Exclusive Interview: Zack Morris Talks ‘Goosebumps,’ Rewriting the Jock Stereotype, Seizing Opportunities, and His Directing Career

Zack Morris is a multi-hyphenated storyteller who is best known for bringing his unique flair to projects including EastEnders, One Night, and Children in Need. Since discovering his passion for the arts at a young age, Zack has committed himself to seizing every opportunity he comes across. It’s that drive and hunger that’s made him a standout among his peers.

Currently, he’s starring in Disney+’s haunting new series, Goosebumps. Inspired by R.L. Stine’s worldwide bestselling book series, Goosebumps follows a group of five high schoolers as they embark on a shadowy and twisted journey to investigate the tragic passing three decades earlier of a teen named Harold Biddle – while also unearthing dark secrets from their parents’ past. Zack shines as Isaiah, the star high school quarterback who has the world on his shoulders, but is far from stereotypical.

But that’s not all, Zack also recently directed the music video for Emeli’s “Real.”

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to speak with Zack about Goosebumps Season 1, how he and the creative team rewrote the jock stereotype, and the importance of seizing every opportunity. Plus, he brought us behind the scenes of his Emeli’s music video.

PC: How did you discover your passion for storytelling and the arts? When did this journey begin for you?
Zack: This is always a crazy story because it brings me right back. I was a child actor, so I started really young. It’s something that I kind of fell into.

I have a sibling who was really into soccer. When I was seven years old, I thought that was the coolest thing. I tried to get into that and find a love for it, but I was never very good at it. [laughs] I wanted to find something that I could have that same passion for. I was always a bit outspoken and a bit confident. When I would go see shows with my family, I remember there was this one time when I told my grandparents, “I want to be on that stage.” They were like, “Well, if you want to do that, then you have to take drama classes.” Then I started to do that from a young age, and I fell in love with it instantly. I was better at it than soccer, so I stuck with it. At first, it was just a hobby.

When I turned nine years old, I did my first professional gig, which was a commercial. From there, I just continued to do it. It went from being a hobby to a passion to a love. At around sixteen, I was like, “You know what? This is me. I’ve been doing this more or less my entire life. This is where I want to put all my energy into.”

So it’s weird to think about what my life would be without it. As far as I can remember, it’s always been there, so it’s hard to say when it started. I started young, kept going into my teens, and now my twenties. I’m still hustling, grinding, and still love it.

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your career?
Zack: First and foremost, I have to say my family. I wouldn’t be able to do any of this without them. They’ve always been very, very supportive, which I know isn’t always common because people think this is not a serious job, and there are a lot more serious jobs that I could be doing. But from the beginning, they always encouraged me. They said, “If this is your passion and you love it, we’re going to do whatever we can do to help make that happen.”

Drama classes aren’t cheap. They’re not the most cost-effective. There are some places now that are, but growing up, that wasn’t the case. They had to sacrifice a lot to make this happen and pull together, my grandparents especially. For me, it sounds cliché, but I wanted to do them proud because I know what they’ve had to do to allow me to do this thing. It’s not as simple as just saying you want to be an actor. There’s a lot of sacrifices that they had to make for me to be able to do this. I don’t want to let them down. That was a big push for me because I’ve always been like, “If you’re going to do that for me, I’m going to match that.”

Creatively, I was always drawn to actors on screen who are my age now but who were playing younger characters, and being like, “That’s what I want to do.” I remember seeing Will Smith in Fresh Prince and thinking, “That’s dope. I need to do that.” It’s incredible to see people who look like me doing these incredible things. He was definitely one of the figures that I would look to and be like, “I want to be able to do that or at least scratch the surface of what he’s doing.”

There are so many names that I could list for days. But it’s always been people who I felt I could relate to. We obviously live on different sides of the world, but our situations can be similar. It was looking at those people who made it all seem achievable.

PC: Now you’re doing that for young audiences with Goosebumps. There are so many different directions that Rob [Letterman] and Nicholas [Stoller] could have taken this series. However, it strikes the perfect balance of nostalgia and brings something that’s new, fresh, and exciting. At what point during that process did you realize that you were all creating something unexpectedly unique and unlike anything that audiences could imagine?
Zack: From the first week, I noticed the sheer scale of what we were making, solely by the crew that we had, the cameras we were using, and the setups we were doing. I thought, “This is pretty big.” [laughs] It was instant. But tonally, that realization hit me on the plane ride when I was flying to where we were shooting. I had seen the movies previously and the series from the ’90s. I could tell that this was tonally very different. For me as a performer, that’s interesting. You always want to bring something new even if you might be playing the same character. It’s like, “What can I bring that’s different?” That bled through into the script, the storytelling, and into the score. It was about how we can take this thing that’s been done before and make it new. It wasn’t a situation where we were five months in and then saying, “This feels different.” I knew from reading the script that first week.

PC: The creative team gave you all the freedom to make these characters your own. What did you bring to Isaiah that wasn’t initially on the page? How did that trust allow you to take agency over his journey?
Zack: First, I give massive, massive credit to the writing team because everything from the character breakdown to the lines to the stage direction was catered to create the world of Isaiah. Of course, I put my own flavor on top of it. But as far as the crux of what was there, they knew what they wanted.

For me, I wanted to find the balance between being the leader but also being a friendly face that you can talk to, even though he’s the popular high school jock. I didn’t want him to be stereotypical because normally they’re quite rude, and people don’t like them, apart from the popular kids. Performing that, it was about finding different inflections and moments, like the cheekiness in his smile rather than trying to play this cool kid facade, which is cliché and has been done a lot. To get to flip that on its head and show that you can be cool by doing this was due to the collaboration with the creative team and what they were trying to build.

PC: You brought a lot of sensitivity to this character. Throughout the first season, we see Isaiah struggling with the pressures that his family is putting on him and living up to their expectations, and you brought so much nuance to that journey. How did you create the space for yourself to dive into that arc, given the quick turnaround from when you landed the role and when you were in Vancouver shooting?
Zack: It’s what they pay us for. [laughs] You have to deliver the goods. It goes back to what we were discussing earlier. I never want to let my family down. They’ve given me an opportunity and I want to show them that I’m worth it and I can do it. Disney and Sony gave me an opportunity, so I wanted to prove to them that I was worth it and I can do it.

It was like, “Buckle in.” I can’t dwell on the fact that I don’t have months to prep. I’ve been given two days. I had a week after I landed to get my costume fitted. Then you go in. Those are the cards that were dealt and you have to make it work. Skills can be transferable from previous roles and struggles. Ultimately, it’s about adapting to your surroundings and pushing through. That was my main thing. I’ve got this opportunity, I’m not going to let it slip.

As far as the vulnerability and grounding the performance, for me, it has to feel real. I have to feel it. If I was born in Port Lawrence, and my parents were struggling financially, I can relate to that what if. What would Zack do in this situation? Ultimately, you’re going to see me on screen. Yes, I’m doing a different accent, but you’re going to hear me. It’s me in a different filter. So how would I feel in these situations? How would I deal with it? A lot of it is heavy. He’s dealing with crazy pressure. He has the weight of his family on his shoulders, and he’s still young. Not only that, he’s got the weight of his friends at school and his team on his back. He’s carrying a lot of stuff. So yes, he can smile, but that comes at a cost and that would be for anyone. Behind closed doors is when that vulnerability comes out.

There’s this beautiful scene that I love shooting with Isa Briones, who plays Margot in the show. Isaiah is explaining that if he doesn’t pass the test, he can’t play anymore. But it’s more than just the fact that he can’t play; he loses the opportunity to help his family out, the opportunity to better himself and better the people around him. If he can’t do this, then everything is gone. Then he’s a no one. That’s a real weight for a young man to carry. If I look at that situation and examine how I feel about that, it’s heavy.

PC: Without giving any spoilers, what was your reaction when you read the season finale and what your character ultimately sacrifices? Have there been any early conversations about what Isaiah’s arc could potentially look like in Season 2?
Zack: I don’t know what I can say. [laughs] The producers and I had a conversation early on that this was the route that it was going to go down. I was like, “Cool. How is that going to work?” They were like, “We’re still working it out.” [laughs] I won’t spoil anything, but there are so many different directions that this show could go. I’m sure the creative team has already plotted what they want to happen from those events. But for me, my job is that collaboration and bringing what’s on the page to life. Whatever you’re going to put in front of me, we’ll have a conversation, and we’ll make it work. So that was the initial conversation. I’m excited to see where the story could possibly go because it’s not linear. There are multiple storylines that are happening that I’m not part of. They’re going to have those conversations, and we’ll all make it work when and if the time comes.

PC: You also recently directed a music video. What have you learned from working behind the scenes that you’ve now been able to bring to your work and vice versa?
Zack: I love that question. I love directing. It’s always been something that I’ve wanted to attack, do, and be a part of, but I haven’t necessarily had the time. This year, I’ve had the time to work on my own stuff, so I said, “You know what? There’s no better time.”

But as far as what I’ve taken away, it’s the amount of work that goes into it from the pre-production, talking with the artist and understanding what they want and what they’re thinking, and then adding my flavor and bringing a story to it. Then it’s planning the different colors that you’re going to see and why you’re going to see them. Then we’ve got to put the team together.

Now it’s time for shooting and controlling the set and being on that journey. It’s definitely opened my eyes to how much I have to think about. I wouldn’t say that I didn’t know that going in, but as far as feeling it, I hadn’t felt it because I hadn’t done it before.

It was putting that theory into practice, which is always going to feel slightly different. But I brought a team together, so I kind of produced it as well. Producing and directing are things that have always interested me.

Actors-directors and actors-producers have always been so interesting to me. People who I have seen do it, I’m always like, “That’s so cool.” Because not only do you get to be in front of a camera and feel the emotions play out, but you’re also part of the team that pieces things together. It’s such a different process when you look at things from a different lens. Combining the two is so impressive.

Outside of my drive to push myself for my family, I tell my friends, family, and anyone I know that I try to make sure that I’m impressing myself. If I’m not impressed, then I’m probably not happy with the work. Someone might be like, “That’s so cool,” but I’ll be like, “How impressed am I?” I chase that feeling. That’s a feeling that definitely pushes me to keep trying to impress myself. It doesn’t last long. It’s a very small feeling that phases in a few hours. Acting, directing, and producing impresses me, so I have to do it. I definitely want to continue to be a part of that process.

It was fun. It brought a new level of excitement. Apart from acting, there are very few things that give me that level of buzz. Music does. I love music. I love deejaying. Making music gives me that buzz. I love teaching. That gives me a buzz. Now directing gives me that feeling. I love that feeling and I’m chasing it. I look forward to doing more music videos. I’m working on a project at the moment. It’s going to be a show to start with, but it’s been fun and keeps me busy.

To keep up with Zack, follow him on Instagram. The first season of Goosebumps is out now on Disney+.

Photo Credit: Andy Brown