#he couldn’t let his entire world revolve around hockey because he’s just simply not as good at it

[ill-skillsgard]

The Mirror - Bill Skarsgård

Title: The Mirror

Warning: Smut, Swearing, Pseudo-incest (not actual incest but you’ll see)

A/N: This is a re-post of the very first Bill fic that I ever wrote. It was originally titled “Face the Mirror” but I decided to change it a little. Enjoy!

The sun was beating down hard that day. We took solace underneath umbrellas, sipping icy cocktails and wrapping our bodies in soft cotton towels of lilac, pink, orange, and cyan. The water shimmered like an endless mirror, a portal for us to enjoy our summer within. The sounds of splashing, the chirping of birds and the smell of cut grass only added to the comforting world of familiarity.

I had spent my childhood by the pool and by the beach at my parents’ estate. Our family traditions always revolved around pool parties, trips to tropical destinations with clear water, blue sky and warm sun.

Blessed I was as a kid to have wealthy parents. They were both well known in the film industry. My father had started his career in animation as a young man. To this day he had framed cells of hand-drawn pieces from many popular animated movies he had worked on. My mother had started off as a voice actor, and that was how they first met. The two married young and the joining of their talents forged a powerful bond. My mother progressed into acting on-screen and my father took up directing. Over two decades, they had six children, and I was smack-dab in the middle of all of it; a product of happiness and money.

Because of family history, most of my siblings became actors by the encouragement of our parents. The only two kids that didn’t pursue a professional career in acting were my youngest sister and me. She was too young to know what she wanted and I simply had no interest in being in front of cameras. My mother had pushed me to try modelling and when I didn’t take to that she tried to put me in ballet. That I also wasn’t a fan of.

The pressures to become a star never ended even after I turned eighteen and could legally make all my own decisions. I saw how stressful all the travelling and line-memorization and auditioning and how people slammed you as a person, online and in tabloids. It wasn’t a life I wished upon myself. I had born witness to many emotional breakdowns from my older siblings. All the rejection and judgment… I just didn’t want to be part of it.

Naturally, being related to actors garnered attention for me whether I liked it or not. It was alright though. It was easy for me to snub interviews and deny offers because I had the means to. I had my parents to thank for that. All I really had going on was school and my many family gatherings.

Truth be told, I liked to write and often did so in private. It was a secret pleasure of mine that I hadn’t shared much with my parents because I knew if I did tell them, they would jump down my throat about it and smother me with their encouragement. I knew they would want to get too involved and before I knew it, it would come down to what I could produce for their approval. I liked having the freedom and nobody to preside over me with scrutiny and loving suggestions.

No, I enjoyed my private life behind closed doors. The only time I ever got thrust into the limelight was premiere events and lavish industry parties. My family had lots of famous friends so there was never a shortage of parties to attend. Parties I could do but premieres were something I dreaded almost to the point of hoping and praying I wouldn’t be obligated to attend every single one. Too many flashing lights, too many voices calling for your attention. That’s why I preferred to be surrounded by movie stars in the comfort of my family home. The only cameras going off were the ones on our cell phones and nobody was screaming in your face or picking apart your outfit.

Today we were hosting a birthday party for my oldest brother. Everyone that our family was friends with got an invitation to come, including all of the members of another acting family that we had been close with for a long time; The Skarsgards.

My parents had been great friends with the Skarsgards since before I was born. They were so close that we had even vacationed in Sweden and stayed with them on numerous occasions. I remembered play dates and family outings with them. We even put them up whenever they were in Canada. They were almost all actors too, like our family.

I was closest in age to their son, Bill. Whenever his family had work close to us, my parents offered to put up a couple of the brothers in our home. They were all thin as rails, pale, light of eye and polite. We used to play hide and seek all around the estate. Our games would run for hours and the housekeepers dreaded whenever we got to play. If you put us all in a room together you got a tornado of endless energy and more than likely, a broken object.

That was what my life was like. Non-stop entertainment. Always playing, enjoying, watching, celebrating. It was a good life to have. I must have been thirteen the last time the Skarsgards had come to stay over. At that point though we were too old to play make-believe or chase each other around the courtyard with hockey sticks and tennis rackets. Instead, we put on scary movies and gorged on snacks in the family room while our parents were out doing the actor thing. Gossiping and poking fun at each other in that awkward stage of puberty was the new activity.

Bill had had a couple of roles in some Swedish films by that time and started to carry himself more like a grown-up instead of the gangling, playful boy I used to hang out with. I never thought much of it though since I was pretty mature for my age too. He had definitely quieted down though which was unusual since I had all sorts of memories of us and our brothers and sisters running around screaming, playing with toys and pushing each other down the staircases on snowboards.

In the darkened family room the younger kids laid on the floor buried in blankets and surrounded by bowls of popcorn. I sat on one of the sofas, my younger sister beside me. She had been writhing during the opening credits with anticipation of having the shit scared out of her.

“Oh my God, it’s going to be so scary!” She squealed.

“Yeah and if you have nightmares you better not tell mom that I let you watch this movie,” I warned her.

“Relax,” Bill said from his spot on the love-seat adjacent to us. “This one’s not even that bad. My brothers let me watch movies way scarier than this.”

My sister looked at me, all excited as befitting a ten-year-old girl. “Don’t worry,” I assured her.

So there we sat, all bundled up in our blankets, watching scary movies and generally behaving well. Partway through the movie Bill got up and I watched him leave the room for whatever reason. I focused my attention back on the movie though. I was at that age where boys became very intriguing to me.

I couldn’t pretend to not notice that Bill was getting really tall. He had been acting sort of distant than I remembered him and I tried not to take it to heart. Maybe he was starting to get that stupid actor ego and thought he was too cool to be hanging out with a bunch of kids. I knew some of my older siblings had big heads on their shoulders and sometimes the snobbishness really showed through. But Bill’s family were always so nice and didn’t really act all stuck-up like some of the other actors I had met. It was hard to picture Bill as a snooty actor-type, having known him for my entire life.

My sister grabbed onto my hand at a particularly gruesome part of the movie. The surround sound pumped out the dissonant soundtrack of the movie. Piano keys tinkled eerily as the protagonist turned the corner, axe poised to strike at some freakish entity that was sure to pop out any second. Violin strings pulled and all of us watched on, eyes wide and mouths open.

Suddenly as soon as the pop-up scare happened, a blood-curdling scream erupted from behind us and a huge hand grabbed my shoulder and shook me. This caused me and my sister to scream, setting off a chain reaction with the others on the floor.

“Oh my God, Bill!” I yelled at him as he keeled over laughing.

“You guys were so scared!” He howled, lips pulled into an infectious smile.

The laughter continued and I couldn’t help but crack a smirk at the young Swedish boy laughing at us all. I launched a throw pillow at him playfully. Maybe he wasn’t “too cool” for us after all.

That was so, so long ago. Now we were almost all grown up and off doing our own things. We still had our family get-togethers on holidays. Even birthdays were missed now since we were all spread out across the country pursuing our own respective interests. Today was an exception though. My brother had landed a really big role in a major budget film and it was also his 30th birthday so we were throwing a “Dirty Thirty” themed birthday party for him. Whatever that meant. To me, it meant I got to lounge around in my parents’ huge house getting drunk and catching up with people I hadn’t seen in a long time.

“J, sweetheart. Say hello to the Skarsgards!” My mother exclaimed.

I had had my nose buried in a book as I laid on a beach chair underneath an oil-paper umbrella but when I heard the Skarsgards had arrived I soon dropped everything, wrapped my body with a purple sarong and stood up to greet them.

It had been a very long time since I saw my “Swedish parents” and we exchanged hugs and stories of good news and memories.

I couldn’t help but notice that Bill hadn’t come in with them. I wondered if he would come. Last I’d heard Bill was doing really well with his acting career and made it onto a bunch of American talk-shows and was being photographed for lots of magazines. Typically, I wasn’t one to keep up but it was hard to ignore when my parents seemed to always mention people they knew who were doing well in the industry.

As the conversation carried on and more guests arrived I started to give up on the thought that he would come. He was probably very busy and couldn’t be bothered attending a random birthday party for a person he most likely didn’t talk to very much. It was alright… That sort of thing happened a lot with large families of busy people, yet I caught myself watching the door more than a couple times.

Eventually, I made it back to my comfy spot on the beach chair with my book and a fresh glass of homemade red wine sangria. I greeted people as they came and went, returning remarks and laughs between pages.

“Are you going to read this whole time or are you going to get up and be a good host?” A familiar voice asked me.

I looked up over my sunglasses and saw Bill standing in front of me, obscuring my view of the pool. He had a drink in his hand, a smile on his face, an expensive watch on his wrist and an even more expensive outfit on. He wore fitted pants with long pleats in the front that made his already long legs look even longer. Underneath a matching sport jacket, he had on a dressy button-up shirt that wasn't fastened all the way up at all. His sharp collarbone stayed exposed, pale, broad, and jutting out into some of the most capacious shoulders I had ever seen. He must have shot up another two feet in height since we last saw each other.

“Wow, Bill,” I said, unabashed that I was making it obvious how impressed I was with his look.

His face had changed. Not in a bad way at all. He still had those big pillowy lips, the pointed nose, and the most indescribably light green eyes. His hair was slicked back stylishly and he had a pair of designer sunglasses hooked into the pocket of his jacket. I left my book on the table beside me to stand up. I didn’t bother covering up this time because I wanted him to see how I had grown up too. His smile made his lips all but disappear as I approached him for a hug. He opened his long arms and I hooked my arms underneath them.

“It’s so good to see you.” I sighed into the material of his jacket. He smelled wonderful. I was only tall enough for my head to rest on his broad chest.

Bill held me out at his arm’s length and continued to bestow that innocent, boyish smile upon me. “It’s good to see you too. It’s been far too long.”

“Well… We can’t all be movie stars.”

Bill laughed and brought me in for another brief hug. “Oh shut it. Let’s not talk about work all night long. I know that’s all our parents ever want to talk about. Let me escape for a while, will you?”

Once our embrace ended, I stepped back to drink him in some more. It was difficult not to stare too long and too hard. After all, my childhood friend was standing before me, no longer the awkwardly skinny boy I knew before but a man who had more than inherited his family’s trademark good looks.

“You look so different. I can’t believe how goddamn tall you are.” I declared.

“Yeah…” Bill agreed, looking around at all the party guests and then settling his gaze back to me. “Before you ask, yes, the weather is great up here and you haven’t grown an inch, so who’s the real freak?”

“Oh, Bill! Come here darling! Oh and J, you too sweetheart!” My mother called to us from the shaded terrace where she was standing with a mixture of Skarsgards and my family members.

They summoned us all to take a picture together since it had been so long. It reminded me of a ski trip we had taken together in Switzerland when our parents forced us all to take family-portrait style pictures the whole week. Only now we weren’t all gawky kids with braces, acne and matching turtleneck sweaters. We stood in a group, limbs hanging off each other, smiles plastered on our faces for the camera. Bill stood next to me, arm over my shoulders. The warmth of his body was enough to make me shudder. And if that wasn’t enough, after a few moments his hand floated from my shoulder to my back. His fingers gently trickled down the base of my spine. I straightened, uncertain how I should feel about Bill touching me in such a non-fraternal way. His thumb travelled around so he could lay his palm flat on my hip.

He seemed to be just as friendly with everyone else during the party. Everyone wanted to talk to him and congratulate him on the success he had found breaking into American film. His presence was warm and everyone’s eyes sparkled when they spoke to him.

To me, all the movie-talk sounded pretentious but he was suave and so grounded that when he spoke about his experiences it didn’t at all sound like the hollow ramblings of a well-paid actor. Usually, I’d roll my eyes whenever my brothers and sisters talked about how their next roles were going to be a turning point in their careers or how a meeting had gone down with a big-time director. To me, it had no meaning at all but when he spoke, the whole room listened, as did I.

We had transitioned from the poolside to inside the house once the sun started to set. Inside there was more champagne to be drank and platters of fresh fruit to be picked at. We also had a custom cake made for my brother who had politely declined to make a speech about turning thirty. Instead, my father decided to pipe up and congratulate his eldest son on three decades of life. We all stood around with our flutes fizzing, cheeks blushed with inebriation and ears perked as my father spoke of how all of his success in his lifetime paled in comparison to how proud he was of his clan. I smiled wholeheartedly when he raised a glass to his children- all of his children.

“And yes that includes my beautiful non-actor children. It has always been you to knock us down from our high-horses.”

We all had a round of cheers for my brother and for family. The music was turned back up and everyone was encouraged to keep on drinking.

I had done a good job of pacing myself, that was until I saw Bill exiting the kitchen onto the terrace wearing swim shorts. He was unaccompanied. I approached the window so I could see what he was up to. I watched as he circled the pool, took one last sip of his drink before setting it down on the deck and standing up straight. Like a cat he readied himself to dive into the pool. It brought back so many memories to see him in our pool again. I almost felt like I had regressed in age and was but a little girl and not as jaded about actors and giant bank accounts. The nostalgia warmed me, or it could have been the alcohol.

I decided to take a shot of tequila to loosen up a little bit more before leaving the house to join him in the backyard. I wasn’t sure if he wanted company at all but I took the liberty anyway. Bill was doing laps as I came out and didn’t notice me until I was standing at the edge of the pool.

“Are you going to come swimming?” He asked me.

“No, I’ve had enough for today. There’s only so much chlorine my skin can handle.” I admitted.

“That’s alright,” He said, strained as he lifted himself out of the pool. “I was just about finished anyway.”

Water fell down his body and dripped onto the concrete deck. By contrast to his milky white skin, his lips looked so blushed like he had been sucking on a lollipop. I never noticed until that moment how gorgeously luscious I found his mouth and how cute it was when he smiled. My Swedish god-brother had become more attractive than I wanted to believe. Alas, there he was, standing in front of me, a glistening vision of wet Scandinavian perfection.

“Okay if I use your shower?” He asked me, eyes trailing up and down on me.

“Of course. You know where everything is, Bill. You don’t have to ask.”

He smiled again at me and I could felt a heaviness in my feet and my heart skipped a beat. “Thanks, sis.”

When he moved by me my smile disappeared. Thanks, sis.

It was foolish of me to think of him as anything but what he was- practically a brother. Our parents were as close as siblings themselves. Why was I thinking about Bill like that? Suddenly, I was ashamed that I had been lusting after him all day long. It was weird. The alcohol in my system was not enough to make me forget that this man was almost related to me.

I lingered in the backyard for a few short moments, inhaling the breezy air and for the first time in my life wondering if I should have listened to my parents all those years ago and pursued the family trade. Shaking my head, I snapped out of my light trance and asserted myself mentally; no, I was good enough as I was. I didn’t have to prove myself to anybody, especially not my own family and close friends.

I went back inside and found myself yawning every few minutes. The day-drinking was starting to catch up with me and I figured it was time to get out of my bathing suit and sarong and into something more evening-friendly. Most of the men had left to shoot pool in the basement, leaving the women and girls to talk and giggle amongst themselves over their glasses of vintage wines.

I started up the stairs to my old room that my parents still insisted on keeping up on. I had a wardrobe full of clothes that I could change into. I closed the door as I entered the room and smiled at all of the things that had once and still belonged to me. My king-sized captain’s bed, my high white wardrobe that had been built into a walk-in closet. My desk, still laden with books that I’d read in high school. All of the informality was not enough to rip my thoughts away from Bill though.

From my wardrobe, I chose a simple black sundress,  gathered some undergarments and was about to head into the en-suite bathroom before I heard a clearing of a throat behind me. I turned around and there he stood with a towel wrapped around his waist.

“Hey, did you have a nice shower?” I asked.

Bill smiled, stepped into the room and closed the bedroom door behind him. “I haven’t showered yet.”

I giggled nervously. “I was just about to take one.”

His hand held the towel in place and I could only wonder whether he was naked beneath it. God if he would just stop looking at me like that perhaps I could think of something else besides how attractive had become.

“J… Do you remember taking baths together as kids?”

I blushed profusely and clutched my change of outfit to my bare abdomen. The air was starting to lick at my exposed skin and I could feel the goosebumps all over my body.

“Yeah… I remember. Why?”

Bill came even closer to me. “Do you ever think it sucks that our parents tried to raise us all as one big family?”

“No… Never. I mean… no. Why would that suck? I love your family.”

“Yeah, I know but… Do you think it would be weird if I said I’ve really wanted to see you?”

“It’s not weird, Bill.”

“Well…” He inched closer to me. “What if I said I want to fuck?”

The explosion of surprise and instant arousal I felt from his revelation was enough to make me tighten in the chest. “W-what?”

“Well?”

I grasped at any words I could find to answer him but I kept coming up short. He could tell I was having a major inner struggle so he approached me, walked me back into the bathroom, shut and locked the door behind us and then towered over me with lust darkening in his eyes. He looked positively evil staring down at me with his murky eyes burning.

“Is it weird?” He repeated the question.

“No, it’s not weird… Well… I mean it kind of is but.. fuck it.” I said and dropped my clothes on the ground beside me.

Then we kissed and it was unlike anything I had ever experienced before. It felt wrong to touch him, wrong to let our tongues touch and our lips to move together. The sensation of his mouth on my skin was simply too much after an evening of watching him talking and smiling. He wrapped his arms around me and lifted me up onto the bathroom counter, forced my thighs apart and came in close. Quickly, he untied my bikini top from behind and pulled it off of me so he could stare at my breasts.

“Goddamn it, you got so fucking sexy.” He said as his large hands cupped my breasts and squeezed, thumbs running over my nipples.

He dove in, hands still on my chest, lips connecting with my neck but I shied away from the tickling sensation, causing him to pull back as well.

“What?” He asked.

“Nothing,” I giggled. “Just tickles.”

He bit down on his bottom lip. “Oh, I’ll fucking tickle you, alright.”

His skin was so soft and there was so much of it to feel. I felt tiny against his torso yet so emboldened by what was happening that I couldn’t think straight. Soon his hands were trailing down my spine, over my hips to the front of my bikini bottoms. Without untying them at all he brushed his thumb over my crotch and when I purred with pleasure, he did it again.

“You like that?” It was more of an encouragement than a question. I nodded my head and he continued stroking my pussy over my bathing suit bottoms.

Before it became too much, he lifted me off the counter and turned me around so that we were both facing the mirror. He smirked at our reflections for a moment but didn’t let it distract from what was happening. He pressed his groin into my back as he gave me a few more strokes and then pulled the strings of my bikini, letting them fall down my legs so that I was completely naked.

He lifted my right leg and made me raise it high enough to rest on the counter so that my other leg was my only support. Pulling back, he took in the image of me exposed to him and sucked air through his clenched teeth. “Fuck.” He whispered before dropping to his knees behind me.

I could feel my own wetness from the anticipation of what he was about to do. I twisted around to see this gorgeous man on his knees in front of my ass just getting ready to have at me like a hungry animal but not before giving me a couple swift little spanks.

“Bad girl.” He growled lowly. “Bad, bad girl.”

Bill had a little more fun groping me and squeezing my ass, getting me ready before he let his tongue draw a hot, tantalizing trail up my left ass cheek. I had to steady myself when his mouth finally connected with my clit,  however brief it was before he pulled another salacious strip of saliva up from my opening and all the way to the base of my spine.

My eyes rolled into the back of my head as I watched him eat me out from behind. His tongue made delicious lapping noises as he kissed and sucked on all of my parts, never neglecting to rub my clit to keep me going. It was too damn much sensation all at once and every time I looked back to watch him, the entire image was just too exquisite. Bill’s gorgeous face was buried in my backside and I couldn’t help but feel like I was falling a little in love with it.

It didn’t take long for me to reach the edge of an orgasm. I couldn’t remember a time in my life where any man had brought me so close, so fast. But before it went too far, Bill pulled away and stood up with the towel still somehow wrapped around his hips. Although, it was quite evident that he was hard from all the playing.

“Turn.” He whirled a long finger. “Turn, face the mirror.”

I obeyed as I heard his towel drop to the floor tiles. I had to look back though, I wanted to see and what I saw was not disappointing.

“Oh my God,” I whispered.

His eyes met mine after I had a long enough look at his hard cock. It was so, so long, like the rest of him. Symmetrical and picture-perfect. Even the pulsing veins in his shaft looked appealing.

“Face the mirror.” He repeated himself.

After I turned away again, I could only watch in the reflection. With his eyebrows coming together in concentration, he readied himself to enter me and as soon as I felt the head of his cock prodding me open I swear I had never been wetter. Every inch forced in slowly and I watched his expression release into one of sexual immersion to pure, raw bliss. His eyebrows curled up and his eyes closed for a moment, no doubt revelling in the sensation of dipping into me from behind.

It felt so full and warm and when he pulled back out we sighed in unison. Our differing heights made it a little awkward to get our footing but we quickly settled into each other and after a few long draws in and out, Bill finally relaxed his shoulders and stood back up, matching my stare in the mirror.

“Such a tight little pussy.” He whispered in my ear as he rammed himself in harder, causing my whole body to lurch forward.

He gave me another spank and picked up the pace, pulling in and out and in and out, causing me to moan. I cracked a smile as we stared each other down in the mirror. We writhed as he started fucking me harder. My knee started knocking on the wood of the bathroom vanity and I was almost afraid that we may have been making too much noise. I twisted my neck around to attach our lips again and I couldn’t care at all.

A few times he pushed in too far and the striking painful pleasure of his cock hitting my cervix made me gasp. His right hand gripped my throat with purpose but not violence and then he forced his long index finger into my mouth. I took it down to the second knuckle, swirling my tongue around it obediently.

“Bad, bad girl.” He kept whispering in my ear, glaring at me in the mirror.

It was like looking into another dimension; a place that did not and could not exist. Bill had always been there, but not like this. He wasn’t this beautiful man shoving his cock inside of me. He would never whisper to me how bad I was and how good it felt to fuck my pussy and how long he had been vying to make me squirm. In another dimension, he had been almost my brother. He was my friend. He was a little boy that wanted to play.

He popped his finger out of my mouth and slid it down my stomach back to my clit to rub little circles over it.

“I want you to come for me.” He told me, voice deep and shaded so only I could hear.

When I didn’t answer he thrust into me harder. “Did you hear me?”

“Yes. Fuck yes, I’ll come for you.” I promised.

He dropped his head on my shoulder, using me as support for his endless thrusting. In the mirror I saw his damp, dark hair hanging around his temples, his eyes closed, his hands holding onto my shoulders, hips, breasts, and neck, never picking a spot to stay.

He looked up at me, eyes bleary and lips hanging open. He brought his chin to my ear and whispered, “I’m going to come inside of you.”

We rocked together, pace slowing. The moment he reached his hand down to rub my pussy again I was twitching from the pleasure. His fingers caressed me over and over and the more he circled my clit the closer I got to orgasming.

I tightened as the edge of a fantastically orchestrated climax ripped through my body, starting at my center and working its way through the rest of me, down my spasming legs, up to my arching spine and through to my fingertips that were clawing up from the marble counter-top.

“Yes,” he drawled. “Fuck yes.”

It was scary for a moment as his pumping turned desultory and he lost control, letting himself succumb to the pleasure. His hardness was numbing and then suddenly he shuddered, releasing inside of me, as promised.

He staggered back, hand around the hilt of his still hard cock. A string of cum fell from the swollen tip onto the bathroom floor, the last of it. The rest was already starting to leak down my inner thighs.

“Shit.” He gasped.

I brought my leg down off the counter, wincing as my stiffened muscles tried to relax. As soon as I stood up straight with both feet on the ground I felt the smooth creaminess of his cum still lingering between my legs

It took him a moment to come down from his high. Even I was having a hard time coming to terms with what had just happened.

“Bill… Jesus.” I said, exasperated.

“I really hope that this doesn’t… complicate things between us and our families.”

A laugh burst forth from my mouth. “Oh my God, I think that this is probably the most complicating thing we could have possibly done.”

He laughed too. “I’m sorry for just, you know, going at you like that. I really wanted that to go differently.”

“What do you mean?”

“For one,” he began. “I wanted to at least ask you to come out with me sometime. But when I saw you going into your room I just…”

“You just what?” I urged him to continue.

He shook his head with a smile. “I don’t know… I really don’t. Seeing you today has just made me feel different.”

“I feel different too.”

A silence fell over us for a moment before he broke it.

“Listen, I'll be going into hiding for a bit. I’ve got this role- now don’t say anything because I know you don’t care-”

“It’s not that I don’t care.”

“Okay good. I just wanted to tell you because I’m not going to be around and all contact with the family will be minimal, but once I’m done, I want to come back to see you, alright?”

“Okay.”

“And it won't be weird?” He asked.

“Well… That I can’t guarantee, but… yeah. That all sounds good.”

“Now, if you will excuse me, madame, I think you and I have been missing for long enough and I still haven’t had my shower.”

With that, Bill leaned forward to press a satisfying kiss to my forehead and sent me on my way out of the bathroom with a smack on the ass.

[mfmagazine]

Ross Thomas

Article by Lauren Weigle

Photo by Josh Madson

He’s a lover of travel, sports, and the great outdoors.  Above all else, though, is family… with love following shortly behind.  But, if you’re looking for some juicy details in that area, you may be a little disappointed.  This strapping young actor doesn’t kiss and tell.  What he does do, however, is entertain! Whether he’s tearing up the floor for the Wayans Brothers, getting you to laugh out loud in the movie theater, making you drool on General Hospital, or capturing your attention in his more serious roles, one thing is for sure; he’s having a great time.  And why shouldn’t he?  Good-looking, smart, talented, energetic, with a good head on his shoulders… make sense.

You were in the movie Dance Flick… What was it like working with the legendary Wayans brothers?

The Wayans brothers are comedic icons. I grew up watching In Living Color, so I've been a big fan of their work for quite some time. When I was a kid, my mom would say, "Ross, time to turn that off and do your homework," and I would respond, "yo, homie don't play that!" Of course that didn't fly so well with El Jefe.  When I got the call from my agent about "Dance Flick" I thought, "yes! This is my Jim Carey moment...I have to show these guys I can hang with their comedy". I made it past the first couple auditions, all the way to the final test, which would be in front of the entire Wayans family at Paramount. I was amped to get in there and do my thing, but also a bit terrified to bomb in front of such prolific comedians.

I can only imagine.  So, how did you overcome your fear?

I decided to let it rain and just go as far with the material as I could. They surprised me in the room and told me I would have to B-boy dance to some old school track. So I threw some Michael Jackson spins with a bit of pop n' lock and proceeded to slide down the table that they were all sitting at. Needless to say, they were in hysterics. That was a surreal moment...making the legendary Wayans laugh! I've never laughed so hard making a movie! Every day we came to set was like going to a dance party and cracking jokes. The Wayans are all about family and loyalty, so the whole production had a very familial feeling to it. The director, Damien Wayans, would let us improv as much as we wanted and if it was funny, he'd keep it in. It was a very liberating experience working with these guys...they realize that comedy happens in the moment and a lot it of you can't plan or write for.

I guess you wouldn’t really call it work then.  Was it just one big blooper reel?

We laughed all day long on this movie. I found myself not wanting to go home at the end of the day because we were having too much fun. During our lunch breaks, rather than sit in our trailers, we'd go out into the parking lot and blast the music and have giant dance battles. We had some of the best dancers in the world working on this movie, so we got to watch them battle it out and cut rugs every day. Each one of them had different styles and techniques...it was like seeing the movie Wild Style up close! It was definitely a unique experience being a part of a film where I was also getting the chance to see the inner circle and culture of the professional dance scene.

Well, you've won numerous festival awards.  Can you tell me about some of the projects behind the awards?

I've been fortunate to have worked on some really extraordinary independent films. I enjoy working on these types of projects because I feel there is often more room to push the boundaries and take risks. Independent film is usually harder to get financed and made because it generally doesn't fit the Hollywood model for big monetary return. That being said, the filmmakers and

actors involved don't have giant studios and executives dictating their every move, so there is freedom to push the envelope with the art. I played a deaf man trying to start his own business while facing the obstacles that presents with his handicap, in the movie What's Bugging Seth?. I've worked with acclaimed indie directors Jonah Markowitz on Shelter and Christopher Landon on Burning Palms… just to name a few.

When you were in the sequel to 1992's The Cutting Edge, I hear you did your own stunts?

In my work, I try to do as much of my own stunts as the director will let me do. For The Cutting Edge: Going for the Gold, I had already known how to rollerblade on half-pipes and I could hold my own on ice skates. When I was eleven years old, my mom finally caved in and allowed me to get a half-pipe built in my backyard. I learned how to skateboard, BMX, and rollerblade on

the half-pipe and soon my house became the after school "go to spot" for all the neighborhood kids. I'm sure at the time, my mom was worried I was going to break my neck on the thing, but all these years later I was able to say, "See, Mom! The half-pipe paid off...I was able to do a lot of my own stunts in the movie!" Of course there are always going to be certain tricks that are just too risky for the lead actor to attempt and, for that, we have really amazing stunt guys who are the best in the biz at what they do. One of the challenges that CE2 presented was learning to be graceful on ice skates. Sure I could hockey skate, but the role called for me to go from progressive street skater to finessed ice figure skater. To train for that, Christy Romano and I had a really great coach that worked with us on ice to prepare for the movie. We weren't doing our own Triple Sow Cow Lutz's, but we did quite a bit. The director, Sean McNamara, and I have gone on to work on many other projects together, Soul Surfer being one of them. Sean always knows that I am game to take on any challenge and rock my own stunts!

Even with all the training involved, were there any major injuries?

There was a pretty substantial amount of training involved in preparing for this film. A lot of it, though, we learned on the fly with the help of the fantastic real life figure skaters that worked on film. The only injuries I suffered were a few bumps and bruises here and there, and a consistent black and blue arse.

Okay, let's talk about your steady gig on Beyond The Break. Give me a little run-down of the show.

Beyond the Break was a television series shot on the West Coast of O'ahu in Hawaii. The series revolved around the world of the competitive surfing and the drama that comes with that territory. I played Bailey Reese, who is the equivalent of a Kelly Slater type professional surfer. Bailey's life was fueled by his strong passion for women and waves.

Was it fun working on the show since you're already into surfing "outside the office"?

Working on a show like this was a blast. We got to go to work on the beach and surf all day...not too shabby. Since I loved to surf already, being able to pay my bills doing so was pretty epic. Not to mention, we worked with some of the best world class surfers and watermen in the game. I also took part in once in a lifetime opportunities while I was there, like paddling out with Brian Keaulana and other pro surfers into Waimea Bay; plus being a part of the circle in commemoration of the infamous Eddie Aikau.

What else do you like to do outside of acting?

I love to be active in the outdoors. I am an extreme sports adrenaline junkie, so whether it's a wave, glacier, or motorcycle...I'm on it! I also love traveling to remote regions and spending time with indigenous people. Some of the most influential teachers in my life have been from tribal communities and I take every opportunity I have to learn from their supreme wisdom. As a result, I have also become a strong advocate for the protection of indigenous rights and territories. I spend a lot of my free time campaigning against various forms of globalization on the rainforest and its inhabitants. Last year, I made a short documentary film called Extraction: The Plundering of the Amarakaeri Reserve, which provides first-hand accounts from the indigenous Harakmbut tribe, living in the shadow of seismic exploration on their land deep in the heart of the Peruvian rain forest. I also enjoy reading non-fiction adventure books, writing, playing music and spending time with my family.

Do you get enough time to focus on your personal life to do all these things?

I am one of those people who goes nonstop around the clock. It's a blessing and a curse. Being this way has helped me accomplish many goals and helped propel my career. But at the same time, I always have to remind myself that I need to take time and meditate and be still. I think in order to be clear and centered, we owe it to ourselves and to spirit to quiet the mind and

simply be. This is not something that comes easy for me, but something I constantly work on.

So, tell me about how you got onboard with General Hospital.

My manager, Allan Grifka, had received a call from General Hospital casting director, Mark Teschner about a role he thought I might like to do. Mark and I almost worked together the summer before on a film he was casting, but I was already involved in another project that filmed at the same time, so I couldn't do it. Mark kept me in mind down the line and sure enough, thought of me for the role of Brandon on GH. It was a character I'd get to really sink my teeth into and play with. Brandon is a bad guy and really a disgusting person, so getting outside myself and tapping into that was a challenge I was intrigued by. I was offered the part and two weeks later I was on set wreaking havoc on Port Charles.

How does working on a Soap Opera differ from acting on regular television series'?

I have a lot of respect for Soap Opera actors. These people have to learn incredible amounts of material and in an extremely small amount of time. Often times, you are literally getting pages upon pages the night before you shoot. It takes discipline and technique to thrive in this genre of work. For me, it was a real learning experience and one that forced me to be on my game. You have to be on point because nine out of ten times you are only getting one take. I am used to working in film where you spend the entire day working on five pages and perfecting the scene to the best it can be. In the Soap Opera world you can literally be shooting over a hundred pages a day. It's intense, but exciting and a lot fun.

Let's switch over to film again.  How about some of your most recent projects?  Let’s go back to Soul Surfer.

I am very proud to be a part of the film Soul Surfer. Soul Surfer is the inspirational story of surfer Bethany Hamilton, who lost her arm to a Tiger Shark attack when she was just thirteen years old. SS portrays the heroic and courageous comeback of Bethany as she perseveres above all the odds to get back on the board and once again do what she loves so passionately. I play her older brother Noah, who is an important part of Bethany's life and story. Noah has been a strong proponent of Bethany's talent for surfing and her quest to become a professional in the sport, since they were little kids. Rather than focus on his own surfing, Noah generously and selflessly helps propel and support Bethany to stardom. He is also her personal photographer and helps manage her career. When Bethany loses her arm, Noah's world, along with the whole Hamilton family's, feels as though it is crashing down. However, with Bethany's unbelievably positive and optimistic attitude, she has an infectious charm on the whole family and they are able to bond together and ultimately use what happened to her to spread the message of hope, faith, courage, and determination to people all over the world.

So, preparing for anything right now or just laying a little low?

I am preparing for a new role in a movie I am starting at the end of this month. Unfortunately, I cannot disclose details at this point, but there is exciting stuff on the horizon!