On the success of Step Up 3D, Malambri said, “It was great. It was fun. It was exciting and terrifying at the same time. It was my first big feature when I first started acting. It was my first time playing the lead in a Disney film. I was surrounded by great people and a really fun cast. It was a great work environment, and I had a really good time.”
Regarding his latest acting work, he said, “I just had a guest role on Animal Kingdom. I hope that now that they got picked up for a fourth season, they can continue with my character on the show. I also have a couple of side projects. I am just hustling. The acting business is a lot harder than what most people think. It is a constant grind.”
Malambri listed Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Cruise and James Franco as his dream acting partners. “I have always loved the acting of Leonardo DiCaprio and James Franco. I also think that Tom Cruise is one of the best performing actors on film. Everything Tom Cruise does is amazing. He does all his stunts and he is so committed. There is nobody else like him anymore,” he said.
For aspiring actors, Malambri encouraged them to “keep their head up and to keep grinding.” “You always want to have something on the back-burner in case things don’t work out, but hopefully everything flourishes,” he said. “I don’t see myself doing anything else. I continue to push myself to be the best I can be. I am lucky to continue to work in this business. I don’t care about the fame, I just want to work. I want to continue to act for as long as I can.”
Malambri defined the word success as “happiness.” “Success is what you make it. There is no limit for when you are successful. Success comes when you are happy with what you are doing in life, and you are able to live comfortably with it,” he said.
For his fans, he said, “Thank you for always supporting me, and hopefully, I’ll see you guys on the silver screen soon.”
Digital transformation of entertainment industry
On the impact of technology on the entertainment business, “I think it’s great. Obviously, we are vastly improving on where new media content is going. I think Netflix and Amazon are giving a lot of the cable networks a run. We are having to change things up, and figure out what’s working and what’s note. With TV and film, things have changed drastically, where studios have a hard time getting people into the movies to see films. Everybody wants their content now. A lot of actors are transitioning from film to TV to new media and web series. A lot of people are finding it harder to be cast, so they are creating their own content. That is something that I am trying to do myself with projects. It is definitely harder these days for an actor to find work without having to do it yourself, in a sense.”
Regarding his use of technology, as an actor, Malambri said, “These days, you don’t have to go into a casting office anymore. You can just set up your iPhone in front of a green screen or a blank wall, and do a scene, and send that in, and you book off of that.”
Each day, the heartthrob actor is motivated by his family. “I have a little four-year-old daughter and a wife. I love what I do, and I cherish my work to support my family and have a wonderful life together. They motivate me every day to do what I love to do, and that is to act,” he said.
Malambri revealed that he prefers his scripts digital. “I use my iPad Pro a lot. I use it to annotate my lines, and brainstorm my characters. It’s a game-changer. You are not wasting paper, and don’t need to print out hundreds of pages,” he said. “I use technology every day, even looking up things for auditions and casting.”
To learn more about Malambri’s acting work, check out his IMDb page.
For more information on actor Rick Malambri, follow him on Instagram, and on Twitter.
