‘Project Almanac’ star, full speed ahead
Jonny Weston has so much on his plate, even he gets confused.
“I’ve had a great couple of months,” the actor says from the Mandarin Oriental Hotel on Friday. “It’s pretty mind-blowing.”
You can catch the Charleston, South Carolina native as the boyfriend of Liam Neeson’s daughter’s in action flick Taken 3 or as a time-traveling brainiac in Project Almanac, both in theaters.
“I’m headed to the beach right after this interview,” the actor says, glancing out the window. “I just came from Toronto, where they had to de-ice the plane. I’m good right here with the water and the nice, warm air.”
In Almanac, which got off to a strong start at the box office, Weston channels a quasi genius who learns that going back in time isn’t always such a blast.
“David is geeky in the way that I’m geeky — I’d say, he’s more of a social misfit,” he says. “He’s so hyper-intelligent that when someone asks him a question he has about 40 options about how he will respond, and he picks one. When that doesn’t go as planned, he gets frustrated.”
No rest for the busy. On the heels of promoting Almanac, Weston heads out on a press tour for We Are Your Friends. In this upcoming movie about the world of EDM (electronic dance music), Weston plays the sidekick to DJ Zac Efron. “The soundtrack is amazing; I am stoked!”
But Weston seems most stoked about playing with the big boys in the Divergent sequel, Insurgent, as Edgar, a newbie to the sci-fi franchise whose character does not exist in Veronica Roth’s books.
“My character is a bit of a thug, a villain — a far cry from who I am in a lot of ways,” he says. “I fashioned myself a sick little mohawk for it.”
Weston was pleased that director Robert Schwentke gave the newcomer artistic license.
“Edgar is kind of like a leader and was getting his a-s kicked in a lot of scenes so I went over to Robert and I was like, ‘I’d love to do it like this,’ ‘I need to do it like this.’ He was right there with me and let me expand the character, and now I’m in the sequel [Allegiant].”
Being thrust into a well-oiled machine wasn’t so seamless, though.
“It was a little intimidating because the whole cast had already been working as a team,” Weston admits, “but I approached it the way I did my career — I fought my way from the bottom.”
PARTY HEARTY
What a good boss. Ken Gorin, who is celebrating 20 years at the helm of Dwyane Wade’s favorite car dealership, The Collection, hosted a “manager’s dinner” Friday night. To mark the occasion, Gorin has flown in The Voice’s Damien Lawson to provide the entertainment for the meal, to be held at Seagrape at The Thompson, with a custom-created menu by Michelle Bernstein.
CARNAVAL IN MIAMI
Let them drink bubbly! Veuve Clicquot is bringing the excitement of Rio de Janeiro’s Carnaval to the new hot spot The Thompson Hotel in Miami Beach Saturday with a party attended by VIPs like actress Emily Ratajkowski (Gone Girl) and Top Chef judge Padma Lakshmi.
The good news: You’re invited. But it’s not free.
The only way to access this event is by purchasing a private, so-called Clicquot Cabana that seats up to six guests. For $2,000, you all get a magnum of both Veuve Clicquot Yellow Label and Rosé, gourmet Brazilian bites and a personal cabana attendant. Email cabanas@vccarnaval.com
MADELEINE MARR
This story was originally published February 3, 2015 at 3:31 PM with the headline "‘Project Almanac’ star, full speed ahead."