You may know Kevin Alves as Fabio from season 12 of DEGRASSI, but did you know that he used to be a figure skater? After competing in Europe and South Africa, he began focusing on acting. His newest project, Disney’s HOW TO BUILD A BETTER BOY, is about two high school girls who accidentally create a boy via a computer. We were able to chat with Kevin and he told us all about his time on DEGRASSI, filming his new movie and much more!
You started out as a figure skater. What made you make the switch to acting?
I always knew that I was going to act since I was young. I was a crazy kid and I pretty much always knew what I was going to do. When I was seven, I said, “I’m going to skate for as long as I can and when I’m done skating, I’ll act and do music.” It’s been a done deal since then. I got to switch over to acting more once I’d gone to the World Championships for skating. I finally felt like I could start hanging up that hat and start working on my acting and my music.
Do you still skate?
I still skate. I’m just not competing because when you’re competing, you’re on the ice three hours a day, six days a week. I went skating yesterday for an hour in the morning before my day started and it was awesome, but I’m just not training as hard, that’s all.
Every acting role is different. What sort of challenges did your role on DEGRASSI present you with?
My character was portrayed as a love interest for Tristan. When I got the script and everything, I was never really told if he was going to end up being a love interest for him or if he was just a really nice guy to everyone. I guess the writers hadn’t decided at that point. It was hard because I had to make the decision as an actor… whether I was going to play him as if he was interested in being with Tristan or whether he was just a really nice guy who just thought Tristan was cool. I had to play that he was intrigued and liked Tristan as a friend and let Tristan’s feelings determine whether the audience believed it was a love interest or not.
What was your favourite memory from being on the DEGRASSI set?
I know a lot of the people! Like Cristine Prosperi was one of my acting partners, Munro Chambers; he’s like a neighbour and Justin Kelly; I had just worked on WAREHOUSE 13 with him, so I kind of knew everyone. It was always a lot of fun. The first day on set was probably the most fun only because me and Munro, we like to joke around a lot. The first thing we shot was me in the background holding a mask and at the end of the scene I always had to drop the mask and he’d be like “ugh” on purpose.In between every take he would scream out, “Fabio!” and I’d be like, “Elijah!” and he’d grab a stick and I’d grab a stick and we would play-fight pretty much every time they called cut. It got to the point where they were like, “Guys, let’s relax a little bit. Don’t use all your energy at seven in the morning.”
Which actor or actors do you look up to or find inspiring?
My biggest inspiration as an actor is Will Smith. It’s not even just because of his work, it’s because of what he has represented with his work. I feel like he’s this actor who represents clear choices in life. He always believes that you’re given a certain life but you can manipulate it the way you want to get what you want out of life and create a difference. He feels like it’s our job as actors to make a difference in other people’s worlds. If you’re not making someone else’s life better, then what are you doing with your life? Ever since a young age, I’ve always watched Will Smith and he’s always been a huge inspiration. One of the reasons why I love acting is that you get to affect people in a personal way.
Speaking of affecting people, DEGRASSI has a crazy fan following! Now that you’ve had a taste of it, what was that like?
It was fun! It wasn’t too crazy for me and I wasn’t too worried about it from the beginning, but the DEGRASSI fans are so dedicated. They work really hard to make all the cast members feel really loved and welcomed, so it’s been really awesome reading letters that they all send in. I still feel like I’ve just started. I’m finally finishing my skating career and starting to book roles for acting. It’s been a quick transition, but because DEGRASSI has such a dedicated fan base, I’ve gotten a quick taste of what it will be like hopefully five years from now.
Do you have any new projects coming up?
I’ve just finished working on HOW TO BUILD A BETTER BOY, the Disney film that’s shooting here now. That was a lot of fun because China Anne is like the coolest person on the entire planet, she’s a very funny girl. Now I’m just auditioning and working a lot more on music.
Did you find the filming process for a movie to be quite different than for a TV show?
On a TV show they work a lot quicker because the sets are already there and everything’s pretty much ready to go. Whereas on a film I feel like we take a lot more time to get each shot exactly how they want. But the energy on a Disney set is the same feel as a TV show because everyone’s really energetic. It’s all young people in the cast — I was one of the oldest! There were a lot of kids, it was quick and fun and everyone was super nice. Personally, between the two sets, DEGRASSI and HOW TO BUILD A BETTER BOY, they both felt almost the same to me.
Would you ever consider doing stage work?
Absolutely! I love doing stage. One day, this community theatre close to here in Aurora called Marquis Productions were doing ALADDIN. A week and a half before the opening night, their Aladdin dropped out, so they were trying to get a hold of people. I just called them and ended up learning the role in a week and doing the show! I love doing that kind of stuff because I feel like stage is for actors. Stage isn’t for the camera, it’s for actors. You get to go to an emotional place that’s harder to get to in TV and film because it’s so contained, whereas on stage you can maximize any kind of emotion. I feel like that’s the sweet spot that all actors like to hit.
Thanks, Kevin!
You can next catch Kevin in HOW TO BUILD A BETTER BOY, out in 2014.