Posted in: Paramount+, TV | Tagged: Kristian Ventura, School Spirits

School Spirits: Ventura on Simon's Season 3 Situation, Growth & More

Kristian Ventura (Gray Matter) spoke with us about how the tables have turned on Simon with the third season of Paramount+'s School Spirits.

Kristian Ventura is always looking for new opportunities as a young actor, and School Spirits presented a unique challenge: a role in an ensemble cast on episodic television. While he's adjusted, thanks in part to creators Megan and Nate Trinrud, he's developed his own methods to get into his role as Simon Elroy, the only person in the living world who can communicate with Maddie Means (Peyton List), a teen trapped in the spirit world trying to solve the mystery surrounding her death along with her friends living and dead. The Gray Matter (2023) star spoke to Bleeding Cool about how he's evolved as Simon since season one, how Simon finds himself in Maddie's shoes, and how the Trinrud family helped him make the transition to episodic TV.

School Spirits Star Kristian Ventura on Simon Elroy's Journey in Season 3

How do you feel you've grown as Simon since season one, and did anything change in how you approached him this third season?

Okay, to be fair, when I first got the role, I was terrified, because it was my first leading role out of college. I just wanted to do such a good job, and how I approached the scenes was so…it was about everything. Coming from drama school, it was about his vowels, sentences, and I would draw a skeleton stick figure in my notebook and figure out "How his fingertips move. How does he walk? How does he breathe? Can he ever lean back on a chair? Is that Simon?" He was so scientific at the start. Later, as I was able to go on to season two and three, it changed.

My approach became more about, "Let's hammer in what ideas this is." It's hard to explain, but it's like the character is a character as a person, but it's to the writer an idea that needs to come across: "What is Simon really for?" Well, a lot of the time, he's a lifeline for Maddie, and whatever that love means, that codependent need and inevitable love. Now, I try to approach the character as, "How can I exemplify the love that the creators have for their brother and sister? How could I exemplify the love those two people have in every scene that I do with Simon? How do you laugh with the person you can't live without? How do you argue with them? To me, it went from scientific to "We're doing a play," where this is a Broadway show, and I need to get an idea across. Let's make this clear: Simon is this vessel, so it changes every season.

This season, you find your character at the end of the spectrum and switching spots with Peyton's role as Maddie stuck on the bridge between the living and dead worlds. Is this something that you went back and forth with her about, along with [showrunners] Megan and Nate, about how Simon would deal with it?

Well, I didn't go back and forth with them much, only because you intuitively feel it's his turn. We're coming out of these two seasons, and the guy is doing all he can for Maddie. I'm so curious to see, "Maddie, what are you going to do with this Uno reverse? Are you going to put your ass on the line?" Like, let's see it! Come save me! It's like, "Tag! You're it! You run and chase me!" I love what the writers did because it gives Simon a little bit less of a selfless sacrificing hero to now a selfish guy fighting for his own survival, desperate to get out, looking at the underworld like, "I don't belong here," and I like that side of him now.

Having done this for three seasons now, how did Megan and Nate work with you as creatives in transitioning you into episodic television? Was this also something that you worked with your castmates, who are a little more experienced in that respect? What is your biggest takeaway from being on the show?

As an actor, they've been great collaborators. Here's what I learned: There's never enough time on a TV set or a film set, but Megan and Nate make it very clear, "If you don't get it in the take, let's start again and get it there," because the show is different from the start. It's shot differently; this cast and storyline are quite unique. If we want to create any worthy art, you can't just do two takes and move on.

They're generous, making sure everyone feels like they've put in their own creative feet in the puddle. I learned that, to me, going on three seasons, the most important thing as an actor is to retain your concentration, and that on a film set, you'd be surprised at how easily that breaks. You get into the transport with this van, the driver starts asking you how you slept, and you answer. You go to the makeup trailer, and they start asking you about how your weekend was.

You go into costume, and then you put on the costume. They check you, start talking to you, and then you talk to everyone in between: cast members, crafting, the PA, locations, and suddenly, it's time for you to act, and you have no energy left. I must tell every department, as Kristian, "Hey, the best thing we can do is to create the best show." Sometimes, that means I can't always talk to you, so I'm pretty quiet on set, admittedly. That's where I learned, Tom, is that for my own process, I put on my hood, AirPods, and just lock in." When it's Friday night, and we're all together, I was like, "I'm sorry, guys," but I'm just so afraid of doing a bad job that it has to be that way.

Season three of School Spirits, which also stars Spencer MacPherson, Nick Pugilese, Sarah Yarkin, Rainbow Wedell, Kiara Pichardo, Milo Manheim, Jennifer Tilly, Ci Hang Ma, Miles Elliot, and Josh Zuckerman, premieres with its first three episodes on Paramount+ with new episodes on Wednesdays through March 4th.

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