Hypable speaks exclusively to Maxwell Glick about his role on Game of Thrones parody series School of Thrones, the end of The Lizzie Bennet Diaries and more.

School of Thrones and The Lizzie Bennet Diaries are almost over, so what better time to sit down with one of the actors of both popular series, Maxwell Glick. Glick plays Stannis in School of Thrones and Mr. Collins in The Lizzie Bennet Diaries, making two characters far more likable than their original portrayals.

Hypable’s interview with Maxwell Glick:

Hypable: How does it feel to be a part of the success of the The Lizzie Bennet Diaries? Were you expecting it when you first joined the cast?

Maxwell Glick: Yes it’s amazing to be part of something like this where the fandom is so incredible. I guess going into it, I had been watching it so I knew that there was a big following already. I keep up with everything that goes on the web as I sort of got my acting start there. I knew that this was big. I don’t think I realized how big it actually was though until I got on it and I started seeing my first episode and the amount of people who were contacting me, the reaction on Tumblr, and the GIFs being made. In short, yes, I knew it was big but when I got on it, it was huge.

Mr. Collins was not a fan favorite in the Jane Austen book; however, your rendition of him seems to be very popular with the fans. Why do you think that is?

It was a fear of mine when I auditioned for Mr. Collins as I had read the book and I had seen a couple of the movies. He’s not really portrayed as a likable guy and he’s often one dimensional. When I did the audition I thought that there has to be something about him that is likable. He’s a person. He has feelings. He’s not this awful person.

I guess the way I felt like I should portray him is he just doesn’t get it. It’s kinda of humorous. But he means well. Instead of being an awful slimy character, which I think a lot of times people kind of think of him as during the book, I kind of took the spin that he’s actually deep down a good guy. He’s just horrible in social situations and doesn’t know how to talk to people. But he means well most of the time. He just doesn’t realize that he comes across as a really awful person. He’s funny. I wanted to bring comedy to him as I think he’s funny.

So how much of a role did you have in crafting the character? Did you work a lot with the writers to create your vision of Mr. Collins or did they have a large say in that?

Basically, I read the breakdown of the character before I auditioned for it. They gave a little description of what they feel he is but I think what I brought to the audition is what they then took and crafted it around how I was portraying him. I felt like in that way I did get to really create him, and with keeping with what they had in mind. I mean, I guess that’s what they had in mind as they cast me. I really got a lot of freedom to make him how I did, which is really cool.

Did you have any input with the webseries Collins and Collins?

No, I did not. I don’t control any of the transmedia stuff. There’s a whole transmedia team that runs all the Twitter accounts. In regards to Collins and Collins, they run all of that. Gosh I would love to make some Collins and Collins videos, believe me.

What has surprised you most about the fan reaction? What’s the weirdest or best fan experience that you’ve had?

Wow. Weirdest and best, oh my. I’ve got to think about this one. I never expected there to be artwork. There are so many amazing, amazing drawings of me out there. I’m blown away by it. I save all of them because I think they’re incredible. I save them to my computer as I think they’re amazing. We have a lot of talented and really creative fans. I think the artwork has blown me away. It’s so cool.

As far as the weird stuff, I don’t know. I feel like my beard kind of became a thing which is so funny. I get a lot of Twitter comments about my beard and whatnot which is really funny. So that kind of became a thing. I’m trying to think if there’s anything weird.

It’s ok if there’s not. I think that’s better probably if you haven’t.

Do you hope to do another Bernie Su project in the future?

I would always love to do something with Bernie. Not only is he a super-talented guy but he is actually really cool. I knew him before Lizzie Bennet Diaries but we never got to work together, so this is really great to get to work with Bernie. If he ever wants me to do something else, I would love to. And that goes for all the other writers as well. Because they all wrote for me and they do amazing work. Rachel and Margaret and Katie; they’re all really terrific.

So we’re nearing the end of the series, do you think there’s going to be any resolution for Collins or Charlotte? Anything unexpected going to happen? Is he going to visit his girlfriend in Canada? Any clues to that?

I just sent a tweet out about that today. Did you see that?

Yes I think I did actually.

The fans sort of loved that. (Laughs) Yes, I want them to really send me to Winnipeg someday. I think there needs to be a Mr. Collins goes to Winnipeg and you see his fiancée and they go to a hockey game (laughs).

So a whole spinoff series?

Yes, I would love it. I would really love it. I feel like I have a lot more to give with Mr. Collins’ character and there’s a lot more I can explore to explore as him. If they ever to make some more Collins stuff, I would love it. I would love to go to Winnipeg, which is secretly a place that I do want to go to.

How is the relationship on set between you and Julia? You and Ashley?

It’s terrific. I think that’s one of the reasons that this show is so successful. We not only can act well together but we all like each other and that’s pretty cool. There’s a whole bunch of us too. We really do legitimately all like each other. It really helps when you’re doing a scene. It makes your day much better as when you’re not on camera, you’re just hanging out with each other. So hanging out with people you want to be around is great and I want to be around all of them. They’re just great people.

What is your favorite moment from The Lizzie Bennet Diaries?

My favorite episode is “Lydia v. Mr. Collins”. It’s the one time I got to do an episode with Mary Kate. I think the dynamic between Mr. Collins and Lydia was so funny. You put those two characters next to each other and it was just awkward. I think that was really a lot of fun. And the other moment that stands out was the proposal scene, both of them, where I cut the envelopes and they keep getting bigger. I think that was really well done in terms of modernizing it. That was done really well and that was a lot of fun for me.

I know you did School of Thrones with Mary Kate, but do you have any other projects in the works with your Lizzie Bennet Diaries cast members?

Nothing right now with them. I would love to. School of Thrones right now, I hope we get to shoot some more. I think that I will obviously work with these people again. I have my own YouTube channel so who knows? Maybe they’ll come on and do some stuff there. I’m sure they will. Again, no definitive plans right now.

What did you think of Thursday’s episode?

I tweeted this morning that I heard lots of squealing and that was my alarm clock today. Everyone woke me up with their squealing. That’s my reaction. This is a moment that has been building and the fandom’s been waiting for so long. It was kind of fun to watch this morning and see the reaction. It really cracked me up. It was very enjoyable to watch everyone freak out.

I was one of those people.

Did you cry?

I didn’t cry but I was hyperventilating which I think was a better reaction.

Did you see I texted Ashley this morning and she posted it on Instagram and I saw it on Tumblr. I texted her all capital letters, “OMG, DYING, FLAIL”.

I did see that. That was pretty epic. Something I think that the fandom will continue to freak out about.

I love it. I’m telling you the fans of the LBD are the best fans ever. I don’t know that I will ever have a show that I’m on where there’s better fans. I’m serious. But hopefully they’ll continue on and follow me in whatever else I do, in YouTube they follow me there which is so cool. They’re so terrific.

Can you tell us anything about the third episode of School of Thrones?

Prom night is here and I have two words. Dance off.

How was filming School of Thrones different from some of the other webseries or television shows that you’ve filmed?

It’s an awesome experience. It was different in that I know Game of Thrones and I watch Game of Thrones so I already knew who the character was. I think putting him in high school has changed things up a lot. The production was great and had awesome people involved. We had to film a whole lot in a little amount of time which is normal in the web world and we did it. I didn’t know how big it was going to get. I really didn’t it. I was kind of worried. “Oh gosh, are Game of Thrones fans going to like it?” But I knew when we were making it it was going to be good. I was just worried about Game of Thrones fans thinking, “This is dumb. This is high school. I don’t get it.”

But they’ve been pretty receptive to it, it seems with the official Game of Thrones account tweeting about the first episode.

Yeah that was really cool and a couple of Game of Thrones actors tweeted it as well. That’s awesome.

School of Thrones has only been slated for three episodes, how much more difficult was it to concretely develop characters in three episodes versus 90-something episodes?

Totally different. Because going into School of Thrones all I knew is that I had three episodes and you are Young Stannis. Here’s your arc and that’s about it. We don’t know what’s going to happen after that. I had my idea of who Stannis was in my head, mostly it’s the relationship with my brother Renly. I think Brendan and I did a great job together making it happen. I had a lot of time with Mr. Collins and develop him over the course of a few months. That’s always amazing. You don’t get the opportunity to do that that much as actor to take a character and have him for so long. That was a blessing with that entire series.

What preconceived opinions did you have about Stannis going in? Was he your favorite character?

He’s not my favorite character. My favorite character is Arya who is not in our show actually. I’m assuming she will be down the road if we get to film more. I’m interested to see what happens because there are a bunch of characters that they did leave in these three episodes. It’s going to be interesting to see how the writers develop it from here. I like our brotherly relationship going on because it’s a lot of fun. Obviously it’s different from the show and I don’t want to give anything away from the show. It’s different because we’re in high school.

Will Melisandre and Stannis have a moment in the third episode or will she forever pine for him?

Guess we’ll have to watch on Prom Night.

How has it been playing two iconic characters? Do you prefer to do adaptations?

I don’t think I have a preference. In an adaptation you still get to be original. You do have a preconceived notion of who the character is because you’ve read him or seen him before. Given the setting that you’re given on the show that I’m on, it changes everything really. You get to create your own take on that character. It’s kind of neat actually. It’s a nice challenge because you’re taking someone that people already know and you’re making him your own. It’s cool to see the reactions to your spin on a character. I love it. It’s some great fun to do adaptations.

What sparks your ideas for your own video series like “Suit and Tie”?

My Flashback Friday videos which I do every Friday are because I’m a big pop music fan and I used to keep lists of my favorite songs and I used to make a list every week. I have these lists going back into the 90s. I thought why not do a little show where I count down top 10 songs from years in the past. I just sing them. It’s turned into a little thing and people seem to like it. It’s fun. I’ve started to do different topics now. I either do Top 10 of a year for that week or Top 10 of a topic and I count them down. The closet is because it’s easy for me to do it there as it doubles as my voiceover booth. I do a lot of voiceover work so it’s in there. I also do videos on Tuesdays which are either these Mr. Collins-esque song parodies or food challenges where I eat a certain type of food in a day.

The Mr. Collins song parodies started because the fans wanted to see Mr. Collins do a Rick Roll, which is singing Rick Ashley’s “Never going to give you up”, and it got a great reaction so I decided to do a couple now. I did “Thrift Shop” and this week Justin Timberlake’s “Suit and Tie.” I will definitely do more of them as the fans seem to like them and they’re a lot of fun. Having a Mr. Collins type character say the words to a pop song seems to be ridiculously funny. I have to make sure I don’t crack up when I film it. I’d love to do a bigger one someday and get out of the closet. There are a lot of requests now for songs so I have to pick a good one for Tuesday.

How did you get into audiobooks and what’s been your favorite one to record?

I got into that as I went to a meeting about audiobooks a year and a half ago at SAG. It was a general meeting about audiobooks and how to get into it. I thought I could do that. I auditioned for a few by unknown authors for little pay and I got those and that gave me a reel of material I could use. From there I started to get contacted by different publishing companies, like Random House to do audiobooks. I mostly do young adult audiobooks as my voice tends to fit well for the young guy’s voice. It’s been great. As an actor you’re always looking for as many different areas to keep you employed. To find this was so great. I love books and getting to read them aloud is pretty awesome. It’s really neat.

I guess my favorite, that’s tough. I’ve recorded about 30 now. You can actually see them all; they’re on Audible.com if you search my name on there. A few stand out. I got to record a book called My Brother’s Voice which was written by a Holocaust survivor about when he was there, he was a boy there. I got to tell that story which was incredibly emotional, obviously. I got to talk to him before I did it which was incredible for me. I would highly recommend if you do want to listen to any one of my audiobooks to choose that one as its something everyone needs to hear. On a lighter one, I did a book called Hokey Pokey which was really cool. It was about leaving childhood behind and growing up. There was another one I just recorded called Joshua Dread. It’s about a kid with super villain characters. That was a lot of fun.

What’s next for you?

One more School of Thrones. I am going to continue to make my YouTube videos on Tuesdays and Fridays. I want to make bigger and better ones. I want to expand now; the trouble is having the time to do that. I have two more audiobooks lined up that I’m scheduled to record in the next weeks. Beyond that, I don’t know what’s next on screen other than my own YouTube channel.

I auditioned for plenty of things so I hope they pop up. Like today I had an audition for something really fun and cool, and it would be cool to get. You just don’t know. I don’t find out about auditions until the night before and you learn your material, you go out and do it, and who knows what that could turn into. That’s just the business. I will not be disappearing that’s for sure!

Fans know of your obsession with Disneyland, what’s your favorite ride there? Why do you love it so much?

My favorite ride is Space Mountain. I like to end my night actually at Space Mountain. It’s the ultimate thrill to close your perfect day at Disney. Growing up, I was obsessed with Disney and still obsessed with Disney today. It’s sort of a reflection of my whole way of life. I am a very happy, positive person and Disneyland brings out the child in every one of us. Whether you are eight or eighty you still see smiles on people’s faces there. There’s something about the Disney magic that only Disney can have that just makes people happy. It is my favorite place. There will always be a Disneyland Castle for sure.

School of Thrones episode 3 airs on 24 March at 12pm PST.
The Lizzie Bennet Diaries will end with episode 100 on 28 March at 9am PST.

Image credits: School of Thrones