Tell us the story of how you met.
Michael Mealor (Kyle, Y&R): I had just turned 18, I was running around to modeling castings in L.A., and I stopped in to Wilhelmina [their agency]. As I recall it, Josh was standing there and my agent said, “This is Josh, he’s new in town.” And we kind of just hit it off right off the bat, everything from [interest in the] military to being outdoorsmen to motorcycles, all that stuff. Josh is my best friend in the world. We have literally done everything together since we’ve moved to L.A.; we’ve taken the same steps at the same time, from modeling jobs to part-time jobs to acting all the way down the line to joining soap operas.
What is a typical hangout session for the two of you?
Mealor: For a long time, it was ordering pizza and playing video games.
Josh Swickard (Chase, GH): Yeah, with [being in] relationships and stuff, we don’t hang out as much as we used to, but it’s kind of progressed over time. Eight years ago, it was, “Come over, let’s hang out on my couch and play Call of Duty.” You can play Call of Duty online with headseats and there was a period where that was all we did! Now, it’s usually, “Hey, let’s grab a bite to eat,” or “Let’s go see a movie,” “Let’s do a workout class.”
Mealor: Really casual stuff. Josh and I never liked running around with the crowds of Hollywood, going to nightclubs, going to the scene-y bars and stuff like that. We never bought into that type of life, hence why we were sitting on the couch playing video games! We had the same mindset about what a hangout looked like: chilling and just enjoying each other’s company, not, “Let’s go out on the town and see what kind of trouble we can get into.”
Which one of you is funnier?
Swickard: Short answer, he’s funnier. But I get more laughs. Whether it’s things happening to me, or life happening to me, or me happening to myself, I tend to get a lot of laughs, but it’s never really me trying to be funny.
Mealor: Josh is definitely goofier than me. He can perform in front of people and make them laugh, and then I’ll come in with the one-liners.
Are there other people in your posse?
Swickard: We would like there to be. It’s not that we’re against it; it’s mainly that we just don’t have friends.
Mealor: The other day we were at lunch with this guy who was organizing [an event] and he invited us and he said, “Invite all of your friends, I want everyone you know there,” that kind of stuff. When we left the lunch, Josh was like, “Little does he know, all the people we know were right there at that table! We don’t know anybody!” We kind of stick to hanging out just with us. Personally, I’ve never wanted a big group of friends. If I have two or three people I can call, then I’m cool. And Josh and I, I mean, I talk to him more than my girlfriend; I talk to him more than anyone! We talk three or four times a day sometimes.
Swickard: There have been times when we go a week without talking, and with some people, if you don’t call them in a 48-hour period, it’s like, “We’re in a fight!” With Michael, it’s never like that. I feel like our friendship is bulletproof, in a way.
Do you double-date at all?
Mealor: Yeah, we’re always down to go on an adventure together, go out on a Saturday night. We’ve always just kind of vibed well together. Was my birthday the first time the four of us went out?
Swickard: Yeah, that was the first time. And it was great!
Josh, were you nervous about introducing your significant other to Michael?
Swickard: Oh, not at all. We’ve never let girls, or jobs, or anything external affect our friendship.
Mealor: For sure. Josh is one of those friends that no matter what, he’s a friend for life. I know him to his core; I could never see a scenario where I would be like, “Screw you! We’re done being friends!” It’s always love, it’s always family with Josh. And because of that, we don’t worry about introducing each other to new people. Yeah, there are times when we’ve said to each other, “I don’t know if that’s the best person for your life,” but it’s more like we are excited to introduce each other to our girlfriends because we know that we are going to get love back, get truth back.
Swickard: That’s happened a lot on both of our parts, where we’re super-honest with each other, and sometimes you just have to agree to disagree. I think that’s part of why we’ve been friends for so long; we don’t take any [disagreement] too seriously.
Mealor: I agree. Even if one of us continued down a road the other one disagreed with, there would be no love lost there. It would still be like, “Okay, this is what he needs to do at this point in time, and I’m still going to be there for him.”
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