Justin Mentell – Legal Eagle

Q) You play Garrett Wells on “Boston Legal.” Tell us a bit about your character.

A) He’s the one who will go under the covers to get the job done. He doesn’t always follow the rules that are set. At Starbucks they have a set way of making everything, well, he’s the worker that would question the line up that can get him into certain situations. He’s just trying to move up like any other junior associate at a firm. He’s trying to move to the top, but he’s a little too eager to please. He’s a normal guy, besides the fact that he’ll do whatever it takes to get the job done.

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

A) It’s a great show. David E. Kelly, David Spader, William Shatner, Candice Bergen and then some interesting guest stars is amazing to be able to work with all of these people. In one of the episodes coming up I have some scenes with Betty White and I thought that was the coolest thing ever. It is great writing, great actors and I think it’s a great place to start fresh out of college. It’s a good stepping-stone to get into film, which is something I always wanted to do. It was the actors, writing and experience is what really got me hooked. I don’t really watch TV in the first place, but I watch football. My mom watched it and said it was a good show. I had heard about “Ally McBeal” and I had heard about “Boston Public.” I knew that David E. Kelly was a successful man in this business. I couldn’t have written it out any better.

Q) What is your most memorable moment from being on the show?

A) I would say working with William Shatner is my most memorable moment. He’s fun to work with because he is real open and he’s the one who will ad lib a little and maybe we’ll improv a little bit. He’s the kind of guy I can go up to and just joke around. I’ll make up something and he’ll just go along with it. We can BS a whole conversation just for the heck of it. We’ll all go on set and he’s telling a joke and everyone is quiet and listening. He’s great to work with. Last time I worked with him we got to work off each other really well and I thought that was pretty good. I thought it was really exciting and it went well.

Q) On the show, you get to work with such acting greats as James Spader, Candice Bergen, William Shatner and Julie Bowen. What is it like working with them?

A) When I got the show, I remember my first scene with any of them was with Candice Bergen. I had to get out of my head the first part of us working together. I was just thinking, “Oh my God, I’m working with Candice Bergen right now.” I had to put it aside and just focus on the work. To work with James Spader, I have to kind of just focus on the work otherwise I’d be thinking, “Holy cow! I’m working with James Spader right now! Or, I’d be thinking, “I’m working with William Shatner right now.” I didn’t want to be thinking something like that because if it gets to you too much then you won’t be able to focus on what you have to do. The first month I was just working with Julie Bowen and I didn’t have as much interaction with James, Candice and Bill as I do now. It’s a lot of fun and I feel lucky to have gotten the show and to be where I am.

Q) Tell us about the premise for your movie 5-25-77. 

A) The movie is a coming of age story. The main character is Pat and it is based on the director’s life (who had previously directed the movie Angus). It’s about a young guy in high school who is a nerd or a geek that is into science fictions things. He wants to make movies, but everyone he lives with is just accepting of what they get in life and not trying to move further to pursue something or make something happen. That’s something he wants to do. He talks with his mom and she calls a science fiction magazine and gets in contact with someone there who arranges for her son to basically see the first Star Wars getting made. He comes back and tells everyone that it’s going to be a huge movie. He’s the geek though that no one ever pays attention to so everyone seems to ignore him and not pay attention to him. His friends sometimes don’t understand him, but the movie comes out and turns out to be a huge hit. He eventually goes to LA, but in between that he meets a girl with an overprotective friend named Tony, who I play. John Francis Daley, who was in television show “Freaks and Geeks,” plays Pat. It’s a coming of age story where this guy is trying to find his place in the world and has these distractions along the way. It’s really funny. I know we have to shoot some more things for that after the New Year. Hopefully, it will be out around May, according to the director.

Q) How was it working with director Patrick Read Johnson?

A) He’s awesome! He’s a really relaxed funny guy. He knows a lot of stuff! I still keep in contact with him! He knows a lot of stuff about the business. This was my first job that I got as an actor and I remember auditioning with Pat and some of the producers. I was up for the Pat role later on, towards the end like after the third call back. Then they had me read for Tony and then they had me come in, just in case whomever they called for Pat didn’t work out. So, I came in and read with the guy playing Bill. I got to really work with Pat then because that was him taping me and trying to find aspects of the character that were in me. When I was up for the role of Pat, I would describe something to him that was similar to what had happened in his life. He’s the kind of guy who is hands on and he gets into it. He was describing a character to me and how he would imitate the sounds the ships on Star Wars would make and he was very elaborate with it. The way he described it, it was so passionate. I definitely hope I get to work with him again.

Q) Why should people check out the movie?

A) It’s funny! I found myself laughing out loud a couple times when I was reading the script. I think that it is something that a lot of people can relate to, in regards to trying to find themselves, especially in high school. That’s where everything happens. Everybody is a Star Wars fan and a lot of people can relate to trying to find their place or achieve something while not necessarily having people agree with you or try and help you. There is something that parents will able to go see too since it is set in the 70’s. It will bring something back to them, yet it will hit a younger audience with the current cast.

Q) This year you won Best Actor for your role in the film At the Still Point. How did that make you feel?

A) That was exciting! I remember at school, one of my friends had possibly found me through another friend. He said he wanted to do a student film and we did that. It was something that had a limited budget. It’s not like going to see a full-fledged movie, but it was really fun. I thought it was kind of cool when my mom was at school with me when they had the screening. I just thought it was cool to be able to do it in the first place because this was back around the fall or late winter of senior year so that was maybe February of this year. My mom went with me and it was cool to have her see it. She was excited and she thought it was cool. I had a lot of fun working on it and I know the director is a senior now. He’s got more cut to it. He edited a few different ways and entered it in some other places and shown it around. It was exciting to win!

Q) Your band Recipe For Disaster is soon to release an EP. What is your role in the band and what is your music genre?

A) That band, I am actually no longer with them. I was with them in college and I’m a drummer. I played the drums and we were punk. Moving away, obviously, didn’t help. I really want to get into another band out here. I love playing the drums; it’s another passion of mine like acting. I love playing hard, loud and fast. I get so annoyed when I see these drummers in bands that look like pansies since they’re barely hitting the drums. Why are you going to play the drums if you’re going to play like that? I like playing like the drummer from the group Fall Out Boy since he’s really good. I also like playing like Travis Barker from Blink 182. He’s the reason I started drumming since I liked their song “What’s My Age Again?” I got their CD before I went to Germany for a year and started air drumming. When I got home, I wanted to get a real drum kit. When I was 5 or 6 years old, I wanted to play the drums and so my mom got a cheap kid set, which broke since I played too hard. It didn’t go any further than that until I came home from Germany and wanted to get a drum kit. All I’d do is put on a CD and imitate the drummers. I’d put my headphones on and try and play to it. The band, Recipe For Disaster, was a group that I met at a party, but their drummer was in the National Guard so he wasn’t there. I came in and we were practicing. I thought we could have done something! The bassist and guitarist were really good and you didn’t have to wait around until they learned. They knew what they were doing so we could get stuff done. We came up with four songs, but they kind of kicked me out because their old drummer came back. Their old drummer played with a different style and there were certain aspects of the punk style that he did not like to do.

Q) What do you do in your spare time?

A) I like video games! I like Madden and a lot of the war games. I like the first player shooting games like “Call of Duty” or “Metal of Honor,” things like that. I have an enormous DVD collection. I love movies and my mom always asks, “You have so many, why are you getting more?” I would just tell her that I’m using them for research. Since I want to do film, I need to watch films and movies. I have a big German Sheppard that I like to hang out with. It may sound weird, but dogs are really amusing. They can do funny things! I go with him to the park and he’s obsessed with a tennis ball. I like to watch movies and play golf. If I could find a place to set up my drums out here, then I would go play them. I like watching footballs on Sundays and Saturdays (when college football is on). My mom and I are going to the Rose Bowl and watch Texas win!

Q) What would you like to say to your fans and supporters?

A) Thanks for watching. Thanks for supporting. I’ve been reading some scripts for hiatus so hopefully, I’ll get in on a movie for hiatus. Thanks for writing in, if you wrote in somewhere. Thanks for watching the show and I hope you continue to watch and for writing in. Thanks to everyone! I feel very blessed to be where I am this early in life on a show like this. I am very grateful for everything and the people I work with.