Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with Stargirl’s Christian Adam

2020 is shaping up to be a huge year for newcomer Christian Adam. An exciting new face in Hollywood, Christian is quickly drawing attention for landing coveted roles in two projects that everyone is already talking about: Irresistible and Stargirl. Pop Culturalist caught up with Christian to chat about his career and everything in the works.

Career

PC: How did you discover your passion for acting?
Christian: It was pretty much on a whim. I was just a little boy in Georgia. There was a little theater in my town, and I asked my parents to try it. I did a few plays with a bunch of different kids. It was all fun and games at the time, but if it weren’t all fun and games, I probably wouldn’t have liked it as much. I played a little goblin that cursed the princess.

PC: What’s been the biggest lesson you’ve learned since starting your career?
Christian: If you’re not enjoying yourself, it’s not worth doing. You have to bring yourself to the project. You can’t be too concerned about trying to fit yourself into the mold that you think they want; do what you think will be fun and exciting. That doesn’t always mean you’ll book the role, but I think you’ll find that you’ll bring a lot more to the role as a whole.

Irresistible

PC: What can you tell us about Irresistible?
Christian: We have Steve Carrell starring as well as a bunch of A-listers like Rose Byrne, Mackenzie Davis, and Chris Cooper. Steve Carrell plays a Democratic strategist who finds a diamond-in-the-rough veteran from a small town in Wisconsin and goes there from D.C. to help him become mayor. A rival strategist from the Republican side comes in to rival him. It becomes an important election on the national level, and hilarity ensues. It’s really funny, but it’s also got some serious stuff.

PC: With this being both a drama and comedy, was there room to improv? We know you have a comedic background.
Christian: I did get to improv! I play a tech kid from Wisconsin who may or may not help out Steve. I’m not super great at my job, but he doesn’t have the resources that he’s used to in D.C. There were a lot of scenes where I was able to improv with Steve Carrell.

Stargirl

PC: In addition to Irresistible, you’ll be starring in Stargirl. Tell us about your character and how you prepared.
Christian: Stargirl is based off a DC comic. If you’re a fan of the Stargirl comic, you’ll definitely want to see this. The writer of the comics was on the set, which was really cool. I play a nerd named Josh Hamman. He’s bully bait. I prepared for the role by having a lot of fun. I wanted to take the character to the height of the nerd stereotype and then bring it back down so it was grounded.

PC: Was there any pressure heading into that project?
Christian: I wasn’t too spooked by that; I thought it was so cool. I was impressed by the stunts, choreography, and how dedicated they were to remaining faithful to the source material.

PC: How familiar were you with the source material?
Christian: Not that much. I learned a lot about it by being on set. I would listen to all the actors and how excited they were about what their characters did in the comics and what they do in the show—they’d compare what was the same and what wasn’t. We’d all chat about what we thought what would happen next. It was really cool.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

PC: Guilty pleasure TV show?
Christian: I watch a lot of cartoons. I love Chowder, The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack, and Invader Zim.

PC: Guilty pleasure movie?
Christian: Pacific Rim or Scott Pilgrim. These are great movies, but sometimes I feel like I have to defend them at parties.

PC: Favorite play or musical?
Christian: I sing Les Mis a lot with my brother.

Catch Irresistible and Stargirl when they hit the silver and small screen in 2020!