Nothing's awkward about a lunch date with the cast of MTV's hit series ironically bearing the same name, but you might find it strange how willing they are to discuss what it's like making out on the set of their newfound teen phenomenon. Here, Brett Davern, Beau Mirchoff, and Molly Tarlov discuss slight spoilers for the season, swapping spit on-screen, and the epic battle of Team Matty vs. Team Jake By Terron R. Moore
| Related: Awkward. Season Premiere Recap! |
OLOGY: Were you guys surprised by the Sadie-Matty hookup?
MOLLY TARLOV: I was surprised by it, but I thought it was justified. Sadie's had a crush on Matty for a long time…
BEAU MIRCHOFF: There were hints about that all through season 1-
BRETT DAVERN: Yeah, and Matty is in such a vulnerable, kind of desperate, state. And there was a real moment between the two of them, so he just acted upon it!
But we thought that the plan all along in the premiere was for Jenna to realize that picking Jake was a bad idea, and go back to Matty.
BRETT: Wait—what? [Laughs]
BEAU: [Laughs] I guess that’s the point, you know what I mean? If you saw it going one way, and [show creator] Lauren Iungerich [is gonna] switch it up. I think the aim is to surprise people and take them in a new direction.
MOLLY: Yeah, and I think that it’s what really happens in real life. These are 16-year-olds: there’s all sorts of sexual tension everywhere. Sadie was made a monster in Season 1, and then in this season she's doing a lot of romantic stuff. She's a sexual being as well!
Is that just with her and Matty?
MOLLY: No, it is not.
BRETT: There’s lots of love interests this year.
So let's talk about Lauren Iungerich a bit: she's created quite a unique show.
BRETT: Using her own words, she was kind of just getting fed up with the way teenagers are written. So she just set out to write this thing that wasn’t out there on a network and I think she definitely accomplished that.
MOLLY: I mean, everybody has ideas and there are the few people that execute them and go for it, and sometimes they fail and sometimes they’re magical, and Lauren just totally went for it and said "I’m going to write a show that’s me and nothing else." No outside influences, no wondering how it was gonna be received—and I think that’s what makes it so special: she’s totally unapologetic, and she just went for it. And for some reason, it’s magical. I mean- it’s a great show! That’s why.
BRETT: I mean, yeah—she’s got balls.
BEAU: Yeah, cojones! It should be the bumper sticker: Awkward: It’s got balls! [Laughs]
Molly, what's the best line Sadie gets this season?
MOLLY: This season? Oh my goodness, there’s so many. Sadie has a lot more to do this season, which is really exciting for me, and sometimes I love the meaty stuff that’s going on, and sometimes I just love the lines that she just says and then walks away. There was one line—I’ll tell you what my line is, it’s not going to make sense to you, but it will once the episode comes—she says, "Looks like your unitard is already doing that for you," and then walks away.
BRETT: I like her licking the Dorito!
BEAU: That was great.
Brett, I know Matty is Jake's sworn enemy, but what is your favorite thing about him?
BRETT: I think he has a lot of different levels to him, and Beau plays it so well. You’re rooting for him and you want him to do the right thing, and then he doesn’t… but then you get to see the reasoning behind it and it all makes sense. The beauty of the way Beau plays him, you know he’s a great guy, you know that deep down. It’s just that he doesn’t know how to go around about showing that to Jenna right now.
So in Season 2, do we get closer to changing Matty? Does Matty need to be changed?
MOLLY: I have a certain opinion on this; I think Matty needs to be let off the hook a little bit, because he’s a kid, and I personally don’t think he’s done anything so wrong to Jenna. I mean, what’s he supposed to do, go and parade her around and put her on his shoulders and be like, “Girlfriend!” I don’t know, but [that's not him]! Maybe he doesn’t necessarily need to change, but he needs to figure some stuff out, and try to feel out how he should act in the future. He will definitely take a look at his life [this season].
BEAU: Well said!
BRETT: Here, here.
Molly: Team Matty or Team Jake?
MOLLY: Right here in between the two of them?
Yes.
MOLLY: Everybody—we’ve discussed this so I’m going to say it: I’m Team Matty. But I have to say after season 2, Jake was melting me a little bit. But I am Team Matty.
What’s the most surprising thing Jake does this season?
BRETT: [Laughs] I can’t give it away.
MOLLY: That moment when you when you feathered Jenna.
BRETT: What?
You feathered Jenna?
MOLLY: Yeah, Jake feathers Jenna.
BRETT: Whaaat?
MOLLY: I’m joking!
BRETT: [Laughs] Oh—wait, you really got me with that! There’s a lot of surprises in store. It’d be hard to pick just one! There's new love interests coming and out, there’s lots of guest stars that add a lot to it, a lot of people’s favorite guest characters from season 1 are coming back. There’s a lot to look forward in season two—it’s pretty jam packed. I feel like all of our episodes are so cramped.
BEAU: Very, very crammed.
What’s it like when you have to shoot a hookup scene?
BRETT: You guys [points to Beau and Molly] because of the schedule this year, got a surprise.
BEAU: Oh yeah. We weren’t supposed to shoot [the premiere hookup] scene that night—first day of shooting. Something happened and the schedules got changed, but we weren’t supposed to shoot that scene till three days later. But we’ve been doing it so much; it’s kissing, it’s not a really big deal.
MOLLY: We’ve been kissing each other for a long time!
BEAU: I was more nervous to do the scene because it’s kind of an important, crucial scene to the episode and I wasn’t as prepared as I would like to be. Sometimes, though, that can work in your favor.
BRETT: Eat as much gum as possible and go for it!
BEAU: Chew the gum and take your time. [laughs]
MOLLY: It’s so not anything! It’s crazy, like, you don’t even think about it.
BRETT: We’re all just good friends now too it’s like-
BEAU: There’s no sexual undertones involved, really.
BRETT: Well not for me, but… [laughs]
BRETT: You have thirty crew people standing around. It’s not as romantic as it seems.
MOLLY: It is kind of funny when you’re in a hardcore makeout and then it’s like "cut," and you’re just like [freezes]…
BRETT: The weird parts are when you’re in a makeout situation—let’s say you’re on the bed—and you’re in this weird cuddling position with your bodies; and the weird part is before action or after cut—or they’re like, "wait hold on, we've got to adjust the light," and you just sit there, holding each other--
BEAU: Awkward!
BRETT: Your faces are inches away from each other and you’re like, "so, ummm—yeah."
BEAU: The premiere of season two when Sadie puts her boobs in my face in between takes, she’s literally just hovering over me. And when it was on my coverage—I kept a straight face on her coverage—but when it was on my coverage, I busted a take; I cracked up. I couldn’t keep a straight face and they had to do it again when she shoved her boobs in my face. What jobs pay you to do this??
BRETT: Well, there are other jobs...
MOLLY: They’re not as critically acclaimed!
What's the most awkward thing about each of you?
BRETT: I sing all the time, and sometimes I don’t even know I’m doing it. There’s times even when I’m shooting, and all of a sudden I just notice a bunch of crew-guys are humming a tune, and I’m like, "Oh weird, I had that in my head too!" and they’re like, "we know, you sang it out loud and that’s how it’s in our head." So it can get awkward at times. I just sing wherever: in the car, in the shower… everywhere.
BEAU: I’m a messy eater at home, I eat very fast. It might be awkward; I spill food all over myself. I’m more aware of it now, so I make a conscious effort to like, "okay, slow down. Eat. Quietly. Don’t just shovel food in my mouth."
MOLLY: There will be a few days in a row where I will just like cry at anything, and sometimes I’ll be like, "No, I’m sorry; it’s not that big of a deal." I know it sounds sad, but it’s not! It’s just kind of weird!
What do you hope viewers get out of the second season?
BRETT: I think…
MOLLY: A third season. [laughs]
BRETT: Boom! Nobody should say anything; that’s perfect. What should viewers get—a third season.
BEAU: I hope they have fun or they just enjoy the show like they seemed to in the first season.
BRETT: Yeah, I think they will.
BEAU: Definitely.
Fill in the blank—if you like _________, you'll like Awkward.
BRETT: If you like Spin the Bottle, you’ll like Awkward.
MOLLY: That’s pretty good. Just as a character trait: if you play spin the bottle, then you’re probably someone that would like Awkward.
BEAU: If you like… anything, you’ll like Awkward.
BRETT: If you like majestic chests, then you’ll like Awkward.
Yeah, Beau: you're shirtless on the show quite often.
BEAU: Haven’t you heard? I’m a piece of meat! [Laughs]
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Awkward. airs Thursdays at 10:30pm on MTV.
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