Ryan Guzman stars alongside Kathryn McCormick in the latest installment from the Step Up franchise, Step Up Revolution, which, like its predecessors, was a smash box office hit. Fans may be surprised by how inexperienced Guzman, 25, was before shooting. He had never danced before and with only three weeks to master the skill he took an unusual route to learning. “Funny story, the way I kind of trained myself, and I’m not advising anybody else to do this, but I have an Xbox Kinect at my house and I bought Just Dance video games and I was trying my hardest to get those things down,” Guzman told Uinterview exclusively during our fan interview.


Guzman was born in Abiliene, Tex. Before acting and dancing, Guzman was a baseball player, and even played on the team at Sierra College. He then took to Mixed Martial Arts Fighting, and, channeling his inner Mark Wahlberg, modeled underwear for Calvin Klein before he was discovered for the role of Step Up Revolution.



Guzman credits the talented people around him for helping make the most of his role in Step Up 4. “Being so new actually helped me in making Step Up 4 because I got to be myself and put myself into the role. And dancing with tWitch, Ty-Dy (Tommy Dewey), Marvelous, Tony Bellissimo, Kathryn McCormick, I mean there were some high-end people in the dance industry around me at all times. It was the best learning experience you could have as a new dancer.”

Step Up Revolution is now available on Blu-Ray and DVD.

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Q: How many times a week do you dance? - mrchrisaquino

It differs. I just did a concept video for one of my friends. It’s the very, very first concept video I’ve ever done. I haven’t done choreography since the shooting of Step Up and the promo of Step Up, but I’m still training right now. It’s something I’ve fallen in love with. It’s right up there with my fighting, my MMA, because it’s such a good workout and you’re just learning your body a lot more.

Q: How did you feel making your character in the movie, like doing all those movements of hip hop dance perfectly?And also presenting with the other people that participate in those dances in some public places with these costumes? - LauraDiaz

Q: After Step Up 4, whenever there will be a fifth installment do you see yourself having a cameo role just like the past lead actors? - mrchrisaquino

Q: what is the main reason that made you love writing &sending scripts? what is your passionate?the big inspiration - IAMskykaye

Q: what style of dance would you feel would the most interesting for viewers to watch during a live on-line dance performance? - ThevLolo

Q: When can we see ur next movie? Which singer or artist do u like most? - AuGust1neLaw

Q: Was it hard to learn all those dance moves for the movie? - JasminRodriguez

It took me three weeks to learn everything in the movie, and that was actually all I was given: either learn in three weeks or we’re going to use a dance double. And I’m very competitive, so I didn’t want to use a dance double. I wanted to give everything I possibly could to the movie, so I ended up showing what I had learned to the director and producers and they ended up making the end result, just using me and not using a dance double whatsoever in the movie.

Q: After Step Up Revolution what is your biggest dream? - iv1411

Q: What was it like being able to be part of one of the biggest phenomenons and did you think you were going to get cast for the role? - ZoVasquez

I don’t think there’s time to actually think, “Oh, this is my role to get.” My audition process was a lot longer than a lot of other people’s — it was nine, ten auditions, a month-and-a-half long process. The whole time I was just trying to learn and become a better actor and dancer and enjoy the process. I never felt like I had it, but with the whole becoming a part of the Step Up franchise, it’s been beyond anything that I could think of. I didn’t come out to L.A. to be an actor and here I am being an actor. And not only am I being an actor, I’m thrust into the lead role of this huge franchise. So I go from zero to 60 really quick and a lot it has been overwhelming. I’ve been trying to take it all in and getting adoration from fans all over the world, and my Twitter and my Facebook blowing up. You have to learn how to deal with it all and I’m still in the process of all that.

Q: How did you feel making your character in the movie, like doing all those movements of hip hop dance perfectly?And also presenting with the other people that participate in those dances in some public places with these costumes? - LauraDiaz

Q: Did your training in mixed martial arts help you for character Sean in Step Up Revolution? - denisecasas

It helped me out with the dancing. It helped out with my body. I knew my body really well through fighting, and what it could and couldn’t do, the limits it had. So I incorporated a lot of what I’ve learned through my fighting life into my dancing life. And luckily the choreographers worked with me a lot and kind of meshed those two things together and creating choreography that would look good with my body.

Q: Ryan Guzman, what part of Miami,Florida was "Step Up Revolution " filmed ? - denisecasas

Q: Hi Ryan! Where r u from? I'm from Puerto Rico!! ;) - JacsuLaJinchaCarrasquillo

Q: How did you feel making your character in the movie, like doing all those movements of hip hop dance perfectly?And also presenting with the other people that participate in those dances in some public places with these costumes? - LauraDiaz

Q: Ryan Guzman, did your training in mixed martial arts helped you for character "Sean " in "Step Up Revolution " ? - denisecasas

Q: Are you similar or different to your character Sean? - Matthew Zingg

I definitely put a lot of Ryan into Sean, but there are definitely pieces of Sean that are definitely not Ryan. We both take the leader role quickly and we’re not that vocal. I think with Sean I wanted to portray that actions speak louder than words, and that’s kind of the basis I live my life by. Sean is not as vocal as Mischa Gabriel’s character Eddy, but his presence is known and when he wants something done he gets it done.

Q: If you could change anything about yourself, what would it be and why ? - denisecasas

Sometimes I work too hard. I surround myself with work too much or I’ll try way too hard to get a specific skill down when I need to relax. I’ll let work kind of consume me. So just taking a breather every now and then and just relaxing and enjoying life. Maybe when I get Johnny Depp status, hopefully I do, you know, when I can just take a trip to the Bahamas on a whim, maybe I’ll learn that.

Q: If you could change anything about yourself, what would it be and why? - Mandy Cohen

Sometimes I work too hard. I surround myself with work too much, or I’ll try way too hard to get a specific skill down when I need to relax. I’ll let work kind of consume me. So just taking a breather every now and then and just relaxing and enjoying life. Maybe when I get Johnny Depp status, hopefully I do, you know, when I can just take a trip to the Bahamas on a whim, maybe I’ll learn that.

Q: Ryan Guzman, what challenges did face while filming "Step Up Revolution " ? - denisecasas

Q: Ryan Guzman, where do you see yourself five years from now ? - denisecasas

Q: What is on your bucket list? - denisecasas

I’m here to enjoy life and all of its splendors. I still need to go skydiving. I still need to learn how to play guitar and piano, and I want to learn how to sing. There are a lot of things. I kind of want to be a creator of my own world I guess. I want to build my own house at one point in time in my life, kind of go old school with it.

Q: Ryan Guzman, do you future project do have after "Step Up Revolution" ? - denisecasas

Q: Why do you dance? Why did you decide to dance? - zajaczaneta

Q: First of all HELLO, and please can u read my question please Ryan Guzman how long did take you to get all the moves for the movie? - PatrikDjPutaStanko

Q: What was the hardest step that you had to do in the movie? - ladragoncita6

All of it was hard because it was so new to me and every single flashmob that we did was so different from the prior one. It was a mind-opening experience. You just had to stay open to everything that was being thrown at you. It was all hard.

Q: Are you dating with Kathryn McCormick? - DiegoDiaz

Q: Hey Ry. I've been wondering if you ever think of visiting the Philippines. Do you? - LuckyLou

Q: Hi Ryan, I'm from Brazil and I love the Step Up movies. I've recently watched Step Up Revolution and fell in love with you and your dance moves. I would like to know what are your inspirations and how does it feel to work with such great dancers as tWitch? - NatliaCordeiro

I think I took my inspiration from the dancing around me actually. I definitely wanted to be original and stay true to myself, so I didn’t want to bite off from Channing Tatum or anybody else who had done it before me. Being so new actually helped me in making Step Up 4 because I got to be myself and put myself into the role. And dancing with tWitch, Ty-Dy [Tommy Dewey], Marvelous, Tony Bellissimo, Kathryn McCormick, I mean there were some high-end people in the dance industry around me at all times. It was the best learning experience you could have as a new dancer. I credit as much as I’ve learned to them because I would call them up and say, “Hey do you want to have a freestyle session?” And we’d have freestyle sessions pretty much every other day and that’s how I learned how to dance, through just watching them, and interacting with them, dancing with them.

Q: Greetings from Bulgaria! I am the youngest producer in Bulgaria in the youth team called FaceStars.The show that I am producing right know "Burgas Seeks Talent" is a third season of it and it has a campaigne that we ask famous people will they make a video to say their support in us FaceStars and our talents in the show which a lot of them are dancers and specially street dancers from our city Burgas.So Ryan do you support us?Tell something for your international fans from Bulgaria. - NasNeychev

Q: What’s your diet and workout routine? - Uinterview

It all depends on what kind of role I’m going after. Right now for the role I just signed on to do, I have to be a little bit bigger and actually be really ripped. I’m actually eating a lot of meat, feeding up on a lot of carbs because I burn them off in calories. I work out for a couple hours every single day now, and I incorporate my MMA workouts to what I do now. If anybody knows how to gain or lose weight really quickly, it’s a fighter. If they ask, I could probably lose 10 pounds within two days, a day. It’s not easy. You have to train for a good six to eight hours. You have to be very, very dedicated. I’ve just learned to bring the toughness that MMA has given me to my workout regimen, and it gives me more of a control of my body.

Q: Had you been studying dance before you got the part? - Uinterview

No, actually. The audition process was the first time I performed any kind of choreography in my life. Funny story, the way I kind of trained myself, and I’m not advising anybody else to do this, but I have an Xbox Kinect at my house, and I bought Just Dance video games, and I was trying my hardest to get those things down. Oh my God, if you could only see the videos, that was hilarious.

Q: How do you feel about working with Kathryn McCormick and do you have any stories about working with her? - MariaFebbyFabiola

Kathryn was an amazing person. I couldn’t ask for a better person to work with on my first movie, my first feature. There was such a bonding experience, and we’ll forever have this bond that we’ve created through Step Up because it was just so new and it was scary. I think we went through every emotion we possibly could through making this movie. I love the girl to death. I wish nothing but the best for her. As far as stories, we had an off day – I only had three off days during the whole time with shooting this movie in three months. She decides to take me, tWitch, Misha Gabriel and herself out to go jet skiing. So we go out jet skiing, and we get this tour guide going all around us and Misha is kind of going off on his own and making the tour guide angry; he’s going too fast or too out of the way. So he’s kind of setting this guy off. Finally, we go to this specific place where the tour guide tells us, “You can hop in, it’s probably the warmest water you’ll ever be a part of. It’s the best water, so hop in, dive in and have a good time.” So me, being risky like I always am, without thinking I jump in. Misha’s the second one to get to that spot and he goes, "Well Ryan’s doing it, I’m going to do it.” Then I’m looking at tWitch, and I’m joking around with him and I’m like, “Oh my god, my leg just got bit!” So I scare him and after I just made that joke, tWitch’s face goes pale and the tour guide yells, “Get out of the water! Get out of the water!” I thought he was playing a joke again, but then I look around me, there’s probably a hundred jellyfish around me. I had to swim back to my jet-ski, which is, I don’t know, 30 feet away from me by that time. That was probably one of the most painful swims I’ve had in a while. So, this whole time Kathryn was trying to have a good time with us and she ends up scarring me for my life.

Q: Ryan, what's next? What do you have in mind for your future? - danielngyongliang

Well, I just signed on to a new movie, and I leave for to New Orleans in a couple of weeks. It’s a new MTV movie. I literally just signed on yesterday to do it. And right now, I’m in talks with doing another studio film this summer. I actually should find out later on today if we’re going through with it or not.