QQ: What are some projects are that you’ve been working on?
A: Obviously, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days which is coming out August third, but I recently broke my leg. The cast is off now, but a week before I broke my leg I had just finished filming a pilot which I was lucky that I didn’t break it a week earlier. Anyway, I’m also working on an animation film based off the books called The Boxcar Children. I also just finished filming a film called The Incredible Burt Wonderstone. I play a character totally opposite from Greg. I’m a bully, so it’s totally different from Greg.
Q: With Dog Days coming out shortly, what sets this film apart from the other Diary films?
A: The first two were set during school, and this one takes place during summer vacation, which is pretty unique. Greg already knows what he’s going to do. He’s going to play video games, sleep in, eat junk food, and watch TV. But obviously his mom has a totally different idea of his spending his summer vacation. She really wants him to bond with his dad. It doesn’t really appeal to Greg and his dad but just for Susan’s sake, Greg’s mom, they have to make an attempt. It turns out to backfire most of the time, obviously, for Greg. So Greg thinks about it. He’s like, how do I impress both of my parents, and then I can get rid of this whole thing that’s ruining my summer vacation. So why not get a job at a country club. Greg isn’t the job type, so basically he tells his parents that he has a job when he really doesn’t. The fib gets him into a lot of trouble, which I don’t really want to get into because I don’t think Greg will be happy if I talked about it too much.
Q: Are there any new cast members or new twists to the film outside of it being about summer?
A: There is one new character in the film. It’s Holly Hill’s older sister, Heather Hills, but what’s really fun about this is, you know how Greg has a crush on Holly, well Roger has a huge crush on Heather Hill so it’s kind of a like a double-whammy for both of them. it’s like a brotherly love thing.
Q: Between Peyton List and Emily Holmes, the Hill sisters are not so bad on the eyes, right?
A: Yeah, you know, she’s really nice. What’s great about these films is that, it’s really funny that Greg and Holly like each other kind of in the films, but Peyton and I are best friends in real life. We have so much fun filming these movies and I’m really glad that she was as nice as she is.
Q: Is there anything about your role as Greg that really continues to challenge you?
A: I always try to bring a little something different to the characters that I play. It all depends on the role. Like, for a dramatic role it somewhat takes me a bit of time to get in character and feel what the character is feeling. It all takes time with whatever character I play. That’s what’s great about acting. That’s what’s so unique about it. You really get to challenge yourself in a totally different way, other than school and tests and everything. It’s a great experience, and it’s cool becoming a totally different person and just, you really never know what’s going to happen next. It’s great.
Q: Obviously you’ve gotten to grow up while being a part of these films. Can you talk a little bit about that aspect, growing along with the character?
A: What’s unfortunate about filming the “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” series is that, because the characters in the books really aren’t supposed to age, but obviously that’s not how it works in real life. Everybody is growing up. I’m changing of course, I’m going through puberty and everything, but I can’t really stop it. I wish I could so I could keep filming “Wimpy Kid” movies. But it’s a part of life and I have to adapt to it and it’s, I’ve really got to move on to older roles as well.
Q: Are you looking at possibly taking on larger roles as well, whether it’s behind the camera or producing or coming up with your own film ideas or projects?
A: Working in the film industry, I already know I want to do this for the rest of my life, it’s just one of those things that I know. I would love to do anything that involves the film industry. I’d love to be a producer, director, especially director or writer. I’d also like to maybe direct a film, but play a role in the film as well. It’s great. It’s so much fun working on films and the experiences that I have. I just want to do this for the rest of my life.
Q: Did the chemistry with the cast come naturally or did it originally take some time to develop?
A: I don’t know if you’ve ever seen the movie Stand By Me, but it’s kind of like we’re all best friends. We watch out for each other, we really care about it each other. I’m really fortunate for that because the cast members, we all work well together and it just doesn’t really happen all the time. I’ve made friends that I will keep with me for the rest of my life and I’m really lucky for that. I try to keep in touch with every single one of them. Devon moved back to L.A. so I see him a lot. Grayson, who lives in Alabama, I talk to him over the phone and we play PS3 together. And Robert Capron, who plays Rowley, I do FaceTme with him, and Peyton lives in L.A. so I see her sometimes too.
Q: Do you have a really memorable moment that you've had from filming this movie?
A: One night after filming we went to a theme park, where we actually filmed a scene of the movie, we all felt we should do something really fun so why not have the whole cast go karaoke. It was really fun that night. I was screaming a lot on the rides that we had that day so my voice wasn’t really the best, it was somewhat shot, but I still had a lot of fun. But what was the biggest surprise about that was that Jeff Kinney, the author of the books, is a great singer. He was really jamming to “Wanted: Dead or Alive” by Bon Jovi. That’s a cool little fact about Jeff Kinney. He’s a great singer.
Q: Nice! So, what were you guys singing? What were some of the songs that you guys belted out?
A: We sang different songs like there was “Man Eater" and we sang a Beatles song. One thing that was really funny to me was Peyton and I were both doing karaoke and the song we were singing was from Grease, “You’re The One That I Want." It was really funny just because we’re best friends and because our characters in the movie really like each other.
Q: What do you think it is about the films that really continue to draw in so many viewers?
A: Not all the time movies are really real. What I love about these films, and why I think everyone really likes them, is because they’re real movies. Everyone can relate to them. They have great stories. I love the films, personally myself, even if I wasn’t Greg in the films I would still go to see them. It's just a great story and it's unique in its own way.
Q: For people who are looking to keep up with you, are you on all the different social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook?
A: Yes, I have a Twitter, it’s @zacharygordon. I also have a Facebook fan page, Zachary Gordon, so please go check that out I don’t have that many fans so hopefully my fan base increases. I love my fans and I like to learn a lot about them and talk with them. I’m really thankful for my fans. Please follow me on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook.
Q: Is there anything else about the film that you'd like to tease or anything else you'd like to say to your fans and supporters?
A: What I’d love to say about my fans is I’m really thankful for them. I really wouldn’t be here without them. If any of my fans wants to become an actor or an actress or anything that involves the film industry or just anything they want to do, I really just want to tell them that they should never give up. I never gave up and one of my dreams came true, I got to star in this movie. It’s just that, it might seem like a long shot but dreams do come true and I’m glad I can say that. Anything you want can happen, it just takes a lot of hard work and eventually it all pays off.
