VIDEO EXCLUSIVE: Jack Griffo Reveals Why He Loved Working On ‘Overrun’ With ‘Thundermans’ Costar Omid Zader

Jack Griffo plays the role of Auggy Riggs in the new film Overrun, and he revealed why the technical part was a stretch for him in his new uInterview.

“I play Auggy in the movie and Auggy is Marcus’s friend that he basically recruits to help him bust into this government facility,” he explained. “I’m kind of the character behind the computer on the microphone, on the phone, sort of telling him where to go and how to get in the building and how to save the day. I spew a bunch of technical [words] … in the film that I had to kind of memorize, and it’s sort of one in one ear out the other if you know what I mean. I’m not a super techy guy myself, but it was really cool to play that kind of character in this movie.”

The actor said that filming with Overrun co-star Omid Zader – who plays Marcus Lombardi in the film – was a pleasure.

“Both of my main scenes were pretty fun,” said Griffo. “There was one where [it] was kind of a game-time sort of a scene where I was helping [Marcus] through the navigation of the building. And then, there was a scene that was kind of just a comedy, sort of light-hearted, hanging out, smoking kind of scene that me and Omid did together. The whole thing was fun. I was kind of a small part, I sort of beat up the storyline, moved it along. It was cool to be able to slip right into a production that was already going.”

His history with Zader made filing easier for Griffo.

“Sometimes it can be difficult to seamlessly – enter a set, but I knew Omid super well from The Thundermans and our lovely director Josh Tessier and that’s why I didn’t hesitate at all in accepting the role. It’s always fun to work with your friends, and I’d much rather do that than any other situation.”

As for his taste in roles, Griffo said he wants the parts to come “naturally.” He revealed that the character he played for Overrun was more challenging because it’s not the type of role he typically does.

“It’s interesting because some roles and auditions I’ll get and I don’t really feel super strongly,” he said. “It’s really just a script or a piece of material that gets in my head really well. I don’t really have to try to memorize it. It just kind of comes naturally, that’s how I know that it’s good for me, and it’s usually when the writing is good.”

“I love action, I can definitely see myself doing more action stuff. The previous film I did before Overrun with these guys I did some more action stuff. It’s called The 2nd I did with Ryan Phillippe,” he recalled. “But this film, it was a little different, it didn’t have any action in it, I was just kind of that kid in behind the computer telling him what to do, and it was a cool character to play, man. It was definitely challenging and it’s something that draws me to characters. When I saw the script and saw who it was, ‘This will be a challenge, this will be fun.’ I like it at all, man. I like comedy and I like drama and action is something I can see myself excelling in. I did gymnastics as a kid, I’m pretty agile and I can definitely see myself doing some more action in the years to come.”

Griffo revealed that he’s happiest when he acts for the art of acting, not for fame or money.

“Definitely, Johnny was really cool. Like I said, I only had a couple of days on set, so I kind of just got to know everyone on the crew really well and everyone was really cool,” he said. “Making an independent film is different from a studio film or a T.V. show. There’s not a lot of money going around, so people are there for the right reasons, people are there because they love it and they want to be there and they believe in the project and they’re excited. Anything I can do with my friends I’m down to. I’ll even do some things just because, sometimes I just shoot stuff not even being paid, like I just love getting out there and experimenting with people and I do it for the art’s sake. I actually have a tattoo that says ‘art for art’s sake’ on it in Latin and it’s just kind of about the right reasons why people get into film and T.V., you don’t want to be in it for the fame and the money. It’s for the feeling that I get when I perform.”

Overrun is set for release on Aug. 17. Jack will be answering fan questions from uInterview readers! Leave a question in the comments, and Jack will answer the best ones!