Ask Noel Anything Responses Post!

Thank you so much for submitting great questions. A huge thanks to Noel for taking the time to respond and participating. Enjoy and be sure to watch ‘The Calling’ streaming exclusively on Peacock.

Question:  What is it about his role in The Calling that made you want to play the character?

Noel’s Response: 

Question:  A lot of filming for The Calling took place in Brooklyn. Were there any restaurants or coffee shops you enjoyed while you were there? What was your favorite thing about the area?

Noel’s Response:  I LOVED Brooklyn in the summer. I’ve done several jobs in NYC but I’ve never actually stayed in what I would consider a NY neighborhood before and I absolutely fell in love with the area. It is the definition of “full of life”. The whole neighborhood sort of vibrate with activity and I found that to be really energizing.  There are SO many amazing spots in Williamsburg but here are a few of my favs:

• Cafe Mogador! I ate…a ridiculous amount of Cafe Mogador. It’s amazing.
• Egg Shop. Great little breakfast spot.
• Juice Generation. Healthy, tasty bowls and smoothies!
• Butler and Partners Coffee were my go to’s for caffeine. Both have fantastic quality coffee and great (very different) vibes.
• Van Leeuwen Ice Cream…of course. This does not need any further explanation.

Question:  Is there anything new to learn from this series? ~Spoilers Ahead!

Noel’s Response:  Don’t write weirdly incriminating faux journal entries about a missing child next door whose disappearance is being actively investigated? Probably not a great idea…

Question:  What criteria do you use to choose your film or TV roles?

Noel’s Response:  Touched on this a little in a video but to expand on that a bit, first and foremost, it all comes down to the writing. Everything starts with the writing so whenever I find good writing, I jump at the opportunity.

Second, and this is part of good writing, the character should be complex and very grey. Black and white characters are just less interesting to play.

Thirdly, I try to find characters that are SUPER different to anything I’ve already done. I want to stretch and expand in what I do so that is another big goal of mine when choosing projects.

Question:   What is your usual process when preparing for a role?

Noel’s Response: 

Question:What has been your most favorite or memorable role so far and why?

Noel’s Response: 

Question:   Do you prefer shooting movies or series

Noel’s Response:  They are very different formats and therefor offer really different opportunities.  Generally, you get to experiment more with film because you have much more time when shooting scenes. You can try really different stuff more often and play around.  Film is generally more exploratory. With series, you have less time when shooting scenes but more time with the character overall because you get to spend so many hours with the character over a season. It’s kind of a weird tradeoff. Generally, you get  fewer takes and the experience is less geared towards exploration but you get to exist  in the character for much longer and have the chance to go on a deeper journey with them as a result.

Question:   Is it hard to move on from certain characters, for example like Mickey, who he played for so long when starting a new project? 

Noel’s Response: 

Question:   Would you ever come to a Comic Con in Germany?

Noel’s Response:  Absolutely! I’ve always wanted to visit Germany and I’ve only ever been to the San Diego Comic Con (which was amazing). I’d love to see other cons, especially in different parts of the world.

Question:   Do you root for the characters you play even when they aren’t the so called “good guy”?

Noel’s Response:  Yes, I would say I do root for them unless they are unredeemable. We all root for ourselves, even when we are making mistakes or decisions that we end up regretting.  No one is the villain of their own story, right? It’s important to be able to genuinely slip into a character’s shoes so that I can understand the decisions they are making from THEIR point of view. So even if I can pull back to a more macro view and understand that what the character is doing is wrong or a mistake or what have you, I try to tap into the place where I can also root for them on some level.

Question:   Have you ever considered doing a podcast? I think a rewatch of shameless with you and Cameron in character of Mickey and Ian would be phenomenal!

Noel’s Response:

Question:   If Mickey Milkovich owned a cat what type would it be and what would he name it?

Noel’s Response:  An orange tabby named Firecrotch.

Question:   X-Men Evolution is my favorite animated X-Men project, how were you cast as Toad? Would you like to voice him again?

Noel’s Response:  I did a fair amount of animated work in Vancouver before I moved to LA and Evolution was the very first project I booked! It was super fun to record and a really great group of people to work with and show me the ropes in the animation world. I would jump at the chance to voice Toad again.

Question:   If you could sit down and play video games with any character you’ve played who would it be and why?

Noel’s Response: 

Question:   The vacation pictures you shared on Instagram from Rome and Santorini were stunning. Thank you so much for sharing with us. Do you have any other “Must See” destinations on your bucket list?

Noel’s Response:  We want to go all over! We really want to do more of Europe and Asia next. Britain, France, and Ireland would be really cool, as would Vietnam and Thailand to name a few. We’d also love to go back to Italy, Greece and Australia whenever we have the chance. There are so many incredible and beautiful places in the world, we just want to experience as many of them as we can.

Thanks again for all the great questions and for Noel for being awesome as usual.

In case you have not watched “The Calling” yet, check out the trailer: