Meet Tucker Albrizzi
Tucker Albrizzi: Following His Dream Wherever it Leads
Tucker Albrizzi might not be a household name just yet, but Disney Channel and Nickelodeon fans probably already know his face. In just over three short years, the actor has appeared in commercials, on television shows like “Good Luck Charlie” and “Big Time Rush,” and has done voice-over work in the “Buddies” franchise’s popular titles “Spookie Buddies” and “Treasure Buddies.”
The fun and outgoing young performer got his start while growing up in Florida. “One day in Florida, I used to live there, I was just watching TV and I just thought to myself ‘I wonder what it would be like to do what they do?’ So I asked my mom, ‘Can I go into acting?’ We got headshots and then she sent that everywhere but no one would take us. Then one agency took us. Then on my third audition, I got my first commercial!”
The determined youngster continued to do everything he could to learn more about acting. “I mainly went on auditions. I went to acting classes to help my improv and my theatrical and stuff like that. Then we just went on auditions so I would be prepared for any type of role that they would have for me.”
An unfortunate family illness would ultimately lead Tucker to California, which was exactly where he needed to be. “Long story short, I didn’t come out here for acting,” Tucker explains. “My brother had leukemia.” The family decided to take a huge negative and turn it into a positive, not only for their family but for others in need. “He went around the country signing people up for marrow donor list. We’ve saved like 35 lives so far so that’s good!”
“A studio out here wanted to do a documentary on him. So they flew us out here. I was doing commercials, auditions and stuff like that back in Florida, so I thought ‘Let’s try it out here because this is acting central!’ Once again, on my early auditions, I got my first pilot!”
How is his brother doing now? “He’s all better! He’s going to boarding school in Connecticut. For the summer, he moved back here so he’s living here right now for summer!”
Tucker’s career took off so fast, he never the move back to Florida. He now has reoccurring roles on two of today’s hottest teen shows. “On ‘Big Time Rush,’ my role is ‘Tyler.’ I play a kid that lives at the apartment complex called the Palmwoods. I just help them out and go on adventures with them.”
You can also see on him on several episodes of the Disney Channel hit “Good Luck Charlie.” “Jake is Gabe’s best friend and they get in to a bunch or trouble with each other. He’s just like the nice, kind of goofy friend who is always upbeat and cheerful. He’s kind of like me because I’m really goofy most the time.”
Tucker is always excited to meet the casts of the shows he will be working on. “On every show that I’ve been on, like a guest star or reoccurring, everyone has been really nice and welcoming. So they don’t make you feel like you are really odd there. So it’s a really fun experience with them.”
He has found some interesting and fun ways to bond with the cast and crew. “On ‘Good Luck Charlie,’ during lunch, one of the games that we would play, would be Jenga toss, which is you would get the Jenga box and a couple of Jenga pieces and you would try to throw them into the cylinder box from a far distance,” he tells us of what they do for fun during downtime on the set.
Up next for this talented teen is hearing his voice on the big screen. “ParaNorman is about a kid named Norman who is not like any other kid because he can see ghosts. In that movie, I play Neil, Norman’s friend who’s not normal either. I’m just sort of like the goofball in that. It’s a really funny movie!” The film opens on August 17th! Be sure to check it out!
Tucker had a blast doing the voice for Neil and loved being in a sound booth. “When I’m there, I would do what I would think that character would be like. If that’s not perfect for them, they would kind of tweak things. They would say ‘That was great but how about more enthusiasm with that part?’ Or ‘How about dial that down a little bit?’” We can’t wait to hear how funny Tucker’s part is in the movie!
Just don’t ask the actor to choose between live action and voice overs… he wouldn’t be able to decide! “One of the main things that’s different about it is you can relax and have fun with that,” he says about recording voice overs as compared to being in front of the camera. “You don’t have to worry about the facial expressions because in live camera you would have to worry about your facial expressions. You don’t have to worry about that with voice overs. You can just relax. Your voice has to match the energy that you would have if you were on live camera. I love them both!”
The busy actor juggles school and work by attending a school that works with him. “I go to a school for actors. Some other schools wouldn’t be okay if you have to go to an audition or something but my school is totally okay with that. This school is designed for people in the entertainment industry. They understand if you have auditions or if you have to film something.”
The future is wide open for this talent… but if he could create a dream character for himself, who would he play? “I would play one like Jack Black or Jonah Hill, one of those people. Those guys are kind of my idols. I just love how they are. So I would play something like them.” Who would he like to co-star with? “Those two [mentioned above]. I also like Robert Downey Jr. He just seems like a really cool guy to me.”
When he isn’t on a set, Tucker says his hobbies include, “I just love playing video games. That’s mainly what I do. Other than that, I just go out and play with my friends.” You might also catch him dancing to some reggae music. “I just play relaxing beach music. Annually, we usually go to the Bahamas. So we’re going to do that again this summer.”
He’s also big on donating time to charities. “My brother’s one is called Driving For Donors. That’s the one that I am mainly close too. I do whatever I can to help out with my brother’s charity. I love charities that help homeless dogs, because I love animals. I would help out anything to do with that.”
As our conversation winds down with this talented teen, the talk turns to other teens who might want to pursue a career in acting. “I would say ‘Don’t give up and be yourself!” Tucker exclaims emphatically. “Don’t try to be someone that people want you to be. Be yourself!” Great advice from someone who is really staying busy doing something he loves!
Keep an eye out for Tucker on “Big Time Rush,” “Good Luck Charlie” and in the new movie “ParaNorman,” in theaters on August 17th! Follow this funny guy on Twitter too! You can find him at: https://twitter.com/tuckeralbrizzi