He gained fame playing Julian, an ex-con and one of the iconic Trailer Park Boys in the classic, cult TV series. Now, actor John Paul or "JP" Tremblay is back on the big screen. This time, he’s playing himself in the new flick, Swearnet. It follows the true story of his adventures with co-stars Mike Smith and Robb Wells – aka Bubbles and Ricky of the Trailer Park Boys – as they launch an uncensored internet channel. When JP isn’t on set, you might catch him speeding through the streets – not in an old clunker – but in a high-performance car. He drives a 2005 Porsche 911 Turbo and a 2010 Porsche Cayenne Turbo. And in real life, JP can’t always shake that bad-boy image of his Trailer Park days.
PG: Are you a die-hard Porsche fan?
JP: "I’ve always been a Porsche fanatic ever since I was a little guy. I always wanted a 911 Turbo because I’m a speed freak. I’ve always had this thing for speed ever since I can remember. I had to have 944s back when I was going to university."
PG: University!? How could you afford a Porsche in university?
JP: "I don’t know. I just worked a lot,” he laughs. “I’ve owned quite a few of them over the years.”
PG: Most of the cars in Trailer Park Boys were North-American made. Why don’t you drive a vehicle from one of the Detroit 3?
JP: “I do. I also have ’67 Camaro RS that’s a very fast car. I purchased that because my uncle used to drag race them back when I was little. I’d go to his place in Prince Edward Island and he’d turn them over. The sound freaked me out. I loved it! I was addicted.”
PG: Any speeding tickets?
JP: “I’ve had many speeding tickets over the years. Worst one, I was going 170 [km/h] but I was going a lot faster than that. The police officer said you had to really slam on your brakes because the nose of your car looked like it was going to hit the pavement. But that was years ago. Now, that I’m a family man with kids I don’t really speed that much.”
PG: Do the cops ever let you off because you’re a celebrity or are they stricter with you?
JP: “A cop fucked with me because I was Julian. He thought I was a drug dealer at first because I was in a black, older 911. He ended up taking my keys and throwing them across the parking lot. Keys broke apart and I was like, man do you know how much a key is for this thing? He ended up impounding my car with all my groceries and other stuff. I had to walk home. And then it started raining. But I have a lot of other friends who are police officers. They got wind of it and lost it. They said, come on! This guy’s not a drug dealer. He just looks like one.”
PG: You also drive a Porsche in Swearnet?
JP: “I have a Porsche in Swearnet that I’m racing in Targa Newfoundland. Robb Wells and I actually raced in the Targa Newfoundland four years ago. We raced a little Porsche Cayman. It was a small car and it handled well. This time, we got into a lot of trouble because we actually were driving too fast. It was a good time and a great experience. Hopefully we’ll be able to do it again someday. It is amazing.”
PG: You’ve had many cool cars on Trailer Park Boys – a Ford Bronco, a Mustang SVT, a Corvette – what was your favorite ride on TPB?
JP: “I had my ’67 Camaro, the black one, in the show and that’s my favorite car of all time. I’ll never sell that. From being a kid in Prince Edward Island and my uncle having all these ’65 and ’67 Camaros all over his yard – it’s a car I’ve always wanted… I’ve always been a car guy. It runs in my family.”
PG: Have you always been mechanically inclined?
JP: “Yeah. I always try to fix things myself before I take it to a garage.”
PG: What’s your best driving story ever in and out of character?
JP: “In character, I actually wasn’t driving. It was in the ShitMobile [1975 Chrysler New Yorker] and Ricky was driving. It’s a pretty fast, powerful car. As you know there isn’t a door on the passenger side and this one time we went around a corner in the trailer park and the gas pedal was pinned to the floor and got stuck. That was kind of scary. We really ripped around. Robb, thank god, is a pretty good driver.”
“In real life, I was going around this sharp corner from the airport. I was going 190 [km/h] and I had a friend in the backseat with his head sticking up from the roof of this 944. Robb was in the passenger seat and my control arm came loose on the front end and the front tire got sucked back. It took about two kilometres to actually come to a stop. The guy whose head was out the sunroof had to go for therapy because he was so fucked up. He thought he was going to die.”
PG: What’s your dream car?
JP: “I’d get one of those Porsche GTs – a Carrera GT. Those are nice.”
John Paul [JP] Tremblay
Profession: Actor, Writer, Producer
Age: 46
Hometown: Halifax, Nova Scotia
My Car: 2005 Porsche 911 Turbo, 2010 Porsche Cayenne Turbo, 1967 Camaro RS
Notable achievements:
• his first acting gig was in Mike Clattenburg's award-winning film, One Last Shot, before playing Julian in the TPB movie
• appeared in several Trailer Park Boys films including The Big Dirty, Don’t Legalize It and Countdown to Liquor Day
• also stared in the feature films Hole-In-One, Virginia’s Run, and Goon
• appeared in live comedy shows, including Drunk, High, and Unemployed
• formerly owned a chain of pizza restaurants in PEI with co-star Robb Wells
Upcoming:
• Swearnet, the movie is currently playing in theatres across Canada
• created Swearnet.com, an uncensored internet channel
• Seasons 8 and 9 of Trailer Park Boys airs on Netflix
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