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James Maslow talks about ‘Blue Ridge’ series, and mental health in the digital age

Actor and singer James Maslow (Big Time Rush) chatted about being a part of the hit series “Blue Ridge,” which was created by Gary Wheeler.

James Maslow
James Maslow. Photo Credit: Lacy Hartselle
James Maslow. Photo Credit: Lacy Hartselle

Actor and singer James Maslow (Big Time Rush) chatted about being a part of the hit series “Blue Ridge,” which was created by Gary Wheeler.

James Dean once said, “Dream as if you’ll live forever, live as if you’ll die today.” This quote applies to multifaceted entertainer James Maslow, who is all about being present, and living in the moment.

‘Blue Ridge’ series

On being a part of “Blue Ridge,” he said, “That was so nice. I truly love being on set. Between COVID and the success of Big Time Rush taking up a big chunk of the last 3.5 years, it has been tough to be on set (to find the time and the opportunities with my availability) so I am so able we were able to line it up.”

Working with Johnathon Schaech

“It was fantastic working with Johnathon Schaech,” he exclaimed. “It was great to be back on set and I love both worlds: I’ve always acted and sung. I’ve been doing a lot of singing lately.”

“Johnathon and the creator Gary Wheeler are such pros. Gary has made so many movies and series in the last 10 years alone,” Maslow said.

“The level of proficiency that Johnathon has is tremendous. He has the same crew that he has worked with for years. It was such an enjoyable set, especially when people are that seasoned. We were all so relaxed, and that made the days so enjoyable,” he elaborated.

Johnathon Schaech
Johnathon Schaech in ‘Blue Ridge’ series. Photo Courtesy of Cowboy Way Channel.

“Johnathon Schaech has been acting for so long and he has been such a legend. He has been working in this industry at a high level for such a long time but now that he has his own series, he has invited a lot of friends,” he elaborated.

“I played a race car driver,” he admitted. “I’ve always wanted to do a proper western, and Gary Wheeler is very fluent in that world. I grew up riding horses, I’ve worked at a ranch, and there was very serious time in my life where I got into roping.”

“Johnathon has been getting some high-level A-list guest stars and co-stars,” he said. Someday, I would love to a badass western someday because it is rooted in my upbringing.”

James Maslow on Mike O’Hearn

Maslow also praised Mike O’Hearn for being like an older brother to him. “Mike has been a mentor and friend for at least 10 years. ‘Blue Ridge’ has had a star-studded group of guest stars.”

Mike O'Hearn
Mike O’Hearn. Photo Credit: Dina Yarbrough.

Mental health in the digital age

Maslow opened up about the importance of mental health in the digital age. “Social media is a double-edged sword,” he said. “I am very grateful to have it to talk to my fans.”

“I’ve embraced creating content on social media and using my platform to get projects out and messages that are important to me, which include bringing people together in conversation. Trying to find unity, similarity, and commonality instead of focusing on our differences,” he explained.

“For all these aforementioned reasons, social media is fantastic,” he noted.

“I am grateful, however, that I grew up without social media until I was in my 20s. I’ve been lucky because I never let my happiness be dictated by the number of comments, likes, or engagements that I get on social media. I have a huge amount of empathy for anybody that grew up younger than me,” he elaborated.

“Having said that, I think it’s important to take time throughout the day to put the phone down and have conversations,” he said. “When we host family dinners, we take all the phones and put them away. It is such a beautiful thing.”

“The older I get, the more I realize that being connected in real life is a wonderful thing,” he admitted.

“I enjoy being in nature. I don’t have a motorcycle right now but that allowed me to connect to nature to some degree. These days, I go hiking, camping, or paddleboarding as often as possible,” he elaborated.

“In the mornings, I would go out barefoot in the grass and play with my dogs, and that is literally grounding,” he added.

Stage of his life

On the title of the current chapter of his life, he revealed, “Nashville.”

“My life has dramatically shifted in every way that has been positive since I moved to Nashville in the beginning of the year,” he said.

“My excitement about music, writing, film and TV, speaking, and business has grown and improved, and I love it. This feels like it’s the beginning of the next chapter,” he noted.

Superpower of choice

When asked what his superpower would be, he revealed, “I would love to have the power to immediately heal people.”

Best thing about being his age

On the best thing about being his age, he shared, “The fun thing about being my age is that I am continuing to learn.”

“Each time that I invest into a new industry, is an opportunity for me to learn something else or grow in another area and to make new connections and relationships,” he acknowledged.

Working with Ciara Hanna

Maslow spoke about working with Ciara Hanna in the rom-com movies “Stars Fell on Alabama” and “Stars Fell Again.” “Ciara Hanna is a sweetheart,” he recalled. “Those were fun movies to make with her. It is nice to do some content that is good for the whole family.”

Success

On his definition of the word success, Maslow remarked, “My definition of success has continued to evolve. At this stage of my life, success is the ability to give back, not only to inspire but to literally employ; to support other families.”

“With my entrepreneurial, producing and touring, businesses, my goal is to employ so many people, the more I do it,” he said.

“The bigger and more successful I become, the more people I get to employ and the better I get to pay them and provide stability for them and their families. This is the best motivation in the world,” he explained.

“The concept of being able to employ a workforce and create stability for them is a part of my latest definition of success,” he added.

Message for his fans

For his fans and supporters, Maslow said, “It takes an army. I’ve used my platform to promote some serious messages in addition to the different projects that I’ve been doing.”

“I’ve learned to have so much more fun because I’ve finally embraced expressing myself as I do outside of social media,” he said.

“What you get now, is authentically me, and that has allowed me to attract a fanbase now that is so much more aligned with who I am as a person, what I believe and what is important to me… and this new unapologetic version of me is not changing ever because I love it,” he elaborated.

Closing thoughts on ‘Blue Ridge’

For his fans, he remarked about “Blue Ridge,” “This series reminds me of ‘Walker Texas Ranger’, which was one of the greatest series ever made. The entire family can watch it, it is entertaining, and it has sexy stories for the girls.”

“I’ve always loved Johnathon, but I have so much more respect for him after having worked with him; he is such a pro,” he noted.

“I want people to watch it and to have a good time. When you see Johnathon being a badass on screen, it’s because he’s a badass off-screen,” Maslow concluded.

To learn more about James Maslow, follow him on Instagram and X (Twitter).

Markos Papadatos
Written By

Markos Papadatos is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for Music News. Papadatos is a Greek-American journalist and educator that has authored over 22,000 original articles over the past 18 years. He has interviewed some of the biggest names in music, entertainment, lifestyle, magic, and sports. He is a 16-time "Best of Long Island" winner, where for three consecutive years (2020, 2021, and 2022), he was honored as the "Best Long Island Personality" in Arts & Entertainment, an honor that has gone to Billy Joel six times.

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