Exclusive Interview with Luke Youngblood from ABC’s Galavant
Born in London, England, Luke Youngblood has been seen in many projects since he was a child. From starring as young Simba in Disney’s musical, The Lion King in London, to Lee Jordan in the Harry Potter Series. Others may know him as Ben from The Story of Tracy Beaker or as Magnitude from Community. Luke has also appeared in other known television show such as Lie To Me and Glee. Today Luke reprises his role as the funny and loveable Sid in ABC’s musical comedy, Galavant. We talked about how he came across the role, how his character has evolved, the amazing guest stars and what’s his next adventure will be.
How did you initially go out for the project? Did you always want to go out for the role of Sid?
“It came through my manager, and it was really quite early on, before we started shooting and as I was reading this pilot, and I mean it just hooked me right away. The humor was there, I mean it just had the perfect tone. This was what Dan Fogelman does best, two pages in I was like “yes, I want to be a part of this! I want to do it! It sounds brilliant!” Until I got to where Sid was introduced and he was described as a “scrawny Jewish guy…the kind of Jew that non-Jews find funny”. [Laughs]. Now, the last time I looked in the mirror, I wouldn’t say I that I particularly fit that description [Laughs]. I mean I am a bit scrawny but… so I spoke to my manager and asked if we should even bother going in on this?
I thought I was never going to get it, so it completely took the pressure off. When you really want a job and your just stressing yourself out about it and I thought that it’s not going to happen for me. So I go in, have fun, our amazing casting director Susan Bash and Melissa Ventura were there, and they made me feel so relaxed, and we were chatting in the room, cracking jokes. I performed the scene and I thought it went pretty well, but I didn’t think I would get a call back purely because I don’t look like a Jewish guy. Then I do get a callback and it was to meet Dan Fogelman our creator, so again going in not really thinking too much, and then I get called back to test so I’m thinking, ”Oh my God, no way!”
I end up booking the role, and it’s purely down to the fact that Dan is such a visionary creator. He just thinks so far outside of the box, beyond the regular confines of Hollywood and network television. It was so refreshing to get to work with him and such a wonderful team. So that’s how I got involved in Galavant. I mean it’s probably been one of, if not, the best job I’ve ever had.”
And there are not too many TV series that are musicals so to have [this show] is amazing.
“Yeah, absolutely, and getting to work with Alan Menken as well, are you kidding me? So you’re kind of around them going, “Oh hi, how are you?” in the beginning because you don’t know what to say to them. Your’re star struck. Then you get to meet them and you realize they are regular people who are so genuinely nice that they just make it easy to work with them and so much fun.”
How do you think Sid has changed from Season 1 to Season 2?
“What I like most about Galavant is that all of the characters are on their own journey. One where we truly get to know them and I think it’s down to the fact that across the board everybody is in a situation that they wouldn’t necessarily want to be in. Isabella was locked up in her giant chest and forced to marry her cousin. She doesn’t want to be there. Sid was trapped in the castle with Gareth and Madelena. He doesn’t want to be there.
When you put these characters in those moments I guess it just brings out a side of them that maybe they didn’t know themselves existed. Which is what we saw in Episode 6 where Sid has escaped the castle and tried to rally the troops. It was nice to see that different side of him becoming strong again after being trapped for so long. So it’s interesting to see how all of the characters deal with their current situations and also how their going to come back together and how their paths are going to collide.”
I love how Sid has taken on a hero mentality (In Episode 6 Sid was giving his best Enjolras performance) how was playing that?
“[Laughs] Yeah, me too! That’s another thing, from Season 1 to Season 2, I think this season we are having a lot more fun with paying homage to a lot of different musical titles.”
What was Sid’s mindset at the end of Episode 7?
“Everybody on Twitter went crazy!! Everyone was saying, “What have you done?” They just couldn’t believe it, and I loved it. [Laughs]. I loved every single second of it because it was like, guess what guys? We are taking you back to the end of Season 1 where you don’t know what’s around the corner. There are a million things running through his mind.”
As far as guest stars, the two most recent were Eddie Marsan (Death) and Reece Shearsmith (Neo of Sporin) A.K.A. The Healer-
“Both of them are such amazing actors. Getting to see Eddie Marsan in Ray Donovan and then coming to play Death on our show, and he’s singing and dancing around and being this really comedic character was so great. It’s inspiring to see such a contrast with the parts that these guys come in and play. We [the cast] are playing the same people everyday and we are used to seeing ourselves. So when these people that we have grown up watching in film and television come in and work with us, we’re just blown away. We kind of geek out a little bit.”
I would imagine just seeing people you grew up with or have seen their work, and then you meet them in person that must be something that is incredible for you
“Most definitely.”
I love how in the show fourth wall is broken, but also going into that shock factor and when I get invested in a show I automatically hope that my favorite character isn’t going to die. I don’t know if that is the same experience for you?
“[Laughs] Oh no I do, because you’re watching it and if it’s a good show or a good film it’s like its real. You’re living with these characters and you have an attachment to them. So the last thing you want is for them to die. Especially if it’s your favorite character, because that’s the thing that keeps on bringing you back every week, you know.”
How does it feel to be part of a show that has a fan base that is so supportive of the show and the characters?
“I’m just so happy to be a part of this project! Getting to talk to people like you [the fans], who really appreciate it makes it so much more worthwhile. So, thank you.”
Besides Galavant, do you have any other new projects coming up?
“Not at the moment, I think I just need to take a little bit of a vacation. We are also waiting to see if Galavant is going to be picked up for another season. Once we kind of know how this season has done and what ABC has got in mind for their upcoming year, we will have a better idea of how our year is going to pan out. So I think a really, really, short little beach vacation is in the cards. I’m going to relax a little bit, detox and then get back into the swing of it all again.”
Be sure to check out Luke and the rest of the cast in Galavant for its season finale this Sunday on ABC.