–Lucas Cruikshank is best known as “Fred” on youtube, however the 16-year-old is ready to branch out and break away from his well known character. Before doing that, however, Lucas will star in a movie version of “Fred” as well as the movie Emo Boy.
Lucas is from a small farm town in Nebraska and on his 13th birthday, he was given a video camera as a gift and soon after the character FRED was created. We recently chatted with the rising star about everything from the holidays to his Christmas album, It’s Hackin’ Christmas with Fred, to his guest starring roles on “Hannah Montana” & “iCarly”.
Lucas’ video for “Christmas is Creepy” will premiere on the Disney Channel on December 5 at 5:55pm EST/PST and 4:55pm Central. Be sure to tune in!
Read a few highlights below and be sure to read the full interview HERE.
SO-M: When you got your video camera as a present, did you ever expect all of this to happen?
Lucas Cruikshank: No, I definitely did not expect anything like this to happen. I just felt like getting a camera because I was interested in different things, obviously acting. And I wanted to see what it was like behind the camera. So I filmed some random stuff for my family and friends. I put some of it on youtube and “Fred” was one of the things I put on there and it just totally blew up. It’s so crazy. I definitely did not expect it.
SO-M: Where did the idea for “Fred” come from?
Lucas: It was kind of just random. I would always be creating random stories and characters and all that. I kind of just thought of the name Fred and I knew it was going to be like a 6-year-old. I always thought it was funny how they can always throw random temper tantrums and all that kind of stuff. I thought it’d be funny to make a character kind of like that and then it all just came together.
SO-M: You just released your Christmas album, It’s Hackin’ Christmas with Fred. How did that idea come about?
Lucas: Since Fred always sings in all the videos…so I thought it would be funny to make an actual studio album with music producers and the whole deal. So I got together with some really good music producers and we just fleshed out the whole entire album.
Note: You can get It’s Hackin’ Christmas with Fred on iTunes HERE.
SO-M: What was your favorite part about making the video for “Christmas Cash”?
Lucas: The whole entire process was cool. I thought it was cool how when I was filming it, I was just in front of a green screen. I had no clue what was behind me, so I had to imagine what was behind me. Then it was cool seeing how they edited it and made it look like it was real.
SO-M: Can we expect any more music videos?
Lucas: Yeah, I actually just got done filming the second one for “Christmas is Creepy.” It was really fun. I was hanging in a harness and Fred was flying. So I was in this harness in front of a green screen and they were moving it around like I was flying. It was a lot of fun.
SO-M: You’re also working on a movie version of Fred. How are you going to expand your short videos into a feature film?
Lucas: It’s going to be in a whole other format. The videos, they’re kind of like Fred’s video blogs, where he talks about his day and stuff. The movie won’t be like that at all. It will be like you’re actually experience Fred. Most of the time he doesn’t talk to the camera in the movie. You’ll be able to see all the other characters. It’ll be like bringing Fred to a whole other level. I think the fans will love it.
SO-M: What was it like working on shows like “iCarly” and “Hannah Montana” and starring as yourself, and not Fred?
Lucas: It was really cool. I’ve always wanted to be an actor so it was cool to actually work on a real set with the writers and producers. It was great meeting the stars of the show because they’re all really nice and gave me advice.
SO-M: What is your favorite thing about the holidays?
Lucas: My favorite thing is just getting a whole two weeks off of school for Christmas break. And also being with my family. I think it’s great because usually your whole family is busy working and all that kind of stuff. But with the holidays you can just spend time together.
SO-M: What would you like to see happen for Fred and for you in the next year?
Lucas: I hope that the Fred movie is a success and for me to start branching out from Fred and start making other characters and creating different stuff. To be in things other than Fred; obviously my fans love Fred but I want them to see me do other stuff too.
Read the full interview with Lucas HERE.
Lucas guest stars in an all-new episode of “Hannah Montana” titled “Come Fail Away”, which airs on Sunday, December 6 at 7:30pm EST. In the episode, Miley doesn’t exactly make an impact when she auditions for the starring role of a cartoon duck, so Kyle (Lucas Cruikshank), a professional voice-over actor, offers his advice. When she is still unable to impress the director, Miley tries an assortment of techniques, including working with a real duck, to land the part. Meanwhile, Rico tries to transform “Rico’s” into a high-end restaurant by utilizing fancy restaurant gadgets like electronic pagers and a number dispenser. Check out a few stills below, and be sure to follow Lucas on twitter: @lucascruikshank.
Photos: Vivian Zink/Disney Channel
