By Valerie Milano
Los Angeles, CA (The Hollywood Times) 8/10/24 – If you know actor Nathan Shoop in real life, you know he’s a nice-looking young man. You might even say he’s handsome.
That said, do not expect to see that Nathan Shoop when you go see his latest film, Richie Rich Hustla, a dark comedy about the power struggles of two aspiring actors from writer/director Naomi Christie (Objects of Desire).
Shoop (Wanderlust, Gossip Boy) plays the title character, a dreadlock-wearing, grillz’ed-up Post Malone wannabe who has about as much acting ability as a banana slug (no offense intended to the banana slug community). Thrown into a temporary living arrangement with David (Patrick Sanderson), the struggling actor boyfriend of a “friend of friend,” Richie comes on in force to show his guest who’s the cock of the walk.
In an exclusive interview with The Hollywood Times, Shoop said friends who know him best really shouldn’t be surprised by Richie’s persona.
“I think there’s a little bit of me that kind of like lives within Rich,” he said. “I think I’d be friends with Richie. I don’t think a lot of people would, but I definitely find a kinship with him.”
The mouth prosthetic Shoop wore for the role actually contributed to an important aspect of the character, Shoop said.
“(The grillz) were actually fitted to my mouth, so they were actually super comfortable,” he said, adding it caused him to have a slight lisp. “It’s very subtle, but every time I put that in, it was the connecting tissue. I put that grill in and then I’m Rich!”
Shoop also appeared in Christie’s other current short, Objects of Desire,” playing an anonymous background character in a seedy underground karaoke bar in LA’s Koreatown. The actor said that’s where he began development of the Richie Rich character.
“I went all out! I got my hair in braids, found some grillz on Amazon, a couple of gold necklaces,” he said, completing the look with a big white fur coat he got from Burning Man five years ago and showing up to the shoot in character. “One of the necklaces said ‘rich’ and the grill said ‘hustla,’ so I was ‘Rich Hustla’ on set.”
Shoop stayed in character all day and only director Christie and the film’s cinematographer (Gregorio Acuna) knew who he was. And he sold it so well, one of the production coordinators – who he had previously dated for six months – didn’t even know him.
“The whole day, until she had me signing my paperwork, she had no idea it was me!” he said. “She had no clue.”
Shoop’s brilliant portrayal of the truly unlikable Richie is just one of many high spots in the film, which is co-directed by Jamar Harding. Sanderson’s portrayal of a down-and-out David plays well opposite Shoop’s posturing and obnoxious Richie, making that pairing a wonderful plot point in this keen 17-minute look into the characters that charm and fuel Hollywood’s audition rooms.
And you can see Richie Rich Hustla during this block:
LOCALS ONLY: MADE IN LA
TCL CHINESE 6 THEATRE || #6
