From Vampires to Divas, Evan Gamble has had guest roles in a number of very popular TV shows and now he lends his talents playing Chad Parish in this week’s episode of Kill House. NCISLA Magazine was fortunate enough to catch up with Evan before his appearance on NCIS Los Angeles and he was able to fill us in on his time on set. Welcome to the NCISLA family, Evan!
Without giving anything away in term of spoilers, can you tell us a little bit about your character, Chad Parish in Kill House?
Chad Parish is a guy who loves guns, NASCAR, a good Kodiak dip, and the glory of victory in his line of work. He’s also a bit of a hothead, letting his emotions run high at times. This has gotten him into trouble with his superiors and has led to some unexpected career changes…ha ha ha…that’s about all I really feel comfortable divulging about Chad at this point. You’re going to have to watch the show to know the rest about me.
What was your experience like on the NCISLA set? Which cast member in particular did you work with? And can you share any stories with us?
I had an amazing time on set. The whole cast and crew were very welcoming to me. There was definitely a sense of family there, and you can tell that everyone loves the subject matter and that they enjoy working with each other. I got to work with Chris, LL, Daniela, and Eric. In one scene, as I’m leaving the conference “area” where the team is sitting, Eric Christian Olsen is talking smack to me as I walk away. Each take, he said something different. My favorite was when he told me that my hair looked like Johnny (the bad guy) from the Karate Kid. I think there was a Cobra Kai reference as well, and he told me to “sweep the leg” at one point. That’s the type of improv that you just can’t teach.
How did you get started in the industry?
I lived in Austin, Texas originally, and was playing music in clubs all around town. All of that time on stage was sort of an intro into acting in itself. At the time I was dating a girl who was studying theater at the University of Cincinnati….she has since developed a great career on Broadway. I decided to give acting a shot myself so I enrolled in acting classes, got an agent, and booked projects like Vampire Diaries and the feature Brotherhood which got a lot of buzz and brought me out to Los Angeles.
You have done a lot of television work…what type of roles do you gravitate towards and what other areas would you like to explore?
I think with every role you play, there is the chance for fun and exploration. It’s less about the “type” of role and more about trying to find something relatable to myself in every character. I find that each role is a new and unique challenge and I gravitate towards roles and projects with great writing, and great people involved. That is the only pre-requisite I have.
Can you tell us a little about Meanwhile and Wild Cards? You seem to be very active in a lot of the behind the scenes activities as a writer, producer and director.
MEANWHILE is a sketch comedy web series that I helped start with a crew of my close friends. We release a sketch every Wednesday at noon on YouTube, and we shoot and have a “writer’s table” every week as well. Everyone writes, produces, acts, and directs on the show, and it is a lot like running our own web version of Saturday Night Live. The experience I’ve gotten both in front and behind the camera on MEANWHILE has been invaluable. Plus, I get to make comedy with my best friends. What’s better than that?
WILD CARDS started out a lot more casually, but has been equally as rewarding as far what I have gotten out of it. One of my good friends, Aaron Christian Howles (a very talented actor and musician in his own right), and I decided to film something. It’s as simple as that. Six episodes and two years later, we are finally about to wrap up the mini-series. I’m very proud of the work we’ve done. It’s important for actors these days to know and appreciate the ins and outs of what goes into a show. Aaron and I did all the editing, sound design, music, SAG paperwork, etc. I have the utmost respect for anyone who works in production.
Musician or actor…which area of the industry to you enjoy more?
Why should one have to choose? Being an artistic person, both feed the creative part of my soul in different ways. The challenging aspect of acting is very cathartic. As a musician, I have released all of my music and music videos on my own, and I will continue to write, perform, and release music in this fashion indefinitely. It’s a love-passion for me, and has been for most of my life.
What’s up next for you that we can look forward to?
Hmmmm…I have something very cool that is coming out in the near future but I am not liberty to reveal what it is at the moment. As far as music, I recently released a new video for the song “Deep Heart,” my band Smoking Sons (with Aaron Christian Howles) has just released its debut album, and I will continue to work on my own double album which should be done by the fall. In the meantime, keep watching MEANWHILE on YouTube…and NCIS: Los Angeles on CBS, of course!
Thanks go out to Evan for taking the time to answer our questions. You can follow Evan on Twitter @EvanGamble23 and on Facebook: www.facebook.com/evangamble23. You can also find out more about his future projects on IMDB.
