Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with Utopia Falls’ Robbie Graham-Kuntz

Inspired by the multitalented idols he grew up watching, Robbie Graham-Kuntz has carved his own lane as the modern-day triple threat of his generation. He brings his passion for acting, dance, and music into his latest project, Utopia Falls, a sci-fi, hip-hop drama that follows a group of teenagers who discover a forbidden archive of historical, cultural, and musical relics that change their lives forever. But not everyone is thrilled about this discovery—just ask Robbie’s character Tempo, who’s an advocate for order and structure. Pop Culturalist caught up with Robbie to chat about his career, Utopia Falls, and the biggest lesson he learned on set in his first role as a series regular.

Career

PC: You’re an actor, dancer, and singer. How did you discover your passion for the art?
Robbie: It started when I was a kid. I was always theatrical. I went to see a Cirque du Soleil show, and I was called up as an audience volunteer. I fell in love with that role and getting to play with all the clowns. Afterwards, a bunch of audience members came up to me and asked how long we rehearsed that. That moment was a catalyst. From then on, my parents decided it was time to look into an agent. I was in a musical theater program in high school, and it continued from there. It’s really the only career I’ve ever known.

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your career?
Robbie: That’s something that’s constantly evolving, especially with me because I don’t think I’ve ever had a clear path of “this is what I want to be” or “this is who I want to be like.” But as a kid, I think it was Gene Kelly because that’s who I watched growing up and that was my parents’ generation of the classic triple threat. That’s what got me excited about the industry and excited about the opportunity of acting, dancing, and singing. But I would say now, because I want to start doing action roles, I would say Tom Cruise is one of them. I love the art of motion capture, and I’ve been obsessed with it for the past four years, so I would say Andy Serkis is another one.

Utopia Falls

PC: You’re currently starring in Utopia Falls. What initially attracted you to this project?
Robbie: It’s a project that I feel like has never been done before. The young adult genre definitely has been done before but not this adoption of sci-fi and hip-hop mixed together. Hip-hop is such a predominant thing at the moment in every form of art, but especially in music. It’s always on the top of the charts, and it’s such a cultural shift from ten years ago.

This project felt very special. When it came through and I met with the team, that’s when I knew that this was something special. I know I’ve said “special” like five times, but when I met director RT Thorne and I met Tanisha Scott [choreographer] and Joe Mallozzi [showrunner], I felt like this was something being made because each of these people loved each thing that they brought to the project and they felt so incredibly passionate about it.

PC: Tempo has one of the most interesting arcs throughout the first season. Unlike most of the candidates in the Exemplar, he has an opposing view on the Archive. How did you prepare to tackle his journey in Season 1?
Robbie: Well, to some degree, Tempo is similar to me as a person. I’m pretty conservative as far as rule breaking goes. I’m always like, “We should think about what we’re doing here before we do it.” So I really channeled that view, and being a kid growing up, there are scenarios and friend groups where you always have that moment of like, “Should we go to this party? Should we go out with these people and have fun?” There’s always that devil/angel on your shoulder. So I thought about those decisions and channeling the hesitancy of being a sixteen-year-old in something as large as the Exemplar.

Off screen, I also tried to spend some time away from the group if I knew the next scene was where Tempo spent a lot of time by himself thinking about stuff. I felt like I could go out and chat with everyone, but I don’t feel like I would then be able to jump into a scene where I’ve been thinking about things by myself for a while.

PC: There’s a lot of interesting dynamics between Tempo and the rest of the characters. Which of his relationships were your favorites to explore and why?
Robbie: I would say that my favorite, which isn’t actually explored too much, is with Sage, who’s played by Devyn Nekoda. I find that her character and Tempo are very similar, but we have slight differences in our personalities. But throughout the group scenes, we’re both like, “Should we go do this or not?” Her and I would always be on the same side as far as views, and we had these little bits that I enjoyed because I think we both acknowledged that we were both cautious characters. I really enjoyed those slight interactions that we had. There are certain scenes where she’s always the person that backed me up, which was nice.

PC: There’s a lot that happens in the first season, and your character is really at the heart of a lot of that. While you might question his decisions, you understand where he’s coming from. Was that a challenge to toe the line between his actions and making sure that he didn’t come off as a villain?
Robbie: I found that if I was being honest with the things that I was bringing up and not trying to make a meal out of the concerns that I had or the concerns that Tempo had in the show, by the end you’ll see where he’s coming from. I tried to find the honesty in all of the concerns and tried to think of what was in the best interest for Aliyah, our friend group, and for society. There are times—even if you feel like you’re doing the right thing—that you still feel like a villain, especially if you’re bringing someone off this high point and bringing them back to reality. It can be quite villainous. But if you’re genuinely concerned about the possible outcome, I feel like you hope that people will see the reason behind you doing that.

PC: There’s a shocking reveal that impacts your character at the end of the season. How early on were you made aware of that? How do you think that impacts your character moving forward?
Robbie: It’s funny. We got the scripts about four or five days before we shot each episode. So I wasn’t aware of it until the end! Every time the script would come out, the cast and I were immediately scrolling through it to see what was happening. It’s the type of show where things can change on a dime. So we were interested in seeing what happened. When Kate [Drummond] and I found out, we were like, “What?” We hugged each other and started chatting about it. It was really cool. It makes total sense. Moving forward, it puts Tempo in a very different scenario than he was previously in. For me, Robbie, I’m hoping he uses his newfound power for good and helps out the group.

PC: This is your first role as a series regular. What were some of the biggest takeaways from this experience?
Robbie: That’s a great question. There are so many things that I took away from this project. Shooting a TV series and being a series regular changes the dynamic a lot from being a guest star. I think what I took away from the experience is to be transparent. While we were shooting the series, I found that I had so many questions, but I didn’t feel like anyone else was asking those questions or that everyone knew what they were doing. But the truth is we were all going through the exact same thing, and you’re always learning new things each time you step onto a set. So feel free to ask questions and touch base with people because it’s everyone’s project and everyone wants to be comfortable.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

PC: Guilty pleasure TV show?
Robbie: I’m going to answer this question a little differently. But my guilty pleasure is video games. I don’t feel guilty about the shows that I’m watching right now, but playing video games is something I can do hours on end.

PC: Favorite book?
Robbie: The Dip by Seth Godin. I read it a few years ago and it gave me a new fire.

PC: Favorite play or musical?
Robbie: I have so many answers to this, but I’ll say my favorite musical is probably West Side Story or Jesus Christ Superstar.

PC: A band or artist that fans would be surprised to learn is on your playlist?
Robbie: Ella Fitzgerald

PC: Who would play you in the story of your life?
Robbie: Maybe someone like Christopher Plummer.

To keep up with Robbie, follow him on Twitter and Instagram. Binge-watch Season 1 of Utopia Falls on Hulu today.

Photo Credit: Hulu