The Odd Life of Timothy Green: An Interview with CJ Adams (Timothy!)

CJ Adams: A Little Boy with a Big Heart

At the ripe old age of 12-years-old, CJ Adams got to walk his first “green” carpet at the premiere of The Odd Life of Timothy Green premiere last week in Los Angeles. Earlier that day, I got to talk to him over the phone in a group interview.

I’m always blown away by how “wise beyond their years” and articulate younger actors sometimes are, and CJ, who plays Timothy Green, was no exception.

Isn’t he adorable?!

He was as adorable over the phone as he was in the movie as he played Timothy. We asked him questions about everything from how he gets into character, what he loved about playing Timothy to how he got into acting, and this is what he had to say to all our questions.

What was your favorite part about playing Timothy? 

“Probably my favorite part of playing the character of Timothy Green was just being such a sweet boy.  I just liked to play someone who was different and unique.”

 Could you relate to Timothy Green’s experience?

“Me and Timothy are very truthful. I wouldn’t lie about anything, but also probably the best thing is that I treat, Timothy treats anyone the same no matter how they act.  That’s what I do.”

What do you think grownups can learn from Timothy Green?

“What I think grownups can learn from Timothy Green is that you should always take care of your kids and always have your, have their back rather than always, like, on their case, you know?”

(I REALLY love that answer. And duly noted, too: more having their back, less on their case. Got it.)

What was the hardest part about filming the movie? 

“Probably the hardest part for me was having to finish school and that at the same time because, like, you had to keep going back and forth and rushing to get home to the schoolroom and rushing to get back. And that was probably the biggest struggle between my time of filming.”

At age six, CJ got his first shot in a movie, getting a part in “Dan in Real Life” with Steve Carrell, a movie directed by Peter Hedges who also wrote and directed “The Odd Life of Timothy Green.” He started so early, did he always want to act? That’s what I wanted to know:

“Well, I never really always wanted to act.  It kinda just came suddenly because there was this free for all trial for Dan in Real Life, and I was kinda like, well, why not try out, you know, just for fun.  And I got the part as, you know, Elliot Burns.  So, and the head director of that movie was trying another movie, and I tried out for that, and I got the part.  So now I’m trying to do more movies now.  I’m in the business.”

CJ plays soccer in real life (just like his character) and he loves it. His favorite movie is Marvel’s the Avengers and his favorite Avengers character is Lokey (“the bad guy.” Because “he can duplicate himself.”) Avengers is a favorite in this house too (it’s the star character of this year’s school supplies.)

Finally, CJ played alongside Jennifer Garner and Joel Edgerton, did they give him any good acting advice? 

“They told me that to become your character, like, make your Timothy by putting all those personalities together and then become him by putting your mind into his head.”

I’m sure you’ll agree with me that, in the end, he handled himself like a pro! I can’t wait to see where CJ goes from here!!

Here’s a clip of the movie, it’s actually one of my favorite parts of the whole movie so be sure to check it out:

The Odd Life of Timothy Green is in theaters today (August 15). Click the link to check out my official review of The Odd Life of Timothy Green.

You can also “like” The Odd Life of Timothy Green on Facebook and follow the movie on Twitter.

Disclosure: I received tickets to screen the movie for review purposes. Opinions are my own.

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