BELLO mag #111

BELLO Young Hollywood

MARCH 2016

NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK ALEX WOLFF, MATT SHIVELY, LUKE BAINES, #111

CONNOR JESSUP, JOEY POLLARI

Letter from the Editor Well into the New Year, some of us have picked of our old habits while others continue to stay strong with their past resolutions. In the world of Entertainment it’s a chance to look at the new faces of the new television season. This season, the amount of new faces have been plenty. But there are a few that for an array of reasons have stayed present in my mind.

In this March issue, you’ll find American Crime’s Joey Pollari and Connor Jessup, two powerhouse talents that took reign of ABCs Drama block. Bringing to life a story so important and doing it with the courage that many actors their age and gender do not possess. On the same leading Network, Matt Shively returns to TV in the form of a jock struggling with an eating-disorder in ABCs hard-hitting comedy The Real O’neals.

Australian newcomer Luke Baines, blew everyone away at TIFF will his portrayal of a serial killer and will continue that effect on the world once his film The Girl In The Photographs premieres April 1st.

Our Cover boy, Alex Wolff is no stranger to Hollywood and has a jampacked year ahead of him, full of both TV credits and Film. Most notably Wolff stars in 1969 set Coming Through The Rye, and can be seen next in the much-awaited My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2. Later this year he’ll pop back on our our screens in Sarah Jessica Parker’s return to television-- HBOs New York City set drama--Divorce.

It’s been a busy couple of months for the men of this issue, and like them we too aim to please.

Enjoy March 2016.

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CONTENTS 111 Letter from the Editor Contents Masthead

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CONNOR JESSUP

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JOEY POLLARI

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COVER STORY: ALEX WOLFF

Film Preview Model Behavior LUKE BAINES 3

5 46 MATT SHIVELY

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PUBLISHER IMAGE NATION STUDIO L.L.C. California, USA editorial@bellomag.com

ADVERTISING advertising@bellomag.com

Aleksandar Tomovic (editor in chief) alek@bellomag.com Stephane Marquet (creative director) steph@bellomag.com Leslie Alejandro (executive director) leslie@bellomag.com Dio Anthony (young hollywood editor) dio@bellomag.com Warren Alfie Baker (fashion director) warren@bellomag.com Nicole Walmsley (beauty editor) nicole@bellomag.com Michelle Ganney (Contributing Entertainment Editor) michelle@bellomag.com Dee Trillo (senior lifestyle and travel editor) dee@bellomag.com Fabio Fernandez (fashion news director) fabio@bellomag.com Kimmy Erin Kertes (fashion editor-at-large) kimmy@bellomag.com Hiko Mitsuzuka (entertainment editor-at-large) hiko@bellomag.com Morgan Stewart (lifestyle editor at large) boobsandloubs@bellomag.com Steven Carver (international editor) steven@bellomag.com Brent Lambert (design and technology editor) brent@bellomag.com Jon Norris (european editor) jon@bellomag.com Mark Norris (european editor) mark@bellomag.com Amanda Peixoto-Elkins (creative director, latin america) amanda@bellomag.com

INTERNS

PAULO ACUÑA (editorial assistant) paulo@bellomag.com CELESTE PIRAINO (social media and communications assistant) celeste@bellomag.com

LAYOUT

NEBOJSA DOLOVACKI

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

DIO ANTHONY (Entertainment)

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

COVER: JASON RODGERS, New York, NY MAARTEN DE BOER, Los Angeles, CA RICKY MIDDLESWORTH, Los Angeles, CA

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ENTERTAINMENT

MOVieTIME

BASED ON THE BESTSELLING MEMOIR BY STEPHEN ELLIOTT, THE ADDERALL DIARIES IS THE GRIPPING AND COMPLEX STORY OF HOW AN AUTHOR’S FASCINATION WITH A HIGH-PROFILE MURDER CASE LEADS HIM TO COME TO TERMS WITH HIS TROUBLED PAST WHILE EMBARKING ON A POTENTIALLY LIFE-CHANGING ROMANCE IN THE PRESENT. James Franco plays Stephen Elliot, a once-successful novelist paralyzed by writer’s block and an escalating Adderall dependency, who becomes obsessed with a high-profile murder case as a way to escape his personal troubles. His interest leads him to meet Lana Edmond (Amber Heard), a smart, sexy reporter who gives him unique access to the case. As their relationship takes off, Stephen is suddenly thrust back into the past when his father (Ed Harris), a cruel and vindictive man, shows up to challenge the veracity of the memoir Stephen is writing. As Stephen 5

simultaneously delves into the details of the murder case (which turns out to have some unexpected parallels to his own troubled upbringing) and reunites with his estranged father, he is forced to separate truth from lies and fact from fiction--ultimately leading him to finally reconcile his past and confront his future.

always compelling protagonist, the film explores a wide array of themes and ideas, including the legacy of parents, the power of memory, and the nature of truth. The Adderall Diaries is a consistently surprising and thoughtprovoking film to watch, and it will leave you a great deal to reflect on once it’s over.

Pamela Romanowksy’s debut feature deftly mixes tones and storylines to create a fascinatingly rich and engaging viewing experience. Through the character of Stephen, a flawed but

Who: James Franco, Amber Heard, Ed Harris, Christian Slater, Cynthia Nixon When: April 15, 2016

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INTERVIEW

APPLAUSE for CONNOR JESSUP Behind The Crime.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY JASON RODGERS WORDS BY DIO ANTHONY

NO ONE’S FORGETTING THIS SEASON OF AMERICAN CRIME, AND THAT’S PARTLY DUE TO CONNOR JESSUP’S BRILLIANT PERFORMANCE AS TAYLOR BLAINE, A HIGH-SCHOOLER WHO FINDS HIMSELF AT THE CENTER OF A MALE-ON-MALE RAPE CASE AFTER BEING DRUGGED AT A PARTY. HAVING CLOSED THE CHAPTER, WITH THE SERIES FINALE AIRING WEDNESDAY MARCH 9TH, JESSUP CAN ONLY SURPRISE HIS FANS FROM HERE ON OUT, AFTER SUCH A MOVING REPRESENTATION. IN FACT, HE’S DOING JUST THAT IN CLOSET MONSTER, WHICH PREMIERED AT TIFF TO GREAT REVIEWS, ULTIMATELY WINNING THE TITLE OF BEST CANADIAN FEATURE FILM. HIS ROLE AS OSCAR MADLY IN CLOSET MONSTER IS SURE TO BE MUCH MORE ECCENTRIC THAN THE TORTURED TAYLOR BLAINE ON THE ABC DRAMA. CLOSET MONSTER PREMIERES IN THEATERS THIS JULY. I SPOKE TO CONNOR ABOUT HIS ROLE ON CRIME’S SUBTLETY-EXPLOSIVE LATEST SEASON, AND WHAT IT WAS LIKE SLIPPING IN AND OUT OF SUCH A WORLD.

DA: As the story went on an unraveled, and the line of what really happened blurred, we learned more about Taylor as well. Did any of his actions particularly surprise you as the season went on?

CJ: I was definitely surprised when I read episode seven, where Taylor gets a gun and shoots a student at Leyland. It terrified me, really. It’s such an extreme thing for him to do, I immediately started second-guessing all the work I’d done before that. Like, what if it’s not enough? What if I haven’t done enough to sell that? Something like that needs a really solid foundation to be believable. But the fact that it was John (Ridley) writing and directing the episode gave me an enormous amount of comfort.

DA: There’s a lot of character work going on in the show; with these intense scenes. Do you have a favorite between other characters? Outside of your own scenes.

CJ: I’m in love with Lili’s work on the show. Maybe because I got to see it up close, but I can’t get over her. She’s like Gena Rowlands. She’s just always 7

right there, pushing. It’s relentless.

It’s like a natural phenomenon or something. I’ve never worked with an actor like her. I could go on and on.

But maybe that answer is cheating?

As far as performances on the show that I didn’t get to see while we were shooting... Felicity always blows me away. She has so much control over every single thing she does. She gets under your skin. It’s so much fun to watch.

DA: Take me back to that rape kit scene. Do you remember that day on set? What were you telling yourself minutes before going into that scene? Take me inside your head a bit in this particular scene.

CJ: The way that scene was done was really interesting. It was originally scripted one way, much shorter. But the woman they got to play the nurse was an actual trauma nurse, so John and Clement (our director for that episode) decided to toss out the script and just have her give me a version of the real examination. So in a sense it was all improvised. They just rolled the camera. I didn’t know what to expect, or what she would ask, which

ended up being an enormous help.

Taylor doesn’t know what to expect either.

DA: Not knowing what will happen, I can imagine it would make it a little difficult to prepare, nonetheless I think you really touched on every tone of his emotions. Going into the role as a whole, how did you prepare?

CJ: I didn’t have too much time, unfortunately. The production was really helpful. They set me up with a few trauma counsellors, people who specialize in sexual assault, and specifically male-on-male assault.

There’s a lot of good academic writing out there, some great journalism.

Beyond that, the majority of it was just momentum as we started shooting, to be honest, and the thoroughness of John’s writing, and working with actors like Lili. Most of my work was done for me. That’s the best part about working with good people.

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DA: Now that the finale has aired, when you think back on the whole process of the series, what sticks out to you?

CJ: How lucky I was to be a part of it. I know that sounds like bullshit, but I mean it. When you’re immersed in something it’s very hard to keep a sense of context. You get lost in the day-to-day, the challenge, the personal frustrations. Now that I have some distance, and I’ve seen it all come together, I have a much clearer sense of how overwhelmingly rare it is to work on a show like this, and how fortunate I am.

DA: Can you tell me a bit about your film Closet Monster and who you play in the film?

CJ: Closet Monster is an independent feature I was in last year, directed by a first-time Canadian filmmaker named Stephen Dunn. It premiered at TIFF last fall.

It’s a classical coming-of-age story, really, with some extra elements thrown into the mix for good measure (Isabella Rossellini voices a talking hamster, for example.) I play a kid named Oscar Madly, a young special effects make-up artist struggling with his sexuality, his family, his community, some past trauma. It’s not a downer though. Stephen infused it with a real sense of humor and excitement. It was a lot of fun to do.

DA: You’ve written, directed and produced your own short films before. Are you stepping behind the camera again anytime soon?

CJ: Yeah. I’m desperate to do it again. I’m working on my first feature right now, actually. It’s still in the early-ish stages, but we’re hoping to put it together in the next year or so. I need to work on the pitch, but it’s a sort of family drama about a sick young boy, his evolving relationships with his mother and grandmother, and his friendship with a local forest spirit, all over the course of a single summer by the sea. It’s very mellow. The genre I came up with is ‘supernatural slice-of-life,’ which I think has a nice sound to it but just seems to confuse everyone.

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INTERVIEW

CRIME AMERICANBOY PHOTOGRAPHY BY MAARTEN DE BOER WORDS BY DIO ANTHONY

ON A SUNNY LOS ANGELES MORNING AFTER WRAPPING HIS PORTRAIT SESSION, I SAT DOWN FOR A CHAT WITH JOEY POLLARI, WHO HAD JUST BEEN CONTINUALLY SPRAYED DOWN WITH A WATER HOSE FOR THE SAKE OF A SHOT. HE MIGHT’VE STILL HAD WATER IN HIS EARS BUT HE WAS BUBBLY WITH AN OVERALL SENSE OF PLEASANTNESS TO HIM. The following evening, the finale of American Crime, in which Joey plays a teen accused of rape would air its season finale. Bringing a close to a marvelous season full of some of the best scene work in of any series that attempts to start fresh each season. It was a show with a similar name to FX’s American Crime Story, but in my opinion the former was better. And it was much more important.

American Crime Story saw Joey Pollari as Eric Tanner, a high school athlete whose life is turned upside down when accusations against him and relating another boy and a sexual assault are made. It’s a role full of anguish, complexity and a whole lot of aggression. Pollari encompasses it all.

On American Crime’s second season, younger actors take center stage when you’re dealing with the ripple effects of a high school party. Pollari remembers the massive sense of creative freedom, and as he put it the “trust” in “figuring things out along the way” when it came to scene work. Although the nice guy in him is quick to insist that he can’t take full credit, “ I trusted the scripts as well to give me pretty much anything that I needed,” he says. “Sure enough every week there was a new script and 15

it answered questions I might’ve had from a previous episode. It all clicked.”

Crimes’ second season is sure to keep the 21-year-old’s performance fresh in the minds of viewers for weeks to come. However, there is one particular scene which shows Eric going into the woods with a guy he’s just met through an app. Hoping to forget his struggles and pain for a few minutes, by way of a quickie. Things go much differently when Eric finds himself fighting for his life, where no once can hear him. Pollari remembers the scene well. It brought the series to a level of storytelling that would rise continuously as the season came to a close. “We did it about four times, which doesn’t sound like a lot.

But all throughout John Ridley our creator kept reminding me that I almost died during this encounter. We shot it in separate shots and then it was later stitched together.” What we saw at home as Eric getting the crap beaten out of him by a total stranger, fooling him under the pretense of a good time with a nice guy. A scene all too real, and one that would essentially come around again in the finale.

Now, off the Texas set and away from the town of Indiana where the series of

unfortunate events took place, Pollari has time to breath and reflect on such a defining experience, and such a rich role.

“When I think back on the experience of it all, it warps! Because it’s impossible to know what you’re apart of while you’re in it, as it is with anything in life.

It’s impossible to be objective” he says.

“I could’ve never imagined that people would respond with such sympathy, let alone globally. I also like that the sexuality of the characters wasn’t the focus. Especially for the character of Taylor, who could be arguably sexually ambiguous.“ In what is probably one of the greatest anecdotes of production on the series Pollari lived with Connor Jessup, who plays the accuser Taylor Blaine. And although they had a total amount of zero scenes together all season, which adds to the greatness of the story—the laughs that weren’t had on set, were definitely had off. “Connor and I were laughing it up over bottles of wine when not working. So that obviously gave me an illusion of having an objective view where I otherwise I just wouldn’t have one.”

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Creative Direction DIO ANTHONY • Styling KELLY BROWN Grooming THEA ISTENES for Exclusive Artists Management using MAC Cosmetics 23

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MODEL BEHAVIOR DRESS AVNAH WATCH ELICO ASSOULINI

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BOLERO VINTAGE DIOR DRESS SINGLE FOX FUR CUFFS MAGGY BARRY HEELS JEFFREY CAMPBELL

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Photographer EMILYNN ROSE • Photo assistant KYLEE KWON • Model MADISON CHAPPELL MUA JENNY GOMEZ • Hair SETO McCOY • Styling MICHAEL ST. MICHAEL 31

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INTERVIEW

Boy Photographs The

In The

PHOTOGRAPHY BY RICKY MIDDLESWORTH WORDS BY DIO ANTHONY WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WES CRAVEN PRODUCES NICK SIMON’S SURE TO BE HORROR-HIT THE GIRL IN THE PHOTOGRAPHS? YOU GET LUKE BAINES, HIS FINAL SERIAL KILLER, BUT AN ACTUAL SWEETHEART IRL. BAINES WAS BORN IN THE UK AND GREW UP IN SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA. BUT HE’S ABOUT SCARE THE LIVING CRAP OUT OF AMERICANS ON APRIL 1ST AS TOM IN THE HORROR-FLICK. WHEN IT COMES TO FILMS OF THIS GENRE, THE LESS YOU KNOW ABOUT THE CHARACTERS,THE BETTER. BUT I COULDN’T HELP MYSELF, AND BAINES COULDN’T EITHER, DISHING ON ALL THE CREEPY DETAILS. DA: The trailer has finally been released and the buzz has started. What comes to mind?

LB: I’d been such a fan of Wes Craven’s work for so long. Even when the appointment came through from my agent saying that I had an audition for this, i was like—there’s no way. I’m not even going to give it any thought, there’s just no fucking way. And I’ve always wanted to play, This is my ideal role. I’m always fascinated by these kind of people. I got it, and still didn’t quite believe it. Then we had the table read with Wes and that was the first point where it became real. You could feel it around the cast. “okay, this just got real.” you know?

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DA: It’s official.

LB: It’s official, yeah. Every single step after that was just a dream. The cast was incredible. We text every single day—it’s kind of disgusting [laughs].

But that’s what shooting was like, it was kind of like summer camp. We saw each other every single day wether we were shooting or not. Exploring the town of Victoria, BC which is beautiful! After wrapping, the movie got into the (TIFF) Toronto International Film Festival and that whole experience was as worldwind as well.

DA: I image that to be a completely separate and unique experience.

LB: It really was. Obviously Wes’ passing changed the mood of the premiere. The timing was eerie, in the fact that we had just picture-locked I think a week before he passed away. So, he was involved into the very end. The only thing he hadn’t see was the final sound-mix. His death casted a shadow on the premiere, and it created a very different energy.

Because of that, I think it’s changed people’s perceptions. Because it is his last film, a lot of people have a different expectation. The longest answer to your simple question.

DA: [Laughs]. That’s usually how it goes. You go on, and then you come back on home to t he question.

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DA: You’ve completely transformed for this role. Did you prepare particularly in anyway.

LB: Thankfully this character is not at all like me. We don’t share many similarities. That said, to play any character you obviously have to find comparisons between you and the character and have to be able to like them. Weather you love them, or just like them. He’s a very specific kind of serial killer. It all revolves around sexual abnormality. He’s turned on by violence on women. I spoke to a clinical psychologist at John Jay university.

And he really helped me, in terms of giving me accounts of people who have done this in the past. What sort of mindset is going on. To the writer’s credit, everything that I spoke to this professor about, he would tell me it was spot on, that it’s exactly what they would do. The one thing that really was the turning point for the character for me was when he told me—it’s not a choice. It’s not necessarily something that happened to them. He said to me—it’s not something that happens to them after they’re born, it’s something they’re born with. It’s kind of sad when you think of it in that way, and that’s when it clicked for me. It was like the character’s obsession took a different turn.

DA: What was that like for you being Tom? LB: It was something I had to craft and then be able to slip in and out of. There was definitely that feeling of a character hangover afterwards. I’d be done with my scene and I’d be very grouchy. But it was so incredible to be able to try and create a true to life character. One thing I didn’t prepare myself for was, being okay with these actresses screaming as they’re in these cages. It’s terrifying.

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sick a few days, but it was all part of being Tom.

DA: How long have you been living here in LA?

DA: What’s your favorite Wes Craven film?

LB: I’ve been here for almost 4 years.

LB: Scream! I appreciate all of his work.

Last house on the left is one of the most horrifying films ever!

DA: Can you image being put in that situation?

LB: No! That’s what i find interesting. I think the girl in the same photographs has the same element int he fact that.

It’s not just being in the cinema and getting scared when someone walks out with a knife. It’s about creating a psychology in an atmosphere that when you leave you will feel gross.

DA: Right. ‘icky” in your own home.

LB: Yes, and that’s what last house not he left did for me. That was the first movie that I saw that made me steal my dad’s handy cam and recreate scenes from it. It’s come full circle.

DA: Location is everything when it comes to Horror films. What was Victoria,BC like?

LB: I hadn’t been to Canada at all. The whole cast is now looking to retire there.

Or at least buy a holiday home because it’s so beautiful. For the film, the location scouts really nailed it. They’ve got the big horror movie mansion. They’ve got the creepy dungeon. The small town grocery store which is just perfect! The funniest thing about locations though, was there was an old school in the town that has a scary past and hadn’t been used for years. We built our stages in that very place, and as soon as you pulled into the car park it was so scary.

You knew there was something going on in that place. It definitely helped the atmosphere.

DA: Fairly new one could say. What’s the market like elsewhere for actors?

LB: I was in London before, and before that I was in Sydney where I grew up. each place is different. The way actors train is different, the way the performances are played is completely different. Each market has it’s own nuance. It think with what I’ve seen recently with the reflux of international people into America, that it’s broadening up. It’s becoming a nice melting pot of different ways of going about a performance and different ways of crafting stories.

DA: No doubt the film will be crazy. But why are you most excited for people to see in the film?

LB: Well, I think the reason why it’s different and worth watching and special is because it’s not your average horror film. There is a large portion of this movie that is hilarious comedy, because the writing is so brilliant and we’ve got some really great actors.

That’s one of my favorite things about it. You’re in this world where you’re laughing and it’s fun and it’s got really great jokes, and before you even realize it someone’s getting stabbed in the back of the head. Even though I was a part of the film, watching it for the first time, I was shocked. It goes back to what I said earlier about crafting an atmosphere and then shaking things up. I think people will be surprised at how funny it is in a way that it’s not satire, rather writing that allows that to happen. During the table read, Wes said, this script is the best that I’ve read since scream, and the most like it in the sense that you’re laughing and you’re crying and you don’t know what’s going on. Then it’s over and you need to shower.

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"Thankfully this character is not at all like me. We don’t share many similarities. That said, to play any character you obviously have to find comparisons between you and the character and have to be able to like them"

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Creative Direction DIO ANTHONY • Styling TIFFANI CHYNEL @ The Wall Group Grooming STEPHANIE HOBGOOD for Exclusive Artists Management using Bumble & Bumble 45

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INTERVIEW

SEXY + FUNNY Funny/sexy. You can have both when it comes to 25-year-old Matt Shively.

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The California raised actor has had his fair share of Hollywood successes even at his young age, dipping his feet in both TV and Film. You’ll probably recognize Shively as the ill-fated Ben in the 4th installment of the Paranormal Activity franchise.

Currently, the former sitcom star can be seen in another—on the mother of networks—ABC’s The Real O’neals. Shively plays Jimmy O’neal an oftentimes oblivious jock who happens to be battling a seemingly serious, yet comical eating disorder.

It’s an actor like Matt Shively that can turn such a taboo topic into a lighthearted mention on the Tuesday night comedy. His on-screen family played by Noah Galvin, Bebe Wood, Jay R. Ferguson and Martha Plimpton are just as lively of a bunch as he is.

Following the the wrap of the first season, The O’neals continue to be family off-set as well. In a common case of life imitates art, the connection has lasted and they’ve seem to fit into the roles of their alternate ABC reality quite nicely.

This spring he’ll test his range again in the indie film Summer of 8, directed Ryan Schwartz; playing Oscar, a young man in a group of eight friends enjoying the summer sun before the realities of adulthood step in. Given the changing range of characters Shively has tackled, there’s no telling where the young talent will go from here. If his performance on his new ABC sitcom is to be trusted, he is someone to watch. A definite shoe-in on Hollywood’s growing list of notable up and comers. Get to know the man behind the jokes and see him in his BELLO spread like you’ve never seen him before, before everyone knows his name, too.

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Photography by MAARTEN DE BOER • Words by DIO ANTHONY • Creative Direction DIO ANTHONY Styling KELLY BROWN • Grooming THEA ISTENES for Exclusive Artists Management using MAC Cosmetics 53

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COVER STORY

Something

Wolff This Way Comes PHOTOGRAPHY BY JASON RODGERS WORDS BY DIO ANTHONY

EVER SINCE ALEX WOLFF APPEARED ON OUR TV SCREENS FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THE NAKED BROTHERS BAND, HE CAME ON TO THE SCENE AS ALEX. MAYBE NOT ALEX WOLFF, BUT LIKE A TRUE STAR FIRST NAME STOOD. NEARLY TEN YEARS LATER THE “WOLFF” LAST NAME IS ONE MENTIONED QUITE A LOT IN HOLLYWOOD CIRCLES.THANKS TO THE WORK HIS BROTHER NAT AND HIM HAVE ACCOMPLISHED IN THE YEARS SINCE THEIR NICKELODEON SHOW WENT OFF THE AIR AFTER THREE SEASONS. The younger of the two, 18-year-old Alex at a glance is rock and roll personified, cool attired, messy hair. He’s a musician at the core and it shows. One the acting front he’s having a very busy year. Wolff stars in the film Coming Through The Rye. The story about Jamie Schwartz played by Wolff, who goes on a journey in search of JD Salinger after reading and obsession over Catcher in The Rye. Wolff’s performance in the film makes it clear—he’s shooting for big screen domination and he’s well on his way.

DA: You’ve worked with your brother Nat before and you even share an Instagram with him. What’s your relationship like personally and professionally?

AW: We’re best friends and are totally synched up musically and emotionally 55

and that makes it a lot easier to be brothers and “co-workers.” Nat and I can look at each other from across the room and know exactly what the other is thinking. Someone could say something really douchey at a dinner table or something like that, and I could just gaze over at Nat and we would both be dying trying not to laugh because we know what the other is thinking. We totally still fight, obviously.

DA: Any particular memory of you growing up that comes to mind?

AW: There’s a story about when we were kids and my parents were in the lobby of our building. The elevator door opened and Nat and I flew out of the elevator, beating the shit out of each other in front of a ton of people waiting

for the elevator. We had been punching and kicking each other the entire way down. We laugh so hard when we talk about that story, because we were such little badasses. But I’d say the large majority of the time we’re absolute BEST friends.

DA: You seem very much like a New Yorker. How much of a city kid are you?

AW: Extremely. I can’t go 2 minutes without saying I’m a New Yorker because I’m so proud. Right now while answering these questions I am actually delirious because I had a very New York experience last night/this morning.

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in the darkness, with the orange street lights around us, the sun started rising and we saw a bunch of trash all over the city but it was so gorgeous with the sunlight shining through all the street lights, and the reflection of all the buildings in the puddles. We just walked and talked ,and walked and talked. We then went and got bagels at a 24 hour deli. After that we went to a park and played tag and swung on swings, and this guy came up and asked us to buy his rap CD. Which we did and then we opened up the case and there was no CD was in it, and so we laughed so hard. Shortly after we saw the shape of John Lennon’s face on the ground in the park, made out of different colors of sand, done by this really cool old woman who was an artist. We spoke to her and she told us her life story and I looked around and I just was like...shit this city is so cool. You can do all this great stuff independently at any hour and you’ll meet interesting people. You can just walk around at any time. It is the absolute greatest city in the world.

DA: Ok. Wow. Now Tell me about your experience filming big fat Greek weeding 2. I imagine the vibe on set is much like the tone of the film.

AW: It was really fun. It was interesting because it was all adult veteran actors and then it was Elena [Kampouris] and me. So we got to spend a ton of time together, but there was also a lot of downtime on set with the adult actors, so I had some really interesting conversations with different people on 57

the movie who were so fun. I had this awesome conversation with Andrea Martin about these plays we both liked, and then I talked to Michael Constantine about how I didn’t know what to do with this gift basket production gave everyone in the movie. The basket had a bunch of jars of flavored jelly, and so I just forced myself to eat every jar of jelly in the week that I was there and now I never want to eat jelly again. Rob Riggle was there for a couple days and I don’t think I’ve ever laughed harder in my life than being around that guy. He is so unbelievably funny it’s almost like he comes in with about 100 scripted jokes just to tell everyone on set...what an insanely cool dude. Everyone would laugh the entire time he was there. It was two full days of a non stop riot.

DA: The script for your next film DUDE listed in the 2013 Black List of best unproduced scripts. What can you tease?

AW: Dude was such an exceptional and individual script. It’s this heartfelt edgy dramedy with Lucy Hale that follows a group of high school kids getting ready to graduate their senior year of high school, while dealing with the sudden death of their friend. It has such a keen sense of balance between humor and hurt, and I can’t wait to see everyone’s performances. Our director, Olivia Milch, is super super super talented, not to mention, fun. She really really really digs sushi. Everyone digs sushi, but Olivia is like really into it. Olivia loves sushi so goddam much [laughs].

I’ve been thinking about it lately. How someone can possibly eat so much sushi!

DA: You’ve won numerous awards for your film, Coming Through the Rye for which you star. Can you tell us about the experience and what this project meant to you?

AW: This was the hardest and most gratifying experience to date. It was so powerful being a part of such an intimate, kind of heart breaking story with Stefania Owen who is just so fucking amazing. She’s one of the most talented artists out there I would say. Working with Chris Cooper was absolutely petrifying until I walked on set and he had this respectful and warm demeanor that made it so easy to act with him. I had to do this maybe six-page scene of just him and I going back and forth, and back and forth. Really going head to head with him, and it was a really profound and unexplainable experience being able to do this because of his uniquely gracious attitude. He’s an Oscar winner. An oscar winner! Yet he acted like we were both on the same plane. Like we were both equally accomplished, which is really something to admire. A great actor and great guy. I am really proud of this movie. I’ve seen it a bunch of times and I’m still not totally sick of it. I’m not a huge fan of my face and all the stuff that’s, y’know on it like; the nose, hair and things like that. But I’ve put that aside because I really like the movie. I think everyone in it does a great job.

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INTERVIEW

Brian J Rising R&B force Bryan J debuts a killer new track “Why?” which premiered via SPIN and is powered

by Bryan’s unmistakable vocals and shimmering synths.

The song was written by Bryan and inspired by Michael Jackson’s “Human Nature.” With a few major songwriting credits and collaborations - including Tinashe, Zendaya, 2 Chainz - the native Georgian (now LA-based) is back with all new material and is poised for a big 2016.

Photo Credit: Kelley Raye

Where: www.soundcloud.com/hogansville/why Who: twitter.com/bryanjmusic

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