Exclusive Interview with Rising Star Zach Avery

Photo Credit: Bobby Quillard

I got the chance to chat with actor Zach Avery who is known for his roles in The White Crow with Ralph Fiennes and in Farming with Kate Beckinsale and Adewale Akinnouye-Agbaje. He also stars in the noir thriller, Last Moment of Clarity with Mr. Robot’s Carly Chaikin set for release in 2019. 

Below, is the exclusive interview. 

Emily Clark: Tell me about yourself and what led you to move to LA and pursue your dreams? 

Zach Avery: I grew up in Tampa Florida and moved to Indiana as a freshman in high school. I took a split route growing up. I was into sports. I played basically anything there was to play but then I was also into theater and putting on plays for my sister and mom. I went to Indiana University and I graduated and went into a doctorate program in Chicago for psychology because I didn't grow up in an environment where it was [acceptable] to grow up and become an actor. I realized fairly quickly that I ... needed to lead with passion. So I left school, drove across the country with my [then] girlfriend, now wife, and dog to make it out here in LA.

EC: That's fantastic. Tell me about your role in The White Crow and working with Ralph Fiennes as director? 

Zach Avery: He's such a presence both in front of and behind the camera. Because of his masterful work as an actor ... working with him... he knows how to pull things out of you that another director wouldn't know how to do. From the beginning, it was an amazing experience. I played the role of a man named Michael Jones who is an American journalist. The story revolves around Rudolf Nureyev, a famous ballet dancer from Russia. He decides to leave Russia and defect to the West. My role was following this whole journey from an American's perspective of him leaving, the struggles of his identity, his individuality, and the decision to say... I need to follow this passion and not live by the rules that I've been told I should. It was definitely an incredible experience. We shot [the film] in Serbia. 

EC: It sounds like there are some correlations with your own life there. Now, tell me, did you study a particular methodology or technique for acting? 

Zach Avery: I wouldn't say a specific thing... for me it's about putting myself in that position. Whatever it is, whether I'm playing a journalist or police officer or whatever it may be, I try to research as much as I can beforehand, whether it [requires] talking to people in the real world or just diving into that mentality and really try to put myself in whatever situation I'm in and then go authentically from there. I feel like when I get too heady in terms of ... a set of [acting] rules... it doesn't really work out for me ... I tend to overthink it instead of just authentically moving forward. I feel like it's intuitive and a kind of human approach. We all are, every day... kind of soaking up all this knowledge about how people act and interact and work with each other... why we do the things we do.  [It's about] really empathizing with that and bringing it out onto the screen.

EC: Who inspires you as an actor? 

Zach Avery: I've always loved Tom Hanks. I've always loved Tom Cruise. As a kid I was weirdly obsessed with Forrest Gump... I was fascinated with this character going from a child all through life and experiencing all these things and changing throughout. I realized as a kid ... [that] acting is this thing you can do where you can put a mirror in front of someone's life and really dig in to what's happening with them at whatever time in their personal journey that they're going through. 

EC: What was it like working [on Farming]?

Zach Avery: From the first time I met Adewale [Akinnouye-Agbaje] and talking through the character... the fact that this was his actual story really hit home. It was so heartbreaking but then uplifting in the fact that he got out of this and became the amazing person he is. Working with someone like Kate Beckinsale...she was so genuinely caring and open.

EC: What are some of your goals for the future? Is there a dream role you'd like to play? 

Zach Avery: It changes. I go back and forth. Sometimes I'm really feeling a super dramatic, indie type of piece and recently, I think because of the [recent] films [I've worked on] from White Crow to Farming and Clarity ... [all] pretty dramatic types of film... I'm craving the physical acting... being an athlete in my past and loving that side of it, I like to also bring physical acting into film. The goal at the moment would be in some sort of cool action thriller... something where I can run around and do stunts and get that side out as well. 

EC: Any advice for kids out there who might have grown up in the Midwest or a small town that doesn't have a support system like a theatrical program at school... someone looking to eventually grow up and move to LA and do what you're doing? 

Zach Avery: We're at such a cool moment for young creatives and artists. You can work with your friends. You can get yourself on tape. You can use your phone... to get that passion and creativity out of you so people can see what you're about ... without having to knock on doors and do a thousand auditions ... it really is kind of taking your career into your own hands and not letting anyone tell you that you shouldn't do this, or it's not safe or it's really hard to make money... of course it's hard, but it's worth it.