SitcomsOnline Interviews "Melissa & Joey's" Nick Robinson

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Seven Questions with "Melissa & Joey's" Nick Robinson
Wednesday, July 06, 2011
by Pavan


We have a very exciting interview for you today. We have an interview with teen star Nick Robinson (ABC Family's "Melissa & Joey") about his young career and his role on this hit ABC Family comedy.

We get answers to various questions that you will all want to know about, including if he ever saw Melissa Joan Hart's and Joey Lawrence's other series and who his dream guest stars would be!

As always with all of our interviews, it is in Seven Questions form. So let's first tell you a little bit about Nick Robinson.







Starring alongside Melissa Joan Hart and Joey Lawrence on ABC Family's "Melissa & Joey", Nick Robinson plays pre-adolescent, Ryder Scanlon, who lives with his aunt (Hart) and older sister (played by Taylor Spreitler) after a scandal places their mother and father in prison.

Robinson proves to be quite the scene-stealer with his talent for dropping witty one-liners, which is a tough feat in a cast of noteworthy sitcom veterans like Hart and Lawrence.



Robinson may be new to the small screen but is no stranger to performing. His professional career began at the age of 11 when he began performing with the Seattle ACT Theatre where he performed numerous lead roles in plays such as A Christmas Carol, To Kill A Mockingbird, and Lost in Yonkers, directed by Tony Award winner Brian Yorkey.

A native of Seattle, WA, Robinson is the oldest of 5 siblings, an avid swimmer, snow skier, soccer player, and golfer. Robinson also lends his hand at playing the ukulele and is a passionate supporter of muscular dystrophy.







Hi Nick, we are very excited for more all-new episodes of "Melissa & Joey" this summer on ABC Family!

We have to ask, what's your story of getting the part of Ryder Scanlon?

Well, I'm from Seattle and about two years ago we came to L.A. "Melissa and Joey" was only my second audition. We kept flying back and forth from Seattle to L.A. because I kept getting callbacks.

I was actually on a flight back to Seattle when I got the call. We had to keep quiet the whole flight home. It was completely surreal.








This is your first big break, so congrats on that!

How is it working with TV veterans Melissa Joan Hart and Joey Lawrence? What have been your most memorable moments with them so far?

It was pretty nerve wracking at first, and I didn't know what to expect but Melissa and Joey have been great about showing me the ropes. It's a really great set to work on.

One of my favorite moments was on April Fools Day when we saran-wrapped Joey's dressing room door. He dodged it at the last second. We got it on video though; it's pretty funny.








You're so young, but do you remember watching Melissa Joan Hart and Joey Lawrence on their previous TV series like "Sabrina the Teenage Witch", "Clarissa Explains It All" or going beyond your age, "Blossom"?

I definitely remember watching reruns of "Sabrina the Teenage Witch" as a kid. I also remember the animated series!

"Blossom" was a little before my time but I watched a couple episodes after hearing I was going to work with Joey Lawrence. It was good. Whoa!









What's in store this summer on "Melissa & Joey" on the remaining 18 episodes of season one?

We watched an advanced screener of the summer premiere a few weeks ago and it is very funny, so kudos to you and the rest of the cast!


Can we expect some more cool guest stars like last summer/fall, where you got to act with the legendary Katherine Helmond from past sitcoms such as "Soap" and "Who's the Boss"?

Oh yeah, the new episodes have a lot of great guest stars including Andy Lawrence and Megan Hilty who starred in Wicked on Broadway just to name a few.

We've been lucky with an incredibly talented guest cast. The new episodes also have some love interests, which was a lot of fun to shoot.








You also get to work with a fellow teenager in Taylor Spreitler, who plays your older sister, on "Melissa & Joey".

I know you must learn a lot from Melissa Joan Hart and Joey Lawrence, but learning from someone close to your own age could be even more rewarding.

How is it working with Taylor? It seems you two probably get a long very well.

Taylor and I have developed a brother-sister relationship a lot like what you see on screen.

She was my first friend when I came to L.A. and we went to school on set together. She is really fun to have on set.








We hope we have some Ryder-centric episodes in the cards!

What do you think would be a good storyline for Ryder? And who would be your dream guest star?

I think a good storyline would be for Ryder to get his drivers license since I just got mine in real life.

A dream guest star for me would have to be Alec Baldwin, Tina Fey, or James Franco.








Do you plan on pursing any other acting jobs when "Melissa & Joey" goes on a production hiatus?

Are movie roles something you see yourself doing in the immediate future or long-term?

Yes, I recently completed a Disney movie called Frenemies in Toronto.

I would love to continue to make the transition into movies. I'll just take it one step at a time!







Our thanks to Nick Robinson. We wish him the best of luck on the new episodes of "Melissa & Joey" and his career.

"Melissa & Joey" airs Wednesdays at 8/7 central only on ABC Family!

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