The Verge: Keir Gilchrist

Did you read the novel it was based on?

I never read the novel, actually. I still haven't at this point. I didn't feel the need because I had read Ryan and Anna's script, and while it's obviously Ned's story, it's their script. I really wanted to make their movie and do whatever they wanted to, and I was never really concerned about being the same character that was in the book.

Tell me how you got the role.

I can't remember if I was the first one cast, but I know that I went on tape for it in Toronto and then a few months later, when I was in LA shooting United States of Tara, they called me in for an audition with Ryan and that went well. There was an amount of time where we weren't sure if it was going to work schedule-wise because I was still technically in school and the laws in New York say that if you're in school, you can't work very many hours, so there was a lot of uncertainty and then when I finally booked it, everything seemed to fall into place.

You're still 17, and you've got a television show. I imagine your schedule is not the easiest thing to accommodate.

On United States of Tara, it's not that bad, because I don't have to work very much. It's Kind of a Funny Story would not have worked, period, if I had to do school at the same time. There's no way, but while I was technically 17, I actually had finished all my schooling, so it was more of a legal issue. I think I got a special letter or something and I was able to work adult hours.

Let's talk about United States of Tara. When do you go back to shoot the third season?

I'm actually leaving the day after the movie premieres in Toronto.

Do you have any idea what's to come for Marshall this year?

I actually am no use. I have no idea what's going on this season at all! I have read nothing and I'm just going into it. I'm the sort of actor who doesn't really prep a lot -- I don't do a lot of research for parts, I just go for it and I usually pull through.

Do you think some actors do too much prep?

With Marshall, I never prep anymore because I've done [that character] a lot, but with the projects I'm accepting now, I don't really like to prep. When I create a character, I do it with the directors, and I take their notes and try to have my notes meet in a common ground. I don't create characters myself, and I don't really think that's my job. I'm not a prep person at all -- plus, I'm just a lazy procrastinator. [Laughs]

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