Exclusive interview with Charley Koontz – Actor
NY Glam: Tell us a little about yourself, growing up and your passions.
My name is Charley Koontz and I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area doing plays and skits in high school before I attended Loyola Marymount University where I earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Theater Arts in 2009.
NY Glam: What are you currently working on?
Coming up I am going to be on the Amazon Prime series The Boys for it’s second season premiering in mid-2020. It was an amazing experience to go to Toronto to shoot with an incredible crew. Truly a highlight.
NY Glam: What made you take this role?
I went to school with our director and star Abby Pierce and I was grateful when she called me about doing Eat Your Heart Out. I think the script that she and Julia Lederer wrote is warm, funny and heartbreaking. Any opportunity to work with Abby, who I consider a great artist, I always jump at the chance. It was an easy decision to decide to take this role.
NY Glam: What journey does your character go on in the course of the monologues?
In the movie Douglas finally has to go on a journey of acceptance and closure for the end of the relationship he had with Abby’s character Wallace. He has tried to hide form the pain of his heartbreak going so far as to literally hide the pieces of her heart that remind him of Wallace. They go through a difficult tour of their past relationship together, but I think he the end they find some peace with each other and the pain they have been through.
NY Glam: Tell us a little bit more about this film, what is it about, who else are you working with, and who is the director, producer, writer?
We shot the film in the summer in Chicago with an amazing cast and crew. Graham Beckel plays our narrator and he is unbelievable. Truly the glue that holds the whole film together. Our director Abby Pierce put together an amazing team including Kyle Leland, our producer, and Jason Chiu, our cinematographer. With these smaller projects the crew is critical in making the look and feel of the movie more than the sum of its parts.
NY Glam: What is the most challenging role you have played and why?
CSI: Cyber techno-jargon will always win this one, hands down. But playing my character, Krumitz, on that show was a joy every day.
NY Glam: And the most fun one?
A long time ago I did a horror movie called The Haunting of Cellblock 11 set in an abandoned prison in Missouri. The REAL abandoned Missouri State Penitentiary! It was spooky and fun and I made some lifelong friends on the cast and crew. I always look back fondly on that movie.
NY Glam: Describe your biggest accomplishment to date?
Being in Eat Your Heart Out, of course!
NY Glam: What other hobbies do you have? Have you ever considered branching out into directing or screenwriting?
I love to read books and study films. I think anyone in this industry that tells you they DON’T have a screenplay lying around somewhere is a liar. And I’m no different!
NY Glam: Where have you played a lead role? What was the character about?
You should consider all the roles you play as the lead role in their particular story, I think. But being a main cast member on CSI-Cyber and getting to play around in that franchise solving cyber crimes was a pretty exciting time in my life.
NY Glam: If you weren’t acting what would you be doing?
Journalism maybe? I’m really interested in reporting and how newspapers work. I think that world is fascinating and so important.
NY Glam: What’s your goal for this year?
Finish reading Infinite Jest, but that’s my goal every year.
NY Glam: What is your advice for aspiring actors?
Keep grinding. At the beginning of your career it is important to view the scope of your journey in decades. It might not come right away, or it might come quickly but not last forever. No moment lasts too long in this industry, so if you can stay focused on doing the work, improving and finding honesty inside yourself for your performance then sooner or later something interesting will shake loose. If you’re truly dedicated to the art then the journey will be long but worth it.
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