photos courtesy of Dear Crissy
Imagine being 11 years old again. I was in 5th grade, boy band crazy, and watching music videos on MTV. My son just turned 12 and he’s in 6th grade, playing baseball, and loves computer games. What I can’t imagine is being 11 and in the cast of one of the biggest grossing films in the world right now! Ty Simpkins is that kid. A child star with a few movies under his belt already, his world is all things Iron Man 3 right now and how lucky can you be?
We sat down with Ty in Los Angeles the evening of the premiere and we were all so impressed by this cute and smart kid who lucked out with the part of his dreams! He arrived with his mom who grinned ear to ear on the sidelines while he chatted with us moms about how he got into acting.
TS : So I’ve been acting since I was born. I was still in my mom’s stomach when the people called and asked me to be on this– I think it was like at– it was either a TV show or a soap opera. I’m not sure. But they asked me. And then– uh, they didn’t ask me. They asked my mom. And she said I’m not born yet. But and then they said we’ll wait. So–
Ty does not seem intimidated by a room full of moms smiling at him so we continued to plug at him with questions. He told us he found out about getting the part in the movie in cello class, after he screamed yes! He told us more about how that came about:
TS : So I got– we got a call from my agent. And I was really excited. I’m like, oh, this is so cool. And then we went to the audition. But it was so top secret that we– that we couldn’t look at the script until we got to the audition. And but it was really easy ’cause it was only two scenes that were short– or, no, it was a scene that was short. So, it was pretty easy.
Then we heard– hadn’t heard for a while. We got a callback. And I was like, oh, okay, cool, cool. This is awesome. I can’t believe I got a callback. So we went to the call back. The producers and the director was there. And we went through the scene only with one more scene. And that was a bit more difficult to learn because it was longer. It was a giant monologue– like paragraph.
And then– and then we hadn’t heard for an even longer time. And then our agent said that we gotta chemistry read with Robert Downey Jr. And I was really excited for that. So we flew to North Carolina. And I was looking around. I was like where– where– where is Robert Downey Jr.?
And I couldn’t find him. And they were just introducing me to everyone. And then there was a guy with a hat and glasses. And I just completely looked past him. And then the lady that was introducing me to everyone said and you know who this is. And the guy took off the hat and the glasses. And it was Robert Downey Jr. I mean it was a really good disguise. I don’t know how I missed it. [LAUGHTER]
Ty went on to say he would suggest acting to interested kids and that many of his friends are excited to see him in the film! We asked him if he was indeed a fan of the Marvel movies and what was the favorite aspect of playing his character?
TS : I love the Marvel movies. I think my favorite aspect of being my character is that like I– I get to meet Tony Stark. I’m similar to him. I’m like a genius in the movie. And he’s a genius in the movie, of course, more of a genius than my character, but– [LAUGHTER]
Of course being a Marvel fan, we needed to find out who his favorite hero was…
TS : Iron Man. I mean it– it’s been my dream.
We asked Gwyneth Paltrow this same question, Ty’s response was similar, yet straight and to the point. How does it feel to be working with Robert?
TS : Oh, it’s awesome. Like literally Robert Downey Jr. is my favorite person. [LAUGHTER]
I personally was curious what Ty’s hardest challenge on the film was and he replied that it was one line in the script that he tried to master but he couldn’t and it was “getting like annoying.”
TS: Retro-reflection panels. [LAUGHTER] It was really hard. And then once the day was over I knew how to say it. That happens a lot.
I loved hearing that Ty’s likes outside of acting are very similar to that of my own young son, and he also told us how he passes time on the set.
TS : I like to play baseball. I like to fence. Yeah. And I like to make Lego stop motion videos. {On set} If I’m in summer I usually hang out with like the studio teacher, like the one that was on this set was pretty awesome ’cause she had an iPad. And she had educational games, there was one really cool called Oregon Trail. [CROWD RESPONSES] But they made a modified version. And that’s just really awesome. [LAUGHTER]
Some of my favorite things to watch on the DVD/Blu-rays when they come out is the blooper reels. We were curious about some of the funny things that happened on set with Ty:
TS : Okay, so I had to do this stunt where I’m sitting on a villains lap. And then I blind him with this thing. And I jump off of his lap. I took the thing out. And I blinded him basically. And he started tipping back with the chair. And I couldn’t get off– get, like, I jumped off a little late. And I fell back with him.
photo courtesy of Disney/Marvel
After working with Robert Downey Jr., Ty tells us that he is one of his biggest role models, and that Chris Evans and Johnny Depp are as well. All 3 of who he’d love to work with in the future, I would too Ty, I would too!
We were all curious about if Ty had watched Iron Man 3 yet, and how he thinks we should prepare our own kids for the movie, here’s what he said:
TS : I haven’t seen the movie yet, it’s gonna be my first time seeing it {tonight}. I did see the trailer. And there is blowing up stuff. I don’t recommend– unless– unless you want to. This is upon your decision, I wouldn’t recommend seeing it in IMAX ’cause I see a bunch of stuff in IMAX like Jurassic Park 3-D. That was pretty loud. And I’m not a big fan of loud. But I did enjoy that. So, you might just want to tell them there is gonna be some like explosions. So you just might want to be prepared for shocking things and stuff like that.
Before we let Ty head to get ready for the premiere, we wanted to know what was lined up next for him as far as acting goes.
TS : So I just finished Insidious 2. That comes out in September. And I’m really excited for this movie called Conversations with Andy. And it’s about a sixth grade kid who is like having a tough time with his family. Like they’re getting a divorce and stuff. And then he meets Andy Warhol. And Andy helps him out and stuff. So I’m really excited for that.
This kid is really so down to earth, pretty mature for his 11 years and he finishes off with the best line of the interview, and something all moms want to hear and know from their kids:
Q : Who is your biggest supporter?
TS : My biggest supporter? My mom. [APPLAUSE]
Keep your eye out for Ty in Iron Man 3 and he new (and previous) movies, he’s a great kid and a great actor and has the world ahead of him to conquer. Now I kinda wish I had asked him if he would ever want to be a superhero in a movie!
Our interview was part of our hosted media trip thanks to Marvel/Disney. All opinions my own.
Such an inspirational kid. I really enjoyed his candid interview.