Toy's House is the Sundance movie everyone is buzzing about—and its star, 17-year-old Nick Robinson, gave a performance that completely blew me away. Directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts, Toy's House follows the story of Joe Toy (Nick Robinson) who runs away from home with his two friends (Gabriel Basso and Moises Aries) to build their own house in the woods. It's Moonrise Kingdom meets Stand by Me, with laugh-out-loud moments from the opening scene. Robinson, who can currently be seen on ABC Family's Melissa and Joey, sat down in snowy Park City to chat about his breakthrough role.
Where are you from originally?
"Seattle. I grew up playing in the woods."
So you are a natural! How did you get the part?
"Just a regular audition. I was sent the script. I immediately fell in love. The script was very honest and it really took me back to being 15, going into the woods, and having this crazy imagination where everything was just new and exciting."
Did you and have fun filming with Gabriel Basso and Moises Arias, who are around the same age as you?
"Yeah, a lot of that really wasn't acting. It was just us messing around. They had the cameras rolling at times when we didn't even know."
How long did it take to shoot the film?
"About a month and a half. We were in Chagrin Fall, Ohio. It's a nice town, but it's aggressively quaint. They've got a popcorn shop above a waterfall and parades that come through town. It's all-American."
There's a scene where your character is struggling with the elements. Did you prepare in any way for this role?
"I actually grew up watching Survivorman and Bear Grylls. I know that pine needles are a good source of vitamin C and just random facts from watching the stuff. So actually going out into the woods and living out some of these crazy scenarios was a lot of fun. I was testing out my survival instincts."
There's a really intense snake scene in the movie. How did you get it to slither to you?
"Jungle Terry was our animal trainer on set. He had a zebra-print Range Rover. It took so long to get those shots and to actually get it to do what we wanted it to and come up and slither to me and it was mostly just luck. The trainer had these little mice that he would eat. The snake didn't like to eat in front of us. He was very shy. It took the better part of the day and lots of cussing."
And how was it working with your onscreen father, Nick Offerman?
"He's the all-American guy. He's great. I couldn't keep a straight face. He's such a stone wall—his delivery kills me every time. I'm sure there's like three hours of me just ruining takes from laughing. Jordan brought in some of his friends from Second City in Chicago. So we had some of the funniest people working with us."
Do you prefer shooting movies or television?
"It's hard to say. I'd love to do more features. You get this camaraderie that you don't really get anywhere else. A couple months of this intense work and then you're done. There's a lot more freedom, too. You can just kind of fool around and it's fun."
Are you balancing school with acting
"I am. I just sent in all my college applications. It's something that I've always wanted to do. I'm a big fan of regular school and regular education. I just learn better in a classroom where I can talk to other students. I want to go to prom and dances and have that social aspect."
So what's up next for you?
"Melissa and Joey starts back up in a couple of weeks, but I'm going to be focusing mainly on school. I'm hoping I'm going to hear back from colleges in April, so once that happens I can start branching out and try directing, writing, and producing."
