Interview: Harvey Guillen After Huge

This past summer, ABC Family aired one of the most ground breaking shows on television, Huge.

Funny, heartbreaking and provocative, Huge follows the lives of seven teens and the staff at a weight-loss camp, as they look beneath the surface to discover their true selves and the truth about each other.

Unfortunately, Huge was ahead of its time (ironic given the state America is in right now) but the ratings were not well enough to keep the show on the air. So after speaking with Harvey Guillen right after the show premiered, watching the entire series, and feeling bittersweet…I was able to talk with Harvey once more about life after Huge.

Check it out:

So what were the last few days of filming like on set?
The last few days on set were bittersweet because we didn’t know at the time where we stood with ABC Family. It was nice because we all wanted to be together during the last few days, so even if we weren’t scheduled to come in, we could in. It was very laid back and it was just a great feeling of accomplishment. We accomplished so much in the ten episodes. There was really a positive energy on the set the last couple of days, as it was every day just moreso in the last couple of days.

Do you see yourself working on another show for young people?
It was great working with the whole cast, everyone was just so young and full of energy and that’s the kind of show that I love to be part of. The next project will hopefully be the same thing though I also wouldn’t mind playing a 22 or 25 year old. I couldn’t play someone too much older since I look pretty young. (laughs)

Are you interested in continuing to play more realistic roles or would you be interested in say sci fi or more imaginative roles?
Yeah, absolutely! The old cast went out auditioning for other projects once we were told that Huge wasn’t coming back because you want to go out for other projects while you’re still memorable. Even though it was short lived, it built such a great opportunity to meet the people that we have and such.

So much positive energy came out of this. You know it’s a shame that it was cut short especially with what is going on right now with bullying. The timing was so bad for the show not to continue but I’m thankful for ABC Family for actually making the first ten episodes happen. It was an honor and a gift to be able to do this for ten episodes.

So what did you not expect to get out of this experience of working on a TV series?
Well this show, it’s all so realistic and our characters had so many layers. So it was interesting to unpeel the onion so to speak and find another layer. Also just watching the people on set and watching the way they communicated…just little things like that. Working with Gina Torres and Eric Stoltz was an honor. From this experience, I took away the relationships and what I learned from those people.

Any interest in working in any shows or plays in not just LA but NY too?
Absolutely. Because of the things that are coming up, I can’t go out to New York long term right now but I’d love to do theatre. A lot of people have said, “I could totally see you on Glee” and I know that everybody and their mother is trying to getting on Glee but Glee is what I grew up doing so yeah, I’d love to be on Glee. That was my life growing up in high school so doing that would be amazing.

Last time we spoke, you mentioned that Wicked was one of your favorite productions. There have been rumors that Lea Michele is up for the role of Elphaba. Who do you want to see in the lead as Elphaba?
For a Wicked movie, well it’s so funny because I want to have the original Idina Menzel in the film. So maybe they could have Lea play the young Elphaba and Idina the adult Elphaba. I want to be Boq, the munchkin. (laughs)

Oprah recently taped The Sound of Music reunion but what original cast from a musical or musical movie would you want to see reunited?
As a big fan of Chicago, I’d have to say the cast of Chicago. You already said The Sound of Music so…The Wizard of Oz or Cabaret.

Lastly, I noticed your interest in film festivals on Twitter. So are you interested in working in indie films?
If the script is good and the role is perfect, I want to be play it. At the end of the day, you’re still an actor and bringing characters to life whether you’re doing it on a small budget or a million dollar budget. So for me, that’s not a deal breaker.

Follow Harvey Guillen on Twitter.