Interview With “Stranger Things” Star Sage Mayer!
- What made you want to start acting?
I have a friend that moved to North Carolina and he was doing some work on TV shows filmed in Wilmington like “Sleepy Hollow.”
Since I was a kid that thoroughly enjoyed performing for others I thought I’d like to get into the TV business too. His mom told my mom about a movie filming in Georgia called Gifted and I applied to be a background actor which I got, four days in the movie.
They were filming a few school scenes with Chris Evans and McKenna Grace and I was pulled to say a line while entering the classroom. From then on, I knew acting was for me. One of the coolest things I remember about that time was Octavia Spencer coming by on her day off from filming to meet the kids in the film.
- What was the first project you worked on?
Gifted was the first time I worked in the industry on anything. My first speaking role was in a short film called “Musician” where I played a younger version of the lead character.
- What was the audition process like for “Children of Moloch”?
So that is such a crazy story. It was Sunday afternoon and I was in Los Angeles and I was taking my weekly acting workshop in North Hollywood. My mom picked me up after class and told me I had to self-tape something right away, apparently, production wanted to see my version of the character immediately.
We stopped at a McDonalds on Lankershim Blvd and filmed it in the bathroom on a cellphone. The lighting was not good, kind of yellow and I had only a few minutes to learn the lines and someone was knocking on the door, not the best of conditions, but the line producer contacted us within an hour and told me the job was mine.
We started shooting that Monday.
- What is the film about?
I actually can’t tell you much about the film or my role or the film as it is in post-production and a lot of the details have been kept under wraps.
- What was your reaction when you found out you booked it?
It happened so fast but I was very excited about booking the part. The director is Frank Peluso and he is so great.. He even worked with me to perfect my accent.
- What was your favorite part about getting to work on “Stranger Things”?
I got to work in a scene with Caleb McLaughlin and Sadie Sink outside the School. I just remember dancing during breaks and Caleb was dancing too, he just finished the New Edition story. He was such a great guy, so positive and easy going. His dad was pretty awesome too. One other thing I loved was the breakfast they served on set, it included Eleven’s favorite meal, Eggos.
- What’s your favorite part about acting?
Acting is so much fun. Creating a character from paper to flesh and blood and bringing a part of me into that character. I love it when I can add a suggestion on dialogue or production adds a little of what I like to do in that character. Like maybe dancing or messing around on the guitar. I like being in the moment. I don’t like to watch myself though. I leave that up to the audience.
- Do you have any upcoming projects you’d like to tell us about?
I am currently working on the pre-production of a short film that I wrote called “UnCluttered.” I had to stop working on it about a month ago because I booked a job that was too great to pass on. I am super excited about filming this. It’s a short about a very messy boy.
- What do you enjoy doing when you’re not working?
I love to dance, riding my bike, creating stories, drawing, traveling and watching my favorite YouTubers.
- Do you have any fun plans for summer?
I like to spend time with my friends and travel during the summer if I am not committed to a project. If I am committed to a project, I spend the weekend exploring the area and visiting museums.
- What are your social media handles?
You can find me on Instagram at iamsage08.
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