Pop Culturalist Chats with Devin Druid

Devin Druid is one of Hollywood’s hottest young actors. At only 19, he’s already had several standout performances in both film and television, including Louder Than Bombs, Imperium, and House of Cards. He’s proven he can take on any character or role. And it’s clear we’re witnessing an artist ready to leave his mark on the industry. With each new project, his star only shines brighter. But don’t take our word for it, Devin has also been featured on Variety and Slant Magazine’s “Actors to Watch.” Next, he’ll star as Tyler Down, the social outcast, in Netflix’s highly-anticipated new series, 13 Reasons Why. Pop Culturalist was lucky enough to chat with Devin about the series, his character, and how he got started in acting.

13 Reasons Why Questions

PC: What initially drew you to the project?
Devin: Initially, I got an audition for Clay. When you get an audition, you just get this email that’s a breakdown of the show; and maybe one, two, or three scenes to prepare in the audition space. Sometimes, you get the script. In this case, I got the pilot script. I just read it. In the email, I could see the people attached that were making the project—Brian Yorkey, Selena Gomez, Tom McCarthy, Anonymous Content and Paramount Pictures. Looking at that list of people, I thought, “This is an extraordinary group of talent. This pilot episode is so incredible, I have to be a part of it.”

PC: Were you familiar with the novel before you auditioned? How did you prepare after you landed the role?
Devin: I was not aware of it at first. I had probably heard of it but I wasn’t like, “Oh, I know this book.” When I did see that it was based off a novel, I did look into the book. I have come to learn after auditioning for so many different projects that there is a novel or graphic novel, or whatever being adapted to live action… A lot of times, because it is an adaptation, there are changes and creative liberties taken with it. Before, with other projects that I’ve auditioned for, I have read the source material before going into doing it. This time, I decided against reading the novel before auditioning because I felt like the times before where I had done that, it had been stuck in my head that there were two different versions of the character that I was auditioning for and I got confused as to which one I needed to be adapting onto the screen. I’d get in my audition and wonder: Should I play the version written in the book or for the screen? Because they are similar, but one is a little more fleshed out than the other. This time I just decided to go with the pilot. Brian Yorkey is the show runner and creator. He suggested that if we hadn’t read it, we might want to finish working on the season of the show and read it afterwards.

PC: Along those lines, what are some of the similarities between the series and the book?
Devin: I would say it’s a very faithful adaptation. The book is about 288 pages. I’ve googled this quite a bit. Our show is thirteen episodes, each being an hour long. We’re taking a 288 page book and adapting it into a thirteen-hour show. We have a lot of room there to really fill in gaps that you don’t really get to see in the book; because this book really focuses on Clay and the past events of Hannah’s suicide.

In our show, we get to look into all these other characters, and look at them as a three-dimensional person; not only what they did, but why they did it and how they are now recovering and dealing with the aftermath, as well as getting to see Clay and what he is dealing with in the present and going forward into the future. I think we did a really good job of just keeping the main theme of the book, which is: You don’t really know how you are affecting somebody else’s life. What you do or what you say and how that affects another person, taking responsibility for what you’ve done and trying to be a better person, looking for these signs in people…

PC: Can you tell us a bit about your character and his relationship with Hannah?
Devin: Tyler Down is kind of a nerdy, awkward outsider. He gets bullied a lot because he doesn’t really fit into the popular “jock” group in high school. It’s because of this, he doesn’t really have any friends. He sticks alone and stays in his room and in the photo lab because he is a really talented photographer. He takes pictures of the student body for the yearbook at various sporting and social events (such as the school dances and stuff). He really enjoys photography and can also use his camera to hide himself. The lower he flies under the radar, the better. He can always be in control behind the camera. He controls what he sees and how much people are able to see of him. That really goes along with the whole identity situation in the book, because this is his identity. What does he use it for and how does that define him as a character?

One day, Tyler becomes very infatuated with Hannah Baker. He catches the vibe one day and immediately becomes obsessed with how real of a person she is. He kind of falls in love with her. Being the kind of awkward he is and dealing with issues from other people in the student body and his other insecurities, the way he ends up deciding to chase after his feelings for this girl is very inappropriate. It leads him to this moment that puts him on the tapes, a moment he regrets for the rest of his life. It changes everything upside down.

Photo Credit: Beth Dubber/Netflix

PC: When you guys were filming, did you realize how beloved this series was and did that add any pressure to bringing this character and story to life?
Devin: Absolutely. We were researching more about the book and characters. One of the things I actually did to get ready for my audition and to prepare… I actually looked online and found high school/middle school kids’ English projects about the book—projects like “these are the characters and what they’ve done”—because I thought it was really interesting to see how the audiences perceived the characters to be and what they thought about them. Knowing there was such a loving fan base of the book, it was really inspiring to us; but it definitely added a bit of pressure there. I’m sure everybody’s had stories of being told not to screw it up because somebody loves it. I think, along with the pressure, it really just pushed us to work as hard as we could to make it faithful to the overall meaning of what the book stands for: bullying, suicide prevention, sexual harassment and everything.

PC: Besides Tyler, is there another character you would want to play or you identify with?
Devin: I don’t know. I think I fit very well with Tyler. Our cast—everybody fits their character so well because they just play them so well on screen. The chemistry everybody has is so great. I also think that we have so many characters that, when the audience is watching the show, they can identify with so many people; because we have this diverse cast and we’re able to play the grounded reality of what high school is like; you have the awkward nerd, you have the jock, you have the pretty cheerleaders. We play it in a way where it’s not the stereotype, but the real version of this. I remember when I was in middle school . . . I didn’t realize it when I was there, but after coming out, I realized there really were popular groups and jocks. (The jocks weren’t the football players, it was the soccer team—they were the cool kids.) It was looking back into our past and grabbing things that everybody can relate to; but trying not to stereotype them, and make them as relatable as possible.

PC: What was it like working with Selena Gomez and Jay Asher? Did they have any advice for you?
Devin: The experience working with them was just phenomenal. Selena is such a class act and such a sweet and inspiring person. We got to meet with her at the end of the shoot. She and her mom held a dinner for the cast and we all hung out. We had some great food and shared stories and laughed. It just felt like so many great people in one room sharing so much love and positivity and passion about the project that we were making. I remember just being really in awe of her love and passion for the project; and how intelligent she was, and how close this was to her, and how much it meant to her. That was really inspiring for us to just step back and be like, “Wow, we’re actually creating something that means this much to her.” Not just her, but that means there are other people that it means this much to. This is really amazing that we got to be a part of this.

The same thing with Jay. Obviously, we’re adapting his book. His approval was very important to us. Every time we got to meet him, he always had the nicest of things to say. He would say things like, “You’re exactly what I had in mind. You’re so much like them.” Jay would come down and talk at book stores in front of people, doing book talks at various book stores where we were filming, and also at schools. I got permission to actually go and watch him at the schools and book stores just because I thought it was so interesting to see the stories that people had with his books and the questions they had for him. Seeing him talk about his book and the story of it coming to fruition, it was so amazing. He was the nicest of people.

PC: Segueing off that, why do you think the show and this story, in particular, is so important to times right now?
Devin: I just think they’re so relevant. People are always dealing with something and we’re not always equipped to handle it on our own. People don’t always process and deal with things in the same way. Somebody might be receiving virtual harassment online or something, and they can just click a lock button and be done with it. Other people, maybe they carry that with them; maybe they have some deeply rooted insecurities that get pushed a little bit more and they can’t help but think about it. People just handle things differently. I think it was a really special way to take a topic that’s so important to many people and bring it to life, and put something together to say, “We understand what you’re going through. No matter what you’re feeling, you’re not alone. Other people understand and feel the same way sometimes. That’s okay. Know that you are stronger than this and it’s possible for you to get through it.”

I think it’s just important for people to know that they aren’t isolated and they aren’t dealing with something that’s impossible to fight through. It’s been done before and they can do it again, because we’re here to support and love them.

Career Questions

PC: How did you get started in acting?
Devin: It’s a funny story. My little brother is also an actor. His name is Aidan Fiske. He’s on the WGN America show Outsiders and he was on the ABC show, The Family. Growing up, I was a “jock”. I’m saying this with air quotes, just so you know. I played lacrosse and hockey, and I had a lot of fun with it. I also sang with a band. I never thought about acting. I knew that I loved performing because, I did so on stage with my band, but I had never thought about it. I grew up in Richmond, Virginia. When you think about acting and the film industry, you don’t think, “You know where I’m going to go for that? Richmond, Virginia!” It never crossed my realm of possibility and it never crossed my mind to even try to pursue anything like that.

My little brother, growing up, he loved the performing arts and all the dramatic stuff. My little brother, at eight years old, his favorite movies were Phantom of the Opera and The Pianist. He kind of wore my mom down after awhile, and she agreed to look around and get him an audition at a local film school because he obviously wanted to do this. She started taking my brother around.

I actually got injured—tore all of the cartilage out of my hip. I couldn’t really do anything for awhile. My band broke up because my guitarist had to move. I sort of lost everything I had done at that point. Once I was able to walk comfortably on crutches, I was wanting to get out of the house and asked if I could go with them to the auditions. I started tagging along. I was like, “Wow, you’re really doing this. You’re really auditioning for real TV shows and stuff. This is kind of cool.” I went to my mom one day and said, “Do you think I could try this?” She was like, “Sure, why not?” Then, I started going to auditions. The more experience I got, the more I fell in love with it. That sounds really cliché and cheesy to say, but it’s true. It was a niche I found for myself. I liked it and wanted to keep it going.

PC: Do you have a dream role that you would love to play?
Devin: Oh, my gosh. I don’t know about a specific dream role. The projects I typically work on, I’m usually drawn to because you have to sink your teeth into them and think about them a little bit more; roles like that I’m really drawn to; especially ones that have a great message such as our show or movies I’ve done in the past. I don’t know, I’m a big comic book guy. I guess a comic book movie would be cool one day. I could be Ben Affleck’s Robin. I love Tim Drake. He’s my favorite Robin. I like Wally West—Kid Flash. I’d do that.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

PC: Guilty pleasure TV show?
Devin: Wheel of Fortune or Jeopardy

PC: Guilty pleasure movie?
Devin: I feel like guilty pleasure implies that they have to be a bad show that you love anyway. A movie that I constantly love watching is Good Will Hunting because it’s my favorite movie.

PC: Favorite play or musical?
Devin: I love the Hamilton soundtrack but I love Wicked. It’s the only musical I’ve ever seen.

PC: Favorite book?
Devin: I had a favorite book series when I was a kid by Suzanne Collins, who wrote the Hunger Games series. It was called Underland Chronicles. It was my favorite book series. I had another favorite book series a few years later by Margaret Peterson Haddix called the Shadow Children series. Those were really great books. Actually, as I was reading it, I thought it would make a great film adaptation. I wanted to play Luke.

PC: Is there a band or artist people would be surprised to find on your playlist?
Devin: If you know me, everybody knows my favorite band is Twenty-One Pilots. My Chemical Romance is another. I listen to a lot of rap, too. I love Childish Gambino, Chance The Rapper, Franco Ocean, and Logic. I have Miku Hatsune on my phone. She’s a Japanese vocaloid. Miku Hatsune is not a person. Somebody does the voice but then she is like an animated hologram that “sings”.

PC: Favorite social media platform?
Devin: I’m on Twitter and Instagram all day.

PC: Hidden talent?
Devin: I’m a pretty good gamer. I don’t know if that’s a hidden talent. I play a lot of PC and console video games. I’ve gotten pretty good at that.

Make sure to follow Devin on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. And make sure to check out 13 Reasons Why—out on Friday!