Harvey Guillen – Til It Happens To You

By: Lisa Steinberg

Q) What are the recent projects that you are working on?

A) I’m officially reoccuring on “The Thundermans.” I went back to my family on “The Thundermans” and will be reoccuring. I’m excited because they are bringing in special guest stars to play alongside of my character.

Q) With regards to “The Thundermans,” what can we get to see now that you are reoccuring?

A) Blobbin is filthy rich so the possibilities are endless. A lot of the scenarios are with family like babysitting and helping out at the last minute. He’s the family member they go to when there are problems. If they have a problem they can’t fix themselves and it is a major problem, they turn to me and I help them out. It’s always when they are in need of someone cooler and older than them. I’m like the cool older cousin who has a lot of money and doesn’t know what to do with it.

Q) What is your favorite aspect of filming the show?

A) I love that anything can happen. I get to be a superhero, which I never thought I would be able to say. Anything is possible thanks to Nickelodeon and the writers. They have created this character who is fun to play. He’s rich, he’s a superhero and anything can happen! One day you are building a rocket ship to go to space or taking cannonballs to the chest because you are a superhero.

Q) We see you starring in the Lady Gaga PSA for campus violence. How did you get  involved?

A) It was interesting because the PSA is based on the documentary The Hunting Ground. I got a call from Catherine Hardwick who I worked with before on “Eye Candy.” Originally, I spoke with Jamie Holt who is my friend that is a producer and also my writing partner. She mentioned a project with Catherine and said I should be in it. I asked her what it was about. I figured I would probably be the best friend in it who is consoling someone. I assumed I would be cast in a scenario like that. Catherine called me and told me that she wanted me to play the attacker. I said, “What?” She said, “The attacker.” I was like, “You mean someone is going to attack her and I’ll play the person after that?” She said, “No. I want you to play the attacker.” It took me back for a second. I’ve never been asked to play an attacker and I had to ask myself if I could play one. Also, the type of material was very graphic and I had to ask myself if it was something I felt comfortable doing. She said, “You know why I picked you is because a lot of victims say to their attackers was someone they knew and trusted. With your endearing face and personality, I wanted it to be someone would be like, ‘Well, that’s not the attacker, that’s the best friend.'” That’s the kind of message they wanted to send out, anyone could be the attacker and not rely on the fact that they could know that person or trust them. When she explained it to me I said, “Wow. That’s genius and so true!” I thought it would be a big statement and agreed to do it. It was the hardest thing to do as an actor. To get into that mindset of a “monster…” I couldn’t sleep for days afterwards. I just felt disgusted with myself. Even though it was a character, the whole thing plays with your demons. It blows my mind how the attackers live with themselves because it is the most disturbing and disgusting thing. To work with Nikki Reed, she really went there. She was hitting me and punching me. After every take, Nikki was in tears and I was in tears.

Q) How did you get into that mindset for the role?

A) It was hard. I did research on villains and how to be an attacker. I had to convince myself that we both wanted this. That was the only justification in my head. I didn’t see it as an attack, but that we were both flirting, we’re friends and that this is were this was leading up to. I had to convince myself and justify it. Getting into the mindset was convincing myself that in my head this wasn’t an attack. It was a romantic gesture and we both wanted it. All of these excuses were not excuses – they were bullet-points of the facts. With a lot of these attackers, when they go to court they say we both wanted it, she was dressed like that or we were both drinking. You really can’t speak for them though. You can speak for yourself and you are responsible for yourself.

Q) The PSA has gotten over 12 million views so far. How do you feel about the exposure it has been getting and the impact?

A) I think it is great. We were up to 7million within the first two days and it is great to see the feedback from people who are watching it. I had friends send me direct messages and I was stunned at some of the truth that was coming out from people watching it. This was a hard role for me to do because of the roles I’ve done in the past, but I can’t imagine being the victim. For me, personally, seeing the emails and messages from friends connect with it and open up to me has been so shocking. The PSA has opened people up and told them that it is ok to bring it to someone’s attention because someone else’s silence is someone else’s comfort. People tend to shy away from talking about things like that. They have to speak up so we can start a discussion and do something about this. So, I was shocked to see how many people were sending me messages thanking me and adding, “By the way, this happened to me.” I was in shock. I told them, “When you’re ready you should tell someone because your worth counts.” In a weird way, by playing an attacker, I’ve become someone people come to with what has happened to them. I try to help to help them as best as I can to help them deal with it. People are also shocked that I’m playing this role. For this, people are blown away. I got a message from Diane Warren who wrote the music for the PSA and has written so many hit songs. She said, “You scared me when you became this character because it seemed so real! It’s so weird because you are such a sweet guy in real life, but I believed you in this role.” It was such a nice compliment because it showed versatility. I’m always trying to stretch myself to play something different and I proved to myself and other people that I can play someone who is scary and frightening.

Q) Did you get to see  the other portions of the PSA being filmed?

A) Catherine has a very good working environment and is very protective of the actors. So, we were not able to see each other’s scenes because it is already uncomfortable to do a scene like that and to do it in front of a crew let alone adding an audience of more actors hanging out. Catherine is very good at having it be a closed set and have a minimum of people for crew. It’s just more people and more unnecessary bodies in the room. I did hang out in the room there and with Kiersey Clemons. I was originally reading the script for the character and I told my friend Kiersey that she should be one of the characters. She was terrified and wasn’t sure. I told her it was for a good cause. That was the main thing – a good cause. We wanted to bring awareness and do something we could be proud of. And she did it. She got in contact with Catherine and ended up doing a fantastic job. I was so proud of her!

Q) What do you hope people take away from watching the PSA?

A) I, personally, think people can learn this is actually happening and these numbers are outrageous. This needs to stop. There is just no other way. It just needs to stop. Bringing it a spotlight is good way to spread the word. Oprah tweeted about it. Hilary  Clinton has made this part of her campaign. This is what needs to happen. People need to start conversations and dialogues. A PSA like this starts a conversation and that’s amazing and great. Everything is starting to work the way it is supposed to because this just needs to stop. The numbers are ridiculously high and schools need to take actions as well towards the people who are being victims. One of the things they highlighted in the PSA is that when you show up to the Dean’s office the day after you have been attacked they ask you, “How much did you have to drink and what were you wearing?” That blew my mind. Questions should be, “Are you okay? Do I need to get you to a doctor?” Your questions shouldn’t be about what you were wearing to determine how far the paperwork goes or implying that you deserved it. They should get you to a hospital. That is another thing that I hope will change. It should never come from the approach that they deserved it. They are the victim and need to be heard out. Hear what the person is saying instead of justifying it. That mentality has to go.

Q) What can fans do to help get involved with the campaign?

A) Everyone should watch it and spread the word. You never know who you are helping by just starting a conversation and who you inspire by talking about the things that are considered “uncomfortable.”