Category Archives: Interview

Interview with Abbie Cobb – Part Two

On The Fifth Man, we are introduced to the show’s new character, Astrid.  In the second part of our interview with Abbie Cobb we get to ask more questions about her new role and find out what it was like behind the scenes on the set of NCIS Los Angeles.

In the first part of this interview, you spoke about some of the difficult roles you’ve had in the past. Speaking of difficult, can you tell us a little bit about Astrid and your new recurring role on NCIS Los Angeles?

This is one of the most challenging and exciting roles I’ve had. It’s so different from anything I’ve ever done on camera and I’m absolutely thrilled to explore this role!  Normally on other shows where I get to play someone superficial and mean, it’s fun but it’s not necessarily a challenge. With Astrid, I get to do a lot of character work, character study, and explore different ways I can play the character and hold my body and say my lines. She’s so different and I’m glad she’s returning because I fell in love with Astrid! It’s not determined when she will be back but I’m excited that she’s not going away.

My character is a high functioning autistic teen and that’s what makes her so unique and fun to explore. In trying to prepare for a role like that, I’ve realized she is the most interesting character I’ve ever played.  In the episode, her uniqueness and family background bring Kensi and Astrid together… that’s another reason to love the character—she has such a cool story!

What was your experience like on the set of NCIS Los Angeles? 

They were so great!  From the very top executive positions to the very bottom of the production chain, they were all classy and kind, excited about their job, and excited that you were there.  It’s such a rare find!  I’ve never had an experience like that where everyone you interact with is pleasant and loves their job until I walked on the set of NCIS:LA.  The actors were so incredible and welcoming and they were so kind when they didn’t have to be.  I’m just here to help move the story along, so when people go out of their way to interact with you and make you feel welcome and help you do your job, it just shows their true character as a human being.   The experience was awesome.

Who did you work with?

I met everyone at the table read and filmed with everyone except Barrett and Renee. I spent the most time with Daniela.

Astrid in the Boathouse with Kensi.

You were also lucky to be in an episode written by Dave Kalstein, one of our favorite writers on the show.

He was awesome.  I loved spending time with him and I think he’s super talented and I loved what he came up with!

Anything special happen on set with the cast you can talk about?

Before one of the scenes, Todd (LL Cool J) and I were walking through the set of the casino and people were calling to him from way across the casino floor… “I love you so much, you are so beautiful, you’re amazing!” There was an elderly lady with a walker, who had to be at least eighty years old, who shouted to him, “OOOoo! I love your body!” I laughed so hard…and I can’t imagine being around that everywhere you go! All in a day’s work for him.

I did get to meet the stars’ mothers who guest starred on the show, too.  There were these huge trailers set up for them!  The producers went out of their way to spoil them and I’m glad they did.  It seemed like they had a really good time.

We want to know what’s up next for Abbie Cobb!    Can you tell us about your next project and when your fans can expect to see you on film or TV again? 

I have a cool role in a new movie called The Umbrella Man and I’m super excited about it.  I’ve been describing it as a conspiracy theory drama… JFK with Kevin Costner meets Rabbit Hole with Nicole Kidman.   It’s a modern 2012 story but I’m playing a young Jackie Kennedy-type character.  We’re shooting now in Pittsburgh and Dallas.

I’m still recurring on Suburgatory, and the Secret Life of the American Teenager, and I have recurred recently on another show that I have guest starred on in the past but I can’t say what show until it airs!

Thanks Abbie for taking the time to speak with NCIS:LA Magazine!  It was a pleasure to get to know you and find out more about your career and your time spent on the set.  Abbie has promised to update us in the future when she returns to the role of Astrid on NCIS:LA.

If you want to find out more about her book and her future projects, please go to Abbie’s web site: www.abbiecobb.com.  You can also find her on Twitter:  @thelovelyabs and on Facebook: Abbie Cobb Fan Page.

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Interview with Abbie Cobb – Part One

At the beginning of Season Four it was announced that the show would be introduced to a new and recurring character, and there was a lot of speculation by the fans on who this mystery person was and how the relationship would affect the team and in particular, Kensi.  In the The Fifth Man (4×03) we finally get to meet Astrid, played by the charming and talented Abbie Cobb.  NCIS:LA Magazine was delighted to get to spend some time with Cobb for this special interview.

Abbie Cobb grew up in Nebraska and moved to Los Angeles to pursue her dream of becoming an actor.  She comes to NCIS: Los Angeles with an impressive and long list of credits to her name.  Despite her age, the young actress has been in the business for a long time, so we wanted to find out more about her background and how she took her first steps in becoming an actor.

It’s been a very busy year for you!  But let’s start from the beginning…. What drew you to this profession and why? 

Yes, it’s been a really big year for me and I’m so excited about the things that are happening!  I’ve wanted to be an actor for as long as I can remember. I’ve geared my studies and classes for this career but there is a passion for it I think I was just born with.  You know how sometimes singers just open their mouth with no training at all and they simply have it, like Adele, and you are jealous because it comes so natural for them? Well, I can’t sing but the one thing that comes to me naturally is acting, and I feel so lucky that I was given the opportunity to be able to earn a living doing what I love!

How did you get started in the business?

I started auditioning for plays back in elementary, junior high and high school.  Every chance I got,  I begged my parents to let me audition and I think this gave me the experience and confidence I needed to make the move to the professional world out here in Los Angeles.

The cool thing about looking young and playing young is that you have the ability to plug into networks like Nickelodeon and Disney Channel.   I got really lucky and was thrown into the Disney machine and cycled around doing different guest spots on shows and movies that really helped build up my resume.  Disney takes pride in wanting to help you grow and make you better using everything you bring to the table for the benefit of the channel—on a variety of shows, not just one!

You can play a great ‘mean girl’ but you have the ability to play a very sweet, likeable character as well.   One of the things that makes an actor great is being able to make the viewer forget that they are watching a piece of film or play because it seems so real on the screen and the audience is able to get carried away… and you are able to do that really well!

Well thank you!  I don’t know why I have the mean girl thing down, but almost all of my characters are mean ones.  I don’t know if it’s the “sweet on the outside, mean on the inside” thing going on, but I hope people understand that I’m not like that in real life—I hope that I’m far from it! There have been a few roles where I have been able to branch outside of that stereotype and NCIS:LA is one of them… so I’m very grateful to have the opportunity to do something different from what I usually do.

It also looks like you are going to get to play a different type of character on your upcoming Lifetime movie Teenage Bank Heist that will be premiering in November? 

Yes, I get to play the victim in this one! I play Maeve Quinlan’s daughter in the film and found that it’s really fun to play the same role every single day over a period of a few months.  It’s an action packed drama and I think viewers are really going to enjoy it. It airs November 9th on the Lifetime Movie Network.

You’re already an accomplished actor, public speaker and author.  Out of all these different areas of the entertainment industry, which do you prefer and why?

Acting is my first love.  I feel so blessed to make a living at it and I really appreciate it.  I think a lot of people who become series regulars and full time actors in film appear to have lost their appreciation for it, and I hope that never happens to me.  I have so many friends who haven’t caught a break in this town and they are insanely talented, so I thank God every day and am so grateful—I hope that I can act until the day I die!

After acting, I think teaching is my second passion. I sort of fell into a position of coaching and teaching workshops, and I’ve fallen in love with encouraging people who want to be in the industry.  It thrills me to help people of all ages, from all walks of life, figure out how to get into acting and give it a shot!

You’ve written a book entitled Stuck on a Ferris Wheel for people who are interested in becoming working actors in Los Angeles.  What compelled you to write this guide?

I don’t want people to make the mistakes I made when I first started—I want them to avoid some of the pitfalls of working in the industry!  After I started working regularly, I was flooded with messages and emails asking the same questions and I realized there was not enough information out there.  People would constantly be asking me, “How did you get your agent? How did you get your start? Am I too old to pursue this or too young? What should a headshot look like?”  I was overwhelmed with the number of emails that were flooding my inbox and I started taking hours out of my day trying to respond to them.  I could never possibly get to everyone, so I ended up creating this tool, this book.  This way I can reach many more people and it’s a lot faster!  I have been getting great feedback and I’m very proud of it. I tell some pretty embarrassing stories in the book but it makes you laugh and teaches you what to do and what to say—and more importantly what not to do.  (Please go to Abbie’s website to find out more on how to get a copy of her book: www.abbiecobb.com)

You have an impressive list of guest roles in some very popular TV shows from 90210 to Two and a Half Men, to True Blood.  Does anyone of them stand out in particular?

Longmire, blew my mind.  It’s a new detective western on A&E.  It’s a fantastic show with a fantastic cast and my role was really fun! I played a girl who went a little bit crazy and it was the most physically demanding part I’ve ever had.  I was out in the Santa Fe desert where it was freezing at night and really hot during the day,  was tied to the railroad tracks with barbed wire, had blood and special effect makeup all over—what an experience! But it was so much fun to do something so difficult and so physically challenging, I loved it.

 

Our interview with Abbie Cobb will continue on Thursday and she will share a little bit about her character and a few special stories that happen on the set of NCIS Los Angeles.  Be sure to return and find out more… only in NCIS:LA Magazine!

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Interview with Anthony Azizi – Part Two

Welcome back to Part Two of our interview with Anthony Azizi.  Let’s find out about his time spent on NCIS Los Angeles and his part on Recruit (4X02).

Can you tell us what your experience was like working on the set of NCIS Los Angeles? 

My friend Eric (Christian Olsen) who I did a movie with always championing me over there, and I almost didn’t go into this audition because I’ve been over there so many times.  But I love them because I know half of them over there and all their directors who I have worked with in this industry.  You start seeing a lot of the same people on different shows.  So I thought should I try again?  I did and I wound up getting the show!   I also knew the director (James Whitmore, Jr.) because we worked on 24 together.  Amazing director, lovely man….Whitmore Jr., baby!  I love him!  It was like a homecoming because I knew Terrence O’Hara, and I worked with Eric Olsen on Eagle Eye, and I knew Todd Smith from a long time ago… so it was fun to reunite again.  I also have a history with Frank Military because we worked on the Unit together.   Chris O’Donnell was very sweet and Daniela is a beautiful soul, great actress.  So it was just nice because I knew a lot of the people there and it was great to be there.

I played a character by the name of Ahmadi ….and they called him triple A.  They call me double A which is funny because here I am playing a character on the show whose name was triple A.  He was an interesting character, very mysterious and I didn’t get killed!  I think it would be interesting if he could escape his incarceration; it would be an interesting story line.

The scene was set in Afghanistan and I worked with Daniela, Chris, Todd, and Eric.  By the way, I love Eric, he is a very sweet and talented man.  Such a good actor and such a great guy, I love him.  There are a few people who I look at in this industry and can say that he is such an incredible human being and he is one of them.  So charismatic and such a lovely person.

It was in a very action packed scene.  I’m a serious mastermind of a cell.  One thing that was funny was the way Daniela had to accost my character.  I didn’t know this…. but we had a military consultant – a lovely man by the name of Osama…. and I didn’t realize that when they grab a suspect who may be dangerous that when they go for the pat down they have to knock the turbans off in a certain way because they are worried that some of these turbans carry weapons.  So, it was funny because we were having a scene where she had to take me down and she kept forgetting to knock it off in a certain way and the one time she did knock it off it kind of half came off, hanging there.  So we had a cute little moment between her and I.  A lot of fun.

It’s a great set to work on  but I have worked on sets where it’s like a machine.  24 was like a machine.  These guys who do action series take a long time to set up, reload guns, set up explosions and crashes… so you got to have a really well-oiled machine because you are going to have 16 hour days which happens a lot on one-hour dramas.  NCIS:LA is that type of set and it was amazing at how well everything worked and how quickly everything worked.  It was great.

What’s it like playing a character like that?

I like playing Middle Eastern characters but people are always complaining about why they are always portrayed as the bad guys?  But I never have problems playing bad guys who are Middle Eastern even though I have been criticized by my friends.  But the reason I don’t mind is because I’ve played such a variety of roles and it’s not that they are showing Middle Easterners as bad guys, it’s just that there is not enough balance.  I don’t mind the roles, I relish it and I think it fun, but you are going to have to start being fair and balanced in your representation of my culture and my people.  I can speak for the Iranian community and I can tell you Iranians are at the top of their sector in every field….. medicine, architecture, fashion designers, business owners, Google, Ebay, media moguls. But I think it’s starting to happen now.  I started a film festival due to this frustration called the Noor Film Festival.  It’s our fifth year and we try to promote Iranian actors and Iranian films so people can see them.  We won an Academy Award last year.  We just wanted to give people an idea where we are coming from culturally and as people.

You were a musician as well during your college years and could have gone into music?

The music industry has changed just as much since then as well.  But I think for me music would have had the same challenges but I think I may have been able to get my head around becoming a musician because it may have been easier.  But it’s a very difficult track as well but I really did enjoy it.  I was in a lot of local bands.

What’s going on in your future?  What are you currently working on?

I’m a writer and we got a script out that was optioned a year ago and we are still in the works of trying to get it produced.    My partner Kurt Caceres (Sons of Anarchy) and I have a production company and we are trying to get back to our roots.  We want to produce things that we feel strongly about.  So I hope down the road this gets made.  I would also like to be back on a series again which is a good place for me to be right now… to get some regularity, so I’m looking for that opportunity again too.  I just want to keep working.  I’m an actor and I just want to do the best I can every time I’m out there.  I want to be part of something that’s good and then keep plugging away.

 

A BIG thank you goes out to Anthony for taking time out of his busy work schedule to speak with us. We enjoyed watching his work on NCIS Los Angeles and we look forward to seeing him back on stage or screen very soon!

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Interview with Felix Ryan!

 

At 22 years of age, Felix Ryan is beginning to build an impressive on screen resume.  From The Mentalist, to 90210 to Nip/Tuck, Ryan sets to display his talents on Recruit – Episode 2  of NCIS Los Angeles in 2012.  We sat down to ask Felix a few questions about his start in the industry and his time spent on the set of NCIS Los Angeles.

We enjoyed your guest appearance on the Mentalist.  You seem so natural behind the camera.  How did you get your start in the industry?

I appreciate the compliment. I went to a talent showcase when I was around 16 or so and a manager by the name of Richard De Lancy had interest in me and saw potential. He later represented me and taught me the main aspects and knowledge of audition techniques, tongue twisters, levels of emotions, and most importantly being natural. I began doing extra work for about 2 years to prepare myself of camera work, on-set experience, and make connections. After I felt I was prepared to go out for principal/lead roles I spoke with Richard and we went from there.

It looks like you’ve done mainly TV work but what other areas would you like to explore?

The drama portion is what interests me most. Playing a more “badass” character and filming NCIS:LA was my first experience using weapons which was an extremely serious experience but a fun one. I’d like my career to go in the direction towards more action/drama work.

What was you experience like on the set of NCIS:LA?

I very much enjoyed my experience working with Chris O’Donnell and Todd Smith (aka LL Cool J). Also the experience with using weapons was a very intellectual and controlled process. Honestly, the table cast read was phenomenal. It helps when you have such a talented cast. I enjoyed speaking with Chris about life and family and I have a lot of respect for him.

You have a stream of loyal fans on Twitter!  What would you like them to know about your future projects?

As the years went by I now prefer to call them supporters. Most have been supporting me for the past few years and I highly appreciate their thoughts, concerns, and support. And honestly… without our supporters we would be nowhere, and that’s a fact!

As far as future projects goes, I will be in a movie called “Broken” which is directed by Damian X. Fulton, written by Mark Cramer, and produced by Chad Hawkins. For more info visit www.brokenmovie.com.

Felix, thanks for taking the time to speak with NCIS:LA Magazine.  We really appreciate your insights and look forward to seeing you on Episode 2 – Recruit!  You can follow Felix on Facebook (http://facebook.com/felixryan) and Twitter (@felixryan) and his web site www.felixryan.com.

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Interview with Anthony Azizi – Part One

 

Anthony Azizi

Even as a child, Anthony Azizi knew he wanted to become an actor. Born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, he was one of those kids who was drawn to the footlights and began writing and staging plays at the age of eight! Sometimes it’s a calling that cannot be ignored. Although he pursued the creative arts throughout high school, he was accepted at Muhlenberg College on a soccer scholarship but soon had to drop out due to an injury.  Fortunately, his first love was still waiting for him and he soon returned to acting, starring in Muhlenberg College productions.  Anthony was soon nominated for the Irene Ryan award for his portrayal as Sam in The Miss Firecracker Contest. After college, it was off to New York City where he hit the theatre circuit, working at the famed Ensemble Studio Theatre and the Thirteenth Street Reparatory Company. He got his first notice there in a play called Three of a Kind and his career was off and running.

Once he moved to Los Angeles, he didn’t waste any time starring in movies like McHale’s Navy, Three Kings, and For Richer or Poorer. He also has an impressive television resume with guest star spots on The Shield, the West Wing, Gilmore Girls and 24. He also had a recurring role on the hit TV series Lost playing Omar and now he has a guest spot in NCIS Los Angeles where he will play Adanam Al-Ahmadi in The Recruit (4X02).

We had a chance to sit down for a revealing chat with Anthony Azizi and we are excited to welcome him into the pages of NCIS:LA Magazine!

What drew you into acting as a career at such a young age?

Every kid has an imagination and is influenced heavily by the media so I loved entertaining people and making people laugh.  I was a funny kid.  I loved the arts and saw plays at a young age because I was so close to Philly and New York.  I was also surrounded by people in theatre.  Bill George and his wife were friends of mine for years that had a theatre troop in in Bethlehem (Touchstone Theater) and they always needed child actors so every so often I’d get a call and I’d be involved with them and performed at their theater.  I was also involved in school plays even though I was very much an athlete…I played soccer.   I never thought I’d do this professionally because I came from a family of physicians; my uncles and dad were physicians.  See I thought I was going to be an athlete, but I got hurt at Muhlenberg College on a soccer scholarship but I wound up not playing because I got I injured and my knee couldn’t take it.   So I ended up in the theatre program at Muhlenberg to do something with my time and that program was on the cusp of just blowing up because it’s now one of the best theater programs in the country.  That era had a lot of actors that went off and did some great things (Daniel Dae Kim, Dwayne Johnson) and that program now attracts a lot of people to the school.  So I got a good education there and when I graduated, a friend of mine called me up and said there might be a play I would be right for and I auditioned for the play and they gave it to me and I was stuck in New York for four months.  I didn’t think I was going to be an actor, but here I am!

I’ve done a lot since then, I was the first Iranian to be on a network series and that was in 2003 on Threat Matrix.  I was shocked because there are a lot of Iranian actors now but when I started there was like four of us at that level.  I had no idea what the business was all about, I had no one really to consult with.  If you were an Italian actor you had Al Pacino or Robert Di Niro and they have become film stars but for me there was nobody I had to look to.  So I didn’t know if this was going to be a viable way for me to make a living.  Even now I say “What were you thinking?”  I’ve had a lot of success in this industry but I still struggle just like a lot of actors because it’s a tough game.   It wasn’t until I started my own theatre group that I got the right attention.  I was able to get an agent after that who saw my work through the theatre company.  Two months later I came to LA and very quickly I started getting roles and I was very lucky at their open mindedness and in particular with Bryan Spicer who is one of the executive producers of Hawaii Five-O now.  He believed in me and he gave me my first real break in a remake of McHale’s Navy.  I said to Brian:  “How did I wind up in this movie with all these actors…Ernest Borgnine, Tim Curry, and David Allen Greer???  He said you’re the best and I had the power to make it happen.  That really got the ball rolling because that was a very big supporting role in a big film.  Tim Curry was so helpful too.  He literally guided me through my performance because I had no idea when I showed up on this $60 million dollar set what to do but everybody helped me through it.   I was lucky to get so much help.

You bring with you a very impressive television resume as you get set to star on NCIS Los Angeles.  What was one of the shows you enjoyed working on the most?

I have to talk about Lost.  What a series that was!   JJ (Abrams) is one of the foremost guys in the industry.  He has vision and I think he’s a wonderful man and he cares about his actors and his writers.  When you see people like that who are brilliant and humble and do their job… it’s just special.  JJ has always been supportive of me and he gave me a part on his show Person of Interest and they had  faith in me because it was a very complicated role and they took a risk without having me go in and read for it.  They really respected and understood me as an actor and that’s special that they believed in what I do.

Join us on Thursday for Part Two where Anthony talks about his friends on the set of NCIS Los Angeles and why he enjoyed working with the cast and crew so much.

 

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