BRIGHT AND DRIVEN: MAXWELL ACEE DONOVAN SHARES HIS PASSION FOR ACTING WITH US

My absolute favorite group of people is those who are passionate (but not monomaniacal) about something and are eager to tell you why if you ask them, it doesn't matter if it's art, farming, geography, or plumbing; if someone knows what they're talking about and they're enthusiastic about sharing, it's always a pleasure for me to hear them out. Maxwell Acee Donovan is definitely in that group of people.

The young Actor out of L.A. has shared the big screen with the likes of Jonah Hill and Miles Teller in "War Dogs"; however, he's best known for his ongoing role as Wesley on Disney's "Gabby Duran & The Unsittables." Maxwell is probably best described as a student of the acting craft, he attends the prestigious Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, where his teachers have him badger and hound the different members of the creative and production staff for insights into the work that goes behind the cameras.

Somewhat recently, Max wrote a short but rather elucidating and interesting piece for Backstage magazine. He shared some striking career advice that shows a great deal of introspection and maturity that convinced me of his passion. He's also a growing TikTok Content creator, mostly performing short comedic skits and some pretty spot-on impressions, showing both range and a creative drive to experiment and adapt to the fast-paced nature of these evolving new formats and platforms.

I hope you enjoy reading this interview as much as I did putting it together:

Start by telling us a bit about "Gabby Duran & The Unsittables" and your role in it.

Well, "Gabby Duran & The Unsittables" follows Gabby Duran, a teenager from Miami who wants to do anything but move to small-town Havensburg. Once she gets there, however, she discovers something incredible - aliens are real! From then on, the hijinx only build! My character Wesley is a bonafide conspiracy theorist, so when he is looped in on the secret - his best friend Gabby is the babysitter to the galaxy - Wesley's not-so-wild dreams come true! Wesley soon takes on the role of Senior Executive Liaison to Intergalactic Affairs (totally an actual title, by the way). He babysits, fosters an alien bird named after himself, and even goes on a horrible dinner date with his alien girlfriend, Sky! In my completely unbiased opinion, it's awesome.

Now, I read the piece you did for Backstage Mag. I found your words very compelling; I can feel the passion you have for the art form. Where does it come from? When did you figure out this was the world you belonged to?

I'm glad you liked it! Honestly, I've been thinking about this a lot, and I'd have to say that passion always has been there. Our family tradition is to go to the movies as soon as you can sit in a chair (my first one was Wall-E!), and many of my major memories are tied to movies. I still vividly remember the big reveal of Luke and Vader in Empire, and I think I watched Cars about 237 times as a kid. My sister and I used to run up to the front of the theater as soon as the movie ended and dance in front of the credits! As I've gotten older, I've become even more entwined with film, especially since we moved to L.A. six years ago. That's when I began to articulate that this passion existed and decided this was the industry I wanted to be a part of. Since then, that passion has grown even more and developed into both behind and in-front-of-the-camera love - I guess I'm a cinephile, through and through! I also have found that this passion is linked to the art form, to the creativity it allows me, and to the idea that film and television have the power to help its audiences not only escape to beautiful places but to challenge their worldviews and to affect real change.

You're a student of Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, so let me rephrase my first question in a way I think a teacher would: What is the role of Wesley in the show in a broader sense? Why is he useful to the stories being told?

Wesley's pretty outlandish, but I think he simultaneously grounds the show in certain aspects. In his friendship with Gabby, he tends to be the voice of reason, even sometimes rethinking his ideologies to do what's right. He brings with his chaos a sense of certainty and helps keep everyone acutely aware of who they are and why they do what they do. That being said, he has his (many) moments of panic, especially when he's with his "sister" Jeremy, and I think in those types of episodes, his storyline brings comedic relief to the main stories' heavier themes. I love being him, and I couldn't ask for a better, more layered character to bring to life.

I see you do a lot of light comedic content for your TikTok. Have you considered expanding upon that to longer formats, or is it just something you do for fun?

I want to explore that! I love comedy and find the short-form style of TikTok extremely entertaining, so I have been pretty much obsessed with it over the past couple of months. I hadn't thought about expanding upon it, but my sister and I created "Late Afternoon with Clare and Max" that brings the format of late-night TV to Instagram audiences - maybe we should explore bringing parts of that to TikTok! Perhaps I could even host some comedy bits on my Instagram's IGTV! YouTube here I come!

You're an actor first and foremost, but with your perspective on what takes place on the other side of the camera, what other parts of the industry do you wish to dabble in?

I love being on set, whatever capacity that might be in. It would be incredible to explore the directorial side of things, as I have a specific mindset that I think would lend itself well to that, as well as maybe writing some screenplays/pilots! Something like what Ryan Reynolds has shown an affinity for - collaborating with the writing team - is intriguing to me - but honestly, anything and everything I can get my hands on sounds great!

Is there a show on right now that you'd love to make a cameo in or play a one-off character on?

So many! I am particularly obsessed with Ted Lasso right now (seriously, my new favorite show, or should I say favourite), and would give an arm and a leg if it meant getting to act on that show! I am also a HUGE fan of all things superheroes (the Marvel shows are, of course, incredible) and would love to get a shot at The Boys, my other favorite show. It is so well-crafted! Being on that set, if even just for a day, would be extremely rewarding. If you all need any cameo, I'm your guy!

What kind of characters would you like to play in the future? Do you feel like you want to move in any specific direction/genre as an actor, or will you take roles as they come?

It'd be great to try my hand at drama. I've done a few more dramatic roles, and I often feel more in my element doing dramatic work. It is so rewarding to step into another person's shoes, especially one who is grounded in realistic drama, and I'd certainly like to get the opportunity to craft those intricate and deep characters. I'd also love to try out feature films, as I've predominantly worked in television up until now, and I think gaining that new experience would be very beneficial. All that being said, I don't see myself passing up any roles soon - I just love being on a set!

We love music over here at Rival; tell us what's on your playlist currently?

This is an awesome question! I am a total music buff. I have about 50 albums on vinyl, including all of my favorite artist Jim Croce's albums! His son recorded the last song that he wrote; I would love to have a chance to record that song as well, or maybe do a biopic on him. Sadly, I don't look much like him! I also love singing Elvis Presley. On Spotify, I have several playlists based around my favorite genres, and named after song lyrics: A folk-rock playlist called "Traded love for pennies, sold my soul for less" - Jim Croce's "Age," a punk rock playlist called "She Said She Needed a Break" - Bowling For Soup's "Ohio (Come Back to Texas)," a ten-hour classic rock playlist cleverly titled "Classic Rock" (I'm a genius), a country/western playlist called "Well You Can Sure Get lost in the Louisiana Bayou" - Jerry Reed's "Amos Moses," and a soul playlist named "Always On My Mind" - Sam Cooke's "You're Always On My Mind". I also have a favorites playlist called "The Best of Max's Mind," which features the Grateful Dead, Pink Floyd, Bob Seger, and more! If I tried to name all of my "favorite" songs, it would take up an entire novel! Also, I have to say that Harry Styles and Hozier fit into a bunch of my playlists, as they are creating incredible, unique music that honestly has me really excited about what's next! I hope this answered the question!

MEET THE AUTHOR

Samuel Aponte is Venezuelan-born raised and based. 

I joined Rival Magazine after a few years of doing PR work for independent musicians of all stripes; understanding their struggles to be heard in a sea of constant  ADHD noise and paywalled access to platforms, I now bring a willingness to always appreciate and encourage the effort and creativity that artists put into their work . Can also find some of my writings on LADYGUNN and We Found New Music.