Kevin Quinn – Bunk’d

By starrymag | March 18, 2016

By: Lisa Steinberg

 

Q) You recently got to work on “Peter Pan.” What was that like for you?

A) It was a great experience! I started on stage and to get back on stage was really a cool experience. It was like a blast from the past and it was nice to take a break from filming TV/film. There are moments where you stumble and mess up blocking, but the show must go on. It’s part of the game for live theatre and you always have to be on your feet!

Q) Are you ready to get back on screen?

A) LA doesn’t have the biggest theatre scene. I moved out here for work so I’d really like to see what I can accomplish in the film and TV industry. I think at some point I’d like to check out the New York market and Broadway. I know Vanessa Hudgens just got off a run of Gigi at the Neil Simon theatre. So, I know it has been done.

Q) You do a lot of singing as well. Is that something you hope to pursue as well?

A) It all comes down to one thing, how what you do is received. Honestly, I think people have been really supportive about my music. I have decided to pursue that as a career as well in addition to acting. I recently signed with a music manager so I’ve been writing a lot of songs and will be reaching out to a lot music labels to get an EP or album released because I think I have some stuff I really want people to hear.

Q) Have you written anything yet?

A) I never plan on writing music. If I do end up writing a song, it’s always been like just hanging out in my apartment, hanging out and find a cool riff or chord progression that fits or sounds good. Then, I put words to that based on what is happening in my life. I’m very much a true writer. I try to make everything relatable and true to what is happening in my life at that time. Not to say I wouldn’t write a song more story oriented, (which I have done) but I try to make it truthful to me.

Q) How do you describe your sound?

A) I am open to doing classic pop music and making a career out of that, but I have had a choir upbringing. I did Music Theory and learned all that stuff. What I try to bring to my music is truthfulness and I try to make it as artistically pleasing as possible because I’m not really a pop singer at heart. I’m more of a musician and my influences are John Legend, Ed Sheeran and especially John Mayer. John has been a huge influence on me and I think I’ve begun to reflect some of his music aspects in each song I perform. I admire someone like Ed Sheeran because he is oriented to a genre like pop, but he does it in a very artistic way. That’s what I’m all about. I want to create music and art. One of the reasons his songs are such a hit is because it is so real and so relatable. Not to mention he sounds great!

Q) Well, we are seeing you on “Bunk’d.” Where are we seeing Xander progress this season? Will he be making any romantic choices or is he still stuck in the middle?

A) Here is the thing – we actually finished filming the first season about four or five months ago. So, if we do get picked up for a new season we’ll start filming again in April. Therefore, there are new episodes we will be seeing airing and one of the most important episodes we’ll see about Xander’s character is one about him choosing to stay at camp rather than going home to play football (which is what his father wants). His father will come in and saying he should start football, but Xander is afraid to stand up to him and say, “I don’t love football. I love music and I love being at camp with his friends.” So, there will be an episode where Xander stands up to his dad and it’s a really, really great episode. It really reflects Xander as a character because, obviously, he is considered the happy-go-lucky, popular, handsome guy at camp. But there is a character to that too and I’m really excited for that episode to air. He is also going to use his girlfriend, Emma (played by Peyton List), to help him stand up to his dad. So, they have a really good relationship going. I hope the writers continue that relationship to the second season because I really enjoy it and Peyton is great to work with, too.

Q) We haven’t had much of Xander’s background while integrating these former characters from “Jesse” at this camp. But Xander is kind of a mystery and the show is about being at camp.

A) That’s why I’m so excited for the rest of the season. I remember filming and as the actor playing Xander, I really feel like I progressed to a point where I understood him and was able to relate him back to my life and vice versa. I think by the 21^st episode when we finished filming that Xander and I had a connection and I finally figured out who this character is. I remember at the beginning of filming it was all so new and like with any show you are still finding your character and getting used to the work environment. So, there were a lot of things going on at the beginning of the show, but by the end of the season everything came together so nicely and I think Xander will be loved by audiences because of how much he has grown.

Q) Xander does seem to be really relatable and not just the typical bad boy.

A) That’s something I relate to because Xander has a big heart. I say this as modestly as possible, I like to consider myself as someone with a big heart. So, it’s really cool to put what has happened in my life into Xander. I really admire the character they have developed and getting to play him on screen is so much fun. I have so much fun with this job. Especially since the other actors are kids my age, I’m not sure it would the same if I worked with all adults because there is an age gap. But with us we are really a family, we’re all the same age so we’re kind of growing up together. That’s what makes it really cool.

Q) The great things about the show is it has heart and humor with underlying great messages. I’d love to hear about that aspect from your perspective.

A) I completely agree! I think one of the great things about our show is our writers! Our writers work harder than any project I have been a part of. I think they kind of use us for our character. I remember in the first season we went in for the table read of the first episode and the writers spent time to ask us questions about our weekends and how things were going at home. I think they really tried to get to know us as people and that makes all the heart so much more real. They actually kind of embody our own humor. I definitely see myself [as Kevin] having the same sense of humor that Xander has. I see Xander as making dad jokes and people saying, “Oh my gosh Xander! That’s just so stupid. You sound like a dad.” But at the same time, that is what the writers have done because that’s what Kevin would do. Kevin’s humor is dad humor. They really connect real life to the humor and that’s what audiences connect to because we’re able to do our jobs well thanks to the writers.

Q) You have great comedic timing. Is that something you have worked at or a natural talent?

A) It was not something I studied! It was something I had trouble with the first two or three episodes. Although it may not show on screen, we were doing a lot of work the first few episodes with our dialogue coaches because I had never done multi-camera shows before. I had done single camera and with multi-camera it is four cameras spread out like an audience parallel with the actors on stage. So, you kind of cheat out and play to the camera, like you would in a theatre. That was something really new to me. Although I had done live theatre, multi-camera is different. I got distracted a lot during the first few episodes. Our Executive Producer would say, “Kevin, can you raise your voice and have more volume,” or “Could you cheat out,” or “Could you make sure you are not casting a shadow on your costar in that scene?” So, there is a lot of multitasking going on so by the fifth or sixth episode it was something I had down. It’s really just something you learn by experiencing it. So, I kind of learned my comedic timing by doing it and our EP Pam is always watching out for us and has our best interest in mind. She is like a set mom and she always helps us with our comedy and our dialogue coaches of course!

Q) You are a part of social media. Do you enjoy the instant fan feedback you receive?

A) I love it! Here is what I have to say about our social media and fans: This has been my journey experiencing life on the “Bunk’d” world. Obviously, the viewers are experiencing the show for the first time (considering it is still on its first season). And I think that this is really our journey. It’s not really my journey – it’s our journey. The fans have only been supportive in giving us positive feedback and I think that is really what keeps the show going. If an episode airs on Friday and we come in the next Monday… I remember sitting at a table read one time and the ratings came in. People seemed to like the episode and were like, “Did you see all of the Twitter feedback?” That’s the kind of stuff we look for. We don’t’ ignore it by any means. Our fans keep us going and we recognize their support every time we go into a table read every Monday.

Q) You also have the upcoming Disney Channel movie Adventures in Babysitting.

A) I’m really excited for that! I actually just saw it and it is such a fun movie. We had so much fun filming it and we really became a family. Our EP on the movie actually coproduced Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club. So, working with her was a dream and she treated us so well. We still all hang out. If anything, that was more than a project. It was a lifelong lasting memory that I will always have. It is a project that I don’t think I’ll ever be a part of again because it is so rare. If that kind of project comes up again that would be incredible, but for the time being I’m taking it with a grain of salt because our experiences were such an amazing project. It will show on screen – I guarantee it! People will love it!

Q) Is it a spoof or a remake of the original film?

A) There are different moments that you will see relate back to the 1987 film. We’re still hanging out in the city and having the moments where adults will say, “That scene in the pizza parlor reminds me of the movie where they are in the restaurant.” We have moments that really relate and you can see the similarities where we tried to make this script connect to the 1987 script. But it’s also family oriented and a little bit more catered to younger audiences. I think what that it is also different. It’s a different kind of take on this story, but regardless fans will love it!

Q) Who do you play in the movie and what is the premise for it?

A) I play a character named Zach and he is kind of like the guy who likes Jenny (Sabrina Carpenter). One of the things that is cool about the character I play is that it is very different from Xander. People will think that I did the character Xander on “Bunk’d” before I did the character of Zach in the movie. Really, it is vice versa! I came into the world of Zach before Xander, but it is being released at a different time. It was a role that I related to and I see Zach and Xander as very different people. Zach is much more chill. Xander is also chill, but I see him as someone who could have grown up with shark tooth necklaces and surfing along the coast of Honolulu. That’s the kind of person I see as Xander. But I see Zach grew up in the suburbs of Illinois kind of like me. He’s probably someone who did well in school and was probably President of Student Council. He’s just a very different character. I believe it comes out in early June.

Q) Sabrina worked with you on “Peter Pan” and now on Adventures. Would you like to see a crossover?

A) I’ve been pushing it because Kikiwaka is in Maine and “Girl Meets World” takes place in New York! Obviously, they could just take a car ride up to camp for a weekend. It hink it would be ag reat crossover episode!

Q) Well, “Jesse” did take place in New York so it would make sense if they did head up that way as well.

A) I agree! I have been pushing it and I hope it happens. I worked with Corey [Fogelmanis] and August [Maturo] because they did “Peter Pan,” too. So, it was an opportunity for me to get closer to the “Girl Meets World” cast as well. If I wasn’t working on “Bunk’d” I’d want to work on “Girl Meets World” because I know the people on it and I can relate to them. They are great people!

Q) Is there anything else you would like to say to fans?

A) I think with what I had said before about our journey, it really is and I want to reiterate that. With upcoming “Bunk’d” episodes I think each episode is going to get better and better. I think people are already realizing that from the pilot up to now. You’re seeing the characters begin to grow and that’s what makes the show so cool. We’re growing with the characters and they are growing with us. I think by the end of the season people will be going nuts over the show. I think they will really start to appreciate it and be more excited for season two. We want to keep the stories going for as long as possible and the adventures as long as possible. We can’ do it without them so really just thank you.