BB Exclusive: Luke Spencer Roberts Talks his New Film, Banana Split

Luke Spencer Roberts may only have just started his career as an actor, but his appearance in the new coming of age film, Banana Split will have you itching to see more from him. Luke plays Ben, the best friend to our dreamy villain Nick (played by Dylan Sprouse) in the new film and we had the chance to chat with Luke about his new role.

Tell us about Banana Split and your character, Ben.
“The film was written by Hannah Marks and Joey Power, it is kind of a weird take on the old high school comedy, in the sense that we follow these two young women and their bond rather than their relationships between themselves and the wonderful Dylan Sprouse. I play a guy named Ben. I’m the frustrated best friend of our very good-looking villain. I also try to be the voice of reason and try to keep friendships alive while we deal with that weird Summer after high school heading into college.”

What about Ben drew you to this role?
“I don’t know if I would describe myself as awkward, but I have always felt a connection whenever I read something where the person’s advice is a little ignored.”

What else did you like about this film?
“It’s a comedy and when I worked with these guys, especially on the set, we built our own relationships, our own way of speaking to one another, and I really enjoyed doing that with them. Finding those perfect facial expressions to get them to laugh and, hopefully, it will show that at least one person in Ben’s friend group thought what was going on was crazy.”

Ben is put in the middle in this film, have you ever been put in the middle of your own friend group?
“I’ve definitely, on more than one weekend, been out with my friends and experienced them this reads weird up to something that’s probably been a bad idea. I’m sure everyone has, especially when they’re young. The thing I really liked about Ben’s situation was it wasn’t about a romantic or sexual thing, it was about friendship. The affair here is a friendship rather than a romantic relationship, so that was really fun and an interesting way to look at things. I know if I imagine being in that situation, it’s a tricky place to be. Imagining being friends with someone’s ex and their current partner and knowing that they know each other, I don’t know if I would actually do that in real life, but Ben definitely would.”

You can check out the rest of our interview with Luke below the jump and if you missed our review of the film click here to check it out.

Photo Credit: Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images for American High

Was it a shock when you read about Ben and April’s moment in the script?
“Yeah, it was. When I was playing it, I played the attraction and I think it is very, very common in your teenage years and in college, as well, when you spend a lot of time with someone to develop feelings for the person across from you because of all the shared experiences. But I was very surprised Ben made the move. I think for me it was nice to see Ben be brave, but at the same time you probably shouldn’t kiss your friend’s ex. I feel like that is just good life advice. If they’ve dated your friend don’t kiss them.”

What inspired Ben’s iconic hat?
“I actually wear that hat in real life, but a lot of the clothes Ben wears are clothes I wear in real life. I brought a big suitcase from Los Angeles. I got some nice critiques on my wardrobe and me and our wonderful fashion designer decided how to use parts of it in a lot of this film. That also helped me make Ben, I hope, a funny interesting guy.”

How else did you help bring Ben to life?
“For me, it was the little stuff, like the facial expressions allowed me to play around a little bit. Outside of what I did with the fashion, it was more just watching Hannah [Marks], Dylan [Sprouse] and all these people. Keep in mind these guys have been actors for a very long time; they’re like veterans, where I have only been at it for a few years. I was just trying to learn and keep my head above water with them and hopefully I did.”

What was it like working with your veteran castmates?
“It was a strange feeling to have when you are talking to someone that young, who is that professional. There are very few jobs on Earth where that is a phenomenon that can happen. For me, it was also being amazed at their body of work and how long they had been acting. The way they are seamlessly moving through that space. It definitely was really cool being around this group of professionals, especially when you are working with them. They’re calm, they’re confident.”

What do you think is this film’s main focus?
“It focuses on what’s important. What was really gratifying for me was, while Ben was in a decent amount of this film, I was there for most of it spending my time sitting and talking to people. Talking to Ben Kasulke, the director. One of the things that was so interesting to me, especially talking to other young people, was this movie is about two young women. The dynamic of what friendship is as you leave high school and it is amazing how much romance is important in our society and important in our lives. We spend a lot of time talking about it, but the truth is once it’s over it kind of fades away. You don’t really think about your high school exs all that much after and, yet, so many of these movies focus on the romance and how this is the all-important thing to happen. When actually it is the friends you make along the way that matters.”

Do you think Ben and Nick would still be friends after college?
“It is sort of the same thing that has happened in my life. They have each other’s phone numbers and Instagrams, but at the end of the day, when they move away, Ben goes to Colorado and Nick goes to Santa Barbara. Especially after Ben kisses his [Nick’s] ex, I think that is kind of a ‘Okay we’re different. We’re not with each other all the time now’. A part of growing up is realizing that friendships change, you change, and you meet new people.”

What about Clara and April, do they stay friends?
“They do. I think they definitely do. The thing I really liked about what Joey and Hannah did with their relationship is their relationship wasn’t just fun young girls hanging out, it was actually adult. The things they are dealing with, and helping each other find a way to feel more comfortable becoming young adults, that’s what it’s about.”

What do you want the audience to take away from the film?
“We just did some Q&As when the film came out and one of the things I really liked was I got to talk to some of the audience afterwards. This one lady told me she enjoyed the fact that it wasn’t about getting together, soulmates or overly romantic stuff. You don’t always have to end up with your first sweetheart. Sometimes life is magical, and you meet the love of your life your sophomore year of high school and sometimes you meet your best friend and that is more important. Friendships are sometimes more important that romantic relationships.”

*Interview has been edited for length and clarity*