Austin Peck (Brad, ATWT) has lost his virginity — his Bluetooth virginity, that is. The actor stars in the quirky independent film The Blue Tooth Virgin, which opened in New York and Los Angeles on Sept. 25.
Soap Opera Weekly: What was it like shooting The Blue Tooth Virgin?
Austin Peck: I got to work with some really good people. Bryce Johnson (Popular), who played Dave, was just a total pleasure to work with. And Karen Black. Everybody was great. The writing made everything easy. It was very driven and to the point. And at the same time, there was a lot there.
Weekly: You got to put a bit of a different hat on. You’re an actor who got to play a screenwriter, as Sam!
Peck: Yeah. What I liked about it is that there was no physical description of the character. So he could have been played by basically any guy. I love the fact that I got to do it. It wasn’t a stereotypical character [for me].
Weekly: And the dynamic between Sam and Dave is such that the characters are friends, but become professional rivals.
Peck: They’re both writers, and my character is struggling with his own pride and arrogance, and his own understanding of writing. You wonder in the beginning of the film, “Is Sam a good writer?” because of Dave’s reaction [to his new screenplay], and because of his wife’s reaction. But when a girl (played by Amber Benson from BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER) approaches him and tells him that he changed her life, and he explains what his movie is about, then it all comes together. Whereas Dave can look at a formula and an outline, and he’ll be able to say, “What do I need to do to sell a script? If it’s an action film, it’s got to have some action in the first five minutes, some skin, some sex.” Very formulaic and very commercial. That’s basically what Sam can’t stand. He’s trying to make a lion into a tiger, trying to change the animal.
Weekly: Was it fun to be in a movie about the entertainment industry?
Peck: Yeah, I think it’s very satirical, and I like that. I grew up in Los Angeles, and my mother was married to a [literary] agent for years. So, growing up in that environment to some degree, it’s fun. I never really felt like I was “in the know,” but I could relate to the humanness of it all.
Weekly: Are you excited for the response to the film?
Peck: It’s an enjoyable film. You’re not going to be jumping up and down, whoopin’ and hollerin’. It’ll make you think a bit, and it’s a fun, simple film. It’s all Russell Brown — his voice, his writing, his direction and his vision.
Weekly: You shot it in eight days. Was it just a blur?
Peck: They were long days! But there are only seven scenes in the film.
Weekly: Good point. And that made it feel very theatrical, like it could be a stage play.
Peck: That’s exactly how it reads. It definitely could become a stage play [laughs]. That’s a really good idea. Maybe we’ll put it [on] in Newark, N.J.
