Lucas Grabeel is an American actor, singer, songwriter, dancer, director and producer extraordinaire. He is best known and most loved for his portrayal of Ryan Evans in the High School Musical movies, which has become iconic across the globe. However, for his latest role, Lucas is taking on another iconic character, in a comedy parody of Home Alone.
Introducing HOME (Kinda) ALONE, where Lucas plays an adult version of Kevin McCallister. Although older in age, Kevin proves to be just as troublesome as ever, this time with a girlfriend in tow.
We caught up with Lucas Grabeel to discuss HOME (Kinda) ALONE, taking on an iconic character and what it felt like to be parodying a character, rather than being on the receiving end.
Hi Lucas, thank you so much for your time today! First off, for anyone who has yet to see HOME (Kinda) ALONE, can you tell us a bit about it?
In HOME (Kinda) ALONE we find Kevin and his girlfriend Kelsey at home in their Brooklyn apartment. A documentary crew from the fictional Where Are They Now? has arrived to find out just how our favorite little troublemaker has matured 25 years after defeating the Wet Bandits. We discover that Kevin’s shenanigans are no match for Kelsey’s patience, as she goes head-to-head with her man-child of a boyfriend. Booby traps and all, Kelsey is not backing down – especially when there’s an engagement on the line.
You take on the iconic role of Kevin McCallister in adult form. You portray grown up Kevin hilariously! What was the experience like?
It was a lot of fun. I’ve looked like Macaulay Culkin most of my life so the comparison has always been there (One time a fan on the street told me, “I loved you in High School Musical, but I REALLY loved you in Saved”… haha). It was such an important movie for me growing up, so I loved repeating the lines I have been for years.
Home Alone is such a well-known film series. Did you feel under pressure to make sure that it was a good one?
I didn’t feel a whole lot of pressure because the basis of our story revolves around Kevin’s girlfriend. For me, it was just say the amazing lines that everyone already knows from the classic movie!
There are plenty of spot-on references to the Home Alone films in the parody. Which was your favorite bit to film?
There were so many great bits we got to film. There’s actually a lot more that didn’t make it into the final cut of the film that I believe will be released in the future. I’d say my favorite was one that – let’s just say – involved me ‘not being afraid anymore’ (haha).
Do you have any funny stories from filming? It looks like it was a hoot to record!
We had such a blast shooting this in Brooklyn, NY. It was a small but mighty crew that really had so much fun. It was like we were just goofing around all day for two days and then this came out of it. It was really hard for me to keep a straight face when Kasey Borger was making the throw up sounds about the pizza… “Get a plate Kev…” I lost it so many times before we got a good take.
Kevin has a girlfriend called Kelsey in the short, played by Kasey Borger. What was she like to work with?
Kasey is so funny and a natural when it came to playing off of each other. She came ready to play and was always adding something unique and hilarious to the shot.
For us, the parody short was just way too short! Can we expect any further HOME (Kinda) ALONE shorts in the future or was this a one off?
There is sooo much MORE! I can’t say for certain, but I believe there will be a longer version released as well as some deleted scenes coming soon.
You’re probably most known for bringing High School Musical’s Ryan to life. However, similarly to Home Alone’s Kevin, he’s an iconic film character who’s also been parodied numerous times. Is it good to be the one doing the parodying for a change?
That’s funny. It has been an honor to see people play Ryan over the years. I feel like the role of ‘Kevin’ was 25 years in the making for me because I have always held this movie (and this part) so close to my heart. I’ve been saying these lines since I was eight years old. Funny story: Two weeks before I knew anything about this project I had a dream with Macaulay Culkin in it. We were friends (of course) and he came up to me and said, “Hey man, I’m going back! I’m going to do another Home Alone movie. You have to come to the production office and check out the team that’s shooting it”. Crazy. And No, I never dream about Macaulay Culkin…. hahaha…. Needless to say, when I got the script for this – it was a no brainer.
What’s next for Lucas Grabeel?
The final season of ‘Switched at Birth’ premiers in January 2017 on Freeform. It was an amazing run with a wonderful group of people on and off screen for the last five years and I will be sad to see it go. I’m currently working on a few projects that are hush hush, but I am so excited for them to be released in 2017 as well. I also started a band and am having so much fun playing live music again. We’re called Midnight Holler and you can find us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat at @midnightholler .
You can also find me everywhere @mrgrabeel. Thanks so much! Stay tuned for more HOME (Kinda) ALONE!
Thank you so much to the hilarious sweetheart, Lucas Grabeel! Keep up to date with HOME (Kinda) ALONE on Facebook for behind the scenes clips.
Let us know what you think of Lucas Grabeel as Kevin McCallister over on Twitter @CelebMix
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