Darin Brooks is a young actor gaining some notoriety for his starring role in the raucous Spike TV comedy
Blue Mountain State. An Emmy winner for his role on
Days of Our Lives, Darin took some time out of his busy schedule to sit down for an interview with Blu-ray.com staff reviewer Jeffrey Kauffman.
How did you get involved with the Blue Mountain State project?
DB: Oh, it was pretty typical Hollywood stuff. I was contractually obligated to
Days of Our Lives and they typically like to keep you for years in your role. I had already played the role on
Days for three years and was in the midst of re-upping for another two when my agent told me about
Blue Mountain State. I went to the Executive Producer and just kept everyone in the loop and I had their blessing to go audition and do the callbacks.
Days just wrote me out of the show when I was gone filming the pilot.
So did you come down with a mysterious coma or anything like that?
DB: (laughing) No, nothing like that. I think they had me go visit my girlfriend in London whose Mother was ill. Typical soap opera stuff.
Where is Blue Mountain State filmed?
DB: The pilot and both seasons were filmed in Canada, in Montreal.
Is that because of production costs?
DB: Yes, it's like 30-35% cheaper to film up there. Aside from the principal cast, all the crew and extras are Canadian.
There's a very picturesque campus in a lot of episodes of Blue Mountain State. Where is that?
DB: It's a little community college called John Abbott about 30 to 45 minutes drive outside of Montreal.
Your official bio says you played football in high school. Did you have to run plays as part of your audition?
DB: (laughing) No, nothing like that, just a cold read. But, yes, I was a quarterback on my high school football team. We have a great play choreographer named Jacques and all the extras you see on the field have football experience, so all the guys know what they're doing. We also have a couple of days of straight out football practice before we shoot each season.
Does (former NFL great and co-star) Ed Marinaro get involved in giving advice on plays?
DB: Marinaro has some shoulder problems, so he'll throw the ball around with us on breaks, but, no, he really doesn't get involved in the actual on screen plays.
What is the Blue Mountain State set like? Is it pretty raucous?
DB: Yeah, we're like family and it can be kind of like a dorm or frat house at times. The guys all prank each other, typical guy stuff like hitting each other in the nuts with props. I also pranked Romanski by leaving his trailer open at night when all his lights were on, and his trailer got swarmed by bugs.
Wait a minute—isn't Romanski one of your Executive Producers? It's probably best not to piss him off.
DB: (laughing) Yeah, I guess you're right. But he pranks me right back.
Do you know if Sam Jones III (who has had some legal issues) will be returning to the show?
DB: I'm not really sure, he obviously isn't on this second season, but I wish him all the best.
How have the show's numbers been?
DB: Spike has been really happy. We don't have numbers yet on our second season premiere episode, but the first season was averaging around 1 million viewers, which for cable tv is huge.
Any other projects you'd like to promote?
DB: Yes, thanks! I've started a production company, and we're hoping to get funding for a film called
Unnatural, which is sort of a biblical horror film about a kid who's being chased by demons.
Will you just produce, or do you want to star as well?
DB: I'd like to star and produce if it works out. Down the road I'd like to direct, but not on this particular project.
Thanks, Darin!