Canadian actor Drew Ray Tanner was one of the favourites of the Netflix hit Riverdale. Now he plays the leading role in the film Boot Camp (available upon request), based on Gina Musa’s popular Wattpad web novel with more than 27 million readers.
Boot Camp, Directed by Mackenzie Munro. It’s a coming-of-age story mixed with a forbidden romance. After Whitney Carmichael’s (Rachel Boudwin) prom comes to an awkward end, she decides to sign up for a six-week boot camp in the summer, where each participant gets a personal trainer.
Although Whitney initially struggles with her trainer Axel (Tanner), the two open up to each other in ways they never have before.
“He had to be extremely fit, kind of an Adonis type, but for me it was much more interesting to dig deeper and look beyond his physical appearance and see who he is as a person,” Tanner said. Yahoo Canada. “Underneath all of that, he’s a real nerd and I think that really appealed to me.”
“He has built this physical body around himself to protect himself from who he really is to others.”
Wattpad
Watch Boot Camp on-demand through platforms like Apple TV. Buy the movie for $14.99 or rent it for $6.99.
$15 on Apple TV
A large part Boot Camp really deals with body image issues, something that many people can relate to, and that relatability, according to Tanner, is something that audiences can latch onto in this story.
“I think people just want to see people on screen who look like them, who represent them,” Tanner said.
“I remember when I first started, I wanted braces or Invisalign or something, and my mom was like, ‘No, I like your crooked teeth, Drew, they’re beautiful. They give you character.’ And I remember saying, ‘You don’t know what you’re talking about, Mom, I have to have perfect teeth.’ But I really believe what my mom said was true, and I think she represents a lot of people’s opinions and feelings about people you see on TV or in movies. It’s nice to see someone who isn’t defined by their looks, but rather by their actions and what’s inside.”
“For many years I watched others reach the top of their sport.”
After his experiences at Riverdalea show that was filmed in British Columbia and had great international success, Tanner was ready to apply the lessons he had learned on that set to a project like Boot Campwhere he plays more of a leading role.
“When I was on Riverdale… I just came in and had a few lines at the beginning and my character developed and it went from there,” Tanner said. “But my main goal in filming was to be a support system for the other characters, so to speak, … to support other people’s storylines.”
“As a supporting character, your job is to support the plot, to support the plot of the main characters. So I spent many years watching others at the top of their game. I learned an incredible amount. So I knew that when the series was over, I wanted to take those years, that knowledge and everything they had taught me on that set and on that series and try to apply it to my next work. That’s why Boot Camp was so important to me because it was my first time in a position like that, sharing that leadership role with Rachel and trying to apply the things I had learned.”
While fellow human beings Riverdale Star KJ Apa recently said Elite daily Tanner said he would “100 percent” play Archie again if given the opportunity, and he feels similarly about a possible sequel to the Netflix series.
“I had a dream the other night that we had to be brought back for another season or something,” Tanner said. “I would jump at that. I would definitely do it again.”
“I really enjoyed my time on that show and never took it for granted and counted the days until it was over. And the opportunity to be in the same room with them again… that’s a definite yes for me.”
“I would like to play a Canadian”
The filming of both Riverdale And Boot Camp Tanner from Victoria, BC, Canada appreciates the projects he can work on at home.
“I’m very shaped and influenced by the country I’m from and the city I grew up in, and I feel that support and I really want to champion Canadian talent and Canadian stories,” Tanner said. “The crews in Vancouver and Toronto and all over the country, we have some of the best crews.”
“The fun part is that as everyone climbs the ladder a little bit, we can say, ‘Yeah, here we are.’ It’s so much fun that we get to do this, but let’s pat ourselves on the back because I think Canada just has a wonderful talent pool. Every time I get to film here, I’m super grateful for that.”
But while Tanner has had success with several Canadian-shot projects set in the U.S., he’s excited to work on something actually set in Canada in the future.
“What I’m more interested in is telling Canadian stories. … What kind of stories can we tell that take place in Canada,” Tanner said. “When you get those opportunities, I think you have to take them and try to make the most of them.”
“I would love to play a Canadian and be part of a Canadian story. I think that would be a lot of fun.”
