BSCKids was lucky enough to do a short phone interview with Alex Ferris, who plays Collin Lee in the film adaptation of Diary of a Wimpy Kid that comes to theaters March 19th 2010.
Damon: So can you tell me a little bit about your character in the movie?
Alex Ferris: Yes, I play Collin Lee a snappy Republican dressing nice kid. He becomes really good friends with Rowley and eventually Rowley and Greg, the main character, get into a huge fight. So then Collin becomes Rowley’s best friend. Later in the movie, Greg, of course he apologizes to Rowley and they make up and become friends again and Collin doesn’t like this at all because he sort of thinks Greg is a loser. So that’s pretty much the end of Collin and Rowley’s friendship.
Did you actually get to read the books before you signed on for the movie or was it the other way around?
I signed on for the movie and then I read the books, but my friends have been reading the books for a long time. A lot of my friends were actually telling me I had to read the books, so then when I got the part I was like O.K. now I definitely have to read these books.
Did you actually get ot meet Jeff Kinney, the author of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid books?
Yeah it was actually incredible, because by that time I had already read all of the books. I started loving them and then when I met him it was so incredible because he is such a down to earth guy and he is great, he brought his kids on set and everything, he was really kind and funny in person.
Can you tell us something funny that happened behind the scenes of the movie while you were filming?
One day the producers went to Toys “R” Us and bought us Nerf Guns so we had a Nerf Gun fight and that was really fun. Also, being on the set was also such a fantastic experience because of how kid friendly it was because all of the leads were kids. The food for instance was all food that kids would like.
What was really odd was that all of the cast was from different parts of America. Rowley was from Rhode Island, Greg was from Los Angeles, Fregley was from down in Alabama, yeah it was crazy. Oh yeah Chirag was from Seattle.
Can you tell us what sort of hobbies you have outside of acting, what do you like to do when you are not acting?
I play quite a few sports, soccer, football, basketball, baseball and golf. Those keep me pretty occupied. I also play rugby, I just recently started taking up rugby. I love it, I think that might be my favorite sport now. It is actually quite popular in Canada (where Alex lives) and I am also good at it.
What would you say your favorite part of being an actor has been so far?
The adventure aspect of it, you get to do so many things that a normal person in their average life would not get to do. There is all this travelling involved, you also get to meet all these cool people, you also get to pretend to be a lot of other cool people too, which is quite nice.
Are there any new projects, outside of this movie, that you can us about that you are working on?
On Saturday (Feb 20th), I recently got nominated for a Young Artist Award
Congratulations
I am going down to Los Angeles to hopefully get some, but I am not so sure, I am up against a lot of other good actors, but it would fantastic to get some of those and I am looking forward to that. Besides that I am pretty busy with public school. So sometimes I am not quite allowed to do as much as I would like to, so for now I am just busy with school.
The Battlestar Galactica fan in me has to ask, didn’t you have a part on “The Plan”?
Yes I did, that was actually really fun filming. Edward James Olmos, he was actually a really nice guy. We had a lot of fun.
Extra special thanks to Alex for taking time out of his schedule to chat with BSCkids. The interview above was transcribed from our telephone conversation.
ALEX FERRIS BIOGRAPHY
With more than 15 films, 14 television shows, and two Young Artists Award nominations under his belt, Alex Ferris has become one of the most watched young actors in the entertainment industry. He booked his very first audition for THE FIVE PEOPLE YOU MEET IN HEAVEN in the opening scene opposite legendary actor Jon Voight and from that moment on, he has landed roles in blockbuster features such as: RV with Robin Williams, THE INVISIBLE for Disney, X:MEN: THE LAST STAND, RUNAWAY VACATION, MEMORY, and Brett Ratner’s sci-fi epic X3. Alex went on to excel in television as well as film, booking recurring roles in series such as the successful Showtime series THE L WORD as “Wilson,” and TERMINAL CITY, with guest star roles on HARPERS ISLAND, STARGATE SGI, SMALLVILLE, ZIXX: LEVEL III, MASTERS OF HORROR II, and SUPERNATURAL. In 2009, Alex landed one of his most recognized roles to date, appearing alongside Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams as “Young Henry” in New Line Cinemas THE TIME TRAVELER’S WIFE. The film gave Alex a serious buzz in the entertainment business, as his portrayal of a younger “Henry DeTamble” (played by Eric Bana) was noted by some media as one of the most real and affectionate performances out of the whole cast. Now, in 2010 Alex can be seen as “Collin” in the highly anticipated, Twentieth Century Fox Film DIARY OF A WIMPY KID. Adapted from the New York Times bestselling series by Jeff Kinney, the film will premiere in March 2010.
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