different. The stars explained their own separate struggles they had on set.

Josh Stewart looked at his co-stars and said, “For me it was banging up against these two guys. Jon hits like a hammer.” Then he pointed specifically at Jason Moore, “He is like running into a wall.”

Jason Moore gave a chuckle before saying, “For me, it was remembering I was supposed to have a prosthetic leg.” 

Can you imagine getting caught up in the action of a scene, wanting to go all out, but then having to hold back because of a fake leg? That had to be a challenge.

Jon Bernthal kept it simple by saying, “The darkness — just the darkness.”

It had to be rough for all three of them dealing with physical and emotional barriers on the set. I’m sure it helped them grow as actors though.

9. Stan Lee

With the recent death of the beloved Stan Lee, the actors were able to share some fond memories they had of him before his passing.

Jon Bernthal said, “Anyone who has met him will say, you are in the presence of greatness — you can feel it.”

“What I will never forget about him, is every time I was around he was so kind — such a good man,” Bernthal concluded.

Jason Moore added, “I met him too a couple of times. I was just surprised how much energy he had when I first met him, because of course, he was an older man. Like Jon said, he was so kind.” 

Both stars were lucky to meet the legend who helped create the world they got to play a part in. His death was a great loss to us all.

10. Veterans 

While filming The Punisher, Jon Bernthal was able to work very closely with many war vets. The experience was not wasted on him. 

Bernthal had this to say about his experience, “These guys were some of my best friends — they were family to me.”

“Being welcomed into the community has been one of the real honors of my life. The one thing I can say about the military community, is that they are always ready, they are always there, always on the end of a phone anytime you need them. I have so much respect and reverence for the community,” he said.

From the sound of the many war vets present, the respect was mutual. Both were quite touched by the work the other did. It is really great how the show was able to touch so many lives, from casual fans to people who actually fought in wars, and all the way down to the stars themselves.

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How will you survive the cancellation of The Punisher? What will you watch to fill the void?

Be sure to catch The Punisher on Netflix when you get the free time.

The Walking Dead airs Sundays at 9/8c on AMC.

For more details on Fan Fest Events click here. Also be sure to check out all our coverage of this fantastic event.

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