By Maysen Marolda
Staff Writer
Costa freshman Liam Carroll’s knack to act landed him a starring role in the comedy television show “The Detour.”
“The Detour” follows the misadventures of a family road trip from New York to Florida, in which Carroll plays the son, Jared Parker. The comedy was created by comedy writers Jones Bee and his wife Samantha, based on their own road trip adventures with their children. When Carroll was filming, he was under a very tight schedule, since actors under 16 years old can only work nine hours a day, which must include school.
“My co-stars all knew what they were doing and were so confident; it was like they had done it a thousand times,” Carroll said. “When I walked in to film, they helped me, and they showed me what to do so I didn’t look inexperienced.”
Carroll first stepped on stage at age 11 when a friend asked him if he wanted to join him at his family’s acting company at the Hermosa Beach Playhouse for a minor role as a guard in “Aladdin.” From there, Carroll acquired an agent to land him more jobs in order to further explore his talent. His first real job was on the show “The Neighbors,” a science fiction sitcom that aired from 2012 to 2014. After this experience, Carroll auditioned for “The Detour” in the summer of 2015.
Watch season one of “The Detour” here.
“My acting career just sort of happened,” Carroll said. “I didn’t do any lessons or work hard at my skills. Although I enjoy acting, I don’t know if I would pursue a career in it because it is kind of stressful to memorize scripts, and everyone around me is usually very stressed.”
Carroll did not take a strong liking to his first agent because he wasn’t geared toward child actors. As a result, he switched to an agent who primarily focused on kids and landed him the audition for “The Detour,” Carrol said. Once Carroll auditioned, he did not hear anything back from director Steve Pink for two months. However, after waiting, Pink called Carroll in for a second audition where he read through the script with the director. One week later, Carroll had to undergo a screen test to ascertain whether or not he was suitable for the role.
Check out a trailer for “The Detour.”
“I felt really good about my first audition, so I was surprised when I did not hear anything back for a really long time,” Carroll said. “However, when I went in for the screen test, the director told me that five kids were going to be there, and when I got there, I was the only one there, so I knew I got the job.”
“The Detour” does not have its own set. This means the director rents out places to film wherever the script calls for, so Carroll had to travel all over the country in order to film the show. The first season was shot in Atlanta, and as a result, Carroll had to miss the first week of eighth grade. The second season was filmed during the summer and through September and October, so Carroll did not attend Costa until Nov. 6, when he was completely done filming season two. If Turner Broadcasting System picks up a third season, Carroll will have to travel to Vancouver, he said.
Learn more details about the production of the “The Detour.”
“Travelling to all the different places to shoot was pretty cool because I got to see places I have never been to before,” Carroll said. “It made everything more adventurous because we were always exploring new places.”
Carroll is currently on an acting break because he has finished filming season two. Even though his agent sends him to open auditions about every two weeks, he does not plan on filming anything for a while so he can focus on school, he said.
However, if a small opportunity comes up that doesn’t require too many hours, like a commercial, he will take it, Carroll said. In the future, Carroll does not know if he wants to pursue acting as a career because it may not be very steady work, he said.
“Throughout my entire acting career, my mom has been my biggest supporter,” Carroll said. “She’s taken me to all of my auditions and helped me practice numerous amounts of lines. I wouldn’t be as successful if it weren’t for her.”
For additional photos of Carroll, click here.
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