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You may know Thomas Jane for his work as an actor or even a comic book creator, but did you know that he's also a director? That's right, Jane has directed multiple television episodes, beginning with an episode of The Expanse, a show that he starred in. (It's season 5's 'Mother,' if you're curious.) While it's not unusual for television actors to eventually direct episodes of a long-running show that they're in, as any longtime Criminal Minds fan can tell you, Thomas Jane shed light on the process that he took in order to develop his skills as a director before being handed the reins on The Expanse. 

Speaking to our video producer, Ashley Victoria Robinson, as part of our Popversations video interview series, Thomas Jane spoke highly of his experience working on The Expanse.  

"Every day was a little bit of magic. It was a joy to show up on set. Everybody that ran the thing were just superstars in what they did. Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby, who wrote a lot of it, they remain friends. Naren [Shankar], who ran the thing, gave me my first television directing job. I directed an episode of season 5... and I shadowed him like a hawk, and he taught me so much," Jane said. "If anyone ever has that experience of being able to shadow someone who's a pro, just take every second that you can. I treated it like a job. I woke up at 7 AM and got dressed and got to set and was there until everyone wrapped during the period where I was shadowing the crew on The Expanse. And it was the greatest experience for me." 

The season 5 episode "Mother" marked his return to The Expanse after he wrapped up a role in season 4. In the same interview, Jane noted that crew members working on other shows would drop everything and find replacements for themselves whenever they heard that The Expanse was renewed for another season. In other words, The Expanse was a show that kept crew members wanting to return to work on it season after season, and for Jane, it's clear that it was the ideal environment to learn the ropes of directing television. 

You can catch the entire interview with Thomas Jane on Popversations here. 

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