Rob Dyrdek Childhood

Meet 'Super 8' Star Riley Griffiths

A week from today, J.J Abrams' highly anticipated flick Super 8 hits theaters. To get you ready for the 1979-set thriller, I sat down with one of the stars, 14-year-old Riley Griffiths (who plays Charles in the film) to talk about what it's like to tackle such a big project at such a young age.

Let's get the obvious question out of the way: tell me about Charles, your character in the film.

Charles is kind of the group leader of all the kids [and] Joe's best friend. He's the director of the zombie movie within the movie. He's very bossy, very production-value crazed. I actually had made movies when I was little. We'd stage swordfights and squirt ketchup.

How did you come into the part?

My agent sent me the email, so I sent him a tape. About three months went by and I thought I didn't get it - then they called me in for a callback.

Was it daunting to have such a major movie as your first big credit?

I just feel so blessed. It couldn't have been a better experience with two movie geniuses like J.J. Abrams and Steven Spielberg. I can't wait for it to come out.

What was it like to film such a big production?

It was a very big set, but they were all so inviting. J.J. just took Joel [Courtney] and us under his wing and taught us so much about the movie-making process. The crew, they were so nice and they taught us about how to set up cameras and things like that.

What's the most memorable moment that you're going to take away from the project?

Probably the moment when I saw the movie for the first time. J.J was in the room and so was [producer] Bryan Burk and all the kids. It was so overwhelming to know just how hard everyone worked on this. The crew didn't sleep. I was so happy to see that everybody worked so hard on something. It was so amazing.

Give me your story. What drew you to acting? Are you considering this as a career, or are there other options that interest you?

I was in first grade and we were doing a school play. I got [a] role in A Midsummer Night's Dream . I went up on stage and it was just a blast. Ever since, I knew acting was what I wanted to do. I love to entertain people and to become different people. You become a firefighter or a kid from 1979. I definitely want to be an actor for the rest of my life - a very diverse actor like  Tom Cruise or Tom Hanks. They can go from comedy to drama.

Schtank Skateboards: Rob Dyrdek Pro Skateboarder

Wild Grinders, a fictional cartoon skate crew, are Dyrdek's first venture into toys based on him and his group of childhood skateboarding friends. The line consists of six characters. Dyrdek also pioneered the iSX, Instant Scoring Experience, which he hopes will revolutionize the way skate competitions are held. He also has a sunglass eyewear company, Battle Eyewear, as well as being the founder of the Street League skateboarding league. Dyrdek also has his own signature TAG Body Spray scent called Make Moves . A fraction of the profit will go to his charity organization, "Safe Spot Skate Spot.

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