Pop-Culturalist.com

Tyler Lawrence Gray is an up-and-coming talent who may be relatively new in this industry, but he’s delivering one of the most nuanced portrayals on television with his breakout performance as Harlan Briggs in Paramount+’s Wolf Pack.

Based on the book series by Edo Van Belkom, Wolf Pack follows a teenage boy and girl whose lives are changed forever when a California wildfire awakens a terrifying supernatural creature and drives it to attack a highway traffic jam beneath the burning hills. Wounded in the chaos, the boy and girl are inexplicably drawn to each other and to two other teenagers who were adopted sixteen years earlier by a park ranger after another mysterious wildfire. As the full moon rises, all four teens come together to unravel the secret that connects them – the bite and blood of a werewolf.

Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to speak with Tyler about Wolf Pack, how he prepared to explore his character’s vulnerabilities and intricacies, the chemistry amongst the cast, and more.

PC: You’re relatively new to this industry. How did you land the role on Wolf Pack, and how did you celebrate the news that you booked the job?
Tyler: I started acting about three years ago. Then, I was with representation for about two and a half years. I was auditioning, and I had this epiphany. I was auditioning and going through the motions like, “Ah, I didn’t get a callback or I didn’t book it because I wasn’t what they were looking for.” Then one day, I was like, “What if I doubled the effort that I was putting into these auditions? What if I took it to the absolute extreme and started taking risks with my choices and my self-tapes?” Eventually, I started getting a lot of callbacks.

Then, when Wolf Pack came around, it was when preparation met opportunity. I just seized that opportunity. Jeff [Davis] definitely took an interest because I actually auditioned for Teen Wolf: The Movie as well. I was like, “Okay, Jeff Davis likes my acting or something about me. It was probably a three-week process of callbacks, chemistry reads, and meeting with casting directors. Then, one day I woke up, and I got the call. It felt like I was still asleep and dreaming. I was in shock.

PC: One of the central themes of the series is about finding your pack. Who are the people in your own life who have been along with you on this journey and shaped the storyteller that you are today?
Tyler: Definitely my family. My family has always been there for me. I’m so incredibly thankful for them and they’ve been willing to sacrifice a lot to make sure that we’re all okay. When I moved out to California by myself two years ago, my family moved six months later. We’re all from Massachusetts, so they made a huge commitment. It’s because they care about what we all want to do with our careers. We respect each other, and we’re able to communicate with each other. It’s been a big factor in my life. It’s allowed me to figure things out. I always come to them when I’m having problems with something, or I need help with something, and they’re always willing to give me their best insight. It’s nice to get different opinions.

Then, my acting friends that I’ve made along the way. I’m not talking about people I’ve met at events and big names like that; I’m talking about my friends from classes that I’ve taken and people that just love acting. They helped me tremendously with all my auditions and all of that.

PC: It’s really rare in television to have a fanbase before a series premieres. Did that bring any added pressure as you were heading into this project?
Tyler: No, it made me feel better about it. You’re going into a project and you’re like, “I hope this pilot gets picked up,” or “I hope this show doesn’t flop and we get canceled after one season,” but with a big fanbase like this, there was already buzz as soon as the Deadline article came out. It made me a little giddy inside. I was like, “They’re already excited for it,” and honestly, it motivated me to work even harder because I was like, “I know they want this to work out. Everybody wanted it to be as good as possible.” I was like, “I’m going to bring it.” Everyone else did, too. I thought it came out great.

PC: Harlan’s journey in the first season is about exploring vulnerabilities and letting his walls down, which you brought so much nuance to. Did you channel any of your own personal experiences as you prepared to step into his shoes?
Tyler: Thank you. I definitely did. As an actor, it’s almost inevitable not to, but there are certain mannerisms and experiences that I brought in. Harlan starts off in the story very lonely; he doesn’t really have a group of friends, and his family is just his sister and dad, but he doesn’t have a good relationship with either of them. So, there have definitely been moments in my life where I’ve felt pretty alone and hopeless like, “Am I going to ever find a pack, a good group of friends that are going to be there for me every second of the way?” I definitely felt that emptiness that Harlan felt as well as what he experiences at different points throughout the season.

I also felt this anxiety that we see progress throughout the season up until the last episode where he has a panic attack and Everett calls him out on it. I definitely saw that coming with Jeff’s writing. So, I incorporated it very slowly because I suffer with some bad anxiety as well sometimes. Those were little things that I was able to incorporate. I also did some research and watched different films. I took things from every character I’ve seen on television and incorporated the best things that would make him a relatable character and resonate with his vulnerability.

PC: He’s very multi-layered. You also got to do your own stunts for this project, which actors don’t always get the luxury to do. How hard did you have to fight for that? How did that physicality allow you to tap into Harlan? Do you have a favorite stunt that you got to take part in?
Tyler: In episode 3 when Officer Miller is shoving me against the wall, that was all real. I didn’t have to fight for it. It was in the script, and I was excited about it. I was like, “Oh hell yeah. Harlan gets pushed into the wall. He’s like a convict now.” It was more of them coming to me and saying, “Are you okay with this? If not, we can get a stunt double.” I don’t know if I have a passion for stunts or if I take my craft too seriously, but I was like, “No, it’s going to look fake if we have to cut and then put a stunt double in.” I’m not scared of stuff like that, so I did it. One night, we actually ended up putting a hole in the wall from that. It was crazy. I was getting a kick out of it.

There were a few stunts they wouldn’t let us do, like when Harlan gets thrown into the wall in episode seven. They were like, “This is way too dangerous for you. We don’t want you to get seriously injured.” I was like, “Okay.” So, the stunt double took care of that one. He did an amazing job. I asked him how it was after, and he was like, “It hurt so much, bro.” I was like, “I’m sorry about that, but I’m glad that I wasn’t the one that did it.” But the stunts were really fun.

I told Jeff, if we do Season 2, please give me double the amount of stunts and fun choreography. I love stuff like that. I grew up as an athlete, so physical activity, if I can incorporate that with my acting, it’s a dream come true.

PC: This is one of your biggest roles to date. Has anything surprised you about the overall experience? What’s been the biggest takeaway thus far?
Tyler: I went into it knowing that I was going to learn a lot, but not as much as I did. I came out of that project feeling like an actor who’s been working in this industry for years. I felt so deep into my craft. It was because I was getting every ounce of information that I could from Rodrigo [Santoro], Sarah [Michelle Gellar], and Jeff. I was literally right by the cameraman’s side all the time, asking how they can pull focus, and stuff like that. I was trying to be a sponge on set and literally taking in as much information as I could. It was definitely by far the best learning experience I’ve had from acting so far. It’s better than any acting class. Any actor will probably tell you that because you’re working consistently, but it definitely caught me off guard because looking back at Season 1, I was like, “I could have done something better there. I should have taken that beat there.” It’s almost like a curse of getting better, but it’s a great thing.

PC: Was there a scene in particular that you were really excited for audiences to see? Which was the most challenging to film?
Tyler: Honestly, my favorite scenes for audiences to see were either some of the more comedic scenes because it’s a struggle that I’ve had in my acting journey so far and finding the comedy because comedy is an intricate thing. You have to realize that setups for jokes come in threes; it’s buildup, buildup, buildup, and joke. Things like that I had no idea about, but learning on set and seeing through Jeff’s writing, he did make Harlan pretty funny in a dull not trying to be funny way, in more of a weird way. I was excited if those translated well. I think that most of them did. But emotionally, in episode six when I had to punch Rodrigo in the face and we had that whole moment where I cried after—that felt really rewarding for me because it was a big step as an actor. I was able to express anger and emotion and then get really soft and quiet with Rodrigo and cry for multiple takes. It wasn’t as difficult as I thought.

The most difficult I would say is the panic attack in the episode where we’re pulling Baron into the room, because it took a lot of me—the hyperventilating and the breathing—and I didn’t want it to look stupid. I didn’t want it to look like, “What’s he doing over there? That doesn’t look real.” So, I was like, “Shoot, I have to basically almost have a panic attack to make it look real.” By the end, I was getting lightheaded and my fingers were tingling from how much I was heavy breathing, yelling, and all of that stuff. It was all fun though.

PC: You’ve said in previous interviews that as a storyteller your mission is to create art that impacts audiences. With social media, you’re getting real-time interactions with the fans. What has it meant to you to see the response and how much of your portrayal of Harlan have meant to them?
Tyler: It means the world. People telling me that they love my character, it’s the best compliment you could ever get. As an actor, you devote your life to being able to tell a story that people can relate to and that people enjoy. Then, you get feedback like that and it’s the best feeling in the world, especially when people are like, “You really helped me realize this,” or, “You really helped me through this time. Your character was so comforting to me.” Things like that are why I do it. It’s not only the storytelling to create these characters, as much as that’s fun to do, I also do want to help people and allow people to relate and connect with these characters and realize things about themselves and learn from the character.

PC: In true Jeff Davis fashion, this season ends with a lot of reveals and cliffhangers. If we’re lucky enough to get to see a Season 2, where do you want to see Harlan’s storyline head? Is there another character that you’d love to do more scenes with?
Tyler: I actually had a conversation with the rest of the cast and Jeff at some point after we wrapped Season 1. I couldn’t even choose which actor I want to do more scenes with because I love working with them all. We’re all a big group of friends now. It’s really nice because I was with Armani [Jackson], Chase [Liefeld], and Zach [Nelson] last night. We all went to see a basketball game, so we’re all going to a sports event, and the entire car ride there, all we were talking about was acting, projects, and Wolf Pack. They’re all so unique in their own structure of acting that working with them all gives me different experiences with each one of them.

I would say I really want Harlan to show more of his vulnerability, but I also want him to be able to stick up for himself and be tough. At some point, he lets things get to his head too much. I used to be like that, too. I still let things get to my head. I overthink. I sort of self-destruct, and Harlan does it, too. He self-destructs. He becomes selfish or he becomes radical in the sense that if he makes a bad decision, not intentionally, he starts to panic. I want to see him really focus on that and that can come from struggle and strength. I feel like that arc will bring a lot of cool scenes.

Obviously, I want his and Everett’s friendship to improve. I want him to get to know who his brother is. I have a little brother. If I found out he existed yesterday, I’d be like, “Dude, we got to talk about stuff.” I would like to see that incorporated that in the next season.

PC: You’re such a dynamic storyteller. As you look ahead, is there a dream role that you’d like to bring to life?
Tyler: I was talking to Chase, Armani, and Zach about that yesterday. I think about this a lot because there are a lot of different projects that I want to do. I’ll list a few to give my thoughts on this. I would love to do a deep, sad romance with a heart-wrenching story. It would take a lot out of me, but I feel like I’m capable of it and I feel like it would translate pretty well. Then, I also would love to play an athlete. That would be really cool because I love sports. Honestly, it would also be cool to do a period piece. I’m not super well versed in old poetry or old English, but I would love to learn it. I feel like that would make me progress as an actor so much—that and something that involves an accent or different dialect. Obviously, I’d also love to play a superhero. Everyone wants to play that. That’s an actor’s dream. We’ll see what the future brings. I’ll take any project that speaks to me.

To keep up with Tyler, follow him on Twitter and Instagram. Watch Wolf Pack on Paramount+ today.