PopHorror Let's Get Scared
One of my most anticipated films of 2020 is The Babysitter: Killer Queen (read our review here), the sequel to the uber-popular Netflix original, The Babysitter (2017 – read our review here). Hands down. When they announced this film, I almost started counting the days until it would be released. That’s how excited I was.
What made this interview even better is how excited The Babysitter: Killer Queen actor Maximilian Acevedo was, too. His enthusiasm is contagious, and I’m super stoked to see what else he has in store for us. We talked about this being his first feature film, what made him want to be an actor, what he has coming up next, and of course, horror movies.
PopHorror: I watched The Babysitter: Killer Queen last night, and loved it. It’s so funny and gory. It really holds up to the first one.
Maximilian Acevedo: Really? That is so relieving to hear! Thank you! Woo! Here’s the thing. This is my intro to Hollywood. I’m brand new. I’m basically the only new star in this. Everyone’s been killing it, they’ve all been doing a bunch of stuff. So it’s just kind of like … What’s going to happen? And I’m very, very anxious to see it myself. Of course, I’m probably going to have to wait until it comes out, but thank you for telling me that! I really appreciate it.
PopHorror: Of course! I posted on my Facebook that I was watching it. There are a lot of jealous people out there, so I anticipate it being quite popular. What a way to start out! That’s very cool to hear.
Maximilian Acevedo: This is my break! And so technically before this, the only thing that I had done was this Nickelodeon show called Henry Danger, kind of like a Drake and Josh superhero type of vibe going on, and I did two episodes with them. That was filmed back in August of last year, and then those were aired in February and March of this year. Then, after I had booked those two roles, that’s when I got the Jimmy character for The Babysitter.
PopHorror: That’s so cool! How does it feel to be a part of such a highly anticipated sequel?
Maximilian Acevedo: It feels absolutely fantastic. I feel so on top of the world. I feel very blessed, very honored, and definitely very lucky. I was at the right place, right time, and my look kind of formed naturally from the hair to the earrings I had in the movie. Those were actually my own personal earrings I had bought months before. But I’ve always had this little classic type vibe to my style with my fashion, how I would rock with everything.
And it’s funny, even with wearing that red tank top, I created that character with that red tank top in the self-tape, which then led up to me finally landing it. They ended up wanting me to wear that for a lot of the beginning of the film, which was pretty cool that they definitely liked the type of style I brought into the character.
Overall, it just feels like a blessing in disguise to be a part in a movie like this with such huge, amazing stars who have all done great things themselves. So, yeah. Just working with all of them side by side … it was definitely exactly like how you would imagine. For me, definitely a dream come true. Not one day felt like work at all. Even if it was 16, 18 hours. I have not one second been able to complain about anything.
PopHorror: Looks like it was a lot of fun! I can imagine it was a blast to shoot.
Maximilian Acevedo: So fun, so fun. McG himself, this guy is an absolute character. He’s a little bit of a troller. He likes to throw in little jokes here and there, and see if you can get it or not. He needs that energy to be held high constantly the whole time. At least, when you’re on set filming a scene. Boom! Keep that energy level above 10. And it was so easy doing this whole movie because, of course, when it comes to acting, it can be hard when you have to try and understand the scene with how your character’s feeling, what can you bring to the table to make it feel real for the audience.
With McG, he was able to help me understand so detailed about what was going on and how I was to view the actions of what I’m about to do in the scene and the purpose behind it. Then he would give me these examples that were so side by side with what I was doing in the scene that would help me understand exactly what’s going on. That’s what helped me bring it to life. It was really fun.
PopHorror: Were you a horror fan before?
Maximilian Acevedo: Extremely. Sadly, maybe I grew up to some horror films a little too early, like four or five years-old. Maybe even younger. My mom would be showing me The Ring, movies like that. So, I’ve definitely been accustomed to horror films my whole life. A big, big favorite of stuff like The Wolfman from back in 2010 as well as, of course, Rosemary’s Baby. The OG devil movie. And then you have the original Exorcist, which I had watched once or twice as a younger boy. I recently started watching it again a few nights ago and fell asleep halfway through. It’s a classic; it’s scary as hell. Definitely a fan of that. I can keep going on. I’ve seen The Haunting in Connecticut, the rest of The Exorcist films. There’s been a lot.
PopHorror: Good. I like to hear that. Most of us horror fans, I think, started out younger than we probably should have.
Maximilian Acevedo: Twisted our minds a bit too early.
PopHorror: I read online that you started in fitness, and that was your big break before getting into acting, and that you also dabbled in music as well. What was it that made you want to be an actor?
Maximilian Acevedo: The purpose of being able to inspire people for the better for the greater cause. I’ve always felt that I needed to tell stories in my own way and act in front of people. Make people laugh. I’m still giving them something to enjoy, to escape from their reality or whatever it is. You never know what people are going through. Like with Chadwick Boseman. Going through what he was going through behind the scenes … and of course, we find out now that’s what was happening.
PopHorror: And nobody knew!
Maximilian Acevedo: And nobody knew, nobody knew. A big thing of why I wanted to be an actor is I wanted to leave a little bit more goodness than what there was before by the time I leave Earth. I want to leave it a little bit better. I want to inspire, I want to motivate. I want people to know that they are good enough no matter how different they feel, and that if they do want something, they can go out and achieve it themselves in their own way because everyone’s journey is a little bit different.
And me, having the motive of wanting to inspire, of course, goes back to me loving to create. It’s like a second language to me, especially when I’m on set. Like I said, every single second was so much fun. The time went by way faster than it should have. Constant adrenaline running through me. I just love it. I love the whole process of it. Everyone on set is as crazy as everyone else, you all kind of match each other’s craziness. You’re like this big melting pot of this family you would never see on normal streets. It’s a beautiful time. That’s why I wanted to be an actor. Just to be part of the magic of all of that and leaving something for people to remember for the rest of time.
PopHorror: I love that! I think that you’ve hit the ground running with this being your first, and you’re definitely going in the right direction.
Maximilian Acevedo: That’s so nice, to let me know that. I appreciate things like that. I know that some people tend to change up their attitude the more success they start getting. I really cherish every aspect of this process that I’m going through, so thank you for letting me know and for giving me your honest opinion. It means a lot.
PopHorror: Of course. If you could collaborate with anyone, living or dead, who would it be?
Maximilian Acevedo: Oh, my God. I can name quite a few. Of course you have actors like Mark Wahlberg, Leo DiCaprio, I love these guys. Matt Damon. And of course you have James Dean, which he sadly only got to film three movies before he passed away in that car crash. He’s definitely one of my favorites.
PopHorror: Mine, too! I love that you said James Dean, because he is my favorite actor, and nobody ever mentions him. So that’s awesome.
Maximilian Acevedo: James Dean! This guy had so much to live for, and it’s so bad that it was taken away at such a young age, too. When I was watching Giant the other day, I was just seeing this sex appeal that he brought. He kind of reminded me of myself in a way, but more of the ’50s. I could relate to the guy. I definitely wish I could collaborate with him. But overall, Alfred Hitchcock would be number one. Pretty legendary director. I just watched his film with Doris Day, The Man Who Knew Too Much. I just watched that about a month ago. I loved it.
PopHorror: I know that Covid has stalled a lot of things, and a lot has been put on hold, but is there anything that you’re currently working on, or anything else you have coming up?
Maximilian Acevedo: Yes. We’re still working on the cartoon, as well as my song, “Make You Mine.” We’re about to go in the studio and finish up with that. I’m still writing a few extra lyrics for it and editing some things. And there’s a movie in the works that I’m cast on which is called Operation Ivy League, and it’s the story about a few high school kids back in 2010 at Columbia University, and their parents cut them off and they needed some money so they started a drug ring. One of the biggest, most well known drug rings in college history you could say. It’s almost like a Project X type of movie mixed with The Departed. Project X with The Departed: College Years. I’m in that now. It’s in the works. Not sure if I’m allowed to say this, but I’m going to throw it out there. There might be another little sequel to this Babysitter or there might be a third. We’ll see. We’re going to hope for the best.
PopHorror: I anticipate it being very popular based on what I’ve seen online.
Maximilian Acevedo: That’s so cool.
PopHorror: I have one last question for you, Maximilian, and that is what is your favorite scary movie?
Maximilian Acevedo: You know, I’ve always loved the Chainsaw Massacre movies. All of them. I’m a fan of that type of gore. I would say I’m a huge fan of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, I think it came out in 2004, I believe? With Jessica Biel. That’s one of my favorite scary movies.
Thank you so much, Maximilian, for speaking with us today. Be sure to catch The Babysitter: Killer Queen right now on Netflix.
