Delon Howell – Moving Forward

Q.  What are some of the recent projects that you’ve been working on?

A.  Right now I’m in rehearsals for a play called Throwing Rubies that’s supposed to be going on in West Hollywood in September.  I’m also working on an independent short film that’s actually filming this weekend.

Q.  You’ll also be seen in the upcoming movie Step Up.  What can you tell us about the premise for the movie and about your character PJ?

A.  The premise of the film basically centers around a character named Tyler Gage who is a talented guy going down the wrong path.  He gets involved with some vandalism and his punishment is to do community service at The School of the Arts.  Doing that, he meets a young lady and starts getting into dancing.  So, that’s the basic premise of the movie.  PJ is the neighborhood tough guy who the main character gets into a tussle with at the beginning of the film.  That sort of plays itself out throughout the film.

Q.  What made you want to be a part of this project?

A.  I love dance movies, this movie has a lot of energy.  I like the PJ character because it’s really different than what I’ve done in the past.  I’m usually playing the good guy, the boyfriend, the husband.  I thought giving the bad guy a turn would be kind of fun.

Q.  Do you have a most memorable moment from filming?

A.  The main thrust of PJ’s actions is actually a fight. We had a fight scene that we had to choreograph and we did that for I think three days.  It was just fighting all day and I ended up with a couple of bruises so it was a lot of fun. 

Q.  Why should viewers take the time to check outStep Up?

A.  I think it offers a good illustration of what can happen if you try to do the right thing.  It’s so easy to do the wrong thing all the time especially, if you’re around people in your life who are also doing the wrong thing.  It’s very easy to go down that path, but this movie shows people that once you try to invest yourself into something good, a lot can come out of it.  Love can come out of it, as in this movie.  Also, a creative piece of art came out of it. 

Q.  How was working with director Anne Fletcher?

A.  She’s so much fun, it’s like you’re not even at work.  You’re with your friends and your family having a good time, she’s great.  She made us laugh between takes even though we were getting kind of tired and sweaty from fighting all day.  She always lightened the mood a lot.

Q.  Do you feel there is a lot of chemistry between the cast on screen?

A.  Oh yeah, definitely.  I think everyone got along really well.  Some of us were dropping in and dropping out for weeks, a week here and a week there.  When you were there, there was no star status among the cast.  Everyone was pretty friendly.

Q.  We noticed on your resume that one of your skills is knuckle popping.  How much call in the acting field is there?

A.  Yeah, it’s just one of those things that comes easily to me.  I never had to use it for a role or a commercial or anything.

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

A.  I am usually working all the time or taking a class or in the gym.  Other than that, I’m sleeping. 

Q.  Do you have a latest obsession? Are you into any particular sport, book, music group or activity?

A.  I’m obsessing with downloading music, I don’t even know if that’s legal to tell you.  I just bought a CD recently and I couldn’t remember the last CD that I had bought before that.  I’ve been downloading so much, that’s definitely an obsession.