'ROSWELL NEW MEXICO’S' MICHAEL VLAMIS IS LIVING THE DREAM

Actor Michael Vlamis stars as Michael Guerin in the CW sci-fi drama ROSWELL, NEW MEXICO created by Carina Adly Mackenzie.

Aside from acting, Vlamis is currently keeping himself busy writing his next movie, selling his merch, creating youtube content, while constantly breaking barriers and opening doors of opportunities in the entertainment industry.

In this exclusive interview, Vlamis talked about Michael Guerin’s character evolution, the character’s bisexuality, his web series Making It, acting, the scripts he wrote, and what keeps him busy during quarantine.

How are you holding up amidst the quarantine?

I’m doing surprisingly well. Don’t get me wrong, some days and weeks have been tougher than others, but I’m writing my next movie and have been taking a bunch of Zoom meetings, which keep me busy. I also dropped my latest merch collection and have another coming out in June, so the designing, marketing, and fulfillment has kept me occupied. I will say, I miss my family and normalcy, just like everyone, but I’m ready to get back to Chicago and hug the fam.

What’s the best part about playing Michael’s character?

He’s a wild card. I love that he’s the type of character who is unpredictable. It makes my work even more fun and allows me to be free while filming.

What are the challenges in playing Michael and what surprised you the most about him?

There are new challenges daily, but I feel very similar to Michael Guerin, so everything I do is less of a challenge and more of a discovery. Our showrunner, Carina Adly MacKenzie, says that of all the actors in the show, I’m the most different in real life than my character, which surprises me. The difference between me and Guerin is that he doesn’t care if he’s being a dick. Hell, it makes better TV. What surprises me is the vulnerability I’m able to display through a character who has such a tough exterior.

How would you describe the unfolding of Guerin’s storyline this season?

He’s figuring out who he is. His entire life, he’s questioned where he’s from, if he’s loved, if he has a purpose, etc. The kid needs answers and this is the season of answers for him.

How was it to play Michael’s bisexual story in relation to the story as well as to the fans of the show?

In regards to the story, I treated it as a passionate love affair. That’s it. I never thought about being bisexual or alien or anything because in my mind, love looks the same, no matter who you are or what your preference may be. As for the fans, it’s been an honor giving them a character to look up to. I never thought I’d be that guy, but then season 1 came out and I realized the Malex story line with Tyler Blackburn is giving people the courage to be who they are and welcome their truth. I’m unbelievably proud to be able to affect people through our show in a positive, meaningful way.

Let’s talk about your acting journey. How did it start for you? What inspired you to pursue the craft?

I was gifted a video camera in 3rd grade and made movies every chance I could until I got to high school, which is when grades, girls, and sports were the only things that mattered. I’d like to go back and tell that kid to keep making movies, but maybe I wouldn’t be who I am today if I thought a film career was a possibility back then. Long story short, after my 7th surgery from sports, I started acting my senior year of college, taught myself how to edit together a good acting reel, moved to LA, made up a fake name and email and started calling agents pitching a young actor by the name of “Michael Vlamis.” It was awesome. And it worked. I can’t imagine a life where I didn’t pursue this career. I come from a family of storytellers, so although none of them are in this industry, it’s in my blood.

Out of all the roles that you’ve played, which one resonated with you the most and why?

Depends on where I’m at in my life. Michael Guerin resonated with me because I was dealing with heartbreak and loss in early 2018 when I booked Roswell, which is what he’s been facing his entire life. I produced and starred in my first feature film recently, 5 Years Apart, which just landed distribution, and that role is extremely special to me. I play a character who, in a lot of ways, was more mature and less mature than me in different ways. It was fun growing as a character and a person through the long takes of discovery that our director, Joe Menconi gave us.

Tell us about your web series Making It. What inspired you to create and where did you get your inspirations from?

I made that series because I was talking to my co-creator, Michael Gabriel, back in 2014 and we were just ripping ourselves and the entire film industry. We were broke and desperate, like most filmmakers in LA, and our situation made us laugh. Plus, everyone at the time was making a web series to try to “make it,” so that’s what we did. But in a satirical way. As for inspiration, everything inspires me. I wish you could hear my laughing while I say that. Otherwise, I sound like some pretentious douche. But it’s the truth. I’m constantly looking for the story in a situation and making a joke of everything serious, which is great for filmmaking.

What are you looking forward to the most this year?

I’m looking forward to seeing the scripts I’ve written get purchased and produced. I have a TV show and a few movies floating around, which have been getting a lot of exposure since the script I wrote with my writing partner, Kyle Anderson, Blue Slide Park, made the 2019 Blacklist. For those that don’t know, that’s the list of the best unproduced scripts of the year voted on by studio executives. That script has opened up so many doors for us, so I’m excited to see where those go. One day, I want to have my own one stop shop with my friends where we can make anything we want and bypass any “gate keeper” in our way. We pretty much do that now, but I’m trying to do it at the highest level with the entire world watching, which gets me thinking about our little film, 5 Years apart. I cannot wait for that to come out this year!

If you were a book, what book would you be and why?

This is such a fun, but tough question! I have so many books I want to mention, but if I was the book, it’d probably be some kind of inspirational, self help book, ha! I love firing myself and others up. My dad always said, “why not you?” What he meant was that if they can do it, so can you. I love getting people to believe they can do the impossible. Cue douchey closing statement… I’m living my dream and you can too! Woooo!