The following interview for Backstage’s on-camera series The Slate was compiled in part by Backstage readers just like you! Follow us on Twitter (@Backstage) and Instagram (@backstagecast) to stay in the loop on upcoming interviews and to submit your questions.
Skylar Astin is your classic triple threat. His chops landed him a breakout role in the original Broadway cast of the smash hit “Spring Awakening” at a young age, and he’s since made a name for himself in the “Pitch Perfect” films and on the CW’s “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.” Astin currently stars as Max Richman on NBC’s “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist,” which returned this month following the first season’s romantic cliffhanger. The show features characters that break into song to express their emotional states—the perfect outlet for Astin’s many talents.
There’s a science to filming during the pandemic.
“Safety is paramount, not only in my personal life, but here in Vancouver and on [the] set [of ‘Zoey’]. It’s a totally new normal for as long as we need to deal with it. We started [filming] in August and did the two-week quarantine. And now we have, literally, scientists on set in lab coats. There’s a whole operation surrounding the big operation of filming. So it’s pretty interesting. It took a minute, but we’ve adjusted. Now I know exactly what I’m getting myself into.”
He’s taking things a day at a time during the production of “Zoey” Season 2.
“I was very curious [while filming Season 1]. I have a great relationship with Austin Winsberg, the creator, and he would give me little nuggets and even consult me about certain things, especially musically. And this year, with so much going on and also it being a totally different operation that’s being run remotely, I think that it’s been kind of nice to take it moment to moment. I do have a general outline of where [my character is] going. I think I know everything that I need to know.”
What to Know About Auditioning for Musical Series Like ‘Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist’ Backstage and open calls got him into the room.
“I used to subscribe to Backstage [in] print, and I used to go to the section where the open calls were for non-Equity parts. I [went to] a ‘Hairspray’ audition, [and] I got through a dance call and didn’t [get it]. But I got to meet the creative team, which was cool, so I got to do that through Backstage. And then [I] was very lucky to be afforded some opportunities to audition for some kind of high-profile workshops. I’m lucky that when I was 16, one of my, like, third workshops that I ended up booking was ‘Spring Awakening.’ ”
His advice for young actors: Say yes to everything.
“Something that I did was to just say yes to everything, unless it [felt] wrong for moral reasons or something like that. There was a summer when I was doing ‘Spring Awakening’ where, you know, you do eight shows a week. But I said yes to every reading that I was either offered or my agents got me an audition for. And I was in the room with James Lapine twice, Joe Mantello, [and] Dolly Parton. When you’re cutting your teeth, you just wanna work with everyone and be in the room.”
Astin never expected to break into film and television.
“It was theater only from the start. I couldn’t even imagine myself doing TV or film. I ended up getting an audition for ‘Hamlet 2,’ which was my first movie I ever did, and everyone in ‘Spring Awakening’ was auditioning for it. And then a month after that, I ended up booking it. And before I knew it, I was signed by a great agency who was trying to lure me out to Los Angeles to do what I now know as pilot season. And over the course of that year, I ended up booking a pilot. I used that money to kinda pay for my rent for that year. And I’ve been in L.A. ever since.”
Staying creative during this time means taking the pressure off of yourself.
“I was home for the first time in a long time—fully home in L.A. And I have my childhood piano that I, years ago, flew out from New York. So I have this beautiful grand piano that I was able to really re-explore, and I started to play these cover songs. I would post them on my Instagram, just for fun. Super raw and uncut. But that kinda led me to finding my voice a little bit as an artist, and I’ve decided to make an album, and I have seven songs pretty much done. That was just, from a pure creative [perspective], super rewarding…. I think it was just about pacing myself and not putting pressure on.”
This story originally appeared in the Jan. 26 issue of Backstage Magazine. Subscribe here.
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