Exclusive Interview: Zach Gilford (Dare)

Writer/Director team David Brind and Adam Salky were the belles of the ball at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah last year. The team who met at Columbia Film School brought their prized possession, Dare (2009) starring Emmy Rossum, Zach Gilford, and Ashley Springer to the event. The film was hailed as of the greats of Sundance and fans were dying to get a chance to see the challenging, daring, and heartwarming film that Sundance fell in love with. Dare (2009) opens November 13th and it is not your typical high school film; it is a film about three students who have eye-opening, self-exploration through their adolescence. PopStar spoke with star Zach Gilford about getting involved in the project, how sterotypes affected his own life, and of course we had to squeeze some Friday Night Lights (TV) info out of him.

This is such a great story, can you tell us how you got involved in the project?

I got the script emailed to me by my manager and I really liked it. So then I watched the short film that Adam [Salky] created and I made an audition tape, sent that over to New York. Eventually I had to fly out to New York to read for them in person, meet Adam, and I got the part.

Johnny is a different character than you have played in the past, he is a bit wild and daring. Can you relate personally to Johnny in any way?

There are some things, not a lot specifically; I think we had fairly different high school experiences. Whenever you do a charterer a lot of you is going to seep into it whether you mean for it to or not so it is hard to say.

Dare deals with stereotypes which is something that plagues every high school student around the world. Were you stereotyped in high school and can you tell us about your experiences?

I definitely was and I don't think anyone can escape that. I know I stereotyped people without even meaning to do it. One of my best friends and I never became friends till our junior year of high school even though we had gone to school since sixth grade. When we became good friends I found out that he hated me, he thought I was something that I totally wasn't. It is the perfect example of stereotypes the way that we became friends. We were on a camping trip so we were forced to get to know each other even though we had been together in school for five to six years. We had preconceived notions of each other and once we got to know each other we became instant best friends and we are still close to this day.

Can you tell us about how you feel you did in this role, did you have fun and was it challenging?

It is super fun and super challenging at the same time. I think the reason people like doing movies is because it is fun to pretend to be different people and do different things. It is a good time because it is a new project with a new character but it is also hard because I have never done it before and I am working with all new people. I am proud of what we ended up putting out there but it was definitely a challenge. I grew up playing sports so I am kind of a competitive person; acting is a way for me to be competitive in this industry because it challenges me to do new things that might be difficult.

For the readers that have not heard about Dare or who have not seen the short, can you tell us what we can expect from seeing the film that deals with stereotypes?

It is something that we have all experienced. It is about having a label placed on you, or placing labels on other people and trying to break free and discover who you are. I think it is something that all of us whether it is in high school or after college goes through that transition to becoming yourself.

We have to ask, tell us about the sex scenes…

All those scenes were filmed toward the end of the movie so we had some time to get to know each, become friends and trust each other. The three of us all talked about the scenes beforehand and we were all on the same page. As awkward and uncomfortable as it was I think it was as comfortable and nonawkward as it could have been. We really knew each other very well; we really cared about each and wanted to make sure that we were all comfortable.

The tag line for this film is "Do Something You're Afraid Of." In the past year have you done something you have been afraid of?

Yeah, if you watch that scene at the end of the movie! Besides that, I like to be outdoors and do outdoor physical stuff. I was in Costa Rica this summer and jumped off some high rocks which is always fun. I like to do stuff that is physically scary.

Sadly we have all heard that your time on Friday Night Lights (TV) is coming to a close. What are you working on and what's next for you?

Right now, I am working on a movie called Answers to Nothing here in LA. I have a couple weeks off from the show so I am here working on that which is super fun. I go back to Texas in about two weeks and finish up my last couple episodes on the show and then it is the holidays.

Message to Fans?

Thank you! Hopefully you like the movie.