Jared Gilman – It Takes Three

By starrymag | September 30, 2021

By: Lisa Steinberg

 

 

Q) Please tell us the premise for It Takes Three.

A) It Takes Three is about Cy, a nerdy high schooler with self-image issues, who gets hired by Chris (David Gridley), the most popular teen in school, to make his seemingly shallow social media presence more likeable to Roxy (Aurora Perrineau), the new girl that Chris has a crush on. As Cy gets to know Roxy (through being Chris online), he finds himself falling for her as well, despite all the warnings from his best friend Kat (Mikey Madison) that his scheme is actually a really bad idea.

 

Q) What made you want to be a part of this film?

A) I was engaged by the premise and the character. I found aspects of his personality that I could very easily relate to, and I had always wanted to do a high school-set comedy. I was also just graduating high school myself, so you could say I did many years of prep work in order to play a high schooler on screen.

 

Q) What was your audition like for Cy?

A) I actually did not audition for Cy. I received the script and a skype offer right before I graduated. I had that first Skype session with Scott [Coffey], and it went really well. He was super enthusiastic about the project and the character and was really willing to talk with me about it all the way through pre-production. So, I happily signed on, of course.

 

Q) What background were you given on the character?

A) Admittedly, I don’t think I was given that much background information beyond what was in the script. It’s also been four years since this all happened, so I do apologize for not having a perfect memory.

 

Q) Was there anything you added to the role that wasn’t in the initial breakdown?

A) I do remember in general being encouraged to weave aspects of my own personality into the character. I shared with Scott a lot of albums and movies that I was into. Some of that made it onto the walls of Cy’s bedroom, like his Eraserhead Scott got it directly from David Lynch’s house, apparently. I had mentioned it to him as being a personal favorite of mine, so I was beyond excited that he got the poster. He even gave me a second one, which I ended up taking with me to college. It was like one of three posters I ever hung on my dorm walls.

 

Q) Were you familiar with any of your co-stars before working with them on the film?

A) Admittedly I wasn’t, but I had an awesome experience working with all of them and have since seen them pop up in other movies and shows. I nearly screamed in the theater when I first noticed Mikey in Once Upon a Time…. in Hollywood. I get excited when I see friends in movies, what can I say? I also can’t wait to see Aurora show up in “Westworld.”

 

Q) What advice did director Scott Coffey offer while filming that you took to heart?

A) I just remember Scott’s deep enthusiasm for the film and my inclusion in it. On set he was always very supportive of my choices while I was playing Cy. I’m sorry I can’t remember a specific piece of advice from the set. We only had three weeks to shoot so we were moving fairly quickly. But he was always very positive after each take regarding performance, that much I remember very well.

 

Q) What were some of your favorite scenes to film and why?

A) I really enjoyed getting to work with the other actors. They were all hilarious, super fun to be around. I really miss all of them. I also enjoyed getting to do the bedroom scene when Cy is by himself because it gave me a real opportunity to just show a character’s inner life without words. There were also a couple really fun scenes to shoot that got cut, but that happens with every movie. They’re available to watch if you buy the movie on iTunes.

 

Q) What do you think it is about It Takes Three that makes it such a sweet, standout rom-com?

A) It’s a relatable angle on a classic story. It could’ve very easily been a mean movie given the plot material, but it really isn’t – it has a real heart to it. And it’s a lot of fun to watch! It’s got laughs, a great soundtrack, it’s shot really well and, ultimately, you care about what happens to the characters.

 

Q) What are the other projects that you have been busy working on lately?

A) Well, I acted in a film that was shot two years ago, though is still in post-production, called Lapham Rising. I have a few scenes in it. Frank Langella plays the lead and Bobby Cannavale plays my character’s dad. So, I had a lot of fun getting to be his son for a couple weeks. I don’t know when it’ll come out, but I did hear that Cheech Marin did some voice work for it. I’m super pumped to see how it turns out!

 

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who are fans and supporters of you and the work you do?

A) I just want to say thank you so much!!! I hope that you’ll be able to see me in more stuff soon. Sorry that my output has been so infrequent.