We recently sat down with Devon Bostick, who you probably know as Rodrick, the older brother from the DIARY OF A WIMPY KID movies. Devon is a Toronto native, and his newest movie, SMALL TIME, comes out in select theatres tomorrow. Here’s our in-depth conversation with Devon:
How did you first become interested in acting?
Well I joined a theatre camp when I was in grade one. I was in a new neighbourhood and I didn’t really know many people and my friend Brian asked me if I wanted to go to a theatre camp and I said “sure”! I didn’t know what that meant when I was five. So I went and played the old man in Jack and the Beanstalk and then I got the acting bug and did that theatre camp for four more years until I was 10 and then I wanted to do it professionally so I asked my mom “How do I do this?” so I got an agent and I’ve just been building up my credit ever since.
What is your first memory of being on a film set?
I remember it well! I was 10 and I did one line in this show called ODYSSEY 5 and I had a line to Peter Weller who was like a RoboCop type guy and I was like “That’s a lame costume, dude” and it was cool! There were so many components. I remember just sort of asking a bunch of questions just ‘cause I was so curious and as I grew up I learned to stop asking so many questions because people have jobs to do.
What other careers would interest you if you weren’t an actor?
I got into it so early and loved it so much that I really focused on just that but lately I’ve been interested in writing and producing just ‘cause you know, you meet and work with so many great people that I’ve wanted to get them back together.
What do you like to do when you have free time?
Lately I’ve been golfing, which is my new thing. I’m not great at it, but it’s fun! I like sports but I don’t like being too physical because, you know my body is just not made for it, so golf and hiking and stuff like that. I love writing – writing’s one of the things I do a lot on my off time and just yeah, hanging out with friends, some video games here or there.
What’s your favourite video game?
Well since I’m Canadian, NHL ‘14 is my game!
Comparing your new film SMALL TIME to the DIARY OF A WIMPY KID series, what are some of the differences between making a film that’s based on an original script as opposed to one that’s based on existing books?
Yeah, with something like WIMPY KID, there’s so many components, down to the fact that the material already exists through books and fans have opinions and feelings about each character and story and you have to treat it delicately just because you want to do the fans justice. So that’s interesting, working on something that’s already got a previous fan base because you kind of have to live up to the hype whereas something like SMALL TIME, where it’s an independent film and it’s an original script and original story, we’ve making our own thing so it was really all about the art and work. If you’re doing something with a previous fan base there’s a lot on your shoulders while you’re filming.
What was the most memorable experience from filming SMALL TIME?
That’s tough, there were a lot of memorable experiences but to pinpoint one is tough! I loved the days when all the guys were there, like Chris Meloni and Dean Norris and then like, Kevin Nealon and Ken Davitian and some of the 24 guys…It was cool to see them all play off each other in this sort of shtick-y kind of way. They had a shtick you know, it seemed like they all knew each other for years which was really cool to watch. I had fun shooting the whole film because everyone on it was just so much fun and loved the script so we were all there for that.
There’s a lot going on in SMALL TOWN! What would be the main message you want viewers to take away from it?
The main message you can take away from this is the importance of family and reconnecting with people you haven’t reconnected with in a long time and the importance of that. It really is a touching film – it’s a lot of fun but there are a lot of touching moments, like where you see Freddy and the father trying to reconnect over the lost time that they’ve had because Freddy lives with his mom for most of his life. One of the great things that you take away from it is that everyone has got something going on in their life, and then the other is how important family is, especially over business.
Having worked in both, how would you compare the Canadian film industry to the American film industry?
In ways they’re similar but in ways they’re completely different. I’d say the only difference is that sometimes in the American film industry there’s like 20 times the amount of money budgeted, but it doesn’t really matter how much money you really have I feel like, because for the film it really depends on the script and the actors you have and the execution of it. I mean there are just so many components that you can go right or wrong with whether it’s the Canadian industry or the American. I really enjoy both – I find both are really accepting and full of nice people. There’s just talent everywhere! I like working in Canada and America, it’s just sometimes the difference is also the exposure. It’s harder to do, sometimes, a Canadian film because people aren’t going to see Canadian films, which is tough, but then again it can be that way with an independent film as well.
If you could be in any type of film in a moment in movie history, which era would you chose and why?
I’d probably do 80’s comedies just because of how outrageous they were and how many risks they could take with their choices and storylines were always very kooky. That’s tough, it’s a good question! I don’t know, I’ve always been a fan of comedy and good, artsy drama films so…but comedy is always something that I get back to because I like to laugh so probably back when Adam Sandler was doing HAPPY GILMORE and BILLY MADISON.
What projects do you have coming up?
I have quite a few things! THE 100 is out right now, which is on CW and Netflix Canada and that’s based off a book as well and I love the show, I’m really happy to be a part of it! It’s about a hundred years in the future, after the apocalypse the human race went up to space to form one space station and now 100 years after being in the space station the arc is dying and they have to do population control and they’re running out of options so they send 100 of their juvenile delinquents to Earth for the first time to see if it’s inhabitable again, so it’s sort of like LORD OF THE FLIES in the 22nd century, which is really cool, and we’re dropping like flies! That’s out right now; it comes out every Wednesday and then Thursdays on Netflix. I’m in Toronto right now. I’m doing a film called REGRESSION. The director is Alejandro Amenábar and it stars Ethan Hawke and Emma Watson so I’m here for that now which is really awesome. I’ve also got a web series called SUPERHOUSE with McG’s company that I wrote and that’s in development so there’s a lot going on right now!
SMALL TIME will be released in Toronto theatres, on VOD and on iTunes on April 18. It will be out on DVD on June 3.