Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with Big Time Adolescence’s Thomas Barbusca

Thomas Barbusca is a rising talent who’s taken Hollywood by storm. He’s made us laugh and touched our hearts on the small and silver screens in projects that include The Mick, Arrested Development, The Kids Are Alright, and Schooled. Next he’ll be seen in the laugh-out-loud coming-of-age film Big Time Adolescence starring opposite Pete Davidson, Sydney Sweeney, Colson Baker, and real-life best friend Griffin Gluck. Pop Culturalist caught up with Thomas to chat about his flourishing career and Big Time Adolescence.

Career

PC: How did you discover your passion for acting?
Thomas: I discovered my passion for acting halfway through my career. It was when I was working on Wet Hot American Summer. That’s when I started to really, really love it, and there wasn’t anything else I wanted to do.

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your career?
Thomas: As an actor, it’s always been DiCaprio and De Niro. They’ve played such a big part in why I wanted to be an actor. We don’t do similar work. I don’t do much drama as much as I would love to. I more or less work in the comedy field. These are two guys who I look up to, and I love all their work. I want to emulate their careers.

PC: You’ve had tons of success already in your young career. When you look back, is there a particular moment that stands out to you?
Thomas: I think it was doing Big Time Adolescence. That movie and experience was really special to me. I worked really hard to get my name in the conversation and to get my foot in the door. Being able to work your butt off and get it means so much more than it usually would.

Big Time Adolescence

PC: Tell us about the film and your character.
Thomas: The movie is about a teenager coming of age under the destructive guidance of his best friend, who is an aimless college dropout. I play a kid named Stacey who’s kind of an awful, terrible person. He’s the kid that everyone wants to punch in the throat. He’s a pest. He’s known by all and respected by none. He doesn’t have many good qualities at all, but I loved playing him. It was something different. I’m glad they let me be that character.

PC: What was the audition process like?
Thomas: The audition was crazy! I auditioned for Mo, Griffin Gluck’s character. I really wanted it more than anything. As I was walking into the audition room, I got a call from the showrunners of The Mick, and I knew it was bad news. I just had this feeling. I picked up the phone and they were like, “Hey, Tommy.” I was like, “Oh god. What is about to happen?” They told me that the show wasn’t getting picked up for another season and that the show was over now. I was crushed. That had never happened to me before. I was in shock. And I walked straight into the audition room and saw Griffin there. We talked for a second. I went into the audition room and I tried to do my best, but I was in a completely different world while I was auditioning.

The role didn’t end up going to either of us at that time. It went to someone else. Jason Orley [writer-director] called me and said, “I still want you in this movie. I just don’t know where.” He decided to put me as this character Stacey. Then the person attached to play Mo dropped out. He was obligated to something else. I was like, “Give me one more shot at this.” He was like, “Sure.” We FaceTimed, and I gave the best audition I could, but at the end of the day, I wasn’t that character. I wasn’t that quiet, more reserved type. I ended up staying as Stacey. I was on the phone with Jason and he was like, “I’m still looking for Mo.” He said some of the names and then said Griffin Gluck, who’s my best friend. We’ve been working together for years. I said, “Please! Whatever you do, hire Griffin! This movie will be so amazing with him in it. He’s phenomenal.” He was like, “That’s who I wanted to choose anyway! This is so great.” Griffin kills it in this movie. I got to work with my best friend again and our chemistry is really great. This is our third or fourth project together. It’s actually crazy thinking about the fact that I got to work with my best friend over and over again.

PC: Speaking of chemistry, you can tell that the cast really got along well. How did you all build that bond?
Thomas: I have known Sydney Sweeney since I was seven years old. We went to school together. We don’t have any scenes together but there was already a connection there. A lot of us knew each other beforehand. Sometimes I feel like everything has to be right and fit perfectly in place for a movie like this, and everything checked the box. Pete [Davidson] and Griffin’s chemistry is insane. It feels like they’ve been friends for thirty years. The chemistry is what makes this movie so great. It’s so real. You don’t feel like you’re watching actors put on a performance.

PC: We heard the cast had a lot of opportunity to improv. With your comedic background, is there a scene that wasn’t in the original script that made the cut?
Thomas: Improv is a lot of fun. But with Big Time Adolescence, the script is so good. It feels wrong to not speak Jason’s words. But we did improv a bit, and it was a lot of fun. It was strongly encouraged and just puts everyone at ease. I’m not sure if I can remember one scene. We did thirty different takes of every scene that I was in.

PC: With this being a coming-of-age story, what’s one piece of advice you would give your younger self?
Thomas: Oh man. I’m just now growing up and learning about life and maturing. When you’re younger, you think you have it all figured out, but as you get older, you realize you really don’t. [laughs] Actually, I wish my younger self could give advice to my older self and tell him to stay calm, be happy, and don’t stress about things. That’s been a problem for me in the past year. You turn a certain age and you get anxiety as things are changing. I would flip your question and have my younger self give advice to my older self.

PC: What do you hope audiences take away from the film?
Thomas: This is one of the first coming-of-age stories that’s actually real. I’m sure everyone can relate to it. I hope they leave and say, “Damn. That was a great movie.” I can relate to it on a lot of levels. Everyone had that one friend growing up who was a terrible influence but you love them.

To keep up with Thomas, follow him on Twitter and Instagram. Catch Big Time Adolescence on Hulu today.

Photo Credit: Luke Fontana