Milo Manheim – Zombies 2

By starrymag | February 14, 2020

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

 

 

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

A) I’m going to school right now. I’m at NYU and I’m auditioning as much as I can. I’m going to just wait and see until something comes along. Now, I’m just focused on doing well in school.

Q) Please tell us the premise for Zombies 2.

A) In Zombies 2 we pretty much pick up where we left off. Seabrook is living in harmony. Werewolves come from the forest and are introduced to Seabrook. Nobody really knows how to handle it and everyone kind of goes through a crazy frenzy. The humans decide to reinstate the anti-monster laws. Zed feels like the werewolves are sort of threatening because he sees that Addison’s (Meg Donnelly) relationship with the werewolves is getting very close. So, that scares him. I think that Zed is faced with a dilemma and he needs to figure out what he is going to do from this point on with the werewolves.

Q) What is it about Addison that really attracts Zed to her?

A) It’s the fact that for Zed’s whole life he felt super out of place. He never felt like he belonged. The thing is that Addison felt the exact same way in a completely different sense because he felt out of place for being a zombie, but there were multiple zombies that felt that same way. Addison felt out of place because of her hair, but she is just living with that on her own. So, I think when they find each other they are really able to connect because they both don’t really feel like they belong and he sees that she will always do what she believes in. She doesn’t really listen to anybody else and all of the haters. I think he admires that about her and that is what makes him love her.

Q) Was there instant chemistry between you and Meg Donnelly?

A) It’s funny because Meg and I weren’t originally paired together. They had me reading scenes with Olivia Rodrigo and her reading with someone else. Eventually, they were like, “We should try Meg and Milo together.” From the second we read together we were really great friends. Even when we were reading with other people, when we were in the room, we were talking to each other. So, the chemistry was real from the beginning.

Q) Talk to us about getting into character.

A) When it comes to Zed, his personality is similar to mine. He is pretty much in a good mood. So, there was not much preparation that I had to do for developing the character itself other than acting him and feeling stuff out. When it comes to the makeup process, that adds an additional two hours to the day every single day. We’re already exhausted from acting…Waking up at 4AM every morning is not easy. Then, getting spray painted with cold sticky spray at while it’s freezing outside makes for a hard morning, but it was definitely something we got better at as we got on. Still taking off the makeup sometimes could take half an hour.

Q) Going into the movie were you hoping to share a scene with anyone(s) in particular?

A) Yes, in the first movie I noticed that Trevor Tordjman (who plays Bucky) and I don’t have much interaction. But in this movie, we have a song together, which is amazing and is one of my favorite parts for sure.

Q) What can you tease were some of your favorite songs to sing from the film?

A) The thing is my favorite song of the whole movie is probably one of the werewolves’ songs. I’m not in it so I was sad about it. But my favorite song that I’m in is called “Do It Like the Zombies Do” and it was honestly such a great thing to work on because the choreographers were very collaborative and I got to incorporate the moves that I was comfortable doing and thought looked cool into the song. So, you’ll see a lot of Milo in that song instead of Zed, which I love.

Q) How did you shake off a long day of filming?

A) It was great because we were all living in the same building so we could always get together at someone’s place. We would play a lot of games and we would also do a lot of freestyle rap battles, which was just a really good way for us to chill out. We just had fun! We did whatever. It was just the cast’s presence that made me happy.

Q) What message do you hope that viewers takeaway when they tune in to Zombies 2?

A) There are so many things to learn from this movie and each character teaches a different lesson. The main thing is that we are never going to grow as a society if we don’t have an open mind and we don’t give other people a chance. We have to be able to see what other people can bring to the table. I just think that this movie teaches that ignorance is going to be the end of the world. We have to fight for what we believe in and do the things that we enjoy doing because life is short. You have to make sure you have a good time and that the world is a better place when you leave it.

Q) How do you plan on celebrating the film’s release?

A) This Friday I’m going to get a group of my close friends together and go to a friend’s apartment. We are just going to watch it and it’s going to be a really good time. It should be about fifteen or twenty people.

Q) Since you are a part of social media, are you looking forward to the instant fan feedback you’ll receive to the movie?

A) I’m already getting so much positive feedback about Zombies 2, even though it hasn’t even come out yet. [chuckles] When you’re an actor, you spend most of your life not doing that. Now I’m in school and just walking around New York City, but the constant reminder of all the people that love and appreciate Zombies is just checking social media and seeing everyone post about it and how it makes them so happy. It’s really cool! Fans are really creative! They make awesome fan edits and people are getting really excited. It makes me feel like my hard work has paid off.

Q) What else do you want to be sure our viewers know about Zombies 2?

A) The last thing I want to say is this movie is for everyone. If you’re thinking about watching it or you are skeptical, I am telling you that you will not regret it because not only are there so many great lessons to learn from the movie but it’s so exciting and entertaining! There are awesome songs and dances. I encourage viewers to pay attention to detail because people worked really hard on this movie and I think it is such a great masterpiece. It shows so many different things coming together and creating one awesome project.

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

A) I just want to say to everyone who is supporting me, thanks so much for being that light inside of me. I truly do love acting. Nothing makes me happier than knowing that people appreciate the thing I love to do. It’s just kind of incredible to be able to see how big the fandom is getting and how fast it is growing. It’s really surreal and I appreciate every single one of them.