Gregg Sulkin Talks Lopez vs. Lopez and Life Lessons Learned on the Set of Six Triple Eight

We've adored English actor Gregg Sulkin since his days on Pretty Little Liars and Wizards of Waverly Place, so we couldn't be happier that we'll be seeing much more of him this year.

This Friday, March 24, Gregg appears in a new episode of the NBC sitcom Lopez vs. Lopez, starring comedy legend George Lopez and his real-life daughter, Mayan, as fictionalized versions of themselves. The episode, titled "Lopez vs. Cheating," sees Mayan struggling with a family history of cheating—and whether she has the capacity to cheat herself—when she meets Gregg's character, the handsome bird specialist Dr. Bell.

But that's not the only exciting project on the horizon for Gregg. He's also currently filming Tyler Perry's highly anticipated film Six Triple Eight, also starring Kerry Washington, Susan Sarandon, Sam Waterston, Oprah Winfrey and other Hollywood greats, following the true story of the only all-Black, all-female battalion sent overseas during World War II. We had a lot to catch up on with him, and he shared it all with our host Sienna Leone in the interview below.

Sienna Leone: Can you tell us a little bit about your new character in this week's episode of Lopez vs. Lopez?

Gregg Sulkin: I play Dr. Bell, who is a bird specialist. He's visiting Mayan's vet for the week, and he takes a professional interest in Mayan. When he does, he asks her to assist him at BirdCon, which is like ComicCon for bird enthusiasts, and Mayan's father, George, and her partner, Quinten, think that I could potentially be up to no good and have ulterior motives, so they decide to make sure that all is good and that Mayan is staying faithful. Of course, comedy ensues.

 

SL: The show stars George Lopez and his real-life daughter, Mayan, who essentially play themselves. Was George more like a dad on set, or was his acting more character-driven?

GS: That's kind of a funny question! First off, personally, I really enjoyed working with George. I think he's such a professional and I learned a lot from him as an actor. He was extremely welcoming. Very kind, very loving and very complimentary. He said to me when I left said that he wanted me to come back on the show, which meant a lot to me because George was actually one of the first-ever actors that I saw on an American television when I first moved out here. Getting the opportunity to work with George was very special.

Then, obviously, I also got to work with his real-life daughter. She's incredible. Mayan's one of the sweetest humans I think I've ever met in my life and also very good. This is her first sitcom, but it doesn't feel like that. She's very focused and very hard-working. It was a real privilege getting to work with George and Mayan and also seeing their personal relationship. There's a lot of beauty in the fact that this show has brought them a lot closer together.

 

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SL: What a full circle moment for you as an actor—coming to America and seeing George Lopez on TV, and now you're starring in an episode with him. Is that kind of a pinch-me moment for you?

GS: For sure! I've admired his work for a long time and he's known around the world due to his talent. Getting to work with him was great. I also had one of those pinch-me moments recently. We were working at Universal Studios, and as I was trying to get to set, I was stuck with Studio Tour trams in front of us. They were announcing, "On the left, they're filming a show called Lopez vs. Lopez," and it was crazy, because it reminded me of sitting in one of those trams with my mum and dad, maybe 10 years ago, dreaming that one day I'd be working on one of those sound stages. Hopefully, the ride continues.

 

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SL: So we're expecting a new love interest in the episode on Friday…

GS: Well, I don't want to give too much away, but the audience will be laughing, that's for sure.  It's a very funny dynamic between Dr. Bell and Mayan, and obviously, there's a funny dynamic between George, Quinten and Dr. Bell, too.

 

SL: In a few words, how would you describe Dr. Bell?

GS: Well, he loves birds! He's very English and he's good at what he does.

 

SL: Our audience has loved you since Wizard of Waverly Place and Pretty Little Liars, but we're also going to be seeing a lot more of you because you have an amazing Netflix project coming out called Six Triple Eight. What can you tell us about that?

GS: I'm actually on the way to the airport right now because I'm about to travel back to Atlanta and finish up the movie! It's been amazing. I'm at the point in my career where, of course I want to have fun and do projects that I really enjoy working on, but the material I choose is also really important to me. This movie was the perfect next step in my career.

It's a World War II drama based on a true story about a female battalion in the '40s  that was sent to figure out how to deliver 17 million pieces of lost mail between loved ones at home and those on the front lines. Joe Biden recognized them last summer for their hard work. It's a true story and it's amazing to be part of, and of course it was incredible to work with Kerry Washington, who I'm sure can be expecting an absolute trove of awards coming her way extremely soon. To be in the same movie as Oprah—does it get much bigger than that? And then, obviously, being part of Tyler Perry's world and shooting in Atlanta and seeing the soundstages and what he's built, not just from a name point of view, but also the infrastructure he's creating for young filmmakers. It's pretty impressive.  He's very inspiring and hopefully I do Tyler proud and finish the movie up strong.

 

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SL: What have you taken away from working on set with and observing these really influential and inspiring people?

GS: I think the main thing that I've taken away is that they act with such humility and class and view themselves as just people, which is what my dad, growing up, always told me. He'd say it's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice. He also told me that you're never more important than somebody who is sitting at the table, but you're also never less important. I think that's 100% true. Susan Sarandon is in the movie too, and there's a team and group of actors on this project that are just incredibly humble and incredibly nice, and my takeaway is to keep your feet on the ground and continue to work hard and try to be the best actor you can be. The rest will kind of take care of itself. Also, I've learned to be prepared and not to be afraid to take risks. Kerry, for example, has this presence on set and is so powerful, but that comes from her confidence and the knowledge that she's incredibly prepared every time she steps on set. That kind of preparation is something I've really learned from Kerry.

 

For more insights from the actors we love, click HERE to read our interview with Freeridge star Michael Solomon.