Pop-Culturalist.com

Jimmy Bellinger knows how to make people laugh. His brilliant comedic timing has played an integral part in him landing coveted roles in various indie films, television, and nationwide commercials. You’ll probably best recognize him as the face of Skittles or for one of the many characters he’s played in shows including The Middle, Liv and Maddie, and Shameless. This April, Jimmy is making his studio film debut in Universal Pictures’ laugh-out-loud comedy, Blockers, starring alongside John Cena, Leslie Mann, and Ike Barinholtz. We spoke with Jimmy ahead of the release to learn more about his character, how often the actors went off the cuff, and what surprised him most about this project.

PC: Tell us about Blockers, your character, and what drew you to this project.
Jimmy: Blockers is a story about three young women who are all seniors in high school, and they’re about to go to their prom. One of them, Julie, decides that she wants to finally lose her virginity to her boyfriend, and she wants her two best friends to do the same. She wants them to have this last hoorah together before she goes away to college because she fears that they’ll never see each other again. They make this sex pact, but their parents end up finding out, and they do everything to stop the girls! I play Chad, who is Sam’s (Gideon Adlon) best friend, and her dad is Hunter (Ike Barinholtz).

Basically, the parents are scared for their daughters, and they’re afraid to see them grow up. But the girls want to do this. My character isn’t even aware of his friend’s intentions. He’s this dorky, theatre kid, and as you’ve seen in the trailer, he decides to go to prom in a fedora, because why not! [laughs]

What drew me to this project was the script! It was really funny, and it kept changing because they kept coming up with new ideas. You never knew what you were going to get. It was a really fun role that I liked. There was so much possibility and craziness. Plus, I got to work with a lot of people that I always wanted to work with and that I respect.

PC: With this being a comedy, did the cast have the opportunity to go off the cuff, and do a little bit of adlib?
Jimmy: Oh definitely! You always want to get a take with the lines as they’re written, but if we had an idea, we had the freedom to adlib. While we were filming, we had some of the writers there with Kay, our director, and they were coming up with new ideas and lines on set. The creative freedom is one of the reasons why comedy is so much fun.

PC: From the trailer, we can see that the film has a lot of great one liners. Do you have a favorite?
Jimmy: Oh man! That is a tough one. You’re 100% correct; there are a lot of great one liners. I can’t pick a favorite! There are too many good ones.

PC: It’s your studio film debut! What surprised you the most? Was it a lot different from other projects you’ve worked on?
Jimmy: You know what surprised me the most was that it wasn’t too different from other stuff that I’ve worked on. At the end of the day, a set is a set. There are obvious budget differences. I feel like with a lot of studio movies, they can be very hands on, which is understandable because they’re financing it. But I felt like with Universal, that wasn’t the case. They put a lot of trust in Kay, the producers, and the cast.

Photo Credit: Universal Pictures

PC: How much of yourself would you say is in your character?
Jimmy: I would say maybe like 60%. We definitely have similarities. Chad is a real dork, not to say that I’m not, because I am. He’s very innocent, fun-loving, and shy, especially when it comes to girls and romantic feelings. I feel like he’s much more of a childlike person in that sort of sense more so than I am. But at the same time, we’re very similar. We both love music, and I think that’s why they added some of that to this character. He also loves musical theatre and I did a lot of that before I did film.

PC: Do you have a dream role?
Jimmy: My dream role is every role that keeps me working. [laughs] I love working and I love doing this. Right now, it’s hard to say if I have an exact dream role because there’s so much that I want to do. I think it’d be great one day to dive into a good dramatic piece. I’ve done a lot of comedy and I love comedy but I’d interested in doing a drama.

PC: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve gotten in your career?
Jimmy: You have to let things go. For example, with this movie, I did like four auditions and it was over a two month span. There were times where you don’t hear anything for a week or two. You can’t sweat it. You can’t sit around and wait for the call. You have to live your life and forget about it. You have to go to the next thing. It’s never THE audition, it’s an audition. You can’t constantly worry about it. Audition, forget about it, and move on.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

PC: Guilty pleasure TV show?
Jimmy: The Office but that’s not a guilty pleasure. It’s only because I can watch it over and over again.

PC: Guilty pleasure movie?
Jimmy: The Island

PC: Favorite book?
Jimmy: Harry Potter

PC: Favorite play or musical
Jimmy: The Book of Mormon

PC: Favorite social media platform?
Jimmy: Instagram

PC: Last show you binge-watched?
Jimmy: Altered Carbon

PC: Last person you texted?
Jimmy: My friend, Christine

PC: Hidden talent?
Jimmy: Oh no! Cooking and drinking [laughs]

Make sure to follow Jimmy on Twitter and Instagram, and catch Blockers nationwide on April 6th.

Photo Credit: Ken Arnold