Interview: Gabe Eggerling

We recently had a chance to chat with Gabe Eggerling. He currently stars as tech-driven and talented photographer, “Bailey Burke” in Amazon’s original series The Kicks. The show is a soccer comedy based on Olympic gold medalist soccer star, Alex Morgan’s New York Times bestselling YA book series. You can log into Amazon and watch here.

Gave is also active behind the camera. He voices the title role of “Jake” in Disney Junior’s hit series Jake and the Never Land Pirates, “Fluke” in Sofia the First, as well as Princess Jasmine’s pet elephant “Taj” in Whisker Haven Tales with the Palace Pets.

Gabe is amazing off camera as well. He is a member of Mensa and John Hopkins Center for Talented Youth. He had the honor of being featured alongside luminaries such as First Lady Michelle Obama, Malala Yousafzai, Mark Wahlberg, and Gwenyth Paltrow in renowned photographer John Russo’s charity book 100 Making a Difference, which highlights how they are changing the world through their philanthropy.

What can you tell us about your character in The Kicks?
I see Bailey Burke as a genuine guy with an old soul. He is laid back with sarcastic comments and advise when his family is spinning, but he has his breaking point for sure. When he finally starts to get recognition for his talents, he’s pretty funny because he takes himself so seriously. The scripts made me laugh because I am actually an older brother in real life, and Bailey reminds me of my little brother in ways.

What is it like playing a character that has such a strong literary following?
I feel like I got the best of both worlds with The Kicks. I love to read books and then watch the words come to life when adapted on screen, so I couldn’t be more excited. Even better, I have the freedom to personalize Bailey a bit because Devin’s younger sibling in the book series was a sister. After I booked the role, the writer David Babcock told me that the sibling switch was the first detail he changed as he starting writing the script. So now Devin has a younger brother!

How does voice over work compare to in front of camera acting?
I feel lucky to work in both voice over and live action. They are both exciting but very different, from the casting directors to preparing for the role, to the actual work day. Voice over is higher energy and your entire body movements affect your voice performance. I wear comfortable clothes, usually record by myself and work one on one with the director and client. It was really cool the first time I saw my character go from a script, to a sketch, to actual movements and mannerisms like me! Working in front of the camera requires a different skill set. There is a visit to hair and makeup, wardrobe, running lines with the dialogue coach, rehearsals with marks to hit as you are delivering the lines, and playing off of the other actors in the scene. The best thing about TV and film work is that I always learn something new, whether it’s a technique from a cast mate, or a technical tip from the crew! Either way, lots of laughs and great relationships are made on both sets.

You were recently recognized for philanthropy – do you have a favorite charity?
There are so many amazing people helping others in the world. I have a few charities that have helped me along the way. Samuel Bistrian, owner of Roma Boots, is one of the most generous people I know. Milk + Bookies helped me host my first book party to launch Mission:HERO (Helping Everyone Read Outloud), and I don’t have enough space to thank the team at generationOn and Hasbro. They truly have supported me (and thousands of other kids) and given me the tools and confidence to make my mark on the world! We are launching a Kindness Rules campaign for the month of September, so look out for that.

Is there a project you worked on that you would like more people to see/shed a light on?
Well it absolutely makes me happy when someone says they watched my TEDx Talk! TedxYBC has the most talented director, mentors and youth council members. A project to shine a light on would be the audio book of the novel Paperboy by Vince Vawter. I voiced all of the characters with different voices in the book for Learning Ally and Princeton. It took about nine months to complete, going into the booth every week. Learning Ally always needs experienced voice actors to donate their time to record audio books for people with dyslexia.