Interview:Joshua Rush

Ryan: Hi Josh, how are you doing!

Josh: Great!

Ryan: So how do you like first grade?

Josh: It's really good, actually. I like the games we play--there's a lot of games involved. A lot of mathematics games.

Ryan: Do you like reading? Are you a good reader?

Josh: Yes, I do. I'm actually at a fourth grade reading level.

Ryan: What's your favorite book?

Josh: It's actually a series. I have two favorite series. I like Beverly Cleary and I like Magic Tree House. My favorite Magic Tree House book is Tonight on the Titanic, number seventeen. With Beverly Cleary, I like the Ramona books.

Ryan: Oh, I just read Ramona and Her Father last November! Have you ever read Ramona Quimby, Age 8? It won an award for the best children's book the year it was written.

Josh: I haven't yet. But I read Ramona and Her Father. That one won an award, too. It's really good.

Ryan: Sounds like you really like Beverly Cleary. You know, she's my second favorite author. You know who my first is? Roald Dahl.

Josh: I love him! He's my second favorite! I've read Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator. Let's see: I just finished reading James and the Giant Peach. Oh, and Danny, the Champion of the World. I also read Matilda--it's my record holder for [the book I read with the most amount of] pages. It's 261 pages!

Ryan: That's a long book! Josh, tell me why you wanted to become an actor.

Josh: Well, I got to see my mom's videos--she's a documentary producer. So I always watched her. After I watched her a lot of times, I wanted to become an actor.

Ryan: Have you ever had any training to be an actor?

Josh: I worked with Mari Ferguson. I've also worked with Lisa Picotte. Those are my coaches. Right now I'm only working with one--Lisa Picotte. I'm not working with Mari right now.

Ryan: What do they teach you?

Josh: They teach you how to do cold readings, how to share the stage, how to cry if you need to.

Ryan: How do you cry if you need to?

Josh: It's a few things. There's a few different techniques. There's a trigger. There's air techniques. There's a few. What works for me is a combination of both. On Heroes, I had to cry all the way at the end when I saw my mom dead. What they did was they used a special effect called "tear" and they squirted it in my eye. All it is is water, but it makes it look like it's a tear running down my face.

Ryan: What were you thinking about during that scene?

Josh: I didn't know how to cry then. I was trying to make myself cry, but I couldn't. So finally, the special effects person came over and put the tear in my eye that made it look like I had a tear.

Ryan: How did you get the job for Heroes?

Josh: I auditioned and I got a callback. That means that the casting director likes me. So I went to the callback, and then I got the part. And now here I am, on TV!

Ryan: Was the cool to see yourself on TV?

Josh: Yeah, it really was! [laughs]