MIKE CASTLE ON BREWS BROTHERS, GUEST HOUSE AND LESSONS ON AUTHENTICITY

INTERVIEW BY IRVIN RIVERA

American actor MIKE CASTLE plays Adam in Netflix’s BREWS BROTHERS, about two rival brothers who run a brewery business while trying to work together amidst challenges and chaos. The show was created and produced by Schaffer Brothers (The League, That 70s Show, Seinfeld, etc). Castle also stars as Blake in the hilarious comedy film GUEST HOUSE with Aimee Teegarden, Steve-O and more.

In this exclusive interview, CASTLE opens up about his activities during quarantine, playing Adam in BREWS BROTHERS, his experiences in GUEST HOUSE, and a life lesson worth remembering.

What’s been keeping you busy during quarantine?

Cobra Kai, chess, learning Japanese, sleeping, video games (Ghosts of Tsushima, Red Dead, Tetris, chess, 2k20, Civilization VI), reading (current reads are Severance, Exciting Times, Gravity’s Rainbow, and Love & Math). But mostly what keeps me busy is conversations in my head with the voice of my existential dread.

Let’s chat about Brews Brothers.

Sure!

How would you describe Adam’s evolution in Brews Brothers throughout the show?

Adam just becomes more and more right and never wavers from being the good-natured, compassionate genius that he naturally is…Adam, like everyone, is wrong about basically everything that matters and has no ability to admit it, so has to rely on subtextual cues for admitting he is wrong or that he is growing. I believe we need a second season but I don’t have the energy to start a petition.

What’s unique about the show?

They love improvisation. And the whole tone on set was a very familial one. Having two brothers as the head writers - brothers who Adam and Wilhelm are clearly based on - was an extremely unique experience and made messing around on set more fun and honest feeling. We were emulating the natural and comedic friction between the Brothers Schaffer.

Tell us about GUESTHOUSE. How fun was it to make that film?

Truly extremely fun. I really hit it off with everyone on set, from producer Scott Clayton to PA Chase Harrison. It was just a good time all around. The director, Sam Macaroni, radiates a certain kind of infectious positivity that makes you want to deliver. We also shot the whole thing so quickly that every day felt totally new and full of its own totally new kinds of fun and hurdles to jump.

What’s the best part about playing Blake in GUEST HOUSE?

Blake felt like a real person. He wants to be a good, responsible adult, but also wants to smoke weed and be a moron. Not a restrictive character to play by any means.

What are the challenges and the highs that you experienced during filming?

With every job you kind of casually fear everyone working on the thing, you hope everyone will be nice, cool, fun, funny, committed, and so forth. But this job didn’t really have many outliers. Everyone wanted to do their job, bring themselves to their characters, and make the best possible move they could.

What’s the most memorable moment for you throughout the whole process of making the series/film?

My mind always goes to Steve-o. I was so excited to meet him and I thought about it constantly up until the day we actually met. Steve-O is just exactly who you want him to be. He’s so funny, but he’s also serious and earnest. Working with him but also just chatting with him was extremely fun and rewarding.

Everyone’s process is different and each have their unique approach to things. Can you walk us through your creative process whenever you go and film a scene?

I treat it like improv. I try not to plan anything. I look at the lines and take them in but don’t fully commit them to memory most of the time (everyone I have worked with could probably painfully attest to this). I take the lines for their intention and try to organically work within each scene. I try to just make it all feel real, I try to really listen to what the person I am acting opposite is saying.

Out of all the roles that you’ve played, is there any role/character that resonated with you the most and why?

Adam on Brews Brothers is the most I have ever enjoyed being a character. It is just so fun to be a know-it-all/always-wrong asshole.

Aside from acting, what else keeps you busy?

I read and write a lot. I play chess. And I have existential crises. These things fill the hours!

What’s a valuable lesson that you’ve learned that you always carry with you?

I once took an improv class run by this guy named Alex Berg and he had us do this exercise where we were supposed to go into this scene with absolutely no agenda, to just respond to the first line the other person says. This is a fairly easy and straightforward concept, but Alex kept calling me out for bringing in responses that felt pre-planned or conceived of. And I realized I was. Instead of just taking the information that was being given, I had to keep modifying it to fit a mold I wanted to work in. From that I learned that authenticity is obvious. People can tell when something is inauthentic or preplanned. And I think a key with acting and life is to just honestly address and engage with what is happening in front of you, instead of bringing in your baggage or precious plans.

If you were a book, what book would you be and why? (Open question. Could be a title/a genre/a made-up book/ your own book, etc)

I’d be a dense, hard to read, confusing, stream of consciousness book that you intend to read but never actually read it, like Ducks, Newburyport by Lucy Ellman (which I did read and was so into, yet I never recommend it to anyone because I know it’s a slog).