Exclusive Interview: Austin Stowell Chats The Hating Game, His Favorite Josh and Lucy Moment, and More

Audiences are falling head over heels with Austin Stowell’s performance as Joshua Templeman in the must-see rom-com The Hating Game.

Resolving to achieve professional success without compromising her ethics, Lucy (Lucy Hale) embarks on a ruthless game of one-upmanship against cold and efficient nemesis Joshua (Austin Stowell), a rivalry that is complicated by her growing attraction to him.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to catch up with Austin to chat about The Hating Game, his favorite Josh/Lucy moment, and we learned a little bit more about the actor himself.’

PC: This adaptation does not work without the chemistry between Josh and Lucy. Was there a moment when you were filming this project, or during Fantasy Island, that you and Lucy realized you had that connection and you could bring these beloved characters to life on screen?
Austin: A lot of times when you’re working with someone, they say, “It cooks,” which means it works. Sometimes scenes can fly—that’s because of your natural chemistry with that other person. From day one, when Lucy and I started working together, it was like, “Oh, this works. This works well.”

We even said to each other during Fantasy Island that it was a shame that our characters don’t really see each other. When we do, it’s always with a third person. That was the nature of the beast. Not that there’s anything wrong with Fantasy Island, but in this one, we got to have that time to be one on one. I think it really worked.

PC: A huge reason why Josh is the person he is today is because of his past and his family. What was your process like developing him for the screen?
Austin: This is a guy who is trying to impress his father and I can relate to that. I feel like most young boys can, especially when they have older brothers—I’m the youngest of three. You’re trying to stand out and come out of the shadows. I really like that Josh was going his own way in life. Despite the expectations for him to become a doctor, he walked away. This is a really difficult thing for him on the daily to try and overcome. That process for me allows me to have the underlying emotion constantly.

He’s absolutely head over heels for this girl that sits eight feet across from him for ten, twelve hours a day, Monday through Friday, but underlying all that, there’s this driving force and a wave that influences all of his decisions.

PC: A part of the fun of adapting a book to the screen is fans will get to see their favorite moments brought to life in a different medium. For you, what was your favorite Josh and Lucy moment?
Austin: Oh, wow. Personally, I enjoyed the final scene, which was actually our final day of shooting, because I love New York. I’m here working in New York right now. I feel like whenever you work in New York, that New York itself is a character. To be on the Highline and have this really beautiful moment up there was touching to me, personally.

PC: As we get towards the end of the story, it becomes apparent that Josh has loved Lucy from the beginning. As an actor, you’ve dropped subtle hints throughout your performance leading up to that point. What was your process like finding those moments where you could interject those little hints?
Austin: Josh’s main problem is not saying what he means and meaning what he says, which is what makes it a lot of fun at the same time. If he walked in, in the first moment of the film when you see them across from each other, and he puts his pen down and is like, “Hey Lucy, you know what? I’m madly in love with you, but I’m really trying to figure out this relationship we have at work,” it wouldn’t make for a fun movie, you know? It was talking about the undercurrent with his family. Josh is putting up a front; he’s wearing a shield all the time, and that’s constantly what I was reminding myself: “Throw up the shield. Throw up the shield.”

PC: This is your first venture into the rom-com genre, and you’ve set the bar really high for yourself. What did you learn about this experience that you’ll bring to the next?
Austin: I’m flattered to hear you say that. That’s great. I’m someone who likes to watch my performances. I think like an athlete. You can learn from watching the tapes. You can see when the timing works and when “it cooks”. Every now and again, I’ll have notes for myself.

There’s a phrase in acting called “letting the air out” when a scene drops. When the air falls out, you’re trying to fill those moments more and more. I was able to tweak some things in our ADR session at the end because I felt like there were times when I was being too realistic, too dramatic, too harsh. I wanted to lighten those up a little bit because they weren’t coming off as intended. I was like, “Whoa, you know, that’s too much. It’s too much.” They were a bit too sharp.

PC: You’ve talked in the past about the pressures of bringing this character to life. With the film out, I wonder if you’ve had the opportunity to see the fan response. It’s been overwhelmingly really positive. What has that meant to you?
Austin: It’s been so much fun. I’ve never had this much interaction with fans before who were such fans of the source material to begin with. I was trepidatious for sure. Leading up to it I was like, “I really hope they like it. I hope they like my portrayal of Josh. Did I take enough away from the book in order to give them the Josh that they thought about in their heads?”

There are some of my favorite books that have come to life. Sometimes the mark has been met, and sometimes it’s been missed. I was fearful that they wouldn’t like it. Of course, that’s in your head, but seeing their reaction so far has been great. They reach out on social media, through Instagram stories. They reach out in my DMs. I’ve been trying to reach back out to people. If anybody sees this, please reach out. I’ll do my best to answer you. Thank you for your love and support.

PC: Fans really want a sequel or for this to be adapted to a television series. What are your thoughts on potentially continuing the story?
Austin: An actor who turns down work is not a very smart actor. [laughs]

PC: You’ve said in the past that you’ve always chased good stories. What’s next for you?
Austin: I’m in the middle of that process right now. I’m shooting a series in New York for Showtime called Three Women, based on another very popular book. I did a couple of projects for Netflix. One’s a horror film and the other is a survivalist TV show. My schedule’s a little busy working here, but at the same time, it never stops. I’m always auditioning. I’m always taking meetings and reading scripts and trying to figure out the next one after this.

PC: How did you discover your passion for storytelling?
Austin: It was really my parents. My parents were both great storytellers. My mom’s a teacher. Teachers have to be incredible actors themselves; they’re constantly bringing stories to life. She taught elementary school. My father was really enigmatic. I can retell his stories because he told them so well. Things where you’re like, “Oh, I’ve heard this story” that he’s telling somebody else for the umpteenth time, but they all stick with me now because they’re great. They’re great stories. The way he told them was really captivating. They were my original teachers.

But I think it was really when I got to college and I discovered Shakespeare, because I had always had such a passion for history. His retellings of history really brought them to life for me. I was like, “Oh man, this is poetry. But this is historic. This is epic.” I knew right then what I wanted to be for the rest of my life.

PC: You’ve had a lot of success already in your career. When you look back, is there a particular moment that stands out?
Austin: Several. Every single one of these projects that I’ve worked on is its own little gift. They always say that the process is the gift. When the movie comes out, our job is done; it’s up to the people at that point. If they like it, they like it.

Dolphin Tale was at the beginning of my career. It was amazing getting to work with an animal that touches the lives of truly hundreds of thousands of people, if not millions. It was so sad to hear the news about her passing. Then, Catch 22 and getting to live in Italy. It goes on. I almost have to remind myself to take that pause every now and again, and be like, “Wow, how grateful I am for this career that I have.” To do what I love to do, travel the world, and make a living doing it, I can’t tell you how incredibly lucky I feel and how grateful I am for it.

PC: Do you have a dream role that you would love to play in the future? I know one of your brothers is also a producer. Is there ever a chance that we’ll see you behind the camera as well?
Austin: Absolutely. That’s something we’re already working on. A dream job? I’ve been a little more than obsessed with Mickey Mantle. I love his story. You have this American hero who had a very dark side. It was at a time when you didn’t print bad press about your heroes. There’s a book out there called The Last Boy by Jane Levy, and she talks about showing the light within the darkness. I’ve always thought that that’s exactly the kinds of characters that I would like to play—getting to show the darkness within the light, but the light within the dark. Any kind of duality, but in particular he’s always been very close to me.

To keep up with Austin, follow him on Twitter and Instagram. Watch The Hating Game wherever you stream movies today.