Nathan Kress Talks ‘L.A to Vegas’ and ‘Alive in Denver’ [Exclusive Interview]

Nathan Kress took on the biggest role on his career ten years ago.

In 2007, he landed the role of Freddie Benson on Nickelodeon series iCarly. For seven seasons, he played the good friend of Miranda Cosgrove’s Carly and the technical adviser on the web show at the center of the series. Since then, he’s acted in several projects and began directing, which brings us to the present and his upcoming television roles.

I recently spoke with Kress about those upcoming roles, which include the Fox comedy L.A. to Vegas and Fullscreen series Alive in Denver.

L.A. to Vegas centers on the flight crew and passengers of a Friday flight from L.A. to Las Vegas and then the return flight on Sunday from Vegas.

“It’s all about the outbound flight to Vegas and then is snaps forwards to the inbound flight from Vegas, so it’s all about how the events that transpired in Vegas affected them over the course of the weekend,” Kress explained.

Kress’ character Ryan is flying out with his fiancée to elope in Vegas, excited to be with the love of his life and optimistic about his future. “Then you fast-forward to when he’s flying back from Vegas and he’s a different person. Things don’t go the way he planned, and hilarity ensues.”

L.A. to Vegas was exciting for Kress because of the cast, which includes Dylan McDermott and Ed Weeks. “I was excited about the role because I knew quite a bit of the cast and I knew I was going to be working with pretty closely with them.”

He was particularly happy to be working opposite Peter Stormare, who many of his scenes are with. Kress found out the actor was the series right before filming, which was quite the surprise.

In a busy television landscape, Kress finds L.A. to Vegas to be a unique concept. The scenes being centered on the plane and in the airport cause the show to “knuckle down on the comedy” according to the actor.

The fact that most people have interesting stories from Vegas also make the series easy to connect to.

“It seems like that’s where the best stories [are]. The type of stories you tell your coworkers,” Kress said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if their writers, producers and actors pitch their Vegas stories. In a sense, it’s kind of centered in that reality of ‘anything can happen in Vegas,’ so the sky’s the limit.”

Kress will also be seen as one of the main character’s in upcoming Fullscreen series Alive in Denver.

The comedy centers on a group of people, including Kress and Danielle Campbell, who share their deepest secrets because they believe the world is coming to an end. Then the meteor coming towards the Earth does not destroy the planet and everyone must deal with their new realities.

Kress plays Kyle, a high school algebra teacher and baseball coach who is not very happy about his life. When the series begins, Kyle is in a low place in his life and the secret he reveals only complicates his life more.

The series, which was shot over three weeks, was a fun acting experience for Kress. He said it has “a phenomenal cast and really, really smart well-written scripts that knows how to appeal to the thoughts and mentality of this generation. It’s a really cool universe.”

“I was very happy to be a part of it. Hopefully it takes off and we shoot another season,” he continued.

New acting challenges aren’t the only thing Kress has tackled since his time on iCarly. He’s also begun directing.

During the last episode of the Nickelodeon series, Executive Producer Dan Schneider told the actor he noticed his eye for production and suggested directing may be a good fit.

While it was not in his initial plan, Kress went on to direct episodes of Nickelodeon series Henry Danger and Game Shakers. Directing was something the actor deemed far too difficult at first, but now he really enjoys it.

“Over time it just got easier, and I started to feel more confident, experienced, and more assured that I was capable of making the decisions that needed to be made on set,” he admitted.

Moving forward, Kress wants to continue balancing acting and directing. “I think being an actor makes me a better director, and being a director makes me a better actor, so I definitely want to continue on both sides of the camera.”

Keep an eye out for Nathan Kress when L.A. to Vegas premieres mid-season on Fox.

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