ShockTillYouDrop.com caught up with Till to get the lowdown on his new film Crush – which is currently available on DVD and Blu-ray. He spoke with us about playing the “All-American” guy in Crush, the film’s twist ending, and his favorite genre films. We also probed him for info about X-Men: Days of Future Past (But we didnt get very far with that).
For anyone not familiar with Crush, the story follows high school heartthrob Scott (Till) who has it all: good looks, popularity and a secret admirer. But what starts out, as a seemingly innocent crush soon turns deadly. Who’s responsible: Scotts long time friend Jules, frustrated with their platonic relationship, Bess, a shy classmate, increasingly jealous of his friendship with Jules, or Jeffrey, a bright outcast whose crush on Bess has lead him to become increasingly obsessive? One thing is certain, time is running out and Scott must uncover the psychotic stalker before its too late.
Shock Till You Drop: You play the object of desire for nearly all of the female characters in the film. That must have made for an enjoyable shoot for you?
Lucas Till: No. It was terrible. I didnt know what to do with myself (Laughs). Yeah, it was pretty killer. I was recently watching it with some friends for the first time and they were giving me a hard time for not telling them that all the girls in the film were so pretty.
Shock: Your character, Scott is a pretty down to earth and all American type of guy. You seem like a pretty down to earth guy, yourself. Was he an easy character for you to relate to?
Till: You dont know me that well (Laughs). It was easy in some ways to relate to him. We have both gotten in arguments with our dads over parental issues. I think thats something that everyone can relate to. Being very focused on something is also something that I can relate to. For Scott, that is soccer. He really wants to get back on that field. He says it many times in the film. But something that I cant relate to is the way Scott wanted to focus so much on getting rehabilitated that he ignored the attention of all of the girls in the film. He ignored everyone from his love interest to his teacher. I kind of like crazy girls. The fact that one of the characters was stalking my character would have been flattering to me. But Scott is freaked out by it. Overall, it was a pretty smooth ride.
Shock: Without giving anything away, were you surprised by the twist when you read the script?
Till: Yeah. That whole thing was kind of reminiscent of films like Swimfan or any kind of stalker movie. I thought it was going one way and it ended up going the last place I would have expected it to go. I didnt expect it to turn out like it did, at all. The film even has a certain Misery element to it. I think that everyone who buys the DVD or Blu-ray will see it coming, though, because its on the front cover.
Shock: I was a little surprised by the cover art, as well. On another note, youve done a notable amount of work in genre film. Do you enjoy working in the horror and sci-fi genres or has your time spent in them been mere happenstance?
Till: Its a little bit of both. I really like doing a little bit of everything. Ive kind of fallen in to roles in genre movies. As far as horror, a friend of mine is a horror director and special effects guy and he put me in one of his films. I thought that was a lot of fun. In Crush it still has a lot of elements of other genres and then the horror is layered on top of it, especially towards the end. I absolutely love genre movies. When I was a kid, I was really impacted by genre films and cult classics.
Shock: What are some of the films that influenced you when you were growing up?
Shock: As a kid growing up wanting to be a super hero, it must have been very surreal to be cast as Havok in X Men: First Class.
Till: You have no idea! People have really seen the movie, by now, and they are coming up to me and telling me that I did a good job. I think that is kind of the last piece of fulfillment. Im hyper competitive. I wanted that job more than anything. I ended up getting it and took it really seriously. When I watch these movies, I want people to do the character justice, and a lot of times, they dont. I didnt even try to determine if I had done a good job, but its super surreal to have people come up to me and tell me that I did do a good job. Its really nice and super surreal.
Shock: The fans in horror and sci-fi can be hard to please, but once you win them over, they are the most loyal fans around.
Till: I remember the first couple of Comic-Cons that we went to were cool; we could get in to things and it was great. But once X Men came out, I could do anything I wanted there. It was like I was finally in. It was a big accepting group of fans. Ive also had friends who have been in movies where they have been perceived as doing it wrong. The dichotomy there is hilarious. If you are seen as messing it up, you can kind of get shunned from the sci-fi world, but if you get that one hit, its like you are royalty.
Shock: You do not want hundreds of thousands of pissed off sci-fi fans on your case, at Comic-Con. On that same token, can you give us an update on X Men: Days of Future Past? Your involvement was rumored and then the film dropped off of your IMDb page. Can you clear it up for us? Will you be back as Havok?
Till: You know what? I wish I could tell you, but unfortunately I still cant give you an answer.
Shock: Well, good luck. I think the fans would love to see you back.
Till: Thanks.
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