Alex Ferris Diary Of A Wimpy Kid Interview

Diary of a Wimpy Kid is hitting this week, and I recently got a chance to check in with Alex Ferris, who plays Collin. It was a lot of fun to talk to the young actor who was recently nominated for two Young Artist Awards (The Time Traveler's Wife, Living Out Loud), and given my experience interviewing people under the age of 15, it was rather educational as well.

Given my fairly limited knowledge of the book/film, it was educational in more ways than one.

For those who also are not among the initiated, Collin (who Alex describes as a preppy, Republican kid) becomes friends with Rowley after Rowley and Greg (the wimpy kid) have a fight.

Your first impression of Alex is that of a child with somewhat too much sugar in his diet, or perhaps an actor not yet jaded out of the excitement of talking to someone who can moderately pretend at being "press." Whatever the case, it was at times difficult to get a word in, but the unbridled enthusiasm was itself something of a joy to be near. (Everyone in the game should be forced to interview child actors regularly)

As you might imagine, Alex was in no way put out by having to work with so many other young actors, and the Nerf wars didn't seem to hurt matters on the set at all. He is indeed quite eloquent in his recommendation that you see the film at your first opportunity, and even if that comes with a bit more focus on the great trailers and many benefits of working in one's hometown than other actors might convey, he seems to know what he's talking about.

He did mention (and was rather convincing) that director Thor Freudenthal (Hotel for Dogs) was great to work with, and that he was rather appreciative of being able to meet all the adult stars... which is apparently not always the way of things.

For the life of me I could never recall a tenth of what he said to me, but it simply wasn't that sort of interview. The actual ins and outs of the day everyone got to come over to his house are perhaps not lost by being lost in any case. More important is the general feel of rather a clever, young lad, who, hopped up on adrenaline, nerves, and/or a generally frantic nature, managed to plug his Young Artist noms, and rather diplomatically reply that, "everyone was fun to work with in different ways."

Quite frankly, an interview with a child actor is what it is. I'm not the sort to pretend otherwise. Nevertheless, though you may not find yourself in store for any plot/character analysis, here is a kid you find yourself wanting to talk to... though the prospect alone may leave you winded.

After a few minutes on the phone with an actor under the age of twenty, there are several general impressions that, statistically speaking, are liable to come to mind. "Intriguing," is not actually among the usual suspects, but there is something about the vehemently joyful disposition Alex never let go of that has the potential to sell incredibly well if his general personality can make it to the screen.

Check him out as Collin in Diary of a Wimpy Kid.

By the way, I asked him if people in school "knew" him, and he mentioned that he was gaining in popularity among the third and fourth graders, but the kids his own age had known him too long. We'll see, Alex. We'll see.

RU?

© 2010, Are You Screening?. All rights reserved. Reprinting without express permission of the author is prohibited.

About Marc Eastman

Marc Eastman is the owner and operator of Are You Screening? and has been writing film reviews for over a decade, and several branches of the internet's film review world have seen his name. His reviews have brought him personal praise from the director of a major motion picture, and have been used as required reading in a course at a major University. These priceless rewards, along with just bags of cash, keep him from straying from freelance writing. He is also a member of The Broadcast Film Critics Association and The Broadcast Television Journalists Association.

Twitter | Facebook | More Posts (1450)