IN CONVERSATION WITH GRIFFIN GLUCK

Griffin Gluck stars as the male lead in Freeform‘s breakout anthology series ‘Cruel Summer’, which returned for a second season on 5th June. Griffin’s big break came in 2011 when he was chosen for the role of Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler’s son in ‘Just Go With It’, for which he received a Young Artist Award nomination.

Griffin, you star as the male lead in the second season of Freeform’s series ‘Cruel Summer’. What can we expect from this upcoming second season?

You can expect everything you loved about season one and more. The overall structure of the show is the same, with a new twist at the end of every episode, although the stakes are a little higher this time around in my opinion. There’s a murder in a small town, a teen love triangle, a lot of teen angst and teen drama, mystery and early 2000s nostalgia.

Tell us more about your character Luke, who we’ll get to meet in the second season.

Luke is a complex young man. Although he appears to have everything together on the surface, he comes from the most affluent family in the small town of Chatham, WA and has a lot of pressure on him to live up to his father’s expectations. His mom passed away when he was just a kid and that’s had some long-lasting effects on him too. He’s easy going, a lover, a good friend to everyone, but at the end of the day he’s also a stupid and naive teenage boy that makes a lot of mistakes.

When did you develop passion for acting? Tell us more about the beginnings of your career.

I started acting in school plays when I was around the age of 7, with musical theater. I felt like an outsider when I was a kid, but found a supportive community in theater and that’s what really made me fall in love with acting. I auditioned for a production of ‘Oliver’ at a local play house and to everyone’s surprise I booked the lead role. Luckily, the head of casting went on to become an agent and asked to bring me on as a client and sent me out on a few auditions. Obviously I said yes, on the off chance that I might actually book something and a few weeks later I booked my first job as Adam Sandler’s son in ‘Just Go With It’. I couldn’t ask for a better start to my career and luckily I’m still here.

Your big break came in 2011 when you were chosen to play Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler’s son in ‘Just Go With It’. How was it working on such a high profile project as your breakthrough role?

It was pretty incredible, I mean, I was working with one my idols on my first job. It really set the bar high for me personally. Adam, Jen, Nick Swardson and the director Dennis Dougan really instilled a lot of knowledge in me. When you’re 9 years old, I think you just soak up everything around you. You’re like a sponge. To be on that set, at that age really changed my life and gave me a deep love and appreciation for the industry.

hoodie and pants DIESEL
necklace MARTINE ALI
rings TALENTS OWN AND MARTINE ALI

Were you nervous to be on set with such icons, Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler? How was it starring alongside them?

I think I was nervous to meet them at first, for sure. After a while though, we got pretty close and comfortable with one another. Dennis would rib me a lot on set and give me a hard time, in a friendly way, which only helped me develop a thick skin and quick wit. I remember he said to me once “Get your line right or you’re fired kid” and I still can’t believe this, but I replied with “Hey, I get paid either way, right? “. That quickly earned me Dennis’ and Adam’s respect, haha.

Which actor or actress and their career is the biggest inspiration to you?

There are a few too many to count. Right now, Jake Gyllenhaal’s career comes to mind. I’m a big fan of his early and current works and the roles he’s chosen. But my comedy still has my heart and for that I think there’s no better career than Jim Carrey’s.

When you are not on set, how do you like to spend your free time?

Fully relaxing and spending time with friends. I watch a fair amount of movies and TV, arguably too much. I pick up hobbies and drop them often, only to come back to them every once in a while. Guitar, pottery, photography and skateboarding are in rotation pretty often.

What can you share with us about your upcoming exciting projects?

I’ve been taking downtime to find the right next project. I’ve been lucky enough to stay very busy the last several years and I’m enjoying just living life and not working right now. There are a few things coming out that you can look out for when they’re announced, but I’ve been away from comedy for too long and I’m just waiting on that next good comedic project.

interview by JANA LETONJA @janaletonja