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Sidelined: The QB and Me star Siena Agudong calls Van Der Beek a “beautiful human,” while Drew Ray Tanner compares working with the beloved actor to others in James’ “class” during his time on Riverdale.
Noah Beck is the latest TikTok star to dip his toes into acting, with the internet personality making his acting debut in Tubi’s new romantic drama, Sidelined: The QB and Me — and his cast mates are singing his praises.
In an interview with TooFab, Beck’s costars Siena Agudong, Drew Ray Tanner, and Deborah Cox opened up about working with Beck on his first film.
According to Tubi, Sidelined: The QB and Me — which is an adaptation of the Wattpad story-turned-YA novel The QB Bad Boy and Me by Tay Marley — follows Dallas (Agudong), a dancer and Drayton (Beck), the star high school quarterback, who unexpectedly fall in love, making their post-grad plans uncertain.
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Tanner — who stars as Nathan Bryan, Dallas’ older brother and high school football coach — said that he had “no idea what to expect” from Beck, but ultimately had nothing but good things to say about his costar.
“He is the nicest guy, really respected the craft, came at it very humbly, had no airs about him, had no ego about him,” Tanner, 32, told TooFab. “I think it was one of those things where at first it was like, ‘Yeah, you need anything?’ But he did really great and I don’t think he needed my help at all. He was fantastic.”
Agudong echoed her on-screen brother.
“I second that. I think respect was a great word to use. He did respect it and he respected people on set,” she said. “He also just wanted to grow, and he kept saying that from the beginning and would text me beforehand and ask for tips. And I was hesitant to give them because I wanted to see what he had to bring first, and I didn’t wanna influence him in any way starting out. And then, he just took it and ran and just wanted to soak it all in, and that’s what he did. Yeah. He’s a natural.”
“Anytime somebody asks me for advice or something, I’m like, ‘Ask me in 50 years when I know more,'” Tanner jokingly added. “Because maybe I don’t know what I’m doing.”
Meanwhile, Cox — who plays Dallas’ dance teacher — shared similar thoughts about Beck’s acting debut while speaking with TooFab.
“He was great. He honestly was great,” she said. “[Agudong and Beck] were … I fed off of their chemistry, their natural chemistry and magic that they brought to the screen. And it was great. [Director Justin Wu] knew those moments to pull from that were just naturally there.”
Sidelined: The QB and Me also stars James Van Der Beek, who plays the football-obsessed father of Beck’s character Drayton.
Agudong and Tanner recalled their experience sharing the screen with the beloved actor.
“James is such a beautiful, beautiful human. Walking on set, even just the first day you can, I mean, everyone respected him,” Agudong said. “He just brought such great energy to set. We were laughing our heads off, and then the minute it turned into the scene … honestly, sometimes it was hard to take yourself out of it watching him. He’s just so captivating, but a lovely human being.”
Tanner called Van Der Beek “wonderful,” before reflecting on getting to work with other former teen stars from the ’90s, such as Skeet Ulrich and the late Luke Perry, during his time on Riverdale.
“I’ve been so fortunate too with Riverdale, we got to work with people, part of his class, like Luke Perry and Skeet Ulrich,” he shared. “One thing I noticed — same thing with James, that he has as well — is that when you meet them, they’re very, like, everything’s easy. Everything’s great … [but] as soon as it’s like action, they drop in, they come prepared, they’re professionals.”
“They have long-lasting careers for a reason,” he added. “It’s something that everyone should take note of. And, yeah it was quite inspiring.”
Cox — who did not share any scenes with Van Der Beek — revealed to TooFab that she met the Varsity Blues star for the first time at the Sidelined premiere earlier this month, which marked Van Der Beek’s first public appearance since announcing his cancer diagnosis.
“I love his work,” she said, before recalling seeing Van Der Beek on screen in the film. “It was so wonderful. Seeing the chemistry with him and Noah, and [playing] this stern father. … I love that you could tell that their relationship was so complex. It was really thrilling to watch and to see all of these characters come to life.”
“We got a chance to meet each other for the first time and connect and tell each other how we felt about each other’s work and stuff,” she added of meeting Van Der Beek. “It was really, really, really a good time.”
See much more from Agudong, Tanner, and Cox in full interviews, above!
Sidelined: The QB and Me will be available to stream on Tubi on November 29.
