Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with Outer Banks’ Rudy Pankow

With over two hundred million subscribers, Netflix has the ability to transform rising up-and-comers into bonafide superstars. That’s exactly what happened to Rudy Pankow when his series Outer Banks hit the streaming platform. Overnight, the talented young actor became a household name, stealing our hearts with his breakout performance as the lovable JJ. We caught up with Rudy to learn more about him and where he’d like to see his character’s storyline head in Season 2!

Career

PC: How did you discover your passion for acting?
Rudy: I knew I had that gene in me. I liked portraying other people. I knew that was in me for a very long time, but I never thought of it as a career path until literally a couple of months before I graduated high school. I would say it dawned on me that I should give this a shot because I’ve always loved the feeling of embodying a character, kind of how JJ does in Outer Banks.

When I was in school, I would put on these different personas—not in a manipulative way—but I was able to make people figure out who I was and who I wasn’t. But at the same time, I didn’t even know who I was, which is why I did it. I was trying to figure out who I was, just like everybody in high school.

Then, I found the opportunity to come out to LA. I was like, “Mom, dad, I’m going to take a gap year. Let me see if this feels right.” In that gap year, I fell in love with acting. I took my first acting class, and I knew this felt right.

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your career?
Rudy: That’s hard to answer because every part of it has been vital to my success today. Lauren Patrice Nadler was an improv teacher here. I went to her and she broke me down. She broke the whole feeling that I had that I was lost and didn’t know who I was. There’s a blank sheet of canvas in front of you, and you get to paint on top of that. You know who you are; you just have to put on layers of what you like, and you get to use aspects of the characters you play to build who you are. She was an improv coach that taught me freedom of speech and trusting that you and your character will say the right thing. That was huge, especially for JJ.

After that, I was thrown into the deep end. I found a prestigious acting coach named Larry Moss, who taught me script analysis, circumstance, and so much about the craft. I learned the basics. I started taking more classes that gave me a new perspective on the craft. That’s when it clicked.

After those classes, things started happening. I started booking short films. I booked a feature and a music video. I was able to get some momentum. It was after those classes, I really solidified my craft and didn’t allow anything to distract me from it. So, there’ve been a lot of friends that I dedicate a lot of my success to. They’ve kept me hyper-focused on what I should be doing.

Outer Banks

PC: Outer Banks has been a massive success. What do you think is resonating most with audiences?
Rudy: The escapism is definitely one. It takes people on an adventure, which has clicked with audiences, especially during a time when we all have to stay inside. Outer Banks is a great, fun adventure that hits on messages we need to address without throwing it in your face. There’s nothing wrong about that, though.

PC: A large part of why this show has been so successful is the relationship that comes off screen between the cast. How did you guys build that bond?
Rudy: I agree with you. We went through a crazy casting process. We all took it upon ourselves because Jonas [Pate] didn’t cast a very established group of actors. The cast is pretty fresh; we were all unknown actors at the time, so we took it upon ourselves to be like, “Yo. We’re going to do this show right. We’re going to do it. We’re going to make it real.” We took it upon ourselves to become friends with everyone, not just the group that you associate with the show. We all became friends without forcing it, which I think is a testament to casting because we knew that chemistry was going to be amazing.

I lived with Chase [Stokes] throughout filming. JD [Jonathan Daviss] and I met at our first chemistry read, and we became instant best friends. When we talk about movies, it’s like that scene from Stepbrothers, where it’s like, “What’s your favorite dinosaur?” “Velociraptor!”—it’s like that with JD. Then, Maddie Bailey is an amazing actress. We became friends immediately because we love riffing off of each other. It’s so easy to get along with her. Bailey’s a lot like Kiara. Then, Maddie Klein is also amazing. Everyone on set is so fun to be around.

PC: Which of JJ’s relationships was your favorite to explore and why?
Rudy: Definitely JJ’s relationship with his dad. I wasn’t able to base this relationship with my own dad because I’m lucky enough to have a father who didn’t physically abuse me; I had to search for it.

Gary Weeks, who plays my dad on the show, is the sweetest guy ever. He’s such a phenomenal actor and a caring person. After a take, we would talk about our characters’ dynamic because it’s so toxic. We’d talk about why it doesn’t work. We tried a lot of different things off camera and came up with the backstory about JJ’s mom. It was such an amazing experience because it was really actors experimenting together.

PC: That’s the perfect segue. One of the most memorable scenes from Season 1 is with JJ in the hot tub in Episode 7. As an actor, how did you prepare for that scene? We heard you were able to improv. What did you add to that scene?
Rudy: I’d say preparing for that scene was based on being completely honest about how you feel when you feel abandoned. His friends are his family. I was blown away by how that scene was written. It was easy to build on what was on the page. I knew exactly what was going on inside with him—that’s how well that scene was written.

The improv didn’t happen until the last couple of lines when Maddie is trying to calm me down. I can tell she’s trying to get emotional with me and I’m like, “No. I don’t want to get emotional. I’ve been emotional for so long. It’s not like me.” It’s not like JJ to embrace that emotion; he wants to resist it. It hurts people a lot when they resist that emotion—no one likes to feel sad; no one likes to feel like they’re weak. It’s heartbreaking when you see somebody resist those emotions. I resonated with that. That’s what I saw in that scene immediately.

The lines when JJ says, “I’m going to kill him. I was going to do it. I can’t take him anymore.” Those were all improv. That was how he was feeling about his father. It was really about feeling that pain JJ was going through.

PC: Where would you like to see JJ’s storyline head in Season 2?
Rudy: I’d like to see JJ struggle with the fact that his best friend died. Everyone thinks he’s dead. I want to see him follow a similar path like Rafe and choose substance abuse. It’s weird how fast kids turn to drugs and alcohol. I want to portray that as real as I can, because it’s a real thing and it’s also not right. It’s not the correct answer to pain and abandonment. Will JJ stay friends with everyone he loves while dealing with the struggle of losing his best friend? I want to see him struggle because that’s real with what people go through today.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

PC: Guilty pleasure TV show?
Rudy: I love New Girl. It’s a great show.

PC: Guilty pleasure movie?
Rudy: Princess Bride.

PC: Favorite book?
Rudy: Vladimir Tod.

PC: Favorite play or musical?
Rudy: That’s a good question. Damn, there are so many. I want to say Hamilton, but it’s so mainstream. How to Succeed in Business is a really fun one that Dan Radcliffe did.

PC: A band or artist that fans would be surprised to learn is on your playlist?
Rudy: The Teskey Brothers.

PC: Who would play you in the story of your life?
Rudy: That’s a great question. Who would play me in this story of my life? Whoa. I’ve never heard that question before. Does he have to be an actor? Because I know some friends. My brother would hate playing me. My brother would hate playing me so much, but he definitely knows exactly what—since he’s my brother—he knows what I would think about. Damn. That’s a great question. I’m going to have to just say my brother because I’ve never thought about that. That was a great question.

To keep up with Rudy, follow him on Twitter and Instagram. Binge-watch Season 1 of Outer Banks on Netflix today.

Photo Credit: Curtis Baker/Netflix