Spoke this week with young actor Jonathan Trent. He plays the young but troubled Joey in "Boy Culture." He does a terrific job as one of the leads in the film which screened during Outfest last summer (on awards night) and is set for release March 23.
“Joey is the child or the baby in the threesome. He’s this young kid that is very insecure and scared and lonely so he flaunts his sexuality to get what he wants," Trent says. "A lot of people do that when they don’t know what else to go on. They use what they feel they have. For Joey, it was all about his sexuality. He’s charming in a slutty way.”
For the 22 year old straight actor, playing a gay man was not a big deal, he just wanted to get it right:“When I was in high school, a lot of people thought I was gay. I wear my heart on my sleeve and I’m not afraid to show my emotions. That gets misread. I could care less. It doesn’t really matter if I’m gay or straight. But taking on a gay role is a whole different thing. Joey is an over-the-top character, loud and big and full of energy. I knew that going into it. I didn’t want to be offending. That was the main worry, coming across as believable.”
Trent, who is now shooting an episode of CBS' "Cold Case," also appeared in a 2004 indie film "Smile" with a cast that included Linda Hamilton and Sean Astin. It was one of his first professional jobs after the acting bug bit: "In high school, a friend took a camera and made a story about a kid who’s color blind and I was the kid. That was around the time I started realizing it was something I wanted to do with my life."
During the 18-day location shoot of "Boy Culture," Trent bonded nicely with co-stars Darryl Stephens and Derek Magyar who he didn't know previously: “What was cool about that was we were up in Seattle and when you go out of state to work, you’re not with your friends or family. We spent a lot of time together, the three of us. They got us a gym membership and we hung out every day and bonded and it’s still really strong.”