BELLO IT BOY - Gabriel Bateman

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Exclusive Conversation with GABRIELBATEMAN

ALTHOUGH GABRIEL BATEMAN IS ONLY 12-YEARS-OLD HE IS ALREADY A HOLLYWOOD VETERAN. THE CALIFORNIA NATIVE HAS BEEN WORKING STEADILY FOR THE PAST FIVE YEARS ON SUCH FILMS AS LIGHTS OUT AND ANNABELLE, AS WELL AS SERIES SUCH AS AMERICAN GOTHIC AND STALKER. NOW GABRIEL CAN BE SEEN IN TWO OF HIS BIGGEST PROJECTS TO DATE: THE DANGEROUS BOOK FOR BOYS CREATED BY BRYAN CRANSTON AND GREG MOTTOLA WHICH PREMIERED ON NETFLIX ON MARCH 30, AS WELL AS THE REBOOT OF THE 1974 CLASSIC, BENJI, WHICH IS ALSO STREAMING ON NETFLIX. AS BELLO'S BRAND NEW IT GUY, WE HAD THE CHANCE TO CATCH UP WITH GABRIEL TO TALK ABOUT HIS LIFE, HIS CAREER, AND HIS HUGE FUTURE.

by Brent Lambert @FEELguide

BELLO: You star in the brand new series The Dangerous Book For Boys about a father who passes away and leaves behind a fantasy-based instruction book of life for his son, played by you. What can you tell us about that book and what you like the most about it?

GABRIEL: The book itself is not fantasy-based. It’s really a how-to guide that the father left for his sons when he knew he would not be around to watch them grow up. It’s also the source that triggers Wyatt’s imagination which takes him into a fantasy world where his dad is alive and well and able to help him navigate the things in the book, but more importantly the things in life. That’s really what I like about the book because it is a tool any family could use with their sons and daughters to explore fun things in life and create lifelong memories.

BELLO: What was your favorite memory of shooting the show?

GABRIEL: There are so many of them. We had fun every day making this show. We made our own films and came up with crazy plans. One the craziest moments was when Erinn Hayes wanted to record slapping me with a waffle and it turned into a waffle fight.

BELLO: You also star in the brand new reboot of Benji on Netflix. Is it true what they say about shooting with animals -- it makes filming so much harder?

GABRIEL: Benji is very well trained so mostly working with him was easy and very fun. Whenever he was on set, it put everyone in a happy mood. There were, however, occasional scenes where Benji just wanted to do what he wanted to do and they actually made all of us laugh. I wish there was a blooper reel of these times. For instance, there was a scene where Darby Camp and I are tied up and Benji is supposed to rescue us. The idea is that he pulls off the blankets and ropes to get us free. It was the last scene before lunch and we were hungry. But Benji was far too interested in something going on in the other room, so we sat there doing that scene with peanut butter on our faces and on the ropes for quite a while. My character supposed to be very desperate for Benji to pull these ropes off. And after running the scene several times without him cooperating, and my stomach growling for lunch, I really was desperate for him to pull those ropes off. So when you watch the scene, I’m not acting! I wanted to go to lunch HAHA!

BELLO: You've been working for years now. How do you manage to find a balance between being a kid and being a career professional at such a young age?

GABRIEL: I’ve been acting for over three years now. But I am very much just an average kid. When I’m filming I do school on set and have social activities with the cast when we aren’t working. It’s really my normal. Nothing seems like a balancing act at all.

BELLO: Where do you see yourself 5 years from now?

GABRIEL: I will be a teenager, hopefully still acting, looking at colleges and planning a future which includes directing and writing and doing what I love. But who has a crystal ball? If you asked me five years ago what I would be doing today, I never would have predicted this. It wasn’t even an idea in my mind.

BELLO: Any exciting summer plans on your radar?

GABRIEL: Hopefully working on an exciting project, exploring new places, making friends, rock climbing, hiking and archery.