Craig Robert Young – All That You Wannabe

By starrymag | January 7, 2014

Q.  Are there any current projects that you areworking on?

A.  I am on a TV series called “Head to Toe.” The series is about a young, female soccer team and I play the character Mooreon the series.

Q.  Can you tell us a bit about the new movie Wannabe that’s coming out and your character Steve Williams?

A.  Wannabe is a film about a British guy whocomes over to the US who is a former boy band member and he is the onlysurviving member, the rest died in a bus crash.  He vows never to danceagain and embarks on a new career in the United States and is followed by aBritish TV crew.  It’s very much like Best In Show meets WaitingFor Guffman.

Q.  Since you’re a writer on Wannabe, howdid you come up with the concept for the film?

A.  It was based out of real life, I actually was ina pop band myself in the UK and I met the director on a short film that we didtogether called Exhibit A and we started writing together about two and ahalf years ago and we had like five scripts in development and we went toSundance (Film Festival) last year and decided that we were going to make ourown movie.  We took the script that we were working on that was leastexpensive to produce and Wannabe was the one we knew we could do and end up witha really good product in the end. 

Q.  You were a writer, producer and actor in thefilm, how were you able to keep up these duty?

A.  I don’t know, lots of coffee.  It was such agreat collaboration for me because as I said I was working with the directoranyway and we had a great relationship as writers so when it came to actualproduction it was clearly that we needed to develop that relationship anyway,and I also knew this world so well that by writing it, it would give me such anadvantage when it came to the acting part.  The acting part was very muchsecond nature to me so I didn’t have to come straight too hard on that part butwhat was most important to us was telling the story and letting the characterstake a life of their own.  So, the writing part and being focused on thestory was probably the most difficult.  In terms of producing, we had ourown equipment, we got a couple of financers on board, so it was much more aboutlogistics and finding locations and getting the actors together, the budget andwe worked pretty much, but it paid off in the end, we’ve got a great product.

Q.  Do you have a most memorable moment fromfilming Wannabe?

A.  Probably when we went to Palm Springs, we shot acouple of scenes in Palm Springs and it was also a nice excuse to give theactors their time and energy on the project, to give them a little bit of abreak.  We spent two day and then we had really one day off where we justhad a great time, the cast really got to know each other and just had an awfullot of fun.

Q.  We’ve read that Joe Simpson, Ashlee Simpson’sfather, asked for Ashlee’s part to be changed in her new film Wannabefrom a lesbian, how did this make you feel?

A.  If I was the producer of her movie and they cameto me and wanted to change the role, and it was specific to the plot, I wouldn’twant her in the movie.  Because we’re in the art of story telling and if itis relative that her character is a lesbian, to the art of the story that we’retelling then we need someone who is going to be comfortable playing that role. If she’s not comfortable playing that role, then I wouldn’t want an actress thatis not willing to go to the length in order to tell the story.  I mean youknow, if you don’t want to play a lesbian and you’re character is a lesbian thendon’t play it.

Q.  What made you want to be a part of the show “Zoey101?”

A.  “Zoey 101” came about, I was auditioning forseveral different shows, Dan Schneider I had been a fan of for a while, who isthe creator.  In the audition, he was just such a nice guy and he was justsomeone that I wanted to work with and it seemed like a fun and exciting show,that’s why I decided to take the role.

Q.  What was it like working with a really youngcast on “Zoey 101?”

A.  It was tough because I don’t consider myself thatold anyway and I was the oldest member of the cast and it was hard to, you knowon all the other shows and movies that I’ve done you kind of develop afriendship or some sort camaraderie with the cast, and it was difficult. They were so young and Jamie-Lynn herself was pretty shy and there wasn’t anawful lot that we had in common because they were so young.  But it waslike being on “Head to Toe” because the girls are like sixteen, seventeen andthey have some personality and we get on a lot better.  On “Zoey 101” I wastalking more to the showbiz mom’s.

Q.  You’ve done acting, writing, producing,directing, VJ’ing, etc.  Is there anything that you haven’t done that you’dlike to try your hand at?

A.  Let’s see, you know it’s so weird to me because Ijust enjoy the business so much and it’s like I love every single aspect of it. I remember once someone asking me to choose, “if you had to choose what wouldyou do, would it be acting, writing producing, directing, which do you love themost?”  I really honestly love every single part of it, I am excited when Iam directing, I love the time that I spend alone when I am creating characterswhen I am writing, I love the rush of being a producer to meet deadlines to makesure that we have everything that we need when we’re shooting.  I loveacting, I love creating characters and bringing characters to life!  Toanswer your question though,  I’d love to run a marathon though, that’d bepretty cool.

Q.  As a writer and producer, what do you look forwhen your doing casting?

A.  Life, I think when you come to casting, it’sabout somebody bringing life to the role.  They don’t have to embody thecharacter but if they are interesting, and you’re watching them and they’reinteresting then I think that you can build upon, we’re not looking for thatcharacter to walk in the room and say “I am that character.”  But ifsomebody has life and they’re interesting, then I think you can build upon thatand help them create what it is that you vision.

Q.  What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

A.  What little spare time I have I socialize quite alot, I love going to the movies, go to the movies at least once a week.  Iplay a bit of golf, I’ve just taken up golf which is quite relaxing and I spenda lot of time at home and just watching TV and having dinner parties, thingslike that.

Q.  What’s the last great movie that you saw thatmade it so great?

A.  Million Dollar Baby, it defied the blockbusterending of a lot of movies, it had it’s twists and turns, the performances wereoutstanding, I loved the direction.  It was just a real great story, I wason the edge of my seat throughout most of it and I think that if a movie canmove you in so many different ways, I laughed, I cried, I was on the edge of myseat, and I think that movie did an excellent job, I can’t fault it in any way.

Q.  What’s your latest obsession, are you into anyparticular sport, activity, book?

A.  I am reading a couple of books right now and tryand get out a little bit more and be a bit more social.  I’m reading a bookcalled Running With Scissors by August M. Burrows which is pretty awesome, butI’m not a very obsessive person, I’m very passionate and driven in terms ofcareer and goals.  I promise to have some sort of recreation or time formyself.

Q.  Is there anything that you’d like to say toyour fans and supporters?

A.  Do I have any?!  You know I’m justcontinuing to strive to be a better artist in every shape and form and if peoplelike what I am doing then I am very grateful.  I really am just doing allof this for myself, it’s what makes me happy and if what I do makes other peoplehappy, then that’s great too.  I really am just working on myself and Ithank the people for their support and if they like what I do that’s wonderful,but it’s been a long time since I’ve had adoring fans.  I thank them fortheir love and support and hope that they continue to enjoy what I do.