Hunter Payton is a young actor from the Los Angeles area. He has recently been seen on Criminal Minds, America’s Got Talent and held a recurring role on A to Z! To keep up to date make sure to like his page on Facebook and follow him on Twitter and Instagram.

1.How did you get started acting?

Since I was really young I have always liked to act and perform making people laugh and smile. When I was 2 years old, I won a baby pageant by walking on stage dancing and making funny faces at the judges and they laughed. When I was 5, I modeled and would dance on the runway and make people laugh so my mom new I would eventually act. At 6 years old, my family and I were approached at a street fair by an acting school to come take some classes. My mom was at first very hesitant, but after the school spoke to me they offered me a free month to come and try it out. I ended up loving it and I have been acting ever since.

2.What was your time on set like filming Ominous?

My time on set with Ominous was great because it was my first horror movie I had ever done. At first I was really nervous that I would get scared while filming because I had read the script and it had some pretty scary scenes. But then after being on set I learned that everything is mostly done with CGI so it was really cool to see how it is done. Best part was getting to see the movie at a private screening before it aired on TV and seeing how it all came together.

3.What was your first day on set like for A to Z?

My first day on set was really exciting because for the pilot, the scene I was in was based on one of my favorite movies, Back to the Future. Funny thing happened while we were on set was the writer came up to my mom asking about me saying he thought I was really doing a great job and a good addition to the show. So, my mom said as a joke “if you like him, you should write him into the rest of the season.” Funny thing is he thought that was a great idea and the writer ended up writing several more flashbacks giving me a recurring role as Young Ben Feldman. Best part of that day was getting to meet actress Leah Thompson from Back to the Future before I left.

4.Did you do anything special to prepare for your role?

It all depended on the episode we were doing and how I needed to get ready to do that role. For example, there was one episode I had to sing and dance in. The director called me at home the night before we were filming with a last minute addition of song lyrics to have ready for the morning and for me to create some fun dance moves. That was a fun night singing “Ice Cream Kisses” and dancing 50’s style to it over and over until I created my own style. The next day while performing it, the director got a kick out of what I had created and everyone on set was singing and having fun too. It was an awesome day!

5.Do you have a favorite scene you filmed for the series?

That’s a tough one because there were so many fun scenes I got to do. But my favorite episode was “F is Fight, Fight,Fight” because I got to do so many different things from jumping on a bully in school to a karate competition to a mirrored scene from the old classic Pink Panther. My favorite scene of that episode was getting to take down a giant bully with a move called the “spider monkey.” This episode was so much fun because I got to work with a stunt coordinator and do my own stunts for that scene as well as the karate scene. Was a very busy day.

6.How did you enjoy working on Funny or Die?

I loved working on Funny or Die because it was the very first thing I ever did when I was 6 years old. I remember a kid leaving set crying because he didn’t want to wear make-up or the lemur costume. So, the person in charge asked if anyone else would do it so of course I offered. I loved the kid show Zoboomafoo so to be a lemur would be awesome thinking I was going to be like the lemur in the show. Funny thing is I had no idea what my scene actually was until it aired on TV and I found out that my scene was completely opposite of what I thought. My lemur dad was brutally killed with blood everywhere by his best friend the lion…ironic. Definitely not an appropriate episode for my age but still had a blast filming it because I had no clue at the time all of this had happened.

7.What was the best part of filming your Criminal Minds episode?

The best part of filming Criminal Minds was that I was really excited because I had never worked on a crime show or been killed in a role before. It was so much fun getting bullet holes attached to me and blood painted on me by the make-up artist. The blood was super sticky so when I got up after the scene it was hard to move because I was still sticking to the ground.

8.What was the experience like being in an act on America’s Got Talent?

The experience of being on America’s Got Talent is something I will never forget because it was a once in a life time opportunity. I have never been on stage in front of 3200 people for a live show so that was definitely an unforgettable experience and a rush of adrenaline. Getting to work with kid magicians Kadan and Brooklyn was so much fun because I love magic and they are kids like me. It was so cool to get to see how an illusion is done first hand and how much preparation is needed to perform a trick like that. All I have to say is thank goodness I am not claustrophobic.

9.Who have been some of your favorite people to work with?

Some of my favorite people to work with is tough because I have worked with so many amazing people and would work with all of them again. One of my favorite people to work with was Trevor Larcom who played my best friend in AtoZ. Funny thing is we became very good friends just like in the show and still hang out today and support each other. Another person I enjoyed working with is deaf actor Troy Kotsur who played my dad in Father’s Day Breakfast as well as the director Natalie Simpkins. I still talk to the both of them and can’t wait to promote the movie with them in 2017.

10.What has been your favorite project to work on so far?

That is a hard one because I enjoyed working on all the projects so far for different reasons. The cast, crew and directors have been so much fun to work with and I have had so many positive experiences. But if I had to pick one, I really enjoyed working on AtoZ because we had become like a family and every day was a different experience depending on the episode. Definitely a show I think got cancelled too early.

11. Is there anything else you would like to add?

One of the most challenging roles I had was playing a young RJ Mitte in the movie Who’s Driving Doug. I researched a lot for the role and I worked closely with director David Conley. I wanted to make sure my acting was accurate to what he was looking for in the role of a child in a wheelchair with muscular dystrophy. Because I do Parkour this was another role that I got to perform my own stunts in which was so cool. However, the best part of working on the movie was going to the Santa Barbara International Film Festival for the world premiere this past year and walking the red carpet with RJ Mitte. He is one of the nicest people I have ever met and the entire night he would go out of his way to include me in interviews, Q&A’s etc. and share the experience. It was definitely the best night ever and one I will not forget!

We’d like to thank Hunter for participating in our November Q&A series!

(Image by Kenneth Dolin)