Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with Ovid and the Art of Love’s Corbin Bleu

Corbin Bleu famously had us answer “What team?” as Wildcat Chad Danforth in the High School Musical franchise. He cha-chaed his way into our hearts in his quest for the Mirror Ball on Dancing with the Stars. This May, he stars as the titular character in the indie drama Ovid and the Art of Love.

A modern retelling of the famed ancient Roman poet’s life, set in contemporary Detroit, Ovid and the Art of Love finds a young Ovid’s life in danger after he clashes with the emperor for writing a guide to love and seduction.

Pop Culturalist caught up with Corbin to chat about Ovid and the Art of Love, his journey as an artist, and why he believes the film is coming out at the perfect time.

PC: Tell us about Ovid and the Art of Love, your character, and what drew you to this project.
Corbin: It’s the story of Publius Ovidius Naso, a.k.a. Ovid, who was a real Roman poet during the era of Augustus. Ovid found himself in a lot of trouble with Emperor Augustus after becoming somewhat of a rock star in his day due to writing Ars Amatoria (The Art Of Love), a risqué and instructional poem on seduction, sex, and love. The movie is seen through a contemporary lens à la Hamilton or Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet. I was attracted to the project because I found Ovid an interesting person and enjoyed the idea of getting to play him with a modern twist.

PC: Throughout the film, Ovid finds his voice as an artist and man. Tell us about your own journey and discovering your voice.
Corbin: As far as my own journey is concerned, it took me some time to understand the idea that anything I do as an artist or even as a person needs to be rooted in truth. Otherwise, it’s just BS and brings no joy to me.

I’m not referring to method acting. I’m talking about knowing yourself and being truthful. As actors, we play pretend for a living, we try to adopt the ideas and personalities of other people, and in a confusing industry that is already full of vulnerable people wearing their own masks for one reason or another, sometimes it becomes difficult to know what your own feelings were in the first place.

So whether I’m in a positive place or a negative place, I’m feeling introverted or extroverted—wherever I’m at in life—I try to listen to that and understand why instead of extinguishing it. Always try to work hard and be respectful, but I feel we’re able to learn and grow and produce a much better result when we’re honest to ourselves in the moment.

PC: How did you prepare to embody Ovid and his journey throughout the film?
Corbin: I read up on Ovid, dug into some other works that were stylistically similar to the approach of this film, and I liked that we got to see him age in the film, so I worked on what that would look like.

PC: Ovid and the Art of Love has been well received. What do you think is resonating most with audiences?
Corbin: That’s good to hear. I don’t know. I think Ovid’s story is an interesting one on its own, so maybe hearing and seeing it with the addition of it being in an even more relatable context is what resonates. It’s partly a story of standing up to a tyrannical leader, something many of us can relate to. There’s also a cool visual element. We used Detroit as our location to resemble modern-day ruins of the Roman Empire. It was actually pretty amazing how some of our sets were untouched. We just used what was already there.

PC: Besides Ovid and the Art of Love, do you have any other upcoming projects you can chat about?
Corbin: COVID has pretty much brought a halt to the projects that were in the pipeline, but thankfully, the majority of them have been moved to 2021. My wife and I are working on developing some of our own ideas, and hopefully, we can bring those to fruition after the world sees some recovery from this time.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

PC: Guilty pleasure TV show?
Corbin: I feel no guilt. Avatar: The Last Airbender: best show ever!

PC: Favorite book?
Corbin: Harry Potter fo’ life!

PC: Favorite play or musical?
Corbin: My number-one position is always changing…Singin’ in the Rain.

PC: A band or artist that fans would be surprised to learn is on your playlist?
Corbin: Infected Mushroom

PC: Who would play you in the story of your life?
Corbin: If I have it my way, then the story of my life isn’t even half over, so the person to play me might not be discovered yet.

To keep up with Corbin, follow him on Twitter and Instagram. Watch Ovid and the Art of Love on VOD today.