Child stuntman-turned YA actor Ashton Moio brings a lot to the table: cute looks, a funny bone, a readiness to play as well as a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. Playing Rico, the ‘adorkable’ friend and unrequited admirer of Jo on the hit show Twisted, has given Moio a great way to use many of his talents. “Usually they’ll write in something, and they’ll let me go on and kind of improvise off of it,” he says of the loose and organic working style on the Twisted set. “What they put in is kind of like an idea, or the moment they want to have, and then they’ll let me mess around with it.”
As for his character, Rico has already become a favorite among fans. However Ashton hopes things change for the well meaning, but slightly acquiescent Rico. “In real life, if I was in a situation like this, I’d probably just move on, or start hanging out with other people,” he says. “I feel like I am one who is fairly sensitive to rejection and wouldn’t hang around and keep getting treated like that – Danny is always lying, and Jo is seeing everyone else but me!” As for his hopes for where things go for Rico in the next season, he says “I’d like to have a little bit more of a backbone, or maybe do a little bit more of my own thing.”
Of course, staying low key and going with the flow does have its advantages: it’s how many of us got through high school. “I was never really too involved in school,” Ashton reminisces, describing his time spent in a band, doing stunts with his dad, and then finally getting into acting in senior year. “I skipped through all the drama, I was always doing my own thing. In the same way Rico is really into studying – he’s really into what’s doing. I was kinda the same way in high school.”
And what about Moio’s hopes for the future, and how he’d like to be perceived as an actor? “I want people to see the love!” he effuses. “I love acting, and hopefully that comes across. I think it’s really cool to see someone doing what they love to do, with anything. It’s almost cooler to see someone who’s not quite as good, who’s having a lot of fun doing it.”
—DH