Life imitating art? Logan Paul noticed some similarities between himself and the character he plays in the musical remake of Valley Girl — and one big difference.
“I like the character. He was a lot like me at that time in my life — fun-loving, just wants to have a good time, maybe a little ignorant,” Paul, 25, says exclusively in the latest issue of Us Weekly. In the movie, the internet star portrays Mickey, a popular yet arrogant jock who is dating Julie (Jessica Rothe), one of the most popular girls in high school, who falls for someone else.
“[He] makes some dumb decisions and has a problem with delivery from time to time [and is a] bit of a troublemaker,” the “Impaulsive” podcast host says, noting that the most difficult part was playing a character in the 1980s. “You can imagine, we’ll be in the middle of a scene and a ‘bro’ will slip out or ‘homie’ will slip out. And guess what they didn’t say in 1980s? ‘Homie.’ So there was definitely a bit of a learning curve to be an old person.”
Regardless, Paul hopes that the film will be a step further into the world of acting.
“I’m definitely going to go down that path. We’ll see how far I go down that path, but yes, traditional Hollywood is awesome, just because the payoff is a little greater,” he tells Us. “It’s a little more prestigious than filming yourself with a camera. There’s a different respect when you’re a Hollywood actor than a digital star. I think it’s shifting, but one is definitely more legitimate than the other.”
In fact, Paul says, being a digital star is “more relevant” than an actor.
“There’s still a bit of a stigma that comes with being a YouTuber, which, I consider that an ignorant point of view, but I’d be ignorant if I pretended like that didn’t exist and that YouTube is the end all be all,” the Space Between Us star says. “You have those digital kids who act like they’re the cream of the crop, and then you’ve kind of got to tell them, ‘Hey, bro, you dance on TikTok, calm down. You have a long way to go. This is a marathon, not a sprint.'”
For more from Paul, watch the video above and pick up the new issue of Us Weekly, on newsstands now.
Valley Girl is now available on video on demand.
