Aaron Schwartz is sitting in a studio in California. The actor has recently moved from New York City to LA to continue his acting career. He is shooting with Brad Everett Young, Actor/Photographer and the founder of Dream Loud, a campaign to raise awareness for arts/music education in public schools.
"Aaron was pretty stellar to shoot with." Young says. He came in and gave it 300% and we laughed through most of it. Not sure how any of the shots turned out." He joked.
"I came out to LA eight months ago to continue pursuing a career in acting." Schwartz explains "But it proved more challenging to go from being a New York actor where most NY casting directors knew me, to an LA actor who was primarily a new face."
Schwartz credits a recent social media presence putting him back on the map. "It has made it easier for the LA side to know I'm here." He states.
The former child actor played Gerald 'Gerry' Garner in the film Heavy Weights, Dave Karp in The Mighty Ducks, and Clem Lanell in The Adventures of Pete & Pete. With Heavy Weights recently celebrating it's 20-year-anniversary, Schwartz has recently once again been showcased in various articles based on his appearance or for the simple fact that he has gotten older.
"Some of his fans tweeted me about him moving to LA and asked if I could shoot him for Dream Loud." Young explains. "I don't know a single person who hasn't watched Mighty Ducks a million times. So I knew it would be a fan favorite."
Since arriving in LA, Schwartz has done what any actor does: go on a lot of auditions. "I also linked up with producer Jordan Kerner of Mighty Ducks fame and ended up signing with some pretty stellar representation KMR and BOHEMIA GROUP and I'm really excited about LA opportunities." Schwartz states.
Some of the recent opportunities include working on an independent short called When It Burns written and Directed by fellow Bohemia Group client Maria Sten. A synopsis can be found here.
"And I'm signed up to work on a really cool independent feature called Will Wilson which will be shot in New Mexico this December and will co-star my real life girlfriend Raychel Diane Weiner." Schwartz states. Weiner stars in an up-and-coming Stars limited series Flesh and Bone. The feature is based on a "William Wilson" by Edgar Allan Poe and the screenplay is written by David Herman.
Schwartz does get asked about these films pretty regularly. "People usually ask 'Did we know how to skate before filming the ducks?' The answer is 'We sure told casting we did.'" He laughs. "I think every kid that booked the Ducks never skated a day in their lives. Subsequently, we flew out to Minnesota a month early and trained 8 hours a day/6 days a week and ended up becoming good little hockey players."
Schwartz also has a take on the recent resurgence of 90's pop culture. "Well, looking back on television and film in the 90's I think there was a purity in the narrative. Video games were simpler. You had Contra: the most confusing aspect was the [up up down down left right left right BA BA start] code you had to enter to skip levels, but that was as complex as the video game got." He says smiling. "Now we have Halo where you need a user's guide to figure out how to even shoot the gun. He explains. "I think it's the same with movies/TV. Everything just seemed a little simpler and more wholesome back then. And I think we as an audience long to escape the bullshit that can consume all of us and get lost in a fun, no frills story where the loser wins and the boy gets the girl."
Schwartz has the talent and smarts to navigate the crazy world known as Hollywood. While at the current moment Aaron Schwartz is getting recognition by some media outlets based on the fact he is no longer 12, this will change as time progresses. Gossip Girl fans may recognize him from his role of 'Vanya.' He has also appeared in The Originals and Elementary. Still, he realizes the importance that his younger films and TV shows had in many people's childhoods. Nevertheless, he has the potential to be a leading man, something Brad Everett Young wanted to make sure to highlight in his shoot. " The shoot was to show Aaron in a new leading man way. He'd had so much success as a child actor it was definitely time to show the world the next Hollywood leading man." Hollywood is full of second acts (and in some cases more). With the case of Aaron Schultz, his second act is on it's way. Intermission is almost over, the lights will soon dim and it will soon be time for him to hit center stage.
