Pop-Culturalist.com

Make some room, Hollywood! There’s a new leading man who’s delivering phenomenal performances, one after another, and his name is Blake Cooper Griffin. The talented young actor, whose credits include 90210, Preacher, and Necessary Roughness, has starred alongside legends including Helen Hunt and Cuba Gooding Jr. This summer, he’s stepping into the shoes of Scott, a recent graduate who’s trying to re-live the good ole’ days of college in the laugh-out-loud comedy and CW Seed’s first full-length feature film, Beerfest: Thirst for Victory. Pop Culturalist had the chance to catch up with Blake to chat about the project, how platforms like CW Seed put control back in the viewer’s hands, and even learned about his favorite beer game from the film.

PC: Tell us about Beerfest: Thirst for Victory, your character, and what drew you to this project.
Blake: I’m so excited about Beerfest: Thirst for Victory. Beerfest is about reclaiming the fun of college. It’s about five friends who are a few years out of college and they’re experiencing the pain of what it is to become a full-time adult.

I play a character named Scott. He’s the ringleader of the group. He’s recently single and in a rut. His girlfriend broke up with him and he’s trying to get his mojo back. He persuades his other friends to join him in entering a beer drinking competition.

It was a blast shooting it. The entire creative team is really funny. The producers and our director, Matt Johnson, really set out to make it a set that would make us want to be funny. It was such a supportive environment.

It’s inspired by the original Beerfest movie that Broken Lizard was hilarious in. I was so excited when I learned that I was going to get to do this film and pick up the torch.

PC: Beerfest is this hilarious, raunchy comedy that doesn’t hold anything back and you don’t necessarily associate that with the CW. What was your initial reaction when you received the script?
Blake: I’m really excited about us being on CW Seed because I think that CW Seed gives a lot of opportunity to both the viewer and for content. It offers a lot of different opportunities to do programming that normally wouldn’t be on The CW. You can try things out, try new characters, or do a reboot of something from a long time ago. I think what’s really exciting about CW Seed and other streaming platforms is that it puts the viewer in control. If you want to watch Beerfest: Thirst for Victory at 2 am, you can. If you want to watch the old episodes of Dynasty before The CW’s new reboot, you can do that. That’s what’s great about CW Seed and other streaming platforms. No matter where you are, you can access it. I’m stoked that this is their first original movie and I was really glad to be a part of it.

PC: Did you know going in that this would be their first full-length feature film? Did that add any additional pressure?
Blake: You know, I didn’t know! A lot of times, you don’t have all those details when you get the part. I actually think that’s better because then you don’t have all that added pressure. [laughs] I knew it was CW Seed. I just thought of it as a movie that was really funny. I focused on that. I showed up to work and just had a good time.

PC: How does Scott’s experience compare to your own?
Blake: Oh man! I think Scott had a lot more fun in college than I did. I loved my college. But I went to an acting conservatory in North Carolina. We had class from 8 in the morning until 11 at night. We had academics in the morning and then rehearsal at night. It was Monday through Saturday, so I didn’t get a lot of free time in college. I had a good time but it was pretty rigorous.

I did relate to Scott coming into the real world. No one can escape the pains of having to pay your own bills for the first time, figuring out how to not just eat ramen [laughs], and how to find a job. Although I was pursuing an acting career and Scott was pursuing a job that he doesn’t like that much, I do know what it’s like to make ends meet.

PC: With the film out now, what was your favorite scene to film and what was the most challenging?
Blake: Without giving too much away, there’s nothing like the final contest. There’s so much energy. Everybody in the cast was there. One of the actors who I think is so great is Brendan Robinson who plays Rob. He and I have a lot of funny banter. That final scene is so much fun.

The most challenging? I don’t know if it was a particular scene, but we had really early call times. Our call times were every day at 4 am. I was there every day. It meant getting up at 2:30 each morning. It was pretty challenging initially because you’re doing that for weeks and weeks.

PC: Of all the beer games featured in the film, which was your favorite?
Blake: [laughs] Oh gosh! It’s a tough call between beer pong and flip cup. I will say that I got really good at both during filming. When you’re playing beer pong, you have to land it into the cup. By the end, I was getting it in on my own. But I’m going to go with flip cup.

PC: Besides Beerfest, do you have any other upcoming projects that you can chat about at this time?
Blake: I’m very excited to be developing some content. I’m working with this incredibly talented actress, Kim Shaw. She and I are friends and we’ve worked together in the past. We’re writing and developing a show that hopefully you’ll be seeing very soon.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

PC: Guilty pleasure TV show?
Blake: House Hunters! I can watch it for hours.

PC: Guilty pleasure movie?
Blake: Clueless

PC: Favorite book?
Blake: That’s a hard one! I really like A Home at the End of the World by Michael Cunningham. But I also read Letters to a Young Poet almost every day.

PC: Favorite play or musical?
Blake: Oh man! Again, that’s really hard to pick. But I loved Death of a Salesman and The Glass Menagerie is right behind that.

PC: A band or artist that fans would be surprised to learn is on your playlist?
Blake: [laughs] Beach Boys!

PC: Last show you binge-watched?
Blake: Episodes

PC: Favorite social media platform?
Blake: Instagram

PC: Hidden talent?
Blake: I’m surprisingly really good at math.

Make sure to follow Blake on Twitter and Instagram, and catch Beerfest: Thirst for Victory on CW Seed.

Photo Credit: Vince Trupsin