Jack Kearney is a writer and former actor whose remarkable career spans decades of artistic pursuit, resilience, and reinvention. A member of the inaugural graduating class of the prestigious American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Los Angeles, he went on to appear in iconic television series including *M*A*S*H*, WKRP in Cincinnati, and General Hospital, building a foundation in performance that would later inform his powerful storytelling.
Like the protagonist of his novel, Kearney balanced his artistic ambitions with the reality of survival jobs. Through it all, he continued writing, crafting his own audition monologues and developing script treatments. His debut novel, Inside Out, began as a screenplay, his personal “Rocky,” and was a vehicle for a powerful story he was born to tell.
Now in his 70’s, Kearney channels a lifetime of observation, resilience, and hard-won insight into his writing. A prostate cancer survivor, he lives in Northern California, where he continues to craft stories that resonate with depth, truth, and impact. This one-on-one interview shares Kearney’s background and experience writing INSIDE OUT One Actors Nightmarish Journey of Incarnation.
Tell us about INSIDE OUT.
Hollywood can break you. Prison can remake you.
It’s 1978. Danny Belson is a working actor in California, finally on the verge of success. Roles are coming in. Momentum is building. For the first time, his dreams feel within reach.
Then, in a single, devastating turn of events, everything changes. Danny is convicted of a crime he didn’t commit, and sent to prison.
But this is no ordinary fall from grace.
Months earlier, Danny had volunteered in a ground-breaking prison reform program, teaching acting to inmates inside the very same facility. Now, he’s back, but as one of them, where he has made both friends and adversaries.
Surrounded by men he once mentored, Danny enters a brutal world where alliances are already formed, enemies are waiting, and survival demands more than courage, it demands transformation.
Inside these walls, nothing is what it seems.
Some inmates will protect him.Some will break him.And some will stop at nothing to destroy him.
Told through a gripping, cinematic narrative with no traditional chapters, INSIDE OUT pulls readers deep into Danny’s unraveling world, where Hollywood dreams collide with the harsh realities of incarceration. This is more than a prison story. It’s a powerful exploration of ambition, survival, and what happens when an ordinary man is forced into extraordinary circumstances.
If you were stripped of everything, your freedom, your future, your name, who would you become?
What inspired you to write INSIDE OUT?
INSIDE OUT is a semi-biographical story shaped by my years in Hollywood. I spent more than 25 years as a struggling actor, working periodically, but never quite achieving the breakthrough I was chasing. In 1978, I had a rare opportunity to become the first actor in California to lead an acting workshop for inmates at the federal prison in Lompoc. That experience stayed with me and became the foundation for the story.
I wrote the first version of INSIDE OUT as a screenplay in 1983, my personal “Rocky,” blending real-life experiences from my acting career with a fictional portrayal of prison life. I would star in it and never have to worry about working again. However, at the time, the industry wasn’t ready for its raw, unfiltered depiction of prison violence.
Years later, after completing the novel, I was inspired to rewrite the screenplay. In 2020, it was awarded Most Outstanding Screenplay at the very prestigious international festival The Hollywood Golden Film Awards (GFA), a powerful full-circle moment for a story I never stopped believing in.
How did your background and experience influence your writing?
My background shaped INSIDE OUT in a very unexpected way. When I first volunteered to teach acting to inmates, I saw it as a one-time experience, an interesting chapter, but nothing more. A few years later, I was involved in a life changing situation, where other than the fact that there were twelve witnesses on my behalf, I might have ended up in prison. That’s when everything changed.
It forced me to reflect on how easily a life can be redirected, and brought me back to the men I met inside Lompoc. I began to see them not just as individuals, but as powerful, complex characters. In fact, two of the major characters are actually based on inmates I met.
From there, the story took shape: what if an actor who once taught inmates suddenly found himself imprisoned among them, surrounded by people who already knew him, some as allies, others as enemies? After his enemies set him up for a brutal attack, his friends avenge him.That question became the heartbeat of Inside Out, and from that point on, the story pretty much wrote itself.
What is one message you would like readers to remember?
At its core, INSIDE OUT is a reminder that life doesn’t always divide neatly into right and wrong. Good people can find themselves in impossible situations, forced to make choices they never imagined, simply to survive. The story explores the harsh realities of incarceration, but also reveals something deeper: the resilience of the human spirit, the power of friendship, and the possibility of hope even in the darkest places. Finally, It is the difference between justice as seen through the eyes of the law, and true justice.
It also reflects a belief I’ve carried throughout my life: “Dreamers rarely rule the world… but they can change it.” This is something I have coined and have always believed. Now in my 70’s, I am still a dreamer.
Purchasing the Book
INSIDE OUT One Actors Nightmarish Journey of Incarnation has received positive reviews from well-known literary organizations, authors, and reviewers around the world. Book Excellence writes, “Raw, gripping, and deeply affecting, Inside Out delivers a unique and unforgettable story of resilience, transformation, and the fight to hold onto one’s humanity.” In addition, Readers’ Favorite writes, “Engaging, entertaining, fast-paced… Inside Out would appeal to any reader who loves suspense, creativity in writing style, or simply a great work of fiction.”
The book is available for sale on Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Readers are encouraged to purchase their copy today: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GL1ZWT6Q
To connect with Jack and learn more about his work, visit: https://insideoutauthor.com or follow him on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
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