Actor and musician Tyler Posey chatted about starring in “Teen Wolf: The Movie,” and he opened up about his new single “Lemon.”
“I am very excited about the movie, which comes out tomorrow,” Posey said. “It has gotten great reviews and I am super proud of it. I think it’s my best work that I’ve done as an actor. The fact that I can come back and revisit this role as an older adult is just perfect. I am very happy about it all, I am over the moon.”
The synopsis of “Teen Wolf: The Movie” is as follows: When a terrifying new evil emerges, Scott McCall (Tyler Posey) and the rest of his pack return to Beacon Hills. Scott rounds up the Banshees, Werecoyotes, Hellhounds, Kitsunes, and other shapeshifters of the night.
With the help of his new allies, trusted friends, and the return of a long lost love, Scott and his pack just might stand a chance.
“Teen Wolf: The Movie” stars Tyler Posey, Crystal Reed, Holland Roden, Shelley Hennig, JR Bourne, Colton Haynes, Melissa Ponzio, Ian Bohen, Dylan Sprayberry, Seth Gillam, Vince Mattis, Khylin Rhambo, and Tyler Hoechlin. It is available for streaming on January 26 exclusively on the streaming service Paramount+.
“Dylan Sprayberry is one of my best friends. I love working with him. I’ve known him since he was 14 years old and I’ve watched him grow up, and I love that guy. It was great to work with him,” Posey said.
Posey is no stranger to the spotlight. His storied acting and music career spans over a decade starring in dozens of TV shows and movies including Teen Wolf and Truth or Dare, as well as being a member of multiple bands including PVMNTS and Five North.
In 2020, Posey decided to take a big step in his music career by becoming a solo artist.
Standing alone in the spotlight for the first time has been freeing in more ways than one, least of all when it comes to his courage to open up about the hell that was 2020.
The early days of the COVID pandemic were particularly pronounced for him, exacerbating deep-rooted anxiety, depression and childhood trauma that manifested in a self-destructive pattern of drug and alcohol abuse. Left to his own devices while quarantine orders ruled Los Angeles, life inside Posey’s home became a dangerous cycle of isolation and intoxication.
Influences
This new chapter of Posey’s career sets off a powder keg of personal reflection and growth, grounded by his elastic voice, juxtaposing a devil-may-care growl and smooth-throated pop-punk sheen.
On his music and songwriting inspirations, he said, “Sometimes, it’s experience-based, or sometimes, I have a random thought in my head. My life is unrelatable to a lot of people since I’ve been acting since I was six years old and I have been traveling the world, and I don’t want that to stop me. I do try to find the relatableness in my life while also writing about the uniqueness in my life.”
He listed Fat Mike of the punk rock band NOFX as his dream collaboration choice in music. “I love his songwriting, lyrics, melodies and the way that he plays his bass is really unique, fun, and awesome,” he said.
“I also love Blink-182, they are my favorite band. I would love to write a song with Tom DeLonge, who is notorious for never collaborating with anybody and I think that’s so badass and I love that,” he added.
In the acting world, he listed Sandra Bullock, George Clooney, and Jesse Plemons as his dream acting partners. “I want to work with all of the heavy hitters, where I feel like I am being challenged,” he said. “I would feel intimidated going on set with them.”
On his career-defining moments, he shared, “Working with some big actors at a young age was defining. These include Jennifer Lopez, Robert De Niro, and Arnold Schwarzenegger, and I’ve worked with all of them before I was 11 years old. They all taught me that you can be at any level — the highest of the highest — and you can still be respectful to everybody.”
‘Lemon’
His upbeat song “Lemon” is featured in the ending credits of his new film “Teen Wolf: The Movie,” and it will be released on the following day (Friday, January 27).
“It was the first song I ever wrote, in terms of thinking of it, for being in a movie. Right when ‘Teen Wolf: The Movie’ was announced, I really wanted to put a song in it,” he said.
“Music has grown in my life over the past five years, ever since ‘Teen Wolf’ ended, and I wanted to merge the two careers, and I wanted to have more music in my life and I wanted to give that to ‘Teen Wolf’ too. I wrote ‘Lemon’ with that in mind, and I send them four other songs that I had written over the years, and they picked ‘Lemon,’ and that was incredible because I literally wrote that for this movie,” he elaborated.
“It has an interesting feel to it, it’s very elevated and more rock and roll. I wrote it with my girlfriend, Phem, in my bedroom and it holds a lot of weight. Phem is an incredible writer, and I love being able to collaborate with her. It’s a really cool single and I made this insane music video for it,” he added.
“For ‘Lemon,’ I wanted to capture the film and the keep the excitement and the momentum going,” he said. “To me, an ending credits song should keep that energy flowing and going.”
Regarding the title of the current chapter of his life, he revealed, “Happiness and Extremely Present and Focused.” “I am trying to apply an egoless attitude,” he said. “I am trying to catch my ego right before it starts creeping in. I am trying to push it down, swallow my pride and what I am going through, and I am trying to be more understanding and put myself in the other people’s shoes. That created a Zen and peaceful life. I’m Tyler Posey 2.0, that’s this era of my life. I’ve happier than I’ve ever been.”
The digital age
On being an artist in the digital age, he said, “It’s interesting because when I was a kid I started playing music at 12 years old. I love doing the groundwork to get my music out there by my own hands. Now, with the digital age, there is an added pressure I’ve seen in the music industry to do things that don’t really go with your passion.”
“Music should always be fun for me, I don’t have to rely on the digital age for success in a music career for myself because it’s not the career that keeps bread on my table. I am just having fun with it, that’s why my album is all over the place sonically. It’s an interesting era to be in, editing music videos is a lot easier, and making band logos is a lot easier, so there are good parts about being in the digital age,” he explained.
“I can record a song, get it mixed and mastered in one day, and have it out the next day with a music video. Everything is at your fingertips. I keep it fun, light and loose, and I am more passionate because I have everything at my fingertips” he added.
Advice for aspiring musicians and actors
For young and aspiring artists, he said, “Keep a good head on your shoulders and treat every single person (no matter who they are) with the same respect because word travels fast in this town. People want to work with happy people that are good to them. Having a good reputation precedes everything.”
Success
On his definition of the word success, Posey said, “Letting go of ego and knowing that there is something way bigger than yourself. Also, making yourself proud non-superficially. What lasts forever is acknowledging that there is something bigger than yourself so that’s my success, striving for that every single day.”
For his fans and followers, he remarked, “Anybody that is a fan of my music is excited for this new trajectory. ‘Lemon’ is an evolved version of what I’ve put out in the past, and the same with ‘Teen Wolf: The Movie.’ My acting is better than it has ever been.”
“I am really excited for the fans to continue the story with us, and hopefully, they like it enough so that we can put out more. I am excited for people to see the hard work that I put into everything I do,” he concluded.
“Lemon” is available for pre-order on digital service providers by clicking here.
To learn more about Tyler Posey, follow him on Instagram and check out his Linktree page.
