Pop Culturalist Chats with Charlie DePew

Charlie DePew is one of the most exciting fresh faces in Hollywood. He’s an actor, writer, and entrepreneur. He’s currently stealing scenes as Jake, an aspiring writer, on the hit Freeform show, Famous in Love. Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to chat with Charlie about the show, what keeps him motivated, and where he would like to see his character in season two.

PC: What attracted you to Famous in Love and your character?
Charlie: I’m a huge fan of Entourage and the fact that it’s a TV series about Hollywood life and what is entailed. I really enjoyed the fact that Famous in Love is kind of a reboot of that concept, just more directed towards female audiences. Also, I love my character. He is a really awesome, ambitious, motivated individual, and I admire him. I see a relationship with myself, Charlie, and Jake the character.

PC: Do you remember your first Hollywood audition?
Charlie: I do. The first one wasn’t very eventful. It was for a pilot called Sugarloaf, but the second one was for Shake It Up, where I auditioned to play Deuce, who is the best friend of Bella in that show. It was between me and Adam and I didn’t get it. I was really upset, but it all worked out okay.

PC: As an actor, do you think this show is a good depiction on what Hollywood life is like?
Charlie: Yeah. It may be a little unrealistic sometimes because it’s not every day that an actress gets a casting call and then books the biggest movie ever but as far as what goes on in the A-lister world and the relationships, it’s a pretty good depiction.

PC: If you weren’t part of the show, would you be team Jake or team Rainer?
Charlie: Team Jake, for sure. Jake is much more loyal; he isn’t a player. Rainer is the typical cool guy that every young teenage guy wants to be when they grow up. I don’t think teenagers want to be Jake when they grow up—at least not in the first season—but yeah, I’d be team Jake.

PC: How has the fan reception been now that the show is out and you can binge-watch the entire series?
Charlie: It’s been amazing. I haven’t seen one negative thing yet. I’ve seen probably a thousand or more mentions on Twitter and comments on Instagram and all of them are asking for season two, so that answers your question.

PC: Do you have a favorite scene or moment from the show?
Charlie: One of the first scenes with Jake in the pilot—where we’re in the theater and they find out Paige booked this movie and we geek out. That scene sticks out because it’s the first scene I shot and only 24 hours prior to that being shot, I got the call that I was going to be Jake.

PC: You shared an honest post on Instagram about the struggles of being an actor. What kept you motivated when you were ready to give up?
Charlie: Just the fact that I’ve come so far. It was a thing like, ‘If I’ve been doing this for eight years, why stop?’ I feel like I would have had a completely different life if I quit. Most people are like, ‘I’ve been doing this for eight years; I should quit because I’ve been doing this and it hasn’t worked out’. I was like ‘I’m so far along. It’s been eight years. Why would I quit now?’ There was the interior voice saying, ‘Why would I quit now? I’ve been doing this for eight years and I put so much work in. All that would be wasted away if I stopped’.

PC: If you could give one piece of advice to your younger self, what would it be?
Charlie: Be more patient. Patience is key, especially in the film industry, considering it can take people years and years. I’m pretty sure it took Jim Carrey 15 or 20. There were plenty of actors that hadn’t gotten any sort of roles for decades and then booked a role and it took them to the top. I definitely think as far as acting goes, patience is key.

PC: What are some of your hopes for Jake in season two?
Charlie: In season two, I want to see him be a lot more in his skin, I want him to be a lot more confident and motivated. He seeks a lot of validation in the first season; he wants people to like his scripts. In season two, I want him to know his scripts are good. He knows that the work he’s doing is quality. I want to see him get the girl.

PC: How did the cast build its chemistry?
Charlie: It kind of happened right off the bat. We all got along great. There have been plenty of times in my life where that hasn’t been the case. I probably got the closest to Bella. Bella and I are really good friends now. The chemistry worked out that way. In terms of how we built that chemistry, it was just from hanging out on set.

PC: We spoke to your co-star, Niki, a while ago. We played a game of word association. What’s the first word that comes to mind when you think of Bella?
Charlie: Fearless

PC: Carter?
Charlie: Charming

PC: Keith?
Charlie: Bad-ass

PC: Georgie?
Charlie: Sweet

PC: Niki?
Charlie: Golden age, like golden age Hollywood. When I think of Audrey Hepburn, I think of that kind of…

PC: Pepi?
Charlie: Extraordinary

PC:You’ve done film and television. What’s the biggest difference between the two and do you have a preference on which you prefer?
Charlie: Yeah, film and TV are different. For TV, you stick with one character for a very long time; the film is like a three-month thing. I would say the biggest differences are the way they’re shot. If it’s a movie, it’s more cinematic. You can tell that the shots are way nicer and the lighting is way nicer, the make-up is way nicer, and that’s typically because there’s a lot more money spent on a movie. When I did The Amazing Spider-Man, there’s a scene where we’re all sitting around the dinner table. That scene took one whole day to shoot—one single scene. If that were in Famous in Love, that scene would have taken us about four to five hours. TV moves a lot faster because there’s a lot more content on a way smaller budget, whereas movies—they can spend 15 million dollars on that film.

PC: You’re also an entrepreneur. Can you tell us about Respark and how that started?
Charlie: I started a company, Respark, with a few of my buddies back in high school and basically we focus on thematic Instagram accounts and do integrated marketing through those accounts for different companies. At the same time, we started the production of an app called Toybox. I can’t give you too much information about that right now, but it will be out this summer, hopefully July or August. The purpose of the app is that the platform is ad for games, so they’re advertising in the form of games that kids can play and basically, it came out when we thought of actively trying to avoid advertising—how can we get them to engage in it? They’re avoiding 30-second ads—how can we get them to engage with our ad? That was the base of the plan, and so far, we’ve gotten good feedback on the feature of the app and we think it’ll be legit.

PC: How do you find the time between acting, being an entrepreneur, and writing?
Charlie: I’m still figuring it out, honestly. Figuring out this stuff is pretty difficult, but I’m getting better at it each day. I think the most important thing is just keeping to the schedule. Ever since I’ve been using a calendar—about a year ago—things have been way easier to manage.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

PC: Guilty pleasure TV show?
Charlie: Rick and Morty

PC: Guilty pleasure movie?
Charlie: Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure

PC: A favorite book?
Charlie: Ready Player One

PC: Good one! Have you read his second book?

Charlie: I haven’t! Our executive producer, Dan Farah, is also the executive producer for the film.

PC: A band or artist that fans would be surprised to learn is on your playlist?
Charlie: Space Jesus, which is like super deep, slow dubstep music. I’m a pretty hardcore raver honestly—I’m the guy in mosh pits at festivals. I like deep-house music, I like Slander, Nightmare—all that stuff.

PC: Favorite social media platform?
Charlie: Instagram

PC: Hidden talent?
Charlie: I can cook!

PC: Go-to karaoke song?
Charlie: “Every Rose Has Its Thorns” by Poison.

Make sure to follow Charlie on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

Photo Credit: Freeform/Nino Munoz