Skyler Gisondo, 18, already has 12 years of acting experience under his belt. He’s guested on some of the small screen’s biggest series and landed the blockbuster “The Amazing Spider-Man.” He now tackles another classic in the hard-R reboot of “Vacation.”
On auditioning for “Vacation.”
“The project first came around when I was 15 years old, but they weren’t sure if they wanted to go with a PG–13 rating or an R, and then the project switched studios and went away for a while. Two years later, I’m 17 going on 18 and it comes up again over the summer. I was a counselor at this camp and I kept leaving for these auditions. I think I went in eight times when all was said and done.”
On paying homage to the original.
“When I first got the material for the audition, I hadn’t seen the original. What I really loved about the new script was it did a great job of paying homage and incorporating the original while also being something very new—not your dad’s ‘Vacation.’ ”
On being a child actor.
“Once you’ve been doing something for so long, you’re constantly evaluating why you do it and if you still enjoy doing it and for what reasons you enjoy doing it. As I’ve gotten older, as I’ve transitioned, that process has just meant saying no to younger roles. I look so young I could play 14. I don’t want to play 14. They say, ‘Dress for the job you want, not for the job you have.’ With this, you take on the roles for the future you want, not for the ones that are going to come easily.”
On making people laugh.
“My favorite part of making a movie is to watch it in a crowd of people seeing it for the first time. To see them react so positively to a movie and just be shaking in their seats [laughing]. Who knows what’s going on in their lives outside of that theater, but for those two hours, they’re just crying with laughter. It’s a really powerful thing.”
On balancing school and work.
“I’m at USC for directing. Although I love working and making movies and that will always be the priority, I really do love continuing my education. It’s great to be active and learning instead of sitting around waiting for a phone call for the next project. Now I’m 18, I’m about to turn 19—I’ll get a script for, like, a college frat boy type, and if I’d never gone to school, I wouldn’t really have anything genuine to draw from. [Getting] more life experience, it grounds you a little bit more.”
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