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Joshing Around

08/27/2008 - By by Teja Anderson

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Comedic actor Josh Flitter: Charming, humble, and intelligent… and that’s no joke!

Josh Flitter is not a rising star. He is already, at the age of 14, a bonafide, full-fledged movie star, who is proud to call Marlboro his home!
 
Josh’s parents, Carla and Steven Flitter, moved to Marlboro from Fairlawn, NJ, in 1998 looking for a true sense of community and a little more bang for their buck. They found that they could have double the house and land for the same money they were spending at that time, and were also impressed with the Marlboro school system, as well as the many sports teams and athletic opportunities for their two young sons, Josh (then 4) and his older brother, Scott (then 6).
 
Carla, a singer and off-Broadway actress, had seen the Marlboro Player’s sign at the corner of Route 520 and Wyncrest, and was soon playing lead roles in several productions. A year later, Josh at the age of 5, followed in his mother’s footsteps, signing with TM Talent, a local Marlboro talent agency (headed by Tamara Markowitz) that specializes in representing child actors. Since then, Josh has appeared in more than 100 commercials, TV shows, and films. Garnering a reputation for himself with the critics in 2005 in the role of Eddie Lowery in The Greatest Game Ever Played, a movie based on the true story of golf legend Francis Ouimet (played by Shia LaBeouf), Josh played Francis’s caddie, a role that propelled him to Hollywood child star status. Since then he has voiced characters in Air Buddies and Snow Buddies, as well as this summer’s hit, Horton Hears a Who! He also worked alongside Robin Williams in License to Wed, Emma Roberts in Nancy Drew, Martin Lawrence in  Big Momma’s House, and has been a recurring guest on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.” Most recently, he won the coveted title role of  Ace Ventura Jr.: Pet Detective, which will be released in 2009. Josh was also rated #16 of the Top 25 Kids in Hollywood, listed in the Hollywood Reporter this year. However, none of this fame has made this handsome young man the least bit jaded. He sat cross-legged on the floor of his living room, talking to Living In Marlboro, and occasionally being interrupted by the family’s two dogs, Richter the beagle and Lucy the bichon-poodle mix. He was not only humble, intelligent, and thoughtful, but also extremely likeable and humorous.
 
 
LIM: You were brilliant in The Greatest Game Ever Played. So, now that you have spent a lot of time out in Los Angeles (LA), which coast do you like better?
 
JF: Thank you. Well, obviously I love New Jersey way more because this is my home. Like now it’s summer…I just want to hang out here. I might go out to LA just for a week.
 
 
LIM: Do you have an apartment or house out there yet?
 
JF: No, because they (the movie studio) usually put us up in a hotel, or in a big apartment.
 
 
LIM: So, good news! I hear you were able to make it to your graduation from 8th grade this year!
 
JF: Yes, it’s funny you should say that, because this is actually the first year that I was here for the last day of school…wait, no I was here last year, but not for 6th grade or 5th grade or 4th. But this year it was fun, the last day and graduation and all.
 
 
LIM: Over the years I guess you’ve had to miss a lot of school?
 
JF: Yeah. I think on my report card this year it said I missed like over 40 something days! I was never out for like a movie, but there would be these 2-week periods where I would go out for re-shoots for a movie, or to do publicity for a movie, or go to a premiere or something.
 
 
LIM: You started doing commercials when you were 5 years old. Do you even remember shooting them?
 
JF: Some of it. Some of the commercials were really big. The first one that I ever did was for Delta Airlines. I am short, but I was really short when I was 5, so you know those stanchions? I was so short I could fit underneath it. So I was spinning around and making airplane noises and I don’t really even remember filming that at all, but I remember seeing the video of it. For a lot of the other commercials I did back then, I don’t remember the entire days, but I remember certain little parts; like I remember getting there and being excited, but I don’t remember filming it or anything. I did this Colgate commercial and we were all looking at the teacher and thinking that she was really hot, but we were saying things like, ”Look at those bicuspids” and “She has awesome molars” and stuff, and I remember sitting around with the other kids but I don’t remember filming it.
 
 
LIM: Which is your favorite commercial that you’ve done?
 
JF: The Toyota one. It won all kinds of awards. Kids were adults and adults were kids. So in it I was selling a minivan to another kid. The kid says, “Well, does it have any cup holders?” And I am like, “It has 14 cup holders! Three rows, eight seats! Do you have a sister?” He says, “Yeah.” and I say, “You won’t even know she’s there!” Then we are jumping on a trampoline and I’m explaining the car to him and telling him it has a 230 horsepower, V-8 engine, and he says, “What’s that?” And I say, “I have no clue!” Then we are lying in the backseats, making them go down, and we say, “Jinx, jinx – you owe me a soda.” Then the tag line is something like, “Toyota. Where kids can be adults and adults can be kids!” I think I was 8 or 9. It was the first time I flew out to California.
 
 
LIM: It sounds like you get cast in a lot of the funny spots.
 
JF: Oh yeah, a lot of them are funny.
 
 
LIM: Would you consider yourself to be a comedian…the class clown?
 
JF: Yes, you can ask any of my friends. I make sure I am maintaining my funniness. Every once in a while I will go up to my best friends, Jack or Justin, and ask them, “Am I still funny?” And they will be like, “Yeah, I guess so; you make me laugh…” So I’m like “Cool. Thanks.” It helps to be funny in this business.
 
 
LIM: It also helps being short for your age in this business. Are you okay with always playing younger than you really are?
 
JF: Yeah, I’ve always played younger than I really am, except now for Ace Ventura Jr.: Pet Detective, which is coming out soon. I actually played 13 and I was 13. Oh, and Greatest Game Ever Played was pretty on the money also because he was 10 and it was a true story. He was a caddie when he was 10 and I was 9 turning 10 in real life.
 
 
LIM: Did you get to meet the person you were portraying, Eddie Lowery?
 
JF: No, because I think he died in the 90’s. But I did get to meet his kids and that was pretty cool.
 
 
LIM: Do people treat you like a little kid on the sets?
 
JF: Nope. They pretty much treat me how I am and how I want to be treated. I like being treated not like an adult, but more like an adult than like a little kid; if I’m standing in the sun and they are holding an umbrella for me I’m like, “I can hold it myself if you want, if you have something else to do.”
 
 
LIM: So stardom hasn’t gone to your head…you aren’t egotistical?
 
JF: No, I can still hold my own umbrella and stuff.
 
 
LIM: Do kids at school ever treat you differently? Do they know what you do?
 
JF: Well, my best, best friends treat me like an everyday person. But, some of the 6th and 7th graders, when I was in the 8th grade (I know I’ve only been out of the 8th grade for 3 days now), they would be like, “Hey, you’re that kid in the movie.” So I say, “Hey, you’re that kid in the school!” I always confuse them.
 
 
LIM: Do they ever ask you for your autograph?
 
JF: Yes. It’s always at the worst time, too, like as we’re walking out to the buses. They’ll say, “Hey, can I have your autograph?” They don’t even have a pen or paper, and I’m about to get on my bus, so I say, “Can I give it to you tomorrow?” They don’t even realize that tomorrow is Saturday. By Monday they probably forget.
 
 
LIM: What about your teachers? Do they go and see your films? Are they proud of you?
 
JF: Oh, yeah they do. All my teachers went out and saw my last film, Horton Hears a Who! That was cool.
 
 
LIM: You start high school next year. Are you looking forward to it?
 
JF: I am looking forward to it, because my brother, Scott, is always telling me how fun it is and how good it is at Marlboro High School, and how much more freedom you have. He is going to be a junior.
 
 
LIM: So is he going to be looking out for you?
 
JF: I think he might book check me and try to push me into a locker a few times, but after that I hope he might look out for me. (Josh calls out) Right Scott? Great…no answer.
 
 
LIM: How about after high school. Have you thought at all about college?
 
JF: Yes! I want to go to NYU for directing, because, I want to be an actor/director.
 
 
LIM: Have you done any directing yet…made any student films?
 
JF: Well, a few months ago I got a Mac and it’s got a camera, and you can go to the Mac store and take classes and all. So I am going to do that.
 
 
LIM: You can put them on You Tube™. Do you go on You Tube™ at all?JF: Oh yeah, all the time.LIM: So what are you most recognized for?
 
JF: I hate saying this, but “Phil of The Future.” I was on one episode! I mean I’ve done movies like Nancy Drew [that] I don’t get recognized for. Sometimes [I’m recognized] for Licensed to Wed,  and every once in a while for Greatest Game,  but everyone recognizes me for “Phil of The Future.” They’re like, “Hey, you’re that kid …with the mustache!” I just did one episode (he rolls his eyes)! And everyone’s seen it.
 
 
LIM: Was there ever a job that got away? A roll that you really wanted but it went to someone else?
 
JF: Let me see… There was something. Charlie & The Chocolate Factory…the one with Johnny Depp…the part of Mike Teavee. It was down to me and a few other kids and then that kid (Jordan Fry) got it. They wanted him to be older and taller. I would have gotten to work with Johnny Depp!
 
 
LIM: Besides Johnny Depp, are there any other actors you would like to work with in the future?
 
JF: Well, actually, it’s a tie between Johnny Depp and Adam Sandler. I’ve worked with this guy Timmy – he’s a prop guy – and he is like the funniest guy I know, and he works on all of Adam Sandler’s films; they’re best friends. Tim talks to him about me, but the right role hasn’t come up yet.
 
 
LIM: Who is the funniest person you have worked with?
 
JF: I’m going to have to say Robin Williams. He is insane and amazing. You know how actors can be nice and all, but just say, “How ya doing? Bye,” and not mean it. Well, Robin Williams, he just sat with me and talked and hung out with me a bunch of times. I just thought that was the nicest thing anyone has ever done, because with famous actors like him you don’t expect it. He is really funny; he just doesn’t stop. I called him the comedic typewriter, because everything you do, he makes something funny out of it…he is hysterical.
 
 
LIM: What’s the funniest thing that ever happened to you on a set?
 
JF: Okay, so Shia LaBeouf…we were filming up in Montreal, and he is like, “Dude, you gotta go to the Biodôme. It’s the best. They don’t have any walls, so you go into the penguin part and it’s freezing, so bring your jacket, and extra pants. And then in the tropical forest you need shorts, so bring all this extra stuff…” So we do, and we look like idiots bringing in our down coats and stuff. Of course, they had walls and everything was a normal temperature. We got back and I say, “ Shia, why?” He was laughing so hard he fell off the golf cart he was sitting on. We were so mad, and my Mom added a few fancy words in there, if you know what I mean.
 
 
LIM: Did you ever get him back?
 
JF: No. Well, for my birthday, they had a celebration for me, and he and Bill Paxton, the director, picked up cake and smashed it in my face. I got to drive the golf cart, and I was chasing Shia and he was running and I threw a really big piece of cake in his face!
 
 
LIM: Sounds like you have a lot of fun on the sets, but does it ever get tough?
 
JF: If it’s a character I’m not really sure about getting into, if it’s a character that’s pretty different from who I am, that can be a little tough.
 
 
LIM: Give us an example of one character that was totally you and easy, and one character that was hard.
 
JF: One character that was totally me and easy has got to be Corky in Nancy Drew. That was me, but a little bit more flashy; he wore rings and necklaces and a leather jacket, but had my attitude. I’m laid back, with an easy kind of attitude; but then he was like a scaredy-cat like I am. I don’t like seeing scary movies. I don’t see scary movies. Probably the hardest character, even though it was really fun, was in License to Wed. He was this really mean, kind of religious, Catholic kid, and he’s in this Ministers of Tomorrow program; so I had to learn all this Catholic stuff that I didn’t know; I had to learn all that and get into that character, but it was still fun.
 
 
LIM: Are there any directors out there that you want to work with or work with again?
 
JF: Probably the team of Steven Spielberg and George Lucas.
 
 
LIM: They’re pretty big. Now that you have walked the red carpet and been to big parties and functions, who have you met that you were most excited about?
 
JF: Well, you are probably going to laugh, but of all the people I’ve gotten to meet, Adam Graves… he’s on the Rangers; well, he used to be on the NY Rangers. He’s not an actor or anything. But my favorite player ever, and I still haven’t met him, is Brian Leetch.
 
 
LIM: Any run-ins with the paparazzi?
 
JF: No, not yet…I wish. Last night I was watching TMZ and some celebrity said, “Get that camera out of my face.” I was thinking that if that was me, it would be fun. I would sit down and talk to them.
 
 
LIM: How do you feel about photo shoots and having your hair and makeup done?
 
JF: It’s not as bad as everyone says. Everyone is always ha ha…you have to wear makeup. But it’s not makeup like mascara and lipstick or anything. It’s movie makeup.
 
 
LIM: Do you enjoy the promotional activities attached to filmmaking?
 
JF: The promo stuff is fun; the red carpet stuff is fun. But there is this thing…I enjoy it, but you sit in the room with the press for 6 hours, and they all ask the same questions – ”What’s it like working with Shia LaBeouf?” Just once I’d like to joke and say, “Awful. I hate him!”
 
 
LIM: What’s harder to work with – animals or special effects like a green screen?
 
JF: Well, I can’t say it’s hard to work with animals because I love animals. But in Ace Ventura Jr.: Pet Detective I had to work with a lot of animals. I had to take a hedgehog out of my pocket and that really hurt! Special effects are actually fun. I don’t understand a lot of it when we are filming, but I ask a bunch of questions. On the last film [I worked on] I asked the director, David Evans, a ton of questions; he was the best. He told me to call him and ask him if I ever had any other questions about directing.
 
 
LIM: Have you ever wanted to quit?
 
JF: No. My mom wants me to quit sometimes. It can get tiring…but not really quit. The thing about me is that I always keep my head up. You can ask what Josh would do if he didn’t get a commercial? She’d tell you, “Nothing!” I have been doing this for as long as I can remember. Everything happens for a reason. I got a pilot for a show when I was 9 called “My Life With Men” and it didn’t get picked up. If it had, I might be still doing that now. I never would have done that Toyota commercial and gone to LA and gotten Greatest Game. Then Jerry Weintraub wouldn’t have called me and asked me to do Nancy Drew (they rewrote the part for me!). The best advice anyone ever gave me (I don’t remember who it was) was that everything happens for a reason; I really believe that.
 
 
LIM: If you had kids, would you let them be actors?
 
JF: Probably not. You really need to have the drive to do it. You have to know that you can’t be with your family at all times. For the last four-month period I worked I missed my dogs, I missed my Dad, I missed my brother…it was bad. I wanted to see them. I might let my kids act once they were older.
 
 
LIM: Any hobbies?
 
JF: Roller hockey and video games – Halo 3!
 
 
LIM: Have you lent your time and name to any charities yet?
 
JF: Yes…North Shore Animal League America. I am really into helping them because I love my dogs, I love animals, and I think animal abuse is horrible! How can people hurt or abandon animals? I just did a big event for them at F.A.O. Schwartz, and I was really happy because the little puppy I was holding got adopted by a family. I also do stuff for Bideawee® (another pet adoption program). I just did a PSA for them.
 
 
LIM: I think that‘s very admirable at your age.
 
JF: Thank you. Besides animals, I am involved with the Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation, and I want to get involved in autism awareness here in Monmouth County.
 
 
LIM: Josh, you are really a terrific young man!

 
JF: Thank you very much.  

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