Liam Woodrum
Madison Drew | 29/09/2024
Away from pretending to walk the runway as the dreamy model Nick Park in the ten-part Netflix adaptation of the bestselling teen book Geek Girl, Liam Woodrum finds his life outside of acting mirroring the show. At twenty-one, the actor is already accomplishing big things, such as his biggest role to date, walking the runway at NY Fashion Week this month, and dangling off a ladder in the Big Apple for his HATC cover shoot. Hot off these life-changing experiences, Liam speaks to HATC to give us the lowdown on playing the love interest and revealing things you can't find out about him on the Internet.
A: How was this shoot? It looked incredible.
L: It was so much fun. We had a blast. It was such a New York photo shoot, some of us hanging off a ladder and on a rooftop with the skyline in the back. It was really cool.
A: and how was the Gerland show at NY Fashion Week you got to walk? From the images you posted, it looked great.
L: It was amazing. It was absolutely terrifying, but it was so much fun. It turned out okay. And Geri [Sciame] (designer at Gerland) was extremely pleased with how it turned out.
A: It was your first show walking right?
L: That was my first real runway show.
A: Because in Geek Girl, that is what your character does as a job.
L: In [Geek Girl], [his character, Nick] is a professional model. That was part of the reason behind me doing this, for research purposes. But also, I was so scared, I thought, “I have to do this.” But it was so much fun. I would definitely do it again.
A: What do you do for nerves? Do you have any rituals that help?
L: I try to tell myself that it is just excitement. I will get jittery or either talkative or really quiet. It’s hard to predict, I am still trying to figure that out, too!
But this one was a bit easy. It sounds cheesy and corny, but I just thought about what I thought about when I was doing it in [Geek Girl], character-wise, and I could go back into that mindset. That helped a little bit, but I was still so nervous.
A: I can imagine I would have been absolutely bricking it.
Obviously, through the acting side of it, you know how to adapt to a role. My dad has always brought us up with a “fake it till you make it” essence.
L: That is my favourite quote.
A: Do not let anyone else know on the outside that you are bricking it. Just pretend you know what you are doing, and it will hopefully get you somewhere.
L: Fake it till you make it. That is what I was doing.
A: This is what I do every day. Having been on Geek Girl, obviously, it went onto Netflix. Netflix is a big deal because it is worldwide and has an incredible reach.
With this being your first major role, what were the nerves like? Going into it and knowing it is going on such a big platform, where did that leave you in terms of how you feel about it and what to expect?
L: Obviously, signing on to [Geek Girl] and going through the audition process, you know it has the potential to be something. It is going onto Netflix and has some great names attached, but I just tried to not think ahead and just show up on set and do the work every single day. But there is part of you that gets excited and anxious, that thinks, "What is going to happen when this comes out?". And you have friends and family asking, "What's going on?" It was nerve-wracking. It was exciting, but I have a good family and friends around me that keep me grounded and humble. I just tried to do the work every single day, and then whatever happened, happened.
A: Do you get noticed? Because I love to wear tracksuit bottoms to the local shop where no one knows me or cares how I look.
L: I will get noticed. Not too often, but a couple of times out in public. But I try not to change my everyday lifestyle that much. If someone stops and asks for a picture, it is a compliment, and I will just take the photo. I try not to put extra effort into my outfits before going out. I just stay the same.
A: Authenticity. I feel we are in a cultural moment, where there's so many ways to be yourself and be authentic. I imagine that is something you probably live by, even in the roles you are doing and the notability of it.
L: Definitely. I feel I have a bit of an advantage. I grew up outside of the entertainment industry in Orange County with a lot of normal people. Not to say people in the entertainment industry are not normal, but it is a different lifestyle. It is nice to have parents who work normal, everyday jobs and come home to normalcy.
A: Having grown up, I know you did sport and then moved into acting. When did acting first come into the frame for you? When did you think, "This is something I'm passionate about”?
L: It was my junior year of high school. I had a drama teacher. He was my English teacher in my freshman year of high school, and he eventually convinced me to take drama because I needed the art credit.
Our final was a one-act play in front of a paid audience. Friends and family came and watched, as did people at the school. After I got off stage doing that, I was like, "I don't know what I'm feeling right now, but I have got to do this more, whatever just happened."
Throughout rehearsing for the play, you get to have fun, be silly, and be yourself in that class. No one judges, which is really nice. I think I fell in love with that.
I wanted to quit basketball and start acting. My parents convinced me to finish high school basketball. I told them that once I graduated, I would pursue this and stop playing basketball. They have been completely supportive throughout the whole process. I got lucky in that way.
A: I love that your parents were like that. My mum, dad, and all my friends are supportive of what I do. They are used to [my] ridiculous ideas. Do you still play basketball?
L: Yeah, I will try to go to the gym and play some pickup every once in a while, but I'm scared of getting injured. I have a bad ankle from high school. I was playing a couple of months ago, tweaked my ankle and knee, and I thought, "This is too scary." I know I'm still young, but I'll go and play every once in a while.
A: Going into [the series], how did you move from getting the feel of acting and thinking, "Yeah, this is it," and then getting the role?
L: Geek Girl came in like all the other auditions. You get an email from your agent saying, "You’ve got a tape, do it." But this one was cool. It came in and obviously said, “10-part Netflix series.” Then I read more into the book series and [Nick's character] and thought, "Every description of this character I'm reading, I kind of relate to." I submitted one self-tape, and a couple of weeks later, I got a callback. After that first call back, I checked in with Zoë [Rocha], the producer, but I think I did not hear anything back for two months. It was just quiet. So, I assumed I didn't get the part.
I was in Mexico at the time with a couple of my friends in Cabo. As soon as we touched down in Mexico, I got an email from my agent saying, "You got another self-tape due on Monday," and I wasn't getting back until Monday. I tried to set it up in my hotel room with my friends reading for me, and it was not working out. I ended up flying home a day early and submitting the self-tape. I think I had a tan line across the middle of my face from the sunglasses all weekend. After that, I had a meeting with them. And then it all worked out, thankfully.
A: How do you relate to the character? Were there certain personality similarities?
L: The quick description I read was, [Nick] is this famous supermodel but does not enjoy it too much, and he is going through the motions. It is not that he does not love what he does, but there is that side of him that craves normalcy or craves being around his friends. He is still a young kid. That stuck out to me. This kid in such a big world, in the fashion industry, wants to leave it in a sense and live a normal life. So, that really stuck out to me.
A: It is interesting because it is such an intense industry. I think people assume that people feel at ease behind the camera and at ease in whatever they are doing. But a lot of people we speak to, there is this imposter syndrome or this anxiety around it. Even though it is what they do every day, which is so relatable to people.
L: Definitely. In front of the camera, you are one person, and then behind the camera, it could be a completely different thing, and people have no idea what you are going through. That is why it is important not to judge anybody.
A: What has your experience been in terms of keeping yourself grounded or looking after yourself?
L: I chalk that up to my family and my friends. I have such a good support system around me; my family keeps me grounded, as well as close friends that I've known since middle school. Anytime I am going through something, I have people around me I can reach out to, and they respond within seconds. Also, you should just do things that make you happy. You can get caught up and try to please a lot of other people, and you forget to take care of yourself. I think just finding time throughout the day to do a little something that feeds your soul.
A: How long have you been playing?
L: I have been playing for a couple of years, maybe two or three years.
A: When people see a new actor come up, especially on a big platform, they are intrigued to know more about them. What is something you would say if a fan asked you about yourself?
L: Part of me likes that. Most of the actors I look up to have a pretty discreet lifestyle. It sounds a little weird, but part of me does enjoy that because what I love to do is to act and to be on set, and everything outside of that if it happens, it happens. I enjoy my privacy and keeping as much stuff off the Internet as I can. But to answer your question, I do not know...maybe that I am a pretty big homebody. I do not enjoy going out that much. You can catch me on a Friday or Saturday night just hanging out in my room.
A: That is the best way to do it, I think. I am similar-minded about being a homebody. People will ask, "What are you doing on Sunday?"
I say, "I'm busy", and I am just watching the F1.
What is something that you want to do in terms of acting? Is there a specific typecast you would like to go into or try?
L: I guess my goal would be to not get typecast into anything. I look up to many people, like Heath Ledger or Leonardo DiCaprio, who jump around and have tried a wide range of roles. That is intriguing to me. In their careers, they always challenged themselves and went to unexpected places people did not think they were capable of. That is something I can hopefully replicate in my career.
A: Indie or major Hollywood films?
L: Maybe a mix of both. I have done some indie films, which are always fun. When you make a movie in the summer, you feel like a family getting close together. Bigger projects are also fun because you get to be on a huge set with huge lights and big runway shows and stuff like that. But right after Geek Girl, I went and made a couple of indie films. It was cool being able to get both sides of it.
A: Geek Girl is based on a book series, so the second book could make a Season Two. Would it be nice to do Season Two and be back in the UK or wherever it might take you?
L: There are plenty of [Geek Girl] books. There is plenty of material. I would love to come back and do Season Two. Hopefully, we get the opportunity to do that. Emily [Carey] was such a great partner. Manny and the whole cast were fantastic. I would love to get the opportunity to go back and do that again, to come back to London, hopefully.
A: The show's filming seemed very wholesome.
L: It was a wholesome experience. It was like a summer camp with all your best friends in London. It was really cool.
A: Did you film in the summer in London?
L: It was from May, and we wrapped sometime in September. So, during the summer in London, it was different because summer in London is not summer in Southern California. I came back, and all my friends were tanned, and they had beachy, wavy hair. I was pale. I had just got back from London.
A: Something we love to ask people, is what brings them joy, those little moments that make your soul feel full.
L: I have my guitar. That is probably that joy for me. If anything, I can lock myself in my room, hang out, and play my guitar. My younger brother is a good guitar player as well. I think hanging out with him and jamming in either of our rooms. Playing guitar is nice and comforting for me.
All 10 episodes of Geek Girl are now available on Netflix.
Words Madison Drew
Photography Kiera Simpson
Photography Assistant Lauren Bulla
Styling Kirsten McGovern
Grooming Kali Taylor
Creative Alice Gee & Kiera Simpson