6 Questions with Awkward’s Monty Geer
As the hit MTV show Awkward begins to wrap up its fifth and final season, we caught up with star Monty Geer to talk about the teen comedy, about facing fears and how he is constantly working to be better at his craft.
It’s the last season of Awkward. Looking back, how have you grown as an actor from when you started to where you are now?
Definitely I’ve grown a lot. I’m a lot less scared to mess up now. When I first started Awkward, I wanted to be perfect with all I did and I was worried that I would mess up. Now, there’s more of a playfulness to it, to seeing what happens. If I mess up one way, I’ll try it another the next time. It’s more organic that way. I’m much more confident.
Apart from the show, how have you grown as a person?
I’ve been pursuing this career my entire life and I feel like what this break has shown me is that you can make anything happen if you work hard. In whatever field that is, we are limitless. I feel like I’m living that dream right now and I’m always working on growing. I’m training all the time. I’ve become comfortable with being uncomfortable in life. That’s why I enjoy skydiving and scuba diving so much. It scares me but it proves that the fear won’t kill me and it can be overcome.
You mentioned that you’re training all the time. How so?
I’m a workaholic. If I’m not working on acting, then I’m writing since I’m a writer too. So many actors I know think that once you’re on a show, you can stop going to class. But I love acting and I want to always be getting better at it. I’m in class, I still have coaching for every audition, and I still run scenes with other actors. I want to perfect my art.
Through this show and other projects you’ve worked on, what have you found has been the biggest challenge for you as an actor?
Right now, I’ve been playing characters that are high energy and kinda awkward, but I’m working on being a more grounded, leading character, which is a big change. I want to be able to play more of an adult as well as what I’m doing right now.
How do you stay inspired and keep your skills sharp?
One of the main things is improving my skill level. Many people see success as the number of jobs they book, but that can be pure luck. Success, to me, is how much better I am as an actor today than I was a month ago. Jobs will or won’t come, I can’t control that. But I can control my work. When Michael Jordan was playing basketball, he was the first on the court and the last to leave. He wanted to be the best and he worked on it. I want the same thing.
As this chapter is closing, what are you looking at for the future?
Bigger opportunities. It’s pilot season now and I’m doing that. I’m excited for whatever comes my way. Like I said, I’m also a writer so I’d love to be able to write and act in my own show. Great actors look back on their work years before and see how far they’ve come. I just want to be surprised by how much better I can be at my art.
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