It's not unusual for high school football players to have a side passion, but for Skyline's Riley Griffiths, his side passion has taken him to a Steven Spielberg set and red carpet premieres.
Griffiths has been acting since first grade and starred in his first Hollywood production, Super 8, in 2011. Griffiths played Charles Kaznyk, an aspiring director who is filming a movie with his friends when they witness a train crash. After the accident, ominous things start happening involving disappearing characters and aliens, and the kids are on the case.
The Cedar City, Utah native grew up acting in Shakespeare plays, including The Merry Wives of Windsor and Romeo and Juliet. He was drawn to acting, because he liked to make people laugh. After Super 8, Griffiths had a TV role in R.L. Stine's The Haunting Hour, and is currently pursuing other acting roles.
Griffiths put acting on hold for most of high school to focus on football. This year the 6-foot-3, 250 pound center and defensive end has recorded 32 tackles and 0.5 sacks. As a second year starter, Griffiths has helped Skyline (4-2, 4-3) get on the cusp of qualifying for a Kingco 4A playoff spot.
Next year Griffiths is looking to play football and pursue film behind the camera. He is looking at film programs at Eastern Washington, Montana State, and Southern Utah.
We caught up with Griffiths on filming Super 8, transitioning from stardom to Skyline, and his ambitions to direct.
What drew you to Super 8, and how did you end up getting on the film?
I had gotten an agent in California just by auditioning for one. He told me to send in a film for Super 8, my audition. It was one of my first auditions, just pretty crazy. I ended up landing the role and things took off from there.
When you walked on the set and saw Steven Spielberg and other big names, did you get star struck?
They never gave off the star vibe to me. They were just normal people. They were all really friendly and opening, so that was more on them that I never got star struck, just how kind they were.
Do you have an interest in doing more sci-fi films?
I like all types of film, and I like to discover all those types of film. I wasn't too into sci-fi before Super 8, but I can definitely say my passion for that has grown.
Are you looking for a film degree that's specifically behind-the-scenes work?
I really want to study the behind the camera stuff, just because I think it would help me in front of the camera as well, and I would really like to own my own production company one day, so that's the goal.
What made you interested in going behind the camera?
Just seeing [Super 8 director JJ Abrams] and his passion for directing got me really into it. He definitely sparked my interest into it.
At Skyline you play on both the offensive and defensive line. Do you lean towards a defensive end or center?
I definitely lean towards defensive end. That's what I love to do. I've played D-line since second grade. I love to get tackles and go after the quarterback. I like to play with a lot of intensity, so that position allows me to do that.
You came in on the freshman team and are now a varsity starter. What did you have to do to get to that starting spot your junior year?
Going into this season I did a lot of speed training and building on muscle, and not have excess weight that didn't matter. I tried to gain weight but made sure it was muscle and just worked a lot at speed, and my overall positional techniques.
Acting and football seem like contradictory things. How do they come together for you?
I know that whatever I like to do, I have a huge passion for it. Acting and football have been the two things throughout my life that I've always dedicated myself to, and I have always done. Since first and second grade I've done them.
