We were joined on the Popternative show by actor, dancer, and singer Kevin Csolak who can be seen playing Diesel in Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of the hit musical West Side Story. The film is up for seven 2022 Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actress (Ariana DeBose), Best Cinematography, Best Sound, Best Costume Design and Best Production Design.
The cast also includes Rachel Zegler (Maria), Ansel Elgort (Tony), Ariana DeBose (Anita), David Alvarez (Bernardo), Mike Faist (Riff), Josh Andrés Rivera (Chino), Corey Stoll (Lietenant Schrank) and Brian d’Arcy James (Sergeant Krupke). Rita Moreno, who won an Academy Award for her portrayal of Anita in the 1961 film version, plays Valentina, a reconceived and expanded version of the character of Doc, the owner of the corner store.
Image credit: 20th Century Studios Home Entertainment.
In our interview, Kevin explains how he got into storytelling by starting off with dance. He also explains how West Side Story was filmed in 2019 and was initially supposed to be released in 2020, but got pushed because of the pandemic.
He also goes into detail about the set and working with Spielberg: “It was the most seamless set I’ve ever been on […] it felt like it was this guy [Spielberg] who was looking eye to eye to you.” We also discuss Kevin’s upcoming role in the hit series Animal Kingdom. Joining season 6, Kevin will portray a young version of Shawn Hatosy’s character Pope.
You can watch the full interview with Kevin Csolak below.
West Side Story is now available to stream on Disney+ and HBO Max.
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