Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with Love, Victor’s Anthony Turpel

Anthony Turpel has stolen our hearts with his breakout performance in Hulu’s Love, Victor. The series follows the titular character and his journey to self-discovery while he’s adjusting to a new city and trying to hold his family together.

Anthony plays Felix, the awkward but lovable neighbor who befriends the show’s protagonist and steals any scene he’s in, bringing to life the different layers of his character.

Pop Culturalist caught up with Anthony to learn more about his life, his career, Love, Victor, and his hopes for a Season 2.

Career

PC: How did you discover your passion for acting?
Anthony: I was five years old and in The Wizard of Oz. I was one of the Lollipop Guild. I did that and I fell in love with it. I wanted to do more. I started doing more plays and started taking classes. Eventually, I accidentally got an agent. [laughs] It continued from there.

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your career?
Anthony: My mom has always supported me. That’s been a huge help. I wouldn’t be here without her. She’s definitely a big influence. And my love for the craft. Ever since I could remember, I wanted to be an actor. I really wanted it, and I worked pretty hard to get here. But I would say my mom most of all though!

Thorsten Kaye is also someone who really helped me out. He really took me under his wing, and I really appreciate that. He taught me Shakespeare and things like that.

PC: This is the second time in your career that you’ve been a series regular. What did you learn on the set of The Bold and the Beautiful that you brought over to Love, Victor?
Anthony: The Bold and the Beautiful is a very different type of show. It’s probably some of the hardest types of TV I’ve ever experienced. We were doing two episodes a day. That’s a hundred and twenty pages, so you have to learn really fast. It was such a well-oiled machine. It’s been on for like thirty years. So you’re with these guys that have been working on this show for thirty years. They’ve got it down pat. You’re coming in as a newcomer, and that’s so intimidating.

I really had to learn scripts fast and how they did things. You learn the idea, and it goes from there. Those are some of the hardest-working people I’ve ever met. It was a joy to work with them.

Love, Victor

PC: Tell us about Love, Victor, your character, and what drew you to this project.
Anthony: My character, Felix, is this lanky, awkward neighbor who kind of forces his friendship with a guy named Victor. Felix has no friends, and Victor has no friends, so Felix feels like it’s the perfect opportunity to finally have a friend. He came on a little strong, but I think anyone who meets Felix, you eventually fall in love with him. He’s such a sweet, amazing guy. He’s always there for you and has a lot of great qualities.

Love, Victor is about this kid who is confused about his sexuality. He’s trying to figure out who he is. He definitely makes some mistakes along the way, but I think it’s definitely something a lot of young kids are going to resonate with, if they haven’t already. It’s a really, really well-told, well-written, beautiful story. I’m super thankful to be a part of it.

I was drawn to this project, first because of the character. I love Felix. I love playing him and discovering Felix with the help of the writers and my cast. That was a lot of fun. I also loved Love, Simon. It was a fantastic movie. So I was super excited about this project.

PC: Like you were saying, at the start of the season, Felix comes off as this very happy-go-lucky guy. Then as the season goes on, we get to see different layers to him. How early on did you know his backstory? Which side of Felix is your favorite to portray?
Anthony: I learned about his backstory as the episodes were coming in. When we hit Episode 6, that’s when I knew that big conversation with Lake was going to happen. When we hit Episode 7, I knew I was going to show Lake my apartment. I was learning the story as we were going, and that was a lot of fun.

Felix has so many layers. I think there’s even more that we can explore if we get a Season 2! I really enjoyed all of his different sides. I love comedy. I loved trying to make the cast and crew laugh and playing jokes. Sometimes it worked; sometimes it didn’t. [laughs] But I also really loved the emotional parts. The conversation with Lake when she finds out that my mom is a hoarder was a fun scene to portray. It was written amazingly. I thought the angler fish scene was fantastic. I love playing with Bella. She plays Pilar [Salazar]. That whole episode was a blast because we didn’t get to work with each other too much. That one we got to sit down and play off each other. I also think the coming-out scene was beautiful. Michael [Cimino] did an amazing job. That was a fun scene to portray.

PC: That’s the perfect segue too. You and your character have a lot of really standout moments throughout the series. If you had to choose one, which was your favorite?
Anthony: Ah, don’t make me do that! The coming-out scene was beautifully done. It was something that we were building towards and it finally happened. I was so lucky to be the first person that Victor tells in the show. The way that Felix reacts should be the norm for how everyone acts. It really showed how much Felix cares for Victor and how much Victor cares for Felix. That was definitely a standout moment.

For me, personally, I think the boys’ trip when I stood up to Andrew was definitely a standout. That was a huge shift in Felix’s character. For someone who was getting pushed around a ton and tries to look on the bright side of things to say, “You know what? No. I’m putting my foot down.” I loved that scene. Mason [Gooding] did an incredible job. I loved working with him.

Those are definitely standouts, but every scene was so much fun. I had so many great memories.

PC: The series has been out for a week now. It’s been really well received. What do you think is resonating most with audiences?
Anthony: I definitely think it’s Victor’s storyline. A lot of kids are confused these days, and there aren’t enough LGBTQ+ storylines out there. These stories need to be told. They need to be told in the right way so that people who are confused can turn to it and not feel as alone. I think our writers did a fantastic job in doing that.

PC: Like you stated earlier, there’s a lot of story that can still be told. If you could pitch a storyline for Felix, what would it be and why?
Anthony: No one has asked me that yet! Whatever the writers do, I know it’s going to be fantastic. That said, I would love to see more of his mom, and I’d love to learn where his dad is. I would love to see what happened to that relationship or if there’s one at all. So definitely more with Felix’s parents. I’d also like to see where Lake’s relationship goes. That was a huge moment for Lake. How is that going to change the dynamic in their relationship? I’m really interested to see that stuff.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

PC: Guilty pleasure TV show?
Anthony: I watch this show to calm my anxiety. It’s called Octonauts. Have you seen it?

PC: I haven’t.

Anthony: It’s made for seven-year-olds. [laughs] It teaches you about the ocean. It’s these cute little characters that walk around. I fall asleep to it, and it’s super soothing.

PC: Guilty pleasure movie?
Anthony: It’s definitely not a guilty pleasure because I do not feel guilty about it, but I love this movie so much that I’m going to talk about it anyway because I want people who haven’t seen it to watch it. It’s called Walk Hard. Have you seen that movie?

PC: I also haven’t seen that one.

Anthony: What? It’s so good. It’s on Netflix. Please watch it. It’s one of the funniest movies I’ve ever seen.

PC: Favorite book?
Anthony: It’s a trilogy. It’s called The Enemy, The Fallen, The Dead by Charlie Higson. It’s basically about a zombie apocalypse where everyone sixteen turns into these creatures. There’s different types of them. They’re called moms and dads because it’s all the parents. The only people that are surviving are these kids who didn’t get to experience the real world before this happened. They band together. These kids move into groups, and they have clan wars. You grow attached to these characters. It’s brutal, so read with caution. It’s super, super good. I like the storytelling.

PC: Favorite play or musical?
Anthony: Dear Evan Hansen. The soundtrack kills. I heard Ben Platt kills it as Evan Hansen.

PC: A band or artist that fans would be surprised to learn is on your playlist?
Anthony: Steam Powered Giraffe. These guys, back in 2009, were street performers. They pretended to be robots. They sing and dance. They do these little improv skits as these robots. I found them back in 2014. They’re my favorite band of all time. They have amazing music. Their lineup changes a lot. [laughs] Whenever that happens, their music changes as well.

For example, there’s a guy called the Spine. They have this whole lore. It’s the Spine, Rabbit, and the Jon. Jon left and Hatchworth came in. Then that switched up their music. Then Hatchworth left, and they brought Zero in. That switched up the music again. They have a lot of different types of music. I suggest “Honeybee” for your first listen!

PC: Who would play you in the story of your life?
Anthony: Oh! I keep getting compared to a few different people. I don’t see some of them, but they’re all attractive. I hear Shawn Mendes, which I definitely don’t see.

PC: I can see that!

Anthony: Can you? I looked in the mirror the other day and I was like, “Nah.” I also get Dylan O’Brien.

PC: I can see that too! Dylan O’Brien’s character on Teen Wolf actually reminds me of Felix.

Anthony: I’ve heard that too! Let’s go with Dylan O’Brien.

To keep up with Anthony, follow him on Twitter and Instagram. Binge-watch Season 1 of Love, Victor today.

Photo Credit: Gilles Mingasson/Hulu