(Interview by Lynn Barker; Posted on October 19 1009)
TeenHollywood: Are you calling from the Red Dawn set or where? (Josh is co-starring in the remake of the popular 1980's film about a foreign invasion of U.S. territory and how ordinary U.S. teens fought a war for freedom).
Josh: No. They flew me to L.A. to do some interviews then back out to (the) Michigan (set).
TeenHollywood: So, how cool was it on "Cirque" to play the bad guy for a change? Did you really go after the role?
Josh: Yeah, it was cool to play a bad guy. When I read the script, I read it early on before it got settled as to who was going to play what role. Darren was the lead role and that was interesting and I like the character a lot but, for me, I was more interested to play Steve because it was something I'd never really taken on before so it was great. I loved getting to play the bad guy and kind of unleash the evilness.
Josh: No. It was during the summer but I'm graduated now. I'm filming now and I don't have to go to school.
TeenHollywood: Yay! Are you one of those researchy actors? Did you have to run out and read all the "Cirque" books when you got the role?
Josh: I didn't actually. I liked not knowing and just going into it with a fresh mind. My younger brother has read all the books and my grandma has which is kinda weird, and so had my dad but I hadn't read them. Still haven't. I like going into everything with a fresh view on it. If I read the books, it's like I know too much about the character and I can't make him my own.
TeenHollywood: Makes sense. In the film Darren gets the "job" with the vampire that your character Steve badly wants. Have you had a friend get a job that you really wanted and did it break up the friendship? Or vice versa.. you get the job and friend can't take it?
Josh: It hasn't happened. I have a lot of friends who are actors and we do go up for the same roles sometimes but it's never been like a weird competition. If he gets it, I'm happy for him and if I get it they are happy for me. It's always been a very healthy, good relationship. I know, when I first started, I lived at the Oakwood Apartments (in L.A.). That place is a nightmare when it comes to the parents and the competition. Everybody is into everybody's business and they want to know who got what call back and who is going in to meet with who. That was bad.
TeenHollywood: I'll bet! Any injuries in the stunt scenes on "Cirque"? Like when you are swinging around on harnesses supposedly having a fight in the air.
Josh: There was a little tiny injury and that was one time when we (he and Chris Massoglia) were doing the fight scene and there's a scene where I head-butt him and we actually connected on one; a little goose-egg but that was it. They kept it all really safe.
TeenHollywood: Making the transition from child star to older teen now.. easy for you or kind of weird and difficult?
Josh: I'm still making that transition from a young actor to an adult actor. I'm in the in-between stage right now. It's important for me to make the transition as smooth as possible. I'm sure there will be bumps on any road you travel. For me, what's really important is choosing the right roles and working with great people. That's where I'm going with it. I want to do acting and I want to be a director at some point.
TeenHollywood: Cool. Do you already have your own production company?
Josh: We do. It's called Jet-Lag Productions. I was filming in New Zealand for two weeks then had to fly back to Toronto for one day of reshoots and go back. So I'm like 'Jet-Lag Productions...awesome!'
TeenHollywood: Massive exhaustion. Don't you wear some weird contacts in this movie?
Josh: Yeah. I have purple eyes.
TeenHollywood: Do you like doing films where you get to wear weird make-up or prosthetics?
Josh: It's fun. It enhances the performance even more. Makes it more fantastical and interesting, I think. When I read the script, I was trying to figure out ways to make Steve make that transition from regular Steve to Vampanese Steve. One of my ideas was to have contacts. So, I talked to Paul (Weitz) our director and we figured out that purple was the Vampaneze color.
Josh: We were tied to the set quite a bit but when we could get away we played basketball together. We love sports. That was good but hanging out with a person all day every day on set you kind of become really close to them and we became great friends and have hung out a lot since then.
TeenHollywood: Are you into horror films? Chris said he was more into the classic monster old ones than movies like Saw and gore stuff. How about you?
Josh: I love 'um! The Saw type of modern-day horror movie. I love getting scared and it takes a really good scary movie to scare me. One of my favorite modern-day vampire movies is 30 Days of Night. That was so good. I love those vampires. They were so different. But my favorite older vampire movie is The Lost Boys.
TeenHollywood: Which of Steve's powers would you want most to have?
Josh: I'd like to flit. Zip around like that. That's very cool. We shot that by wrestling with each other and spinning around up and down the aisles. Then they put a whole bunch of colors around us in computer.
TeenHollywood: Also looked cool. Which of the so-called freaks did you think was the coolest?
Josh: There's a guy who has a giant nose for a face. He's in the background but his prosthetics were incredible. Also, Alexander Ribs, played by Orlando Jones, the skinny guy. That was crazy-looking but they did that in post production so we didn't get to see that on set.
TeenHollywood: Was there anything actually crawling on you when the spider Octa bites you or did you have to imagine her?
Josh: There was. They had a little remote control sort of spider-shaped thing they put under my shirt attached to a line and the guys would pull it and it would slide up my shirt to look like the legs were moving around. But all the other Octa stuff was done with CG. I saw drawings and I also have a little stuffed animal version of it.
TeenHollywood: Did any funny goof ups happen on set?
Josh: We messed up a lot. There is always stuff like 'Oops!' But we had a lot of fun. Chris and I set off these little bombs we made out of water bottles and dry ice. We kept on exploding those down in the basement of the theater (where they were shooting the film) and there were rats crawling around. It was so much fun though.
TeenHollywood: Of you and Chris, who is more the prankster and who more the "we've gotta get to work" guy?
Josh: I think Chris is quite the prankster. I'm pretty on goal and like 'okay, we've gotta get back now' . He's like 'we've gotta get back now but let's just do one more!' We were both pranksters and having fun.
TeenHollywood: What music are you into now and are you an actor who likes to listen to music to before going into a scene?
Josh: I love listening to music before a scene. I listen to all sorts of stuff. I used to just listen to Hip Hop and that sort of thing but lately I've been loving Indie Rock and classic rock like Bob Dylan and Led Zeppelin.
TeenHollywood: What actress would you kill to be in a film with?
Josh: (no hesitation whatsoever) Natalie Portman! She's beautiful and she's just got the whole package. She's gorgeous and a truly talented actress and she's a super Harvard grad.
TeenHollywood: Ah, the beauty and smarts combo! What would you most like to do on a first date?
Josh: I'm a big fan of the beach. I think going to the beach is a great first date. It really can show you if the person is fun or not. Going to movie is fun but you don't get to talk to the person and get to know them. I'm into fun people and that's a good place to have fun with somebody.
TeenHollywood: Do you have a dream role or a character from literature or history you would really like to portray some day?
Josh: I do. It's Holden Caulfield (protagonist and antihero of J.D. Salinger's 1951 novel "The Catcher in the Rye"). But the problem is J.D. Salinger doesn't want anybody to do it except for him and he's too old. But I'm going to try to get ahold of it and see if there is any way if I talk to him or give him a little taste of what the performance would be like, just play the character and see what he thinks about it.
TeenHollywood: Never hurts to try. So why should everybody go and see Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant?
Josh: I think they should go see this movie because it's an interesting new spin on a vampire movie and it's really entertaining and it's funny and that's not something everybody expects from it. So, it will catch a lot of people off guard and I think they're gonna love it.
TeenHollywood: Hang in and good luck back on the Red Dawn set.
Josh: Thank you!
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