Answers with David Mazouz

Answer 1

How did you snag the role of Bruce Wayne in FOX's upcoming TV series Gotham, premiering September 22nd?

Actually, it was a pretty long audition process. I went on an audition and I met with Bruno Heller, the brilliant creator of the show, and the casting director. I had a little audition, and they wanted me to come back for it later and test for it immediately. So I did...and then I tested for it again, and then I tested for it again, and then I think one more time after that--so I did quite a few tests. One of them they actually cut my hair for and I had a whole big, huge mound of hair cut on the floor when they had my hair cut for one of the tests. I think that was the last test. After the last test, I felt really good about it, and the amount of kids they were looking at was getting smaller and smaller. After the last test, I was getting fidgety because a week and a half later we still didn't know anything. Two weeks later I found out that I had booked it!

I was actually in a public place when I found out I booked it. My mom found out the day before, but I had gotten in trouble at school that day and it was my sister's birthday, so she didn't want to tell me that day. She told me the day after and I was in a public place when I found out; my agent told me and I was in shock. I didn't want to scream because there were people around me when I ended up getting it.

Answer 2

What can you tell us about the Disney's The Games Maker and your character, Ivan Drago?

The thing about the movie that I think will really make it special is all the CGI that went into it. It's really a beautiful movie. Especially seeing it in 3D, I think it's going to be fantastic for the audience to watch. It was shot in 3D--it wasn't made 3D after--so it looks really cool and really beautiful and everything looks really real.

The movie starts off with my character, Ivan, who is entering a game competition. He finds this thing that he all of a sudden loves, and it's to invent games. Then something--an accident, a tragedy--happens in his family, so he's sent off to a boarding school. It's a very dark and cold place. But there he makes a friend, Anunciacion, who is played by Megan Charpentier. It was also great having another kid on set there for three months. So he makes a friend there, and then he goes to seek and find his grandfather in a mythical city, Zyl. His grandfather is played by Ed Asner who was so much fun to have on set. I can't stress this enough: he was the most fun guy I have ever met in my whole life, the funniest guy ever. I had the best time filming with him. And he [Ivan] goes off to face his enemy played by Joseph Fiennes -- the character is called Morodian -- and you'll have to wait and see the end!

Answer 3

How do you keep up-to-date with your school work?

When I'm on set, there's a studio teacher on set for me. I have to do at least three hours of school every day. There's a bunch of laws and rules and all that stuff, and my teachers really just send over my work to my mom or studio teacher or to me, and I do it on set, and I turn it in the day after. Like I said, when I'm not working I'll be in school. It's going to be a little more difficult because now I'm here in New York so I'm not going to be flying back every day that I'm not working to go to school. That wouldn't really work out, but when I'm in L.A. I do that. It'll be a little bit more difficult here, but we'll figure it out.

Answer 4

What do you like to do when you have time off from acting?

I like to hang out with my friends, I like to watch things on Netflix, I like to play with my dogs, I like to go on walks around my neighborhood with my dog when I'm on my skateboard. I do Krav Maga, so I do that quite a bit, I do that when I have time. I go to school. If I'm not working one day, I'll be in school, so homework is another thing I do in my free time. Normal, regular teenage boy things.

Answer 5

How did you first get into acting at such a young age? Whose idea was it?

I did commercials for a year before I even thought about doing theatrical stuff. It was not my mom's idea, definitely not my mom's idea! We were actually in the mall and this lady approached us and was telling us about acting classes for kids and mentioned Zack and Cody. I was 5 at the time, so I was like, "Oh my God, Zack and Cody, we're going! But really, I wouldn't have pushed my mom. My sister, who was 8 at the time, really did. She said, "Mom, please can we go? Please can we go?" My mom said, "Okay." My mom thought to herself, "Okay, fine. They'll go, they'll wait in a long line to audition (because we had to audition for the class), they're going to get bored, they're not going to want to stay, they're going to want to leave. And then that will be the end of this." We went... and we loved it! That class didn't actually teach you much. It wasn't a very good class, let's just say that. So my sister was mad at my mom because my mom didn't want us to do it, and my mom said no and they got into a big fight. My sister gave her the silent treatment for about a week. Then my mom said, "Okay, fine. If you want to do classes, I'll get you some real classes." So she did a little research, she found us some good classes, and we went to a class for about three years for three hours every Sunday. The coach of that class is still my coach today--she's an amazing person. Then we started doing other classes, and at one of the other classes, there was a showcase at the end, and that's where my commercial agent saw me and wanted to represent me. So I started going out for commercial auditions for about a year, and then a year later, he referred me to my theatrical agent, and things just kind of took off from there! It all happened very organically. I'm lucky to be doing this.

Answer 6

What's your favorite movie that Leonardo DiCaprio has been in?

I want to say Titanic, but I think that's what a lot of people would say, so I'm going to go with This Boy's Life because that was also an amazing movie with Robert De Niro. It was also when Leonardo DiCaprio was a kid, and so I can relate to that even more because he also started when he was a kid, so I feel like I can really do what he's done. That's somebody who I hope to be like when I grow up.

Answer 7

You've mentioned all of these co-stars that you've already acted in movies with, but if you could star in a movie with any celebrity you haven't acted with already, whom would you choose and why?

Leonardo DiCaprio. He's my favorite actor and a lot of people say to me today that I remind them of him. I just love all the movies he does. I think he's really talented, I think he's really blessed. He's a great role model for me to have. He's somebody who I strive to be.

Answer 8

What draws you to the horror genre of TV shows and movies, not just to watch but particularly to act in?

Like I said, I love watching Horror movies. I guess what drew me to Incarnate was that it was such an amazing role. Like I said, I love playing creepy people, and if I wasn't creepy in that, there's no such thing as creepy! I got to be scary, I got to speak a different language, some ancient Sumerian, it was a lot of fun shooting. 6 Miranda Drive was also another really interesting role. I was also kind of possessed in that one--kind of, not really. I'm not going to give too much away, I'm not going to say any more than that, but it was also a really interesting role.

Answer 9

What is your favorite horror movie then?

I don't have a favorite horror movie. I'm not going to even attempt to answer that question! They're all so great and diverse in a lot of different ways. I also don't know what the scariest movie I've ever seen is. I'm waiting for mine to come out and see if that's the scariest movie ever, Incarnate or 6 Miranda Drive.

Answer 10

Will your parents let you watch Incarnate when it comes out?

Yeah, I think so. Yeah, they will. I don't even know what the rating will be, but I was in pretty much the whole movie and I read the script, so I know what happens. I watch horror movies a lot. I love horror movies! They're my probably third favorite genre of movie after drama and comedy.