Joe Adler Q&A

Aug 29, 2011

Joe Adler plays Rolo, the loveable space cadet and underdog who magically gets the girl in Disney’s hit high school movie PROM (out on DVD and Blu-ray at the end of this month).In real life this L.A. actor has a lot on the go and is far from out-of-it. Find out more in his Kidzworld Q&A!

Working on the set of Prom meant making lots of friends for Joe

Joe says that he relates to lots of characters in Prom, not just his own!

Rolo cycles all the way to prom in his tux!

Kidzworld: Are you excited for the release of PROM on DVD/Blu-Ray?

Joe Adler: Absolutely!

KW: What was your favourite part of filming PROM?

Joe: Honestly the camaraderie that was built on set was something special, because I’ve been on other sets and you know you say you’re going to be friends with people after shooting is completed but with this group there really is like four or five of them that I still talk to. Really getting to know these guys was really great.

KW: What do you like most about the story?

Joe: With a story like this no matter who you are you can relate to somebody in it, even myself I was able to relate to different characters as well in different ways, not only Rolo. I just like the way different characters were able to navigate the same world but with different circumstances.

KW: How did you get the part of Rolo?

Joe: It was funny, I actually first auditioned for the character of Lloyd, that Nick Braun ended up playing. And I thought I had messed that audition up beyond belief and then a few weeks later I got a call asking me to come in and read for Anton, who has like three words, but that was for the director, and he really liked what I did with those three words apparently, he got a good laugh out of it and he said do you want to come back next week for this added character, cause I guess Rolo wasn’t always in the script, so I came back, read for Rolo, they loved me and asked me if I could come back for a chemistry read and I read with Janelle Ortiz who plays Ali on Friday-and on Monday I found out that I booked it!

KW: Do you think your character is similar to you at all?

Joe: In a way, Rolo is a little extreme, his lack of competence and aware of his surroundings, I like to think I’m a little more present, but we’re both really laid back and go with the flow.

KW: When did you first realize you wanted to be a performer?

Joe: Well when I was a little kid in elementary school, I took this after-school intro to theater seminar type thing and that’s when I started getting into it a little bit, and I ended up going to middle school that was a middle school and high school in one and as a middle school student I would watch these high school plays and I was so intimidated by the whole thing like “oh man, this is the real deal!” and then I took another intro to theater class and we had to do a little performance and I sort of got recruited by the theater program at my school, and then kind of worked my way up the ranks in that and was the lead in several shows and then one day I realized it’s what I want to do with the rest of my life.

KW: Do you have any film projects coming up?

Joe: Right now I’m back to the grind of auditioning, I just completed a TV Movie in Atlanta called Fuel Division for NBC, but back on the grind!

KW: Who are some of your inspirations (actors etc)

Joe: As far as actors I really look up to Joseph Gordon Levitt cause his subtleties, its really the little things he does that make the work so realistic and so believable, also Ryan Gosling.

KW: Who would you ideally like to work with in the future

Joe: Oh man, that list is kind of endless for me! You know, go big or go home, I want to work with Meryl Streep at some point, just cause she’s the best of the best.

KW: What are some of your hobbies?

Joe: When I’m not acting I’m a big music fan, I used play, I used to doodle on the piano and the drums and I used to play saxophone but not really anymore, I go out to shows a lot, see a lot of live music, kicking back hanging out with my friends.

KW: What are your plans for the summer?

Joe: I’m going ot Chicago at the beginning of august to a big festival called Lollapalooza, it’s pretty big, and then I may go from there back east to see some family.