A veteran of the business, Youtube sensation MAX has been writing music, modeling, dancing, and performing since the age of 14. All at the same time, Max has been building a serious acting career. He has an awesome role coming up, in Love And Mercy, the story of notorious musician, Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys. Sit back and watch as Max Schneider blows up—but in the meantime, check out what he’s got to say about his music influences, his philosophy on working with friends, and his worst haircut ever.
How has the adjustment to Los Angeles been for you, as a New Yorker?
Well, I’ve been out in Los Angeles for 5 years now and just this year, I finally got my license! That was the main procrastination point of the transition, but other than that it’s been pretty smooth. That was really the main thing the die-hard New Yorker in me fought off.
The Love And Mercy project sounds super exciting—are you a big fan of the Beach Boys? What’s your favorite Beach Boys song?
I’m a huge Beach Boys fan. I’ve always loved all of their music but my two favorite songs are probably “Good Vibrations” and “Wouldn’t It Be Nice”. It was so wonderful working on the movie. I think working with such an amazing cast and a beautiful story will really bring even more depth to the music for all of the Beach Boys fans out there.
So you’re an actor, singer and songwriter—how does working in all these fields affect the work you do? Do you prefer one field more?
Music has always been where my heart is at, but I’ve also been really blessed to work on a lot of really great acting projects. It’s really therapeutic to have a foot in both worlds. I think it’s healthy to shift your focus every once in a while and get out of certain bubbles. I definitely feel like after I finish a movie or TV show I get even more excited about getting back into my music and have more material to write and vice versa.
Who are your favorite actors and musicians? Whose work influences you most right now?
I love Daniel Day Lewis, Joseph Gordon Levitt, and Leonardo DiCaprio. As for musicians I love so many of the old-school soul artists like James Brown, Etta James, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, and then of course, Prince, Bruno Mars, Pharrell Williams and Justin Timberlake. I’ve always been especially influenced by Prince, James Brown and Pharrell. I’ve actually been working on a few songs with Pharrell for my album, which has been a dream come true. He’s truly an amazing artist and person.
Do you have more guy friends or girl friends? How do your friendships affect your work?
It’s kind of evenly split, I guess. In high school I had more girlfriends then guy friends just because my school was like 75 percent girls, but now that I’ve gotten a little older I feel like it’s a bit more even. It’s interesting how friendships can affect work especially since a good amount of friends of mine I’ve met working in way or another, but think it’s important to separate the two. That’s why when I’m not working with certain friends, I really like to do things that have nothing to do with work, like bowling or beach volleyball. Then I try not talk about work at all.
What’s the worst haircut you’ve ever had?
It was probably when I was 12 years old. I used to hate getting my hair cut and I distinctly remember getting this haircut from some new woman and walking back to the car and freaking out in the most dramatic, ridiculous way. It’s safe to say that I’ve chilled out a bit since then.