Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with Zach Avery

Zach Avery is a leading man to keep your eye on. He has not one, but two films making their way around the festival circuit, and they both have audiences and critics talking. Additionally, he’ll be seen starring in the film Last Moment of Clarity next year. We were lucky enough to chat with Zach about all his projects, how he discovered his passion for acting, and how fatherhood has impacted his career.

PC: How did you discover your passion for acting?
Zach: I’ve always had an interest in psychology. I always had that drive to figure out why people do the things they do, what makes them tick, and how they soak up what’s going on around them. Then [I found] there was this job that would pay me to put that on display?! Acting gave me the opportunity to put a microscope on the world and to interpret people’s actions and their dialog with others. That’s how we got where we are.

PC: What would you say is the biggest lesson that you’ve learned being a part of this industry?
Zach: Trust your gut! You have a lot of influences coming at you from all these different angles—whether it’s agents, managers, producers, other actors—and they’re all pulling you in different directions. At the end of the day, you’re the only person who really knows what’s going to fulfill you and what you want to do. You have to trust that instinct. If you do that, you’ll never disappoint.

PC: You recently just had a son. How has fatherhood impacted your career?
Zach: It’s been the best thing in the world, and it’s had a huge impact on my career. It’s a big factor in the jobs that I’m looking at and the jobs I ultimately take. I have to think about my schedule, how long I’m going to be gone, and where I’ll shooting—all of those things.

PC: You have two projects out right now. Tell us about Farming, your character, and what drew you to the project?
Zach: In Farming, I play a guy named Martin, who essentially is a parole officer for Enitan, Damson Idris’ character. Enitan is actually Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (director, writer) in real life. It’s his story and what happened when he was a child.

During that time, there was a system called farming. They took these African kids and “farmed” them out to London, where they were put in a foster care system. His character basically grew up in an extremely racist environment where, because of all the things that happened to him, he ended up becoming a part of this skinhead gang and hating people that looked like him. I was tasked as his parole officer, who should be trying to get him on the right path, but the problem is that my character’s ideologies are extremely racist. I’m not that great of a guy. Along the way, I instigate certain actions and push him farther towards the deep end rather than helping him.

It was an interesting, layered role because I don’t share the same personal beliefs as him, but as an actor, you have to take that away and not judge the character. You have to live in that time period in order to bring authenticity to it, especially because it’s Adewale’s story.

PC: What was the experience like working with somebody who’s so closely tied to this project?
Zach: It’s amazing because a lot of times you get a script and you have a lot of questions. With this being Adewale’s story, he lived and breathed it. He would tell us real, personal stories that weren’t in the script. For example, there’s a scene where a fight takes place in the field: he told us what happened, how he was feeling, how it turned out, and the aftermath of that experience. It’s so beneficial to be able to talk with someone who’s been there, especially when you’re trying to recreate it.

Also, it was incredible to watch him work with Damson Idris, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Kate Beckinsale, and all these amazing actors. It was a master class.

PC: The film is making its way around the festival circuit right now. What do you hope audiences take away?
Zach: The film is extremely violent and hard to watch at times, but at the end of the day, you see a character who gets torn apart, both emotionally and physically, but he makes it through and in the end, you get to see Adewale today, who’s a great person, actor, and active in his community. I want audiences to see the hope in it. You may look at your life today and think, “How am I going to get out of this?” but there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel. You just have to find it.

PC: Great answer. You’re also starring in The White Crow. Can you tell us about that film, your character in it, and what drew you to that particular project?
Zach: The White Crow is directed by Ralph Fiennes, who’s a beast as an actor and an artist. He’s what drew me to this project. Initially, I had no real thought that I would get this. I just wanted to get in a room with this guy to meet him and experience his presence. The audition went really well and he cast me in the role of Michael, who’s an English journalist following the defection of Rudolf Nureyev, a famous ballet dancer, west of Russia. Along the way, my character is tracking his progress of why he’s doing the things he’s doing, how the KGB feels with everything going on, and how it’s impacting his career.

PC: If your son decided that he wanted to pursue a career in acting, what advice would you give him?
Zach: I would tell him to trust your gut. Like I mentioned before, you’re going to have a lot of people coming at you from all different angles, and you need to follow what your internal thought is saying. The second thing I would say is pay attention to the material. There are a lot of times when you might get a role that you know deep down you don’t really love or you’re not really confident in the people you’re working with, but you take it because it’s a role, it’s a job, and it’s very hard to get jobs. But sometimes, at the end of the day, it’ll come back to bite you. Be cautious about who you work with and what you work on, even if it’s at the very beginning.

PC: Have there been moments of doubt? How did you overcome them?
Zach: We all have our doubts and our insecurities, especially when you’re going to 500 auditions in six months and hearing “no” at every single one. It’s cliché to say, but the drive and knowing that this is the only thing that I really want to do and can be doing is what got me through. There’s nothing else that I could give 100% of myself to that I would be passionate about. There’s no Plan B. This is Plan A, and when you know that no matter what, you’re going to make this work, you eventually will.

PC: Besides Farming and The White Crow, do you have any other upcoming projects that you can chat about at this time?
Zach: I shot a film called Last Moment of Clarity at the beginning of 2018 with James and Colin Krisel, who wrote and directed it. It has myself, Samara Weaving, Carly Chaikin, Brian Cox, and a really cool cast. It’s a thriller about a guy named Sam, who I play, that witnesses the murder of his fiancé and moves to Paris to run away and get his life back together. There, he ends up watching a movie and sees a mysterious woman on screen that looks weirdly like his fiancé that he saw get murdered. He goes on this mission to figure out what happened and if she’s dead or alive. It’s a very Hitchcock-ian type of thriller that I’m really excited about.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

PC: Guilty pleasure TV show?
Zach: My guilty pleasure TV show is honestly Keeping Up with the Kardashians. It’s so bad, but my wife and I watch it all the time. I can’t not watch it. It’s just…it’s bad.

PC: Guilty pleasure movie?
Zach: I’m a huge fan of Jerry Maguire. I don’t necessarily think that’s a guilty pleasure, but it’s truly one of my favorite movies. It’s kind of a romantic film, so it’s not the manliest, but I love it anyway.

PC: Favorite book?
Zach: Hm…maybe Tim Ferris’ The 4-Hour Workweek. I read it about a year ago. It was a really interesting read about how other people view the way that they dive into work.

PC: Favorite play or musical?
Zach: I saw Hamilton in New York, and it just blew my socks off. It’s absolutely incredible.

PC: A band or artist that fans would be surprised to learn is on your playlist?
Zach: Shawn Mendes

PC: Last show you binge-watched?
Zach: My wife and I just binge-watched 30 Rock.

PC: Hidden talent?
Zach: I play the piano pretty well. I don’t know if that’s a hidden talent, but a lot of people don’t know that about me.

Keep up with this rising star by following him on Instagram.

Photo Credit: Bobby Quillard Photography