Max Schneider – Crisis

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

A) Right now I have a new show on NBC called “Crisis” that airs at 10pm on Sundays. It’s a really intense political action thriller and a part that I have never played before. Other than that, I have just been dealing with music stuff. I have a new single called “Mug Shot” out now. It is featured in the Veronica Mars movie. I have a lot more music coming soon. So, I’ve just been working on my new album and doing some acting stuff here and there.

Q) Please tell us the premise for your show “Crisis” and about your character Ian Martinez.

A) We go to the school where the President’s son attends, as well as kids of a lot of powerful people. We go on a field trip and get kidnapped. They use the kids to manipulate the government through their very powerful parents. The whole plot of the show is how far would you go to protect your child. It basically gets to document our experience being kidnapped while these parents are trying to get their kids back. Bringing it all together makes for a very intense and character driven drama. My character is one of the scholarship kids at the school and my best friend is Beth Ann (Stevie Lynn Jones). We’re two outcast scholarship kids. When we’re kidnapped and realize what is going on, we are worried that since we don’t have powerful parents what is going to happen to us. It kind of prompts us to do some crazy things and that influences how our characters unfold in the series. I go through a really dark arc on the show and it’s been really fun playing that.

Q) What was it about the show or role that made you want to be a part of “Crisis?”

A) At first, I didn’t know where the character is going. I didn’t know where the script was going when I first got the audition. But for me, there were even hints in the pilot of maybe something happening with Ian. Maybe there would be something twisting in the end. Throughout the series I’ve been so, so pleasantly surprised and happy with the road I hope they go down with this character. I love when you really see an arc in a character and they really change throughout a series in front of your eyes. “Breaking Bad” is one of my favorite shows and I think that Walter White’s arc is one of the best in TV history and any character’s history. Even having an inkling of that next step arc is something that I’ve always had a dream to play. And Ian has sort of had that thing and it’s been a dream come true to get to explore that darkness inside of everybody.

Q) Was there anything about the role that you added to the character that wasn’t originally scripted for you?

A) I improvise a lot with any part. My philosophy is, “Do it and if they don’t like it then they’ll just tell you to go back to whatever it was before.” The writers are so fantastic on the show that I usually don’t need to do anything. Sometimes it is an intense scene and I yell, “Shut up!” at the end they’ll say, “Oh yeah! Keep that!” or something like that. That’s always awesome to keep going down the road of what the emotion is and what is happening in the scene and maybe just little things like that come up. But like I said, the writing is so fantastic and they do all the work on that end. As an actor, it’s just been a pleasure to go down and follow their story for the characters.

Q) Did the cast chemistry come instantly or did it take some time to bond?

A) It was pretty instant. We spent a lot of time with each other during the pilot and that helped. We spent a lot of time on that bus, like a couple weeks. So, we built the chemistry very quickly. And funny enough, one of the characters on the show Amber Fitch is played by Halston Sage and she was on the last show I worked on, “How To Rock.” When we found out we both got this show, we were so happy! We actually became roommates in Chicago, where we shot the show. Of course, we had the friendship and the chemistry from working together, but the rest of the cast I had never met before. They were from Chicago and other places. It was definitely something I worried about before heading there, but I was so happy that with my best friend, who is played by Stevie Lynn Jones, we immediately got along. It helped with our characters already being best friends. It was so great and the President’s son is played by Adam Miller and we have a major bromance. We are super close friends and it happened right away. With the whole cast I got really lucky.

Q) What have been some of your most memorable moment from filming?

A) I would love to tell you, but I do think I’d give some stuff away. I will say that I’ve always been a fan of these types of shows, with mass explosions and these crazy special effects. One of the coolest things for me has been to see how some of these massive special effects are done in real life. Whether it is cars flipping over or a car exploding, things like that to see in person has been really cool.

Q) What do you think it is about the show that will really attract viewers?

A) I love our show for its realism with the characters. Being the kidnapped kids, you really connect with the characters and their arcs. Every time I think about the show it reminds me a lot of “Lost” in its characters because bits and pieces of each character are things that you have in yourself. Because there are so many that we go back and forth with, you really connect with these people and make your own stories. For me, I just think the show itself is about how far you would go to protect the people you love and that’s a really powerful message. I think it definitely makes the show special and unlike any other show of its kind. I hope people can connect with that as much as we’ve connected with it.

Q) You are a part of social networking sites. Are you looking forward to the instant feedback you’ll be receiving from fans after the premiere?

A) I’m super excited! I’m going to live tweet the show. Social media is really cool to me because I love when you get feedback from the people who are most important, the fans of the show or the music (whatever it may be). It’s wonderful to get that feedback. I really hope people enjoy it. It’s funny, you spend a year of your life working on something and then finding that people have enjoyed it as much as you have is a big risk and and a big hope. But I have faith in the show and high hopes in the show. I hope people love it as much as I do.

Q) You are an actor and a musician. How do you balance both roles?

A) There is nothing more in this world that I love more than singing and dancing with people, doing that live and being on stage. Being able to do both has been a blessing. And my favorite thing about it is that I think it’s always so important to have some place to go and breathe outside of what you do for your work or whether it is hobby – whatever it is. It really makes you appreciate each thing. For me, being able to sing and do that and then go back and be on another project has been really wonderful. If I was just on the show – I think sometimes when you work twelve or sixteen hour days or whatever you just kind of get overwhelmed and exhausted. You forget how wonderful it is what you are doing. That’s what has been great about acting and doing music at the same time. I get to really appreciate that and go back and enjoy every day.

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your work?

A) Much love! And thank you for being a supporter! I’m so happy that people enjoy what I love doing because I’m so grateful for it and it’s such a blessing. I want to do it until I can’t do it anymore! I want to do it for the rest of my life. I hope I can do it for that long and I hope I can help people, make people happy and make people feel things they wouldn’t have felt otherwise. That’s all I can hope. That’s my job and if they enjoy it, I’m happy I’m doing my job well. Thank you for supporting, watching and listening.