Chris O’Neal Tells Us How To Rock – Interview

BSCkids recently sat down with Nickelodeon’s “How to Rock” star Chris O’Neal. Chris spoke with us about his new television show and his talents outside of acting.

Chris stars as Kevin Reed, the drummer for Gravity 5 in the new Nickelodeon live-action comedy series How to Rock.  Besides being constantly hungry and constantly sweating, he is awkward with the ladies but athletic enough to make every sports team… just not good enough to actually play. The New Jersey native, O’Neal is an actor, drummer and poet, and currently in his senior year of high school and How to Rock is his debut!  The show premieres on Nickelodeon on Saturday, February 4th.

What can you tell us about your new show, How To Rock? 

How to Rock is about a band called Gravity5.  It’s a series that lets people know that you don’t have to dress or hang out with certain people to be cool. You are cool just being who you are. The show has a lot of music and comedy. There’s also a great message in every episode.

How is your character on the show similar to you? 

I think my character, Kevin, is similar to me in a lot of ways.  On the show, Kevin is not very good with the ladies and I wouldn’t consider myself a ladies’ man in real life either. We both like to have fun and love making people laugh too.

Are there going to be any romantic plots for your character in the show?

My character doesn’t have a romantic plot at the moment but relationships may develop in the future.  Only time will tell.   

Are there any other Nickelodeon shows you would love to guest star on?

I would love to guest star on iCarly and Victorious.  I have seen most of their episodes and I met some of the stars from each show, such as Leon Thomas.

Have you always known that you wanted to be an actor?

Yes, since I was in fifth grade.  I have always been in school plays, but fifth grade was the first time I saw Fresh Prince of Bel Air.  After watching Will Smith, I realized that I wanted to do that .  I wanted to make people laugh all over the country and world, just like he did.

So in addition to being an actor, you are also a poet. What kind of poetry do you write?

My poetry writing is random. There really is no theme. I write depending on the mood I am in.  For example, I wrote the poem, PATIENCE, when I was waiting to hear back about an audition.  I also wrote a poem called Hunger, because I was hungry in school waiting for lunchtime.

You are also a drummer; do you play in a band outside of the show and school?

I started playing the drums in the band at my church when I was 14 years old.

Which do you like more, acting or playing music?

Acting has always been my passion, but music is a part of my life also.