Tell me about yourself - what age did you start acting - why did you want to act... things
like that.
I think I was six years old, or so... I had moved down to L.A. with my mom for her to
pursue her acting career. She got a job as an extra for a film, so there were a couple of jobs where they'd call
at the last minute and they needed a kid to be someone on the show... my mom asked me if would do it, and that's how I
fell in love with it... I got the acting bug. I really enjoyed being on the set, because being on set is every actors
goal (laughs)... no one wants to act so we can go to meetings... (laughs) we do it for the making of the art.
So from there I wanted to pursue it more full time, and it was one of those things where as a kid my mom asked me every two
weeks if it was something I wanted to do because it takes a lot of work, and you miss out on normal kid stuff. Then
my career kind of started over again when I turned eighteen. I don't really count the first ten years or so... (laughs)
'cause with the American Pie movies... and all of its success... it was sort of a re-introduction.
Like two different careers almost...
Yea, and not too many people
put the old career together with the new one. One out of twenty people remember 'Rookie Of The Year'.
Where you nervous when you got your first role?
I was really excited, I had gone out on a lot of appointments to get that first role so... it wasn't so much about
being nervous as it was being excited. I always say that my first role was on "Who's The Boss" as a young
Tony Danza, but really there was one job before that... that no one would have ever seen (laughs). It was a day time
TV show called "Family Medical Center", and I played a kid who got bit by a dog... (laughs) It’s funny because
they put a fake scar on me, and I think when we were done for that day of filming we came home and we played a gag on our
roommates and said that I had fallen in the parking lot and we were like suing the production.... they all freaked out. We
had a big laugh.
What kind of steps did your parents take to make
sure you wouldn't end up like other child stars with drug habits?
Yes, granted... it tends
to be very much affiliated with child actors because they're making more money than most kids would be making if they
had a paper route, but I think it was just good parenting. Because any kid could fall into that, the difference
between a kid that falls into a drug habit that isn't in the entertainment industry isn't going to be publicized.
Whereas the kids that were in the entertainment industry... you read about it. So I just contribute that to good parenting.
Tell me about the transition from the child star to who you are now...
How did you get past the child star?
It was just a blessing. The reality of it is that three
percent of child actors make it into the successful adult career. So I just consider that a blessing. I can sit
here and say, "well, it was because I worked hard and was always prepared"... but I'm sure there are people
who feel they did the same thing that didn't have the same blessing.
What's your most memorable role, or experience, while making a movie?Two come to mind, one
of them was a film called "Rules Of Attraction"... where I played a character who was (laughs)... speaking
of drug habits... was a coke head, it was a really fun sequence in a film where we go to buy drugs from this drug dealer,
but James Van Der Beek... who plays Sean Bateman... he owes the drug dealer three grand. So they basically try to kill
us (laughs), and we're running from them. It was a really fun sequence, and the character was someone totally outside
of myself. That's the work I'm probably most proud of, and working with Roger Avary, the director.. was just
a fantastic experience. And the other role that comes to mind is "Stealing Sinatra", where I play Frank Sinatra
Jr., and that was fun portraying a person who obviously really exists. Studying them... making sure I was doing them
justice... singing swing music... all that fun stuff.
Are
you still in a band?
I don't have a band anymore, but I am recording a solo record. I
wont shop it around until it's done... it'll probably be a self-titled type of thing. Just 'cause the guys
that we're using - that we're fortunate enough to have playing on it... are all in bands. We've got the
bass player from Jane's Addiction, and Lawrence Katz who plays with The Mighty Mighty Bosstones... we've even got
Bruce Kulick who played with Kiss during the years of the makeup. He pretty much shreds on a guitar. Brian Virtue
is co-producing it, he engineered Audioslave's last record. So it's got a nice modern tone to it. We pull
Bruce back from shredding too much... (laughs) and my buddy Jeremy is producing it. We've got a couple songs
on MySpace...
Is that under your name on MySpace?
Yeah, it's myspace.com/thomasiannicholas. We're about half way done, just trying to schedule it in between
all of the acting responsibilities.
What kind of songs are on there
- what are they about?
I mainly just write about my own experiences - I think I even have a tune
in there that's more like a story... maybe of someone else's or something that I felt... some of it deals with relationships
or perspectives on situations. I try to always write about something that's meaningful to me. The two songs
that are on MySpace, one of them is just about how things in like come unexpectedly... they come without warning. And
the two songs on MySpace... I wrote with Dan Lavery, bass player from Tonic. And you've actually interviewed him
before.
Dan's a great guy...
Yea,
he is... great songwriter as well.
You're a Christian, right?
Yes, I am.
How hard is it being a Christian in Hollywood
today?
No more difficult than being a Christian today period. (laughs) It really just
varies, it depends on what people's perspective is... everyone has their own opinion. If you're a Christian
and meet someone who believes the same thing... you're like, "right on". You're tripped out to find
someone (laughs) that believes the same things... and other people are afraid you're going to try to convert them...
or brainwash them. I always try to lead with actions... I don't deny it if people ask, but I usually don't say,
"Hi, I'm Thom, and I'm a Christian".
You
don't want to push it on people too much.
Yea, it's one of those things... as you know...
it's a very meaningful relationship that you get to have, and it certainly helps put perspective on life. You're
right, you can't force what you've discovered on other people... as much as you'd like to share it. There
is a moment where you feel like someone could benefit by knowing that there's an opportunity for them... I always try
to talk about what it means for me and not what it could mean for them.
What are your thoughts on the latest American Pie movie, Band Camp?
I have no idea,
man... I haven't seen it.
Did they even ask people to
come back for it?
No, none of us were approached. On the business side, obviously we've
all seen re-makes and sequels... it's hard to brand a new idea for the studio to create with an already created brand,
and I think there were new people running the show at Universal... they saw an opportunity to build off a franchise that they
already created, and do it for a lot less money. 'Cause if they brought us all back, they couldn't have made
it for what they did. Remember when they made "Lethal Weapon 4"? It was like five or seven years after
the number three, there was all this publicity of what they had to pay for everybody... how much money it took Mel Gibson
to come back. That's what it would probably be like for any future "American Pie" with the original cast.
(laughs) Although it wont be 4, maybe it will be 9 or something. (laughs)
Do you think you'd ever write or direct like you did for your movie, "L.A. DJ"?
Oh yeah. I'm jumping at the chance to get behind director side again - I've got a few projects that I've
been mentioning... and all that fun stuff. I'm going to start pitching those ideas, and hopefully get that opportunity
again.
Would you rather do that than acting?
No, I would do them both. I directed a music video that I just started post-production on for Colette - one of
her new songs that's coming out in about six or eight months.
What
are you working on now besides the CD and directing?
Always looking for some meaty acting roles, maybe
try my hand in an action role. I starred in a film recently where I played a hitman, my buddy did it with little money.
I offered to do the sound design for him, so I spent a few months working on that. I'm kind of a tech geek.
And I've been playing at church again - I'm involved with a church service... an evening service. The website
for that is thelastsunday.com. So that's been fun, playing one original song as well as a bunch of covers.
What kind of church is it?
It's a
Lutheran church. I've been going there since '96, I was actually baptized there when I was sixteen.
What kind of movies and music do you like?
I
have a really wide variety. (laughs) As far as music, I tend to go towards classic rock or current rock that have
nice hook filled melodies... one of my favorite bands, which has been for the last eight years, is a band called Switchfoot.
I love Switchfoot.
Yea, at The Last Sunday
I always play one Switchfoot song. They've got some really great stuff, they're an amazing band. As far
as movies, I like everything from comedies to the serious dramas. One of my favorite films of all time is "The
Shawshank Redemption".
Awesome movie.
Yea, I've seen it... I couldn't tell you how many times.
It's
on TV every month, and if I see it I can't turn it off... I have to watch it.
(laughs) I was
just going to say the same thing. I flip the channels and I'm like, "Ah, Shawshank's on".
