Pop Culturalist Chats with Griffin Gluck

From starring in the film Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life to FOX’s Red Band Society to being a series regular on Private Practice, Griffin Gluck, a 16-year-old California native, is no stranger to the entertainment industry. Indeed, he comes from a family who works in the industry: his father is a director, and his mother is a producer. And, now, Griffin Gluck is about to make audiences across America laugh a whole bunch this weekend in the comedy Why Him?. We were able to chat with him about the film, his career, and his dream remake (hint: it involves a Will Ferrell classic!).

A Bit About Why Him?

PC: First off, how did you get involved with Why Him?
Griffin: Why Him? was a project that popped up like any other audition. I really enjoyed the script. I thought it was really funny. The character breakdown that they gave me was absolutely hilarious. I really, really, really tried my hardest to get Why Him?, and it paid off.

PC: After you got the role, how did you celebrate?
Griffin: I think I went out to dinner with a bunch of my close friends and family at a Mexican restaurant that we always go to celebrate. I celebrated there.

PC: Tell us a little bit more about your character along with a quick description about the movie itself.
Griffin: Sure. I play Scotty. He is Stephanie’s younger brother. He is really business savvy and just a kind-of overall, smart kid with good intentions. He’s also a little nutty, kind of crazy, and very weird. That’s Scotty in a nutshell. When it comes to the overall story of Why Him?….it’s really kind of a hard movie to explain. It’s just a raunchy, hilarious comedy with James Franco, Bryan Cranston, and Megan Mullally. Bryan Cranston, who plays my dad, forms a bitter rivalry with my sister’s boyfriend [James Franco], who he does not approve of at all. It kind of just continues with some hilarity after that. That’s the easiest way to break it down.

PC: What was your favorite part about playing Scotty?
Griffin: I think my favorite part about playing Scotty is just that I got to do a bunch of crazy things that I never thought I’d be able to do in a movie. If you look at the trailer–I don’t want to give any spoilers–but Scotty is just a crazy kid. I got to work with some insane people. Overall, it was an insanely amazing experience, and I’m so glad that I got be a part of it. Yeah. I gotta say, that was my favorite part about working on it.

PC: Was there a little bit of freedom on set to improv with the script, or did you just follow the script?
Griffin: No, there was a lot of improv on the set. I have never really done any improv before. Just this year, I have done so much more than I ever would’ve expected. In Why Him?, I really got to try out improv with some hilarious actors who gave me some great tips and tricks for doing improv. I mean, I’ve never done improv before, and now I’m enjoying it more and more.

PC: So, do you have plans to take improv classes, or just do it as they call for it in films?
Griffin: I guess in working with all these people, it has basically been a giant improv class. I’ve learned things I never thought I would be able to learn. Overall: what’s good humor and what’s childish humor and what really gets laughs. I learned so much from the people that I worked with.

PC: Was there someone on set who was particularly really good at improv that you looked up to a little bit or got great advice from?
Griffin: Everyone! Megan Mullally is absolutely hilarious. She is so good at improv–crazy good at improv. Bryan Cranston…he is hilarious. I don’t think there was a single person on the set that wasn’t funny.

PC: Were you a little nervous while doing improv if you hadn’t really done it before?
Griffin: I was really nervous. One of the biggest things you see in the trailer is that I improv a lot–just kind of dirty words for no reason–and that was the first day on set. It was my first time doing improv. I was so nervous because I really just did not know if other people would enjoy the improv or not. So, I gotta say, that was really nerve-wracking for me. I got over it; everyone on the set was super supportive. They helped me out. Megan was like a real mom to me.

PC: How are you hoping fans will to react to the movie? 
Griffin: This is a typical, hilarious, James Franco movie. It is full of comedy. I really think they are going to enjoy that aspect of it. Other than that, I really think it’s a good family movie–even if it’s a little raunchy (which it is). I really do think people are going to enjoy it. Teens, tweens, and everything in between are going to be able to laugh their heads off with their parents because it’s a very relatable movie, too.

Career Questions

PC: Is there someone you would like to work with one day that you haven’t gotten a chance to work with?
Griffin: The person I’ve wanted to work with since I was a little kid is Will Ferrell. I’ve seen pretty much every one of his movies. Stepbrothers and Talladega Nights are the only two movies I have downloaded on my computer. Anytime I’m on a plane, I re-watch those movies over and over again. I’ve seen them at least 12 times each. I definitely want to work with Will Ferrell sometime in the future.

PC: If you weren’t acting onscreen, what else would you be doing? Do you see yourself doing something else in the future, too?
Griffin: I’ve really grown up in the acting world, and I really can’t imagine doing anything other than acting. I really haven’t thought about what I would do if it weren’t for acting. I’m really kind of hoping that my acting career does well.

PC: If there was a reboot of a movie that you could star in, what would that be?
Griffin: That is a good question. Maybe a Talladega Nights 2.

PC: Do you have any future projects that you are working on that you can talk about?
Griffin: I have a future project in the works right now that I just got and that I’m happy about. Sadly, I don’t think I can talk about it just yet. It’s an untitled project. We’re going to announce it in just a few days…if not weeks.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

Guilty pleasure TV show
Griffin: I’m into 12 different TV shows right now. Right now, I’m re-watching House, which is so good; Scrubs…love any doctor show; Parks and Rec, I’ve seen a million times; anything on Hulu. I really watch anything that’s on.

Guilty pleasure movie
Griffin: Like I said, any movie from Will Ferrell.

Favorite social media platform
Griffin: Instagram, completely. I really am not as active on any other social media account as I should be, but I’m on Instagram all the time.

Hidden talent
Griffin: I’m not saying I’m an amazing skateboarder, but I am a skateboarder, which a lot of people don’t know.

If you could have dinner with five people—dead or alive—who would they be and why?
Griffin: Number one: Bob Ross. He’s the painter–love Bob Ross. He seems like a nice guy. Another person would be Barack Obama. He seems like an interesting guy. Other than that…Neil deGrasse Tyson because I’ve seen a lot of his videos, and he just seems like the kind of guy you’d want to have lunch with. I think he would be able to answer so many questions. Then, I might as well throw his name in another time: Will Ferrell. I would love to have lunch with him. He seems really funny. Other than that, I’d say maybe Abraham Lincoln because I feel like that’d be a very interesting conversation.

Make sure to follow Griffin on Twitter and Instagram!

Photo Credit: Scott Garfield