Gavin Lewis stars opposite Reese Witherspoon and Kerry Washington in Hulu’s upcoming Little Fires Everywhere, based on Celeste Ng’s best-selling novel. Before Little Fires Everywhere, Gavin starred in Netflix’s multi-camera comedy The Prince of Peoria, portraying the title role of Prince Emil. Outside of acting, Lewis is passionately involved in raising Type 1 diabetes education and awareness. In working with the non-profit Beyond Type 1 organization, Lewis strives to lead by example and change what it means to live with diabetes. Gavin took the time to answer some of our questions. Check it out:
Yes, I did read Little Fires Everywhere! I don’t want to give away anything too specific for anyone who hasn’t read it, but I loved the confrontational scenes between Elena and Mia. I was very eager to see Reese and Kerry bring that tension to life. They are both so amazing, and I’m excited for everyone else to see their performances.
The Dark Side of Love
The whole audition process was crazy fast for me. The time between my very first audition to finding out I’d booked the role was less than a week. It was a fun process as well because I felt like I really connected with the character of Moody, and I loved sharing that connection in the audition room. I met our show runner Liz Tigelaar early on in the auditions and I immediately knew she was someone I wanted to work with. She brought this amazing, welcoming and positive energy to the audition room which made everything so much easier and less stressful.
Jim Halpert from The Office. Jim is a mild mannered, straight-man type with goofy moments and funny quips. Kind of like me, but with better writers.
I’m an archer. Sadly, I haven’t had the chance to shoot since before filming Little Fires Everywhere, but for a while I held the title of 2nd in Recurve for the state of California.
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Croissant
Thanks for taking the time, Gavin! Little Fires Everywhere premieres tomorrow, March 18th, on Hulu.
Actor Faly Rakotohavana, who stars as Finn alongside Kerry Washington and Delroy Lindo in new @hulu series UnPrisoned, sat down with us to talk about getting into character, and some of his favorite things.
Don’t miss “Darby and the Dead” streaming this Friday only on Hulu.
Darby and the Dead is supernatural comedy about a high school student who moonlights as a spiritual messenger starring Riele Downs, Auli’i Cravalho, Chosen Jacobs, and Asher Angel.
We spoke with actor Delroy Lindo about how he prepared for the role of Edwin in @hulu series UnPrisoned, his personal motto, and creating an on-camera family dynamic.
Writer and director Minhal Baig recently released a feature-length film, Hala, about a Pakistani-American teenager that uncovers a secret that threatens to unravel her family, which premiered in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. She previously served as a story editor on Bojack Horseman (Netflix) and staff writer on Ramy (Hulu). In 2017, she was chosen to participate in Ryan Murphy’s Half Foundation Directing Mentorship. Minhal took some time out of her busy schedule to answer some of our questions:
The scene between Hala and Eram in the shopping mall parking lot was a turning point in the writing process for me. Their relationship is fraught and because the story is being told from Hala’s perspective, we’re more aligned with her than we are with her mother. But in this scene, the perspective opens up a little bit. Eram makes some valuable points, albeit in a harsh way. She chastises Hala for marginalizing her and even asks her, rather bluntly, whether she looks down on her. This was a difficult scene to write because it came from such a personal place. I reflected on my own experience of treating my mother this way, and how differently I look back at those interactions now.
I hope that viewers can take away that we are more similar—in complicated family dynamics and coming-of-age—than we are different. Hala came from a very specific place, drawn from my lived experience. It’s not autobiographical, but there was emotional truth in Hala’s search for self. It’s not a search defined by her ties to her culture, faith or even her sexuality; it’s all of these things at once. I want people to be moved, to extend compassion, to be feel less alone.
Hala came out of a place of processing a pain that I experienced in my own adolescence. I was wrestling with my own identity as a teenager and my relationship with my family. It was a difficult time in my own life when I chose to leave home for college. I don’t think my parents were ready for that, but I also wasn’t quite ready, either. I was forced to learn a lot on my own and much of that is reflected in Hala’s own journey. While the film drew upon my personal life, it eventually became her story and needed to be true to the character.
I think about how much pain and anguish could have been avoided had I been more open with my family. There was so much that I hid and continue to hide, not necessarily out of a sense of self-preservation anymore but because I didn’t want to burden them with the reality that I was not living up to their expectations. If I could talk to Hala, I would let her know that she’s not alone in her experiences and that vocalizing her feelings to her family, while difficult, might be what brings them closer together.
I remember seeing Jurassic Park and Hum Aapke Hain Koun with my family in a theatre. They were early cinematic experiences that I’ll never forget. For a little while, we could forget everything and just live in the world of a movie. It was everything.
The high school that we filmed at, Northside College Prep—is where I went to school in Chicago. It was a very surreal experience to shoot in a classroom that I’d been in ten years ago as a teenager.
Andrea Arnold, Lynne Ramsay, Celine Sciamma, Asghar Farhadi, Ruben Ostlund, Claire Denis, Maren Ade, Kelly Reichardt, Sofia Coppola, Debra Grafik, Abbas Kiarostami, Paul Thomas Anderson, Apichatpong Weerasethakul and Xavier Dolan.
The biggest film influences on Hala were 35 Shots of Rum, Fish Tank and A Separation.
Every day is different depending on what I’m scheduled to shoot that day. If it’s an early call time, I head to set early with the cinematographer and go over our shots. We walk through everything together and then include the assistant director in our conversation. Then, I check in with my actors—to make sure they feel comfortable with what we’re shooting. Once I’ve done all of that, we read through the scene, block it, and the actors go away to get dressed while the various departments work to bring the scene to life. When the actors return, I usually do a rehearsal and once I feel that it’s ready, we shoot. I like to keep things moving and reset instead of calling cut, or do a few takes in a row so that the actors’ momentum isn’t lost. We finish a shot and if it’s good with everyone, I move on. The usual day on Hala required us to shoot five or six pages a day with multiple location moves, so imagine doing all of this at a relentless pace all day. Once we hit twelve hours, we call it a day.
I’m working on a film that centers the live of children, and specifically, the friendship between two nine-year old boys. It’s set in 1992. I’ve spent the last two years, on-and-off, taking a very journalistic approach to this story, spending a lot of time with people whose lived experiences I’m hoping to reflect in the final film. It’s a labor of love while I work a day job writing television.
Thanks for taking the time, Minhal! Hala is now available on Apple TV+.
Look who paid us a visit — The one and ONLY ✨TJ Atoms✨
Known for his breathtaking portrayal of Rap Legend, Ol Dirty Bastard, in @hulu's Wu-Tang: An American Saga, TJ dropped in to chat with us about the Mercury retrograde, music, and what's on the horizon for TJ Atoms.
Don't forget to catch the season finale of Wu-Tang: An American Saga available on @hulu
Tyler Labine, who you may know as the voice of Hunk from Voltron: Legendary Defender, plays Dr. Iggy Frome on the NBC drama New Amsterdam, which returns for season 2 on September 24th. He also starred in BBC’s Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, Hulu’s Deadbeat, NBC’s Animal Practice, and The CW’s Reaper, among many other things. On the big screen, Labine’s most recent film was Escape Room, and some of his additional credits include Tucker and Dale vs. Evil, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and Flyboys. Tyler took some time out his his extremely busy schedule to answer our hard hitting questions.
In a lot of ways actually. The scrutiny he was under at the end of Season 1 and the reflection about his methods deeply affected him. Maybe more than he will let on. But as an actor portraying a man who had his beliefs rocked to the core about how to deal with his young patients, it really resonates with me. So you will see some very different tones to Iggy. Maybe not on the surface but there will be an undercurrent that I’m bringing to him this season that will feel quite trepidatious at times; a little gun shy if you will. Also, Iggy is feeling some BIG feelings about expanding his family. That will be a big thread this season.
“Welcome to The Frome Zone” Haha. It’s supposed to be pure cheese btw. Ironically bad.
I have a big moment with Martin, Iggy’s hubby, in episode 1 that I think is great. It’s very sweet and telling. I think we all have wanted more of Iggy’s family. This is definitely the kick off point and early indication that more IS coming! I also have a case with an 11 year old psychopath in episode 205. Intense and difficult material.
Learn to let others help him when he needs it. He’s always so busy helping everyone else that I feel like he neglects himself. That doesn’t lead to anything good in my opinion.
I would want to take a masterclass on beat making. Hip hop production. I already do that and have done that for almost 15 years but I feel like I still have so many technical questions and problems and walls that come up for me. I would love to be taught by the greatest to ever do it. Jamie Meline. Otherwise known as EL-P. One half of the run the Jewels and the most influential hip hop artist in my life. A genius.
Getting buried alive for my series Deadbeat in Hulu. If you haven’t watched that show, you really should. It’s brilliant in so many ways. I had to do a scene where we were paying homage to Kill Bill. That infamous burial. And they put me in a casket made out of particle board and just….buried me. Under about a foot of loose soil. It was surreal. I then had to punch my way through the lid of the casket and break out. It was already scored so I could break through easily but on the first take they got about half way through covering the casket and I discovered that I am claustrophobic. Or maybe I just went to a very dark place. I freaked out and had them stop and get me out. Then we did it all over again. Haha. It’s in the show. It’s all there. It’s all real.
The Little Medical Director that could. Too wordy? How about The DamFam? Too brief? I give up.
That I’m a rapper. I know that sounds funny and like I’m joking but I’m not. I am a rapper. Have been since I was 15. Not gonna stop anytime soon either. Also that I’m a lefty. And I’m Canadian.
Thanks so much, Tyler! Season 2 of NBC’s New Amsterdam premieres September 24th at 10pm.
Photos by: Jeff Riedel/NBC, Virginia Sherwood/NBC
At the age of 19, Griffin Gluck already has a decade of acting experience under his belt. His big break came in 2011 when he starred in the film Just Go With It alongside Adam Sandler and Jennifer Anniston. Gluck recently starred in the comedy film Big Time Adolescence, with Pete Davidson and Sydney Sweeney, which you can find on Hulu. He also starred in Netflix’s Tall Girl and American Vandal, and is a series regular on Locke & Key. Griffin took a few minutes to answer our questions. Check it out:
Wherever my pets are.
I would want to tell Kinsey and Tyler that they should listen to Bode more, that kid is smart as hell.
Make breakfast.
We had an agreement; one for me, one for you. As long as we got the scene right once, we could adlib afterwards as much as we wanted to. I actually think that the amount of improvised moments that Jason put in the final cut is part of what makes the movie feel so relatable.
A couple of months ago I impulsively got a tattoo of a smiley face on my arm and my first impulse is to give it a hat.
Okay, actually really good question. I have no idea. We made it work, but it’s really hard to stay focused and in character on those long days. Everyone in the cast just relies on each other to keep the energy up.
That’s tough, but probably when Colson invited us out to EST fest and we drove out to Ohio on a weekend while we were filming Big Time Adolescence.
Way too many to choose just one. There were some days of filming BTA that would’ve made great scenes though haha.
I’d for sure get along with Sam from American Vandal because I know from experience that he’s super chill. I could also hang with Mo from BTA too. I don’t think I would get along with Gabe from L&K. I don’t trust that guy.
I have some projects I’ve been working on that are coming out soon, but in the meantime I’m studying in New York.
Thanks for taking the time, Griffin! Big Time Adolescence is now on Hulu, and you can catch Locke & Key on Netflix.
