Corbin Bleu:
Livin' "Free Style"
by Lynn Barker
 HSM hottie Corbin Bleu would like his fans to know that, in his new motocross film Free Style, he doesn't sing or dance but flies down a fast track on a hot racing motorcycle that he had to learn to ride from scratch! On the fast Vancouver shoot, Corbin bonded with real motocross racers, acted opposite his real dad...who played his dad, got some bruises and, being a bi-racial guy, was delighted to act in a film with multi-racial, color-blind casting.
We chatted on the cell with Corbin last week about the film, the cancellation of his CW T.V. model series "The Beautiful Life", his life since the HSM movies and we learned that if you want to be his girlfriend, hey, show up to support him in his work and he'll be there for you at yours!
We wanted to know what "free-styling" means in his own life, how Corbin enjoyed being involved in many stages of production on the film and what his future goals are in this stage of his career.
AGW: Didn't your dad's friend bring this script for Free Style to you? How did you get interested in doing the movie?
Corbin: A friend of my dad's is our business partner and he had the script given to him and he brought it over to me. We read the script and really, really enjoyed it, thought it had a lot of potential and went from there. We were really intrigued mainly by the backdrop of motocross just because it's something that you don't see too often right now. There've been a few films made about it but they've all tried to glam it up in a way. You don't see the real roughness or the real down and dirty side of it.
AGW: So if you weren't into motocross before, are you now?
Corbin: I've become obsessed with it! I have a bike now and I ride all the time. I go to all the meets. Before the film, I'd never even been on a motorcycle, never been in a race. I had no clue so it was really an all-new eye opener for me. I got a chance to experience a whole new sport that I've become a huge fan of now and I'm very passionate about.
AGW: How much were you actually on the race bike on camera?
Corbin: A lot of the movie I'm on the bike, both bikes. If you see like ten guys riding all over each other, that's not me and if you see the big tricks in the air, that's not me.
AGW: Did you have any injuries?
Corbin: I did. Actually, I have scars to prove it. Not on the movie but just riding, I tore the cartilage on my knee.
AGW: Oww. That's not good for your dancing!
Corbin: It's not but it healed. I'm all good. But yeah, it's a pretty dangerous sport but I love it. It's an adrenalin rush.
AGW: How much did you hang out with Grant (Langston, the real motocross champ) or the other actual motocross racers in the movie? What did you guys do together?
Corbin: It was real racers in the film. They're great guys and I learned a lot from them. They took me out riding and gave me a lot of pointers. I've become a better rider from working with them. Just the whole racing community I've become involved in. I go to all the races.
 AGW: Your character Cale is up against so much in life. How did you feel about the character?
Corbin: He struggles a lot. He's a flawed guy. He's not perfect. He's a normal guy. He deals with so many things many people his age go through; the broken home, financial issues, having to work two jobs to take care of his mother and his sister. And, at the same time, he'd like to be happy and lead a normal life, just do what he loves doing; his sport.
AGW: Cale dreamed about racing as a kid. Was your very early dream to be in show biz or to be a fireman or something else?
Corbin: I had a bunch of things. At one point I wanted to be a doctor. I was pursuing becoming a pediatrician. But, when it came down to the crossroads, I stuck with what I love doing.
AGW: Did the cast hang out in Vancouver off set? What did you do?
Corbin: We did! It was cold. We had to deal with a lot of weather elements. It was raining and snowing. We weren't really going out that much, just hanging out back at the hotel and we hung out a lot on set. We worked long hours. We shot is pretty quickly so we were mostly working; not as much play. But, the play was on set and we had a lot of fun. Madison Pettis who plays my little sister, we'd actually met a while before.
AGW: And she looks like you too.
Corbin: Yeah, she was perfect. Then there was Sandra (Echeverria, his love interest in the movie).
AGW: Oh yeah, she's hot.
Corbin: (laughs) A very, very beautiful woman and, of course Penelope Ann Miller as my mom.
AGW: How is working with your dad (David Reivers) who is playing your dad?
Corbin: He wasn't supposed to play the role originally but it worked out perfectly. We knew we wanted to cast one parent White and one Black. When we got Penelope we had to go with a Black father and 'okay, here we go'. They don't have a great relationship so that was definitely acting. We're played father and son three times now and all of them very different. I don't know if we'll be doing it again any time soon.
AGW: I read that it was important to you and your dad to have a multi-racial cast in the film. Is it hard to find scripts for a multi-racial cast?
Corbin: (If) a script is dealing specifically with a racial issue, then you really have to play to the part. But this was a script where there was no hint of that. It was really just kind of our own doing that we really wanted to (make it that way). Especially if we were going to have me in the lead role and have Madison Pettis playing my sister, we didn't want to cast two Black parents. We wanted to make it what it really is. I have a Black father and a White mother and we wanted to play that. Then, of course, when we cast Sandra....
AGW: So you have the Latina.
Corbin: Yeah, that was a whole other thing that wasn't planned. We weren't necessarily looking for that. We'd brought in several different people and when she came in we decided to play the whole fiesta scene and brought in the whole Mexican culture so it was great. In films, it's always stereotyped that it's the one, specific family and you don't get a chance to see it mixed up too much so it was nice. I like that.
AGW: What would the equivalent of "free-styling" be for you? Maybe expressing that high flying joy through dance or...?
Corbin: Yeah, just doing what I do, being on the stage. Whenever I'm on stage I get that rush of adrenalin.
 AGW: It's very important to Cale that a girlfriend attend the races to support him. His first girlfriend kind of bailed on that. She was just too busy. Would you want your girl to support your work?
Corbin: I think, if you truly are busy, that means you're working and I definitely want a "working girl" (he laughs) but, just a girl who has her own stuff together. I definitely think, in any relationship, it's important to be supportive of each other. I would definitely support her in whatever she did and vice versa I hope.
AGW: Other than learning how to ride a motorcycle, what was your biggest challenge in making the film?
Corbin: Oh, besides learning to ride the bike... one of the biggest challenges was the weather. When it rains, you have the track and it gets muddy and you have bikes sliding everywhere and there's mud flying that muddies up the camera! There's a lot of weather challenges that come into play.
AGW: You were very involved in all stages of production for Free Style. Did you discover that you really like doing any behind-the-scenes work in addition to acting?
Corbin: I did discover that I loved it actually. You get to be in charge of a lot more. You get to put in your own vision and bring something that you feel you really want to bring to the table. Of course, you live and learn and there's a few things that, in the future, I would definitely do differently. It's the battle between the business end and the creative end. That's the hardest thing about it.
AGW: With your facial hair, goatee style look in this, it makes me think you could play a suave baddie very well. Would you like to in future?
Corbin: Yeah! Oh I hope so! I would so do that!
AGW: Cale's little sis in this calls his hair a "giant Brillo pad" (we hear Corbin laughing). Would you want to totally change your look hairstyle-wise in future? It's kind of your signature.
Corbin: Hey, it's short right now for the series I was doing ("The Beautiful Life" on the CW). Well... it's shorter anyway but obviously for anything I do in the future, I'll change it up all the time. I would shave my head for a role!
AGW: Let's talk about your music. Your last album was more of an R&B sound. Are you planning a tour or how will you balance your music with acting?
Corbin: There's no plans for a tour at the moment. And, as far as music, I'm not creating a deadline for myself right now as far as putting out another album. I don't want to do music right now if it's not going to be right. It has to be the right sound and it just has to be organic and truthful.
AGW: How much were you involved in the Soundtrack for the movie?
Corbin: I was very involved. We have the Jonas Brothers (on it). We have my song "Moments that Matter". We have a lot of cool music on there.
AGW: Cale's family has a tradition of sitting down and scratching tons of lottery tickets together. Do you have any family traditions?
Corbin: Yeah. Every Christmas I'll make our family recipe for Ricotta Balls and it's fried cheese wrapped in cinnamon and sugar.
AGW: Ooooo, yummy and deadly!
Corbin: Oh yes!
AGW: With your series wrapping, what's next for you? Maybe a movie role that you couldn't do because you were busy with the TV show?
Corbin: Yeah. There's a few projects that we were trying to balance as far as schedules with the show but, yes, a lot of free time has opened up so there will be room for some good films.
AGW: But you would do TV again if it were a good role?
Corbin: If it were a good role or a good show, absolutely.
AGW: What would you say is your most important goal after moving on from the High School Musical films?
Corbin: To me it's a body of work. It's the long run. It's not necessarily about one specific role. It's about the longevity. I look at the careers of Johnny Depp and Will Smith who I really admire and you look at the array of characters they've been able to play and what they've been able to accomplish and it's just one step at a time.
pictures
courtesy of and copyright Samuel Goldwyn Films, 2009 |
