Samm Levine – Heart Throb

Q.  What are some of the current projects that you’ve been working on?

A.  I have an episode of “My Name Is Earl,” which is going to air this Thursday the 9th on NBC.  I have an episode of the show called “Still Standing” which is on CBS airing I am guessing some time later this month.  I am going to be shooting an episode of “Entourage” and that will air I guess some time in June.  I have a feature film called Pulse, which was supposed to have a March 3rd release date which I just found out will most likely be pushed by to the beginning of July.

Q.  Can you tell us a bit about the premise for the movie Pulse and about your character?

A.  It’s a very confusing plot to have to try and spell out.  It’s a remake of the 2001 Japanese film of a similar titled name.  The basic idea is a friend of ours, there is a core group of about five friends, one of our other friends died.  Several days after that we all receive an email from him, which is a little freaky to say the least.  When we all start investigating the origin of the emails we kind of discover that there are kind of spirits living in the computer world of dead people.  That seems to be the outlet that they have found to come back into the real world.  My character is a guy named Tim and Tim is just a dude.  Tim is one of the five friends and he’s basically as scared and confused as everybody else.  He kind of has a crush on Mattie, who is played by Kristen Bell and outside of that he’s just one of the guys.

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

A.  The original script that I read was written by Wes Craven.  As an actor it’s hard to pass up opportunities to work on something written by the master of horror.  So, that was definitely a big selling point and the guys involved, the producers Mike Leahy and Joel Soisson who have their own company.  They are two of the best guys in the world and they have really great creative visions and it was a lot of fun to work with them.

Q.  How was getting to work with director Jim Sonzero on the project?

A.  He was awesome, it was his first feature film and you really couldn’t tell.  He was very comfortable on the set and he knew all of the angles and really made all of the actors feel right at home.  He was like a fun guy, he wasn’t always about business, he was about making sure people enjoyed the time on set.

Q.  Do you have a most memorable moment from working on Pulse?

A.  Oh I sure do!  One time we had to use a lot of tape in the movie and Jim made me do this one shot where I had to pull the last piece of tape off of this empty cardboard roll, it was literally about fifty times.  So, on the last take when he said cut and check the gate, when I knew it was going to be the last time I had to do it, I went to throw the empty roll of tape at him.  He was only sitting about fifteen feet away and just as I threw it he stood up.  It nailed him right in the jewels!  He went down, he went down like a baseball player, oh it was great.  I felt terrible but I couldn’t help but laugh. 

Q.  Why should viewers take the time to check out this movie?

A.  Because I think it might actually be good, I know the Weinstein company, which is one of the producers, they are really excited about it.  They know that the film has a really good possibility of being a great film and they are taking a lot of measures to ensure what gets released is the best possible film.  They think it’s going to be a great movie when all is said and done and it’s probably going to be rated PG-13.  Which is great, when I was younger I used to be a huge fan of the movies with the blood, guts and gore and  the smashing.  Those movies are still great now but every horror movie doesn’t have to be about that, this one isn’t.  It’s much more psychological, things just get creepier and creepier and creepier. 

Q.  When working with the cast, was there a lot of chemistry on the set?

A.  Absolutely, we all fell in with each other really well right off the bat.  Those are the kind of people if we weren’t all working together, we’d all be friends.  It was really great chemistry and everybody just had so much fun working with everybody else and we were all in the same hotel, so every night the party was in somebody’s room.

Q.  You’ve worked on a lot of comedic films and shows and you have such wonderful comedic timing.  Is this something that is a natural ability of yours or are you constantly working at it?

A.  Well, first thank you, that is a lovely compliment.  Second, I am always working on my comedy, there is always new comedy styles that are presented to us every day.  With for instance the “Lazy Sunday” rap that’s circulating around the Internet, it kind of reinvigorated the white guy parody again.  So, there is a new outlook for comedy and I’ve always been a student of comedy.  I guess it’s just one of those things that I definitely get hired a lot more for comedy than I do for drama.  You know I’m happy doing both, but I do always love doing comedy, it’s something that is intrinsic to the nature of me. 

Q.  What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

A.  I like to play poker, I’m a fan of that.  I’m a big movie buff, I like music and TV, I will go out and see movies and stay in and watch movies.  I don’t know, bowling, LA is such a weird place, your hobby can change every week. 

Q.  What is your latest obsession?  Are you into any particular book, sport, music group or activity?

A.  That’s a good question, as of late I’ve probably been more of an Internet junky than I have been in the last few years.  I guess I’ve been spending more time on the net, on the Interweb as the kids call it!  Other than that, nothing really, I’m a pretty big poker player, I do that quite a bit. 

Q.  Now that it is 2006, what are you most looking forward to this year?

A.  It’s 2006 so I’m really looking forward to flying cars and jet packs.  As Jerry Seinfeld would say the lunzies with the V across them, the silver suits with the V.  Because in 1950s movies that’s what everybody wore in the future!  In all honesty, there is a pilot that I’ve read so far for this upcoming fall season, all the pilots that I’ve read have all been really good.  In recent memory I don’t remember reading so many good pilot scripts, so I am really excited about the possible fall season.  I think it could be a good year for television.  I know that there are a lot of movies that are being worked on right now and I think it’s going to be a very entertaining fall for film and TV.  It’s 2006, it’s madness! 

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

A.  First a giant thank you!  No actor or person in the entertainment industry would be anywhere if the fans didn’t support them.  God bless them for that!  I certainly hope that I get more opportunities to keep making TV shows and films.  I try to do the good stuff and they have supported me through the good stuff and the bad stuff.  I love them and don’t be afraid to try and keep supporting me.  I promise one of these days I’ll make the good thing that everybody likes.  Tell your friends, that too!