Nineteen-year-old Michael Angarano is slowly but surely rising up the ranks in Hollywood. As a child, he was featured in such films as Seabiscuit, Almost Famous and Music Of The Heart with Meryl Streep. More recently, with headlining roles in Lords Of Dogtown, a stint on Will and Grace and appearing in the upcoming indie Snow Angels, more and more people are taking notice- including the creator of 24.
Chronicle: What are some of the main differences between appearing in front of an audience acting (such as your recurring role on Will and Grace) and appearing without one? What was your experience on Will and Grace like?
Michael Angarano: First off, Will & Grace was a pretty special show to me; it was basically a once in a lifetime experience. From when I first began on the show until it ended Ialways had to deal with those pre-show, backstage butterflies that progressively got better as time went on but make no doubt about it they were always there. I got a along great with everyone on that set but particularly Sean Hayes and Megan Mullaly. Maybe because I had more to do with them and they got to know me a little more or just that I had a pretty crude sense of humor at times much like they did. I guess someone could think the main priority for me would be just to fit in and not get in their way, but in never really felt like that. It always felt like I was bringing something as well.
Chronicle: You recently completed four episodes of 24 which is one of the most popular shows on television today. What is it like being on such a high profile show and how did you get the gig in the first place?
Angarano: I heard they might be interested in me for 24 from my agent – a kind of standard procedure. Then no more than a few days later, my cousin and I were at a store and all of a sudden I hear, "Hey. Michael Angarano, I want you on my show. I'm Joel Surnow, the producer." I knew exactly who he was. After I spoke with him then and a few times over the phone while I was on set somewhere else, that was that. The set is a real pro set. Everybody cruises on it, but they work real hard. Television in general is faster paced than movies, but this show is like Hercules of TV. They bull doze through episodes. The crew made me few like I had been on the show for four years by the end of my first day. The atmosphere was very loose but tight and focused at the same time. Especially when Kiefer Sutherland was on the set. They're going to do what they have to do but they're going to do it well.
Chronicle: Many people might remember you from your role in Lords Of Dogtown. How was it filming Dogtown, skateboarding and working with the director Catherine Hardwicke?
Angarano: Lords of Dogtown was the set that as a person I grew up the most on. I was the youngest of the big group of guys and much like the guys we were portraying, we felt like this was something special. All of us were competitive with each other, but in the brotherly way; we were always pushing each other. It was also the only set I've ever been on where they encouraged the actors to get hurt. I thought Catherine Hardwicke was the perfect person to direct the movie. She lives in Venice, Ca and she grew up with these guys so she really knew the attitude and the time. But she also brings an energy as a director that rubs off on you. She was the toughest person on that set - nobody messed with her.
Chronicle: What is the audition process like?
Angarano: Auditioning can be very tedious, but in a really good audition with a good director and possibly another actor, you have a lot of fun. It's definitely a learning process. I've been auditioning for a very large portion of my life and I still haven't quite figured it out. Usually, the first audition is with a casting director. They give you a few pages of sides from the script to learn, then they tape you reading with the casting director. Then they call you back to read those same pages or maybe some different pages for the producer or director. Then after the first call back, there usually is one more you have to go through. Maybe with executive producer, or a studio head of some kind. The process depends on what it is you are auditioning for. Television requires more of a process because the studios and networks are involved.
Chronicle: Do you like attending film festivals and seeing your face on the big screen?
Angarano: Festivals could be fun depending who you are with. As for seeing myself on screen, it's always interesting in good and bad ways. There isn't anyway of looking at something you've done in an objective way. Maybe there is though some years later.
Chronicle: What are some projects you are working on presently?
MA: I have a movie called Snow Angels coming out sometime this year or next that was at the Sundance Film Festival - Sam Rockwell and Kate Beckinsale are in that and David Gordon Green wrote and directed it. Then I have a movie called The Final Season with Sean Astin that should be coming out this summer and Man in the Chair with Christopher Plummer, which does not have a release date. I am also going to do a movie with Jackie Chan and Jet Li that Rob Minkoff called The Forbidden Kingdom. It comes out April 18th, 2008.
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