Exclusive Connor Ross Interview
Persistence is paying off for Connor Ross. At the age of 17 he is living his dream! From an early age, it was evident to his family and friends that Connor possessed a unique talent and a way with people, so it came as no surprise when Connor announced that he wanted to “be in movies”. It did however, come as a surprise that his pursuit of this goal was so passionate and unrelenting. Thinking they could pacify him, his parents sought an agency connection and acting classes in Texas but soon learned that Connor had bigger plans and was strategizing a way to the place where the action is-Hollywood! Read more of Connor’s Bio at his official website: www.connorross.com.
Connor has been seen most recently in the suspense movie "Driftwood" co-starring Raviv Ullman, Talan Torriero and Diamond Dallas Page. Be sure to get your copy now on Amazon.com.
SO-M: What made you decide to become an actor?
Connor Ross: I have wanted to be an actor my whole life. It’s always been a hobby of mine, watching movies, tv. It’s pretty much all I did. When Iwas younger, Tom Cruise was the coolest person. I’d always act out scenes from his movies. Finally my mom put me into a modelling agency. After a while in Dallas I started doing very few auditions,
which is what made me decide to move to CA when I was 13 and I got an agent and went out on auditions. I just love it. It’s what I’m here to do.
SO-M: What was the audition process for "Driftwood" like?
CR: When I went into audition for "Driftwood," I got the audition material 20 minutes before the audition. I thought there was no way I was going to be prepared and that they’d like me. I went in and Tim Sullivan, the director, the producers and casting director were all in the room and I was like "Wow i’m really not prepared." I was really nervous. But before I auditioned, Tim talked to me about the movie and who my character was and what Jonathan meant to him. It was cool and really relaxed me. I only had one audition and I guess they liked me. I got a phone call about a week later and I was like yeah!
SO-M: Describe your character, Jonathan.
CR: Jonathan is a kid who just wants to be himself and doesn’t want to be who everyone else wants him to be. Jonathan in the movie represents kids that never get what they want, like the guy next door. He’s just a kid who stands up for what he believes in.
SO-M: What was it like working with the other guys in the cast?
CR: They were all really cool. We bonded. We had a table read before we started shooting, we bonded, went out to eat, hung out. They were really cool. Everyone was great. It was probably one of the best sets I’ve ever worked on because of the people. They were really nice and really professional. Ii just felt we all connected well and had great chemistry and the same understanding of the movie.
SO-M: Did you all play any practical jokes on each other?
CR: One of the guys dressed up as ghoulish monsterish ghost and he would go out at like 2am and set up a camera in the woods so no one would see. Then when the actors would come back to their trailers, he would just run out of the bushes in this costume and scare the crap out of us…and he got it on camera and at the end of the shoot he scared about 50 people. It should have been on America’s Funniest Home Videos. There’s also a scene where we use lots of maggots and someone put maggots in Talan’s food and left it in his trailer and he went to eat and he didn’t eat it. We got him on camera and he freaked out.
SO-M: What was your favorite scene?
CR: Probably the most difficult scene was at 4am and it was 50 degrees and we had rain towers set up. It was a scene where Diamond Dallas Page is supposed to be chasing me and we walk onto the baseball field and it’s raining and freezing. At the time it was like get me out of here but looking back it was fun. There was a squib on the back of my head which is a device for when someone gets shot in the movies. When the trigger is pulled, another person presses a button and they put a balloon full of blood on the back of my head and the blood exploded looking like i was shot in the head. It was fun.
SO-M: Do you have any upcoming projects?
CR: Right now i did a movie called "Palo Alto" which is a coming of age comedy about 4 guys coming home from college. It’s their first thanksgiving and they meet up for their last night before going back. I play Ben Savage’s younger brother. His girlfriend dumped him and he’s pathetic and never has any fun and I bring him to a party and he gets drunk. I’m kind of the "Steve Stiffler’ish" character to him in the movie. After that I did a film called "Pirate Camp," which is a family action adventure pirate movie. It’s about a couple of kids who go off to, instead of summer school, a place called Pirate Camp. I got to learn to sword fight and combat and stuff. "Palo Alto" went to the Tribeca Film Festival and both are in the screening process.
SO-M: Do you have an official website or myspace?
CR: I have an official page on imdb.com. I used to have a personal myspace but it got too complicated. My official website is www.connorross.com.
SO-M: Is there anything else you’d like to add?
CR: "Driftwood" was great. Honestly, the script was definitely lifechanging in a way for me because it just gives everyone an opportunity. The reason Tim wrote this was because one of his friends as a child was sent to one of these camps. He saw what this kid went through at these places and he got sent there because he wasn’t like everyone else. In a way it has a very strong message and I was just happy to be a part of it.
"Driftwood" is available on DVD now on Amazon.com. Click here to order your copy! It’s a must see!
