‘Fire Country’ Star Jordan Calloway on the Challenges of Directing While Acting and the ‘Turning Point’ for 42 (Exclusive)

Friday’s Fire Country was filled with surprises for Jordan Calloway’s directorial debut, and he broke it down with PopCulture.com.

In “Like a Wounded Wildebeest,” Calloway’s Jake Crawford was battling more than just a grain silo.

The firefighter was previously told by Shawn Hatosy’s interim battalion chief Brett Richards that he was thinking about making him 42’s permanent new chief. Only whoever was appointed chief would have to get rid of Bode, as Richards basically sees him as collateral damage. At the same time, he found out his best friend might be using drugs again, making it a struggle for Jake as he didn’t know what to do. Richards eventually made a decision on the new battalion chief in the latest episode, appointing Manny instead of Jake. Take a look at what Calloway had to say about the episode, and what it was like directing it all. (Interview has been edited for length and clarity.)

PopCulture: This episode was pretty Jake-heavy at times, which is even more impressive that you were able to direct.

Jordan Calloway: And I proposed over the weekend! It was great. Honestly, everything happens in pre-production. I’m so grateful I played sports because that’s what taught me how to be a team captain, be a team leader. And all of that work, when you’re going into a game, you have a game plan. When I’m going on the set, I have a game plan. And if I’m able to articulate that to my fellow teammates, they’re gonna execute. They’re gonna knock it down. They’ll probably even be like, “Oh, what do you think about this? Great. Let’s do it.”

So if the whole movie is made in pre-production, if you’re trying to do that when you’re in the production of it, God help me. Good luck. You’re gonna put not just yourself, but so many crew members throughout. But, no, it was fun. I love rising to the challenge, honestly, and that comes from having played sports as well. I just love a challenge, and to be able to go after it and hit it, let’s do it.

PC: Speaking of challenge, one of the storylines included was that Richards is more or less offering Jake to be the next battalion chief of the station, basically wanting him to get rid of Bode. What do you think was running through his mind during that whole situation? Because he obviously wants to be chief, and that also means possibly firing his best friend, who may or may not be using drugs again.

Calloway: In the beginning, I think he was dealing with a little bit of relief at the end because he didn’t have to fire a friend. But right in the moment, I think there was a betrayal that he felt towards Manny. However, Manny, he empowers and exhorts Jake in his expectation, encouraging him not to quit, not to give up, and telling him that I need you. That also is something that was able to lessen the blow, but then also be a foundational piece in order to help them move forward.

PC: What do you think his future will look like now at the station with Manny as the new battalion chief, after he basically thought that he was going to get the job?

Calloway: I think they’re gonna work through it. I think you see from his interaction with Eve afterwards that he realizes why Manny was picked, and he respects that. At the end of the day, Jake loves fortitude. He loves Vince. He sees this as Vince Leone’s, what he also inherited and built up, and that’s what Jake wants to do as well. And he sees, though, that Manny is the right pick to continue that legacy. So he feels like 42 is in good hands.

PC: Before Richards handed out the new chief position, Manny and Jake were basically going head-to-head when it came to Bode’s future at the station with the drugs, and also then having different plans during the emergency. What was it like working off that dynamic with Kevin, as Jake and Manny are dealing with numerous things?

Calloway: Right. Well, you know, the great thing about Kevin Alejandro is that I just make him such a better actor, and I think he’d appreciate me saying this. You can quote me. If it weren’t for me, he’s just so grateful. He’s filled with gratitude towards the dynamic that I bring as Jake. Kevin’s great. Kevin’s freaking amazing. Okay. I just want him to read that. I really do.

But I just think the whole dynamic that we were playing with and how it’s pressure. That’s one of the things that you felt in the episode, and you had the motif of it in the silos. The pressure of pills, the pressure of the actual corn compressing, the pressure of time. And then you have Jake being a pressure on Manny about, ‘“Yo, make a decision. That’s not the right one That lies in there. And it’s all things that the chief will have to deal with. These are all the different things. The pressure being thrown in without anyone, from Richards right at the beginning.

And what you’ll see in that dynamic is that instead of helping Manny when he needed it, he was only being a pressure. So maybe what we may see later, and as you also saw with Manny at the end, saying, “I need your help. I need you to help me,” that is the thing that Jake needed to hear in order to realize, “Yo, I treated this whole thing wrong. Instead of being a part of the pressure, I needed to de-escalate. I needed to help and do my job, which is as captain.” So I think that’s the seesaw of the dynamic that you see with where they start, but where they will go and end.

PC: The episode ends with Jake and Eve showing Bode the letter from who they assume to be Renee or some other woman with an R name that had an affair with Vince. What can we expect from that storyline? I feel we’ve been robbed of some great Jake, Eve, and Bode moments as of late, and I hope that this means we’ll be seeing more of them together.

Calloway: I love you for saying that. Yeah. I think you’re gonna see the Nancy Drew Trio start to kick in. We’re gonna get down to the bottom of this. Find out who the hell is Renee or R, because we’re trying to figure out what’s going on. But I will say this, me too.

PC: What else can you tease for the season in general?

Calloway: I think for me, this episode was the turning point that you’re gonna see for the House of 42.

New episodes of Fire Country air on Fridays at 9 p.m. ET on CBS, streaming the next day on Paramount+.