Catching Up With Drew Tyler Bell
Soap Opera Digest: Okay, you’ve got a few things to tell us. First, what’s this about a podcast show?
Drew Tyler Bell: The show is called GARAGE TAP and you can check it out on our Web site at www.garagetap.com. Digest: How would you sum up this show?
Bell: It’s basically a variety show all about tap dancing. I co-host it with a friend, who is also my former tap dance teacher, Rod Howell. The show is full of tap dance combinations, interviews and performances with professional tappers and a bunch of other fun segments.
Digest: How often will you come out with a new show?
Bell: We are planning on releasing a new episode every month. We’re up to four now and we’re editing the fifth one. You can download them from the Web site or go on iTunes and search for GARAGE TAP.Digest: Why are you doing this?
Bell: It’s just something fun to do. We also do our own tap combinations or show new steps. We even go on location to dance, like on top of a mountain, or we’ll tap through the drive-through at fast food restaurants or on a playground. We have as much fun as we can.Digest: It sounds like guerrilla tap?
Bell [laughs]: Actually, it is. We went to a screening of the [animated movie] Happy Feet and just showed up, threw down some boards and started tapping. Initially, they were okay with it, but we were so loud, they told us we couldn’t do it anymore. There’s going to be footage of that on our Web site.Digest: What’s the response been like?
Bell: It’s been amazing. We’re able to track the activity and we get hits from all over the world. We’ve gotten everywhere from Turkey to England to Australia to Greece to France. It’s pretty cool.Digest: Do you get feedback, too?
Bell: Yeah, we have it set up so people can e-mail us. We’ve gotten a lot of responses. We were doing this segment for a while called, “Guess How Many Sounds,” where we would tap these quick combinations and you had to guess how many taps. We got a lot of responses from that. People had fun with it.Digest: Now, on to your other projects. You’ve got a straight-to-video movie, Her Best Move, coming out. Tell me about that.
Bell: It’s a family movie. The girl in the movie is trying to get on the U.S. Olympic team. It’s G-rated. Digest: So, you didn’t have any nude scenes?
Bell: No, those will be in the DVD extras [laughs]. It’s a light comedy and there’s sort of a romance between my character and the girl.Digest: What is your character like?
Bell: I’m the shy, nerdy antisocial kid who’s a photographer. I hang out in the darkroom at school all day and dream about this girl. We shot it in Marin County in Northern California. Scott Patterson, who plays Luke on GILMORE GIRLS, plays the girl’s father.Digest: What was your best experience with this movie?
Bell: I know it’s cliché to say, but we really became like family. The hotel was near an outdoor mall that we walked over to a lot to hang out. It was a very relaxing shoot. My family came up for a few days, and we rode bicycles over the Golden Gate Bridge. That was really cool. Digest: What else is going on with you?
Bell: I just guest-starred on STANDOFF. I play this jock bully who gets what’s coming to him from the geeks he’s been picking on for years at school. He’s taken hostage and they try to humiliate him in front of the world. Digest: Cool. Anything else?
Bell: This movie I did for the Hallmark Channel is finally coming out. It’s called LOVE’S ABIDING JOY.Digest: Huh? Did you say LOVE’S BITING JOY?
Bell: No, that’s the HBO special [laughs]. It’s A-BI-DING.Digest: Oh, gotcha. What kind of movie is it?
Bell: A Western. It’s adapted from a book by Janette Oke. I play this guy in the Midwest and he falls for this girl who’s the daughter of the bad guy. It was a lot of fun because I’ve never done a Western before. Digest: Did you have to learn how to ride a horse?
Bell: I did. I ended up swallowing my pride because I’m not too smooth on a horse. There was an old ranch hand, and after several takes of me trying to stop at a mark, he said [drawling], “You look like a monkey trying to ride a rocket.” I wanted to say, “Well, maybe I can’t ride a horse, but let’s see you tap dance, old-timer.”
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