Robbie Amell talks filming The Duff, plus, enter to win a prize package which includes a signed copy of the book by Kody Keplinger!
Actor Robbie Amell may have made for a perfect Wes in 2015’s hilarious teen comedy, The Duff, but the funny thing is, the actor almost didn’t take the part.
“When I read the script the first time, I got about 30 pages in and then stopped reading because Wes was such a stereotypical douche bag [but] my fiancee told me to keep reading and luckily I did and I discovered that there was a good guy there with a good heart,” said Amell of his character when Hypable caught up with the actor to talk about his role.
Based on the best-selling novel by Kody Keplinger, The Duff is a film about stereotypes and labels that run amok in high school. When Bianca (Mae Whitman) is told by childhood friend turned star football player Wes (Amell) that she is the DUFF (Designated Ugly Fat Friend) of her friend group, Bianca understandably loses her footing. Devastated over the news, Bianca embarks on a mission to de-DUFF herself and winds up learning a valuable lesson along the way.
Amell’s Wes goes along with Bianca along her journey, acting as her spirit guide as she strives to change everything from her sense of style to her personality in order to conform to the social norms of high school.
For his part, Amell says he thinks everyone who watches the movie will resonate with Bianca’s insecurities because “everyone has felt like a DUFF at some point.”
“I had bad skin in high school– I always had a bunch of pimples. For me, there was nothing worse than going to school and wondering if everyone was looking at me or just staring at the massive zit on my forehead,” shared Amell of his own DUFF-like insecurity as a teen. “Looking back, it’s such a small problem to worry about but at the time, it was a big deal to me.”
Now that the DVD is out, Amell says the one thing he’s really excited for fans to experience as far as special features go is the blooper reel.
“I haven’t seen the full gag reel yet but we screwed up a lot!” said Amell with a laugh. “There’ll be a lot of bleeps I’m sure cuz I think we swore every time we screwed up a take! I love watching bloopers — I think they’re hysterical!”
And as for what the actor hopes that fans who watch The DUFF — especially those who are younger — end up taking away from the film is the idea that they shouldn’t change for anyone else.
“They should really embrace their inner DUFF — everyone’s felt like a DUFF once in their life, everybody’s got their insecurities — the things they think are weird but at the end of the day, those quirks are the things that make you you and you should embrace that.” said Amell.
The DUFF is available on DVD as of Tues., June 9 and in celebration of the release, Hypable has teamed up with Lionsgate to give one lucky reader the chance to win a DUFF prize bundle!
One lucky winner will receive:
• a copy of The DUFF on Blu-ray
• a t-shirt
• a copy of the book signed by author Kody Keplinger