Teenmag.com Interview with
Alex
"I'm kind of like the male version of Jewel," says Alex
Solowitz,
actor, singer, and resident "bad boy" of the boy band 2gether. Not
exactly
the way your typical bad boy would describe himself-but then again,
Alex
is no bad boy, he just plays one on MTV, as well as just about every
other
teen comedy that calls for a dumb jock/bully type.
We caught him in between dance rehearsals just days before MTV debuts
its
made-for-TV mockumentary 2gether. It's the story of a group of four
good-looking young guys-and one fat, old, bald one-and their quest to
get
rich, famous and laid as America's newest teen heartthrob boy band (and
surprise, he plays the dumb jock/bully). He was more than happy to
spill
the beans on groupies, his real musical career, and-Carson Daly's
fingernails?
Alex? Hey, how's it going?
Good.
I saw 2gether last night.
How'd you like it?
It was great. What was it like emulating one of the boys of a boy
band?
[laughs] It was fun, it was goofy. Two of my favorite things
to
do are to sing and act, and I got to do both so I was pretty stoked
about
it.
How weird was it to have a ton of girls screaming and throwing
their
panties at you? Did you feel like you were really in a boy band at
times?
It was a trip. Those guys in those boy bands have the life.
I'm
mean, it was just nuts having all those girls screaming and stuff like
that-it was a lot of fun.
What have you done before 2gether?
I've been acting for about three years. I've done Saved by the
Bell and Never Been Kissed.
The original Saved by the Bell or the new Bell?
The new Bell-the new class. It was-.OK. It's an acting job, so
you know, it's kind of-[trails off].
I understand. How was Screech?
[laughs in a very strange way] Screech? Oh, Dustin [Diamond].
Umm, he's got a hot girlfriend, I guess.
Really?
Yeah, I was pretty surprised by that.
Me, too. Back to the movie, though-was the work involved kind of
like being in a real band?
Actually it was really like being in a real band. Our
choreographer is a Broadway dancer and he taught us everything, and
there
were times when we only had a day to learn a dance plus we had to
record a
full-length CD. Like tonight MTV's throwing a premiere party for the
movie, and we're going to be performing new dances that we just learned
yesterday. It's demanding.
What was the process of getting this gig? [Was there much
competition for the role?]
There were lots of guys up for each part, but think I was one
of
the first guys hired.
Yeah, when I was watching the movie last night, I had some
friends
over and all the girls thought you were the cutest-they thought you
were
the focal point.
Naw, we're all connected, you know? We all kind of make it
happen.
Do you really sing and dance?
Oh yeah, I had to sing and everything. I have a CD out . It's
not
distributed, but I produced it myself. It's just really to send to
record
companies to get my name out there.
What kind of music is it?
Like, um, I'm like a male Jewel-guitar, soft songs. It's
pretty
cool, I just met with Dave Matthews the other day.
Randomly?
No, I met with one of Epic records A&R people when I went in
to
audition for another boy band, but of course I'm doing 2gether so I
can't
really be in another boy band.
Another rockumentary?
No, an actual real boy band. It's 3N3, three boys and three
girls-Epic is doing it. Anyway, Dave was talking to me and he said,
"You
know, you can't be in a boy band, you oughta work on your solo career."
So
I go back [to Epic] tomorrow to see if I can do my own thing
too.
So being a real musician that plays his own instruments, was it
degrading to be portrayed as a dumb guy in a boy band?
It's like as long as I'm working I'm happy, so regardless of
where they stick me I'm happy . As long as I get to do what I do, I'm
stoked.
Have you been recognized as Mickey yet?
Yeah and I wasn't even dressed up like him either. You know,
I'll
just walk down the street sometimes and get recognized. You can get
wrapped up into a character like Mickey-I've been on a few auditions
since
the film wrapped and I'll audition as Mickey without even knowing it.
And
I'm totally not into method, I don't go around like a badass all the
time-you just get lost in it.
Is 2gether planning anything else like a tour or another
movie?
Oooh, good question [laughs]. But that question must remain
unanswered. All I can say is that anything is possible and you'll
definitely be very surprised when it does happen.
Tell me about the groupie action. I know you technically weren't
in
a band, but were there chicks throwing themselves your way?
Oh definitely. I mean, you know how it goes, regardless of if
you're in a band or not, you're still an actor on a movie set and
everybody thinks you're someone. Umm, yeah. It was flattering, let's
put
it that way.
Do you have a girlfriend, and did she get jealous about all the
girls all over you during the filming?
No, no, she was totally supportive.
Is she like the Yoko Ono of the band?
No, no, she's totally cool.
Have you been typecast as the bad boy a lot? I only ask because
you
look like you were born to play the tough guy.
I guess so. I played the really stupid jock in Never Been
Kissed,
same with Saved by the Bell. I usually play the dumb jock or the goofy
kid. I can play just about anything, though. I mimic people really
well.
So you're not the type to walk around the set like Jim Carrey and
demand that everyone call you Andy Kaufman to stay in character?
[Laughs] Nooooo, no way. I don't just sit around and brood as
I
smoke cigarettes and drink coffee; I take a little bit of everything
from
my friends and what they do. They're just normal guys who work at the
mall
and smoke pot all day long, and I just hang out with them. I have actor
and musician friends and I take from them too.
Do you have any big Hollywood friends yet?
Big Hollywood friends? I'm really good friends with Drew
Barrymore. She's throwing herself a birthday party in a few
days.
Really? I was just going to name her as an over-the-top example
since it's seems really cliche-like you can't be a young actor in
Hollywood unless you know Drew. So what goes on at a Drew Barrymore
party?
Just a normal party with people drinking and dancing. I think
one
of the reasons why she likes me is because I'm more down-to-earth than
most people, you know what I'm saying? I don't give a shit. I'll tell
you
how it is. I don't have an 'ON' button. You can always tell when
someone
is on, you know, those fake-ass people, it's like they went home and
cleansed themselves with bullshit.
Is MTV cool to work for? Are they pulling the strings of 2gether
so
you don't make them look bad?
Ahh, MTV? C'mon, please, they're totally hip! They're one of
the
coolest stations we got. They don't give a shit what we do.
You're doing MTV's TRL tomorrow. What do you think of Carson
Daly?
I was expecting him to be a total spazz, because you know,
when
you're big and famous, you can tend to act like a dick-how can you not?
But I was pretty impressed with how cool he was. He's one of the most
down-to-earth people for being where he is.
Did you ever meet him while he was wearing that black fingernail
polish? What's up with that?
Yeah and do you want to know why he does that? Because even I
asked him, "What's up with the nail polish?” Then he told me he used
to,
when he was a DJ, paint his nails a different color for each band
member
he was interviewing on the air. That way the station's engineer knew
which
band member's microphone to turn up by the color of fingernail that
Carson
held up-kind of like signals.
Interesting. The first time I saw it, I thought: This guy's
trying
way too hard. Think about it, if you're on MTV and you start getting
old,
you're out of a job. Unless you're Kurt Loder.
I don't know, though, up close and in person, it looks like
Kurt
Loder has had quite a little bit of [face] surgery.
You've seen him, not me. Last question: In a bad-boy fight
between
2gether's Mickey Parke and New Kids on the Block's Donnie Wahlberg,
who'd
win?
Well, Mickey Parke got his ass kicked by a 14-year-old girl,
but
I still think I'd-I mean he'd-be able to kick the shit out of Donnie
Wahlberg-and his punk brother Marky Mark too.
--interviewed by michael alarcon
2gether debuts Monday, February 21 at 10 p.m. Eastern and Pacific on
MTV.
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