Beau Mirchoff stars as Jenna Hamilton’s love interest in MTV’s Awkward. – the story of a 15 year old in the midst of the most cringe-tastic of emotional crises. Mirchoff’s hilariously nuanced character as handsome-but-hopelessly-coy Matty McKibben will return for a second series this summer – he was itching to tell Wonderland about it.

So tell us how you got involved with Awkward.

I auditioned for Awkward. and was fortunate enough – after two more auditions and a screen test – to get the job. Telling the other actors at the audition to “get lost” while posing as a MTV executive didn’t hurt my chances, either.

What attracted you to the project?

The unique characters and nuanced story were very appealing to me. It was evident from the pilot that Awkward. had the potential to be something special; I knew I wanted to be apart of it.

What kind of themes and stories can we expect to see in series two? Does the whole thing get more’ Awkward’?

Season two oozes with “awkward” (whatever that means). Strong themes of betrayal, friendship, and moral judgement are examined early in season two. Fans will see characters make pivotal decisions that will change relationships forever.

When did you start acting? Did you train formally?

My mom threw me into dancing, singing, and acting classes when I was very young. I remember being extremely embarrassed and really frightened of the older kids and by what their opinions were of me, so I threw in the tights.
I didn’t start taking acting classes again until I was thirteen, shortly after that I began auditioning. Living on Vancouver Island meant I had to take a two hour ferry ride to the mainland, then an hour bus into town for classes and auditions. This worked in my favour because it allowed me extra time to work on my scripts or do whatever homework I needed to do. When I moved to Los angeles I started studying immediately and haven’t stopped. I’m still in a scene study class while I’m filming Awkward. And I am actually coming to the UK in July for an intensive at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre! I’m pumped!

Name your five favourite emerging actors.

I don’t know who my five favorite emerging actors are, but my five favorite in general would be: (1) Daniel Day Lewis (2) Philip Seymour Hoffman (3) Gary Oldman (4) Sam Rockwell (5) Tom Hardy. ‘nough said.

Finally, what’s your most awkward moment as an actor to date?

Last week, I had an audition where I was supposed to play a very confident, overly macho; a ladies man. I felt it went very well. After, as I was walking down the street to my car, feeling euphoric and overjoyed from the audition, I felt a slight breeze in my crotch area. Turns out, they weren’t laughing from my performance.

Main photo: Tyler William Parker, grooming – Kelsey Deenihan and wardrobe styling – Joey Tierney.
Awkward. returns on July 19th
Words: Jack Mills