As part of the new extreme weather disaster movie Into The Storm, actor Nathan Kress is breaking into feature film acting in a big way. Known to YA audiences as Freddie on iCarly, Nathan is super excited to be growing up, and here he sat down with us to discuss his exciting new film, what it’s like working with real effects as opposed to CGI, and his undying love for Tony Stark/Iron Man.

YOUNG ADULT: What is the most interesting part of being involved in the new film Into The Storm?

NATHAN KRESS: The most interesting part would have to be the amount of practical effects we were exposed to during filming, as opposed to computer-generated effects. These days, it’d be easy to assume that a tornado movie could be done largely on green screen and be filled in later… but that wasn’t the case for us. Apart from just a handful of special scenes, everything we did was out in the real world, with real rain, wind, fire, and debris. Obviously the tornadoes themselves had to be computer generated, but you could have fooled us while we were shooting a scene. We felt Mother Nature’s fury, except it was entirely man-made.

YA: What are you most excited for audiences to see on the big screen?

NK: I’m excited for them to see me doing something different! Besides one similarity, the fact that I’m holding a camera the whole time, I’m a completely different character from what people are used to seeing me play. Hopefully it helps people see that I’m ready to move on to bigger and better things!

YA: You’ve been involved in some pretty iconic YA TV fare, from iCarly to Sam & Cat. What has the transition been like to major motion pictures?

NK: It’s definitely been a change of pace, that’s for sure. Doing a TV show, the schedule is so formulaic and regular. You’re able to get into a pattern and work your life around it. With a movie, most of the time you’re off shooting somewhere you’re unfamiliar with, they schedule changes by the hour, and you just kind of have to hang on and hope for the best. As a result, it’s WAY more exciting. It’s such a rush being on a movie set, completely outside of your comfort zone. That’s one of the reasons I love doing movies so much. It’s a ton of action crammed into a couple months.

YA: What do you do to prepare for a day’s work on set? Any specific routines or methods?

NK: The only thing I absolutely must do is get a good night’s sleep. If I get 8 hours, I’m good to go. 7 hours, I’ll function. 6 hours… well, I can keep my eyes open till lunchtime, but after that I need a nap. So good rest is vital, as is trying to eat healthy and start the day with a good breakfast. One of the dangers of a movie set is the constant supply of delicious, and often unhealthy food that you have access to. So I avoid that as much as possible. Beyond that, I’ll usually crank up some music as I get into wardrobe, make sure I know my lines for the day, and then head out to start shooting!

YA: What was the best acting advice you’ve ever received?

NK: The best advice I’ve ever received is also the hardest to explain: “Stop acting”. There comes a point for an actor when he finally learns to stop reading the words on the page and just BE. Sometimes it comes quickly, sometimes it takes years of training. Lemme tell ya, for my first year or so before I started working, I was garbage. Looking back, I cringe. But with more and more experience, you really develop the instinct to just talk through a scene rather than recite lines. It’s the first major step in becoming a working actor.

YA: If you could play any role from any film or TV show in history, who would it be and why?   

NK: This is always one of the hardest questions for me to answer, so I’ll do it in two parts. For TV, it has to be 24’s Jack Bauer. For a movie, it’s a toss up between Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) from Iron Man and Axe (Ben Foster) from Lone Survivor. I wouldn’t wanna replace Downey Jr though, I could never do a better Stark than him.

YA: What would you say is your favorite YA story, book or film?

NK: It’s kind of out there, but I would definitely consider it a movie about young adults, so it sorta works! I love Taps, the 1981 movie with Tom Cruise, Timothy Hutton, and Sean Penn. It’s a very intense story that has always resonated with me, so it’s been at the top of my list for a while.