What do you dream of becoming when you grow up? A common question asked of every child and teenager. For Cameron Monaghan, he decided he wanted to act in movies when he was just a child. His energy and exuberance for life inspired his mom to channel his passion into local theater, and that same energy and exuberance has followed him through his acting career and landed him numerous roles. The versatility of Cameron’s imagination allows him to jump into a wide variety of roles, actually walk in the shoes of his characters and face the problems they face. Cameron is inspired by the weird, the mundane, and the aspects of humanity that contain a depth of character. One of Cameron’s goals in his career is to keep expanding the type of roles he plays, because he doesn’t want to get bored with the same type-casted role over and over again. Why change what works? In the wise words of Rafiki (“The Lion King”), “Change is good.” It’s important to challenge yourself. Cameron has a contagious energy that not only challenges himself to try new things and reach greater heights but those around him as well.
Can you tell us a little about your start in the film industry? You started doing commercials at age five. Is that correct?
Well, I grew up watching movies and television from a very young age. Basically, how I learned to read was through the captions on TV. I had a lot of energy. I was a pretty hyperactive kid, and my mom wanted to find some way for me to focus that energy. I told her I wanted to be in movies, so she got me involved in local community theater, and I really took to it. So we started doing some commercial group work and moved on to film and television auditions at eight years old. I landed my first movie, it was The Music Man with Matthew Broderick, that I shot in Canada, and I really really loved it. I’ve been doing it ever since.
Well, I grew up watching movies and television from a very young age. Basically, how I learned to read was through the captions on TV. I had a lot of energy. I was a pretty hyperactive kid, and my mom wanted to find some way for me to focus that energy. I told her I wanted to be in movies, so she got me involved in local community theater, and I really took to it. So we started doing some commercial group work and moved on to film and television auditions at eight years old. I landed my first movie, it was The Music Man with Matthew Broderick, that I shot in Canada, and I really really loved it. I’ve been doing it ever since.
What sort of things inspire you as an actor?
It’s sometimes hard to narrow it down, because you take inspiration from anything you see. Just people walking down the street can inspire you. Or, if someone does something weird with a coffee cup, you might steal that. I’ve always been a massive fan of Gary Oldman (“Dracula,” “The Dark Knight”). I love people who have the ability to shift between a large variety of characters and personalities, and not be pegged down to one type. I think Sam Rockwell did that as well (“The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”). I’m a big fan of the Coen brothers (“The Big Lebowski,” “True Grit”), Quentin Tarantino (“Pulp Fiction”), movies with really great dialogue and memorial characters.
So you’ve been in a lot of movies lately: “Mall,” “The Giver,” “Vampire Academy,” “Jamie Marks is Dead.” Do you identify most with one of the characters you’ve played?
Well that’s interesting, because the character I play in “Jamie Marks is Dead” is very shy and reclusive, as opposed to in “Vampire Academy,” he’s pretty outgoing and sarcastic and affable. I think the character I play in “The Giver” might be my favorite in how complex his arc is throughout the story. It’s a little different from the book. The book is great, but it’s very short so it doesn’t exactly translate into a full film. So they had to add certain elements, and one of the elements they added was really boosting the character of Asher that I play. He starts as Jonas’s best friend, and then from there, kind of shifts…I don’t want to give anything away. It’s very hard to do without giving anything away. Basically, he becomes a very tragic character, very fallible, there’s something very human about his story that I really related to.
Well that’s interesting, because the character I play in “Jamie Marks is Dead” is very shy and reclusive, as opposed to in “Vampire Academy,” he’s pretty outgoing and sarcastic and affable. I think the character I play in “The Giver” might be my favorite in how complex his arc is throughout the story. It’s a little different from the book. The book is great, but it’s very short so it doesn’t exactly translate into a full film. So they had to add certain elements, and one of the elements they added was really boosting the character of Asher that I play. He starts as Jonas’s best friend, and then from there, kind of shifts…I don’t want to give anything away. It’s very hard to do without giving anything away. Basically, he becomes a very tragic character, very fallible, there’s something very human about his story that I really related to.
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