In case you've missed the trailers and TV spots, there's a wholesome little movie called "Prom" out today, starring an ensemble cast of mostly up-and-coming actors, save for Aimee Teegarden of "Friday Night Lights" fame. Though Aimee gets the bulk of screen time playing prom-planning heroine Nova Prescott, the one character I really loved was hopelessly romantic, slightly nerdy, super-nice guy Lloyd (played by Nicholas Braun). Again, if you've seen the trailers, he's the one who spends the whole movie asking a bunch of different girls to the big dance (and being rejected).
When I caught up with Nicholas and his co-stars Joe Adler and Janelle Ortiz, we discussed the fun in playing the guy who never gets the girl.
"I just love playing a guy who gets rejected," Nicholas admitted. "I just, it’s fun. You know, it’s not necessarily art imitating life, but it is fun to be rejected over and over, take after take and just let it burn."
I pointed out to Nicholas the one thing that is nice about all the rejection his character endures: It's not done in a hateful or hurtful manner.
"Right. It’s never with a malice," he agreed. "Yeah, it’s always like, 'I already have a date,' or a truck takes my sign away…"
"Sometimes you run away even before they even have a chance to confront you about it," co-star Joe Adler pointed out.
"Right, you mean with the collage?" Nicholas asked.
"Yeah," Joe confirmed.
I then asked Nicholas if after suffering so much rejection during the filming of the movie, if that helped him get rid of his fear of rejection and if he's confident enough to ask girls out at will.
"Um, no. You’d think it would help for it," he said. "You’d think getting rejected a million times [in the movie] would help. But it doesn’t," he admitted. "Yeah, rejections still hurt in real life. They don’t feel that good. No, I don’t really know. I don’t know the key. Even after 22 years, I still don’t know how to ask a girl out successfully."
Somehow I think that will change for Mr. Braun. He's too sweet for it not to.
What do you think of Nicholas' comments? Does the fear of rejection ever go away? Tell us in the comments or on Twitter!