Victoria Justice, best known for her starring roles on Nickelodeon series Victorious and Fun Size, stars in Kristin Hanggi‘s new romantic comedy-drama Naomi and Ely’s No Kiss List.

Victoria Justice On Boyfriend Pierson Fode

In No Kiss List, Justice plays NYU freshman Naomi, who is living with her lifelong best pal Ely. The friends and roommates, who tend to have a similar taste in men, decide that in order to avoid any tension fighting over the same guy they should come up with a “no kiss list” – which is bound to be compromised. Confusing matters even further is that Naomi is in love with Ely.

“I’ve never been in love with a gay guy. I can’t say that I have,” Justice told uInterview, adding that she didn’t have any personal experience to draw on for the role. The 22-year-old actress credits fine-tuning her gaydar at an early age for helping her avoid the romantic mishap.

“My mom was a hairdresser, and I grew up… When I was eight I started modeling and doing commercials, so I was constantly around gay men, and so I feel like my gaydar was very tuned in from a young age,” Justice said. “So, I’m very quick to pick up on vibes like that.”

Fortunately for Justice, the actor who plays Ely and who would eventually become her boyfriend – Pierson Fode – is straight. Though it could have been tough for the two to assume the opposite ends of the platonic relationship at the center of No Kiss List, Justice says Fode did an admirable job as Ely.

“I think he did a really great job playing a gay character,” said Justice. “I think he did a very good job of not making him a stereotypical kind of gay character. He definitely has a lot of layers and he definitely did like, the background work that he needed to do to, to like really get into Ely.”

Justice admits that while the two ended up falling for one another while making the movie, it wasn’t the most romantic courtship, as it centered first and foremost around their work.

“I had no idea who [Pierson] was and he didn’t really have any idea who I was. So, we just like, you know, we found out that we had both gotten the part and we met for sushi a couple times, and hung out,” Justice revealed. “And it was just not anything romantic at all. We were just forming a friendship, and focusing on the characters.”

Naomi and Ely’s No Kiss List is slated for release Sept. 18.

Leave a comment

Read more about:

Q: Can you explain what the 'no kiss list' is? -

The ‘no kiss list’ is a list of boys that Naomi and Ely come up with so that no guy can ever come between their friendship. So, whoever is on the 'no kiss list’ is completely off limits for both of them.

Q: Why is Naomi so upset with Ely? -

Naomi and Ely have grown up together their whole lives, you know. They live in the same apartment building in New York City, and it’s kind of always just him and her. They have a very close kind of relationship, and Naomi knows that Ely is gay, but at the same time – he's like her best friend and she loves him – but she's also kind of in love with him and doesn't really want to come to terms with the fact that he's never gonna love her in the same way. So, he's not living in this fantasy world.

Q: Have you ever experienced that kind of unrequited love? -

No. I mean, I've never been in love with a gay guy. I can't say that I have. The only thing I can say is my mom was a hairdresser, and I grew up... When I was eight I started modeling and doing commercials, so I was constantly around gay men, and so I feel like my gaydar was very tuned in from a young age. So, I'm very quick to pick up on vibes like that. But, yeah, I didn't really have any personal experience to draw on.

Q: What was your favorite scene to shoot in 'No Kiss List'? -

The most enjoyable scene for me? Oh man, there were a lot of good scenes! I mean, all the scenes where Naomi and Ely, where you're first kind of like getting to know them and their relationship were really fun. And, you know, we're just walking around The Village, doing the things that these two best friends do. You know, we go dancing on the streets and just rolling around, and going to all our favorite vintage shops, and exploring – all that was really fun to film because we were actually...It was kind of guerrilla style. We were put in this like, in the middle of New York City, doing it, really full and kind of improv-ing and incorporating them into it, and that was a really good time. There were a lot of really good scenes, I don't know it’s hard to choose.

Q: What was it like filming opposite your real-life boyfriend? -

Well, we didn't know each other before we started filming the movie. Like, we had just met at the audition, and I had no idea who he was and he didn't really have any idea who I was. So, we just like, you know, we found out that we had both gotten the part. We met for sushi a couple times, and hung out. And it was just not anything romantic at all, like, we were just like, forming a friendship, and focusing on the characters and that sort of thing.

Q: Was it hard see him in character as a gay man? -

I think it was just part of the role for him. But I think he, I think he also did a really great job playing a gay character. I think he did a very good job of not making him a stereotypical kind of gay character. He definitely has a lot of layers and he definitely did like, the background work that he needed to do to, to like really get into Ely.

Q: How does Naomi use Ely to help her deal with her family struggles in the movie? -

When you first meet Naomi, her life has been falling apart, and the only thing that's really stable for her is her friendship with Ely. That's like the only thing she can really count on, because her dad has just left her mom. He had an affair with the lesbian across the hall, who ends up being Ely's mom, and her mom's falling apart as well, so she doesn't really have that support there. Money is also an issue, so everything has been just kind of like crumbling. And, she's a freshman at college, starting to go to school at NYU, and Ely and her have always been through everything together. And they don't really break out, they don't have really any other friends. They have these rules: They don't go above 14th street... Ely is breaking them and sort of becoming more of his own person, and that really sort of freaks Naomi out. Of course, the fact, he ends up falling in love with her boyfriend...