Scott Michael Foster is navigating uncharted territory in his new interactive film Choose Love — and he’s happy to have costar Laura Marano by his side.
“She’s awesome. She truly was the person that needed to be cast for this role, because this was a lot of work to do,” Foster, 38, exclusively told Us Weekly while promoting the upcoming Netflix film in an interview conducted before the SAG-AFTRA strike. “I don’t know how she kept the whole movie straight because there’s 16 endings, there’s hundreds of choice points. We had to film different endings and choice points all over the place during the day, and she kept it all straight in her head. So I give her credit.”
The Netflix romantic comedy, which premieres on Thursday, August 31, follows Cami Conway (Marano), a recording engineer who seemingly has it all, including dream boyfriend Paul (Foster). Despite her life being on track, she can’t seem to stop reminiscing about two former flames (Avan Jogia and Jordi Webber) from her past. The film marks the streaming service’s first interactive rom-com — and second overall following 2018’s Bandersnatch — where viewers get to decide the story line — including Cami’s ending — in real time.
For Foster, who has starred in hit comedies like Greek and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, the concept of choosing how the plot unfolds adds another layer to the overall experience — and poses a new challenge for him as an actor.
“It’s an interactive feature and I thought that was extremely unique. I’d never seen one before Bandersnatch, also on Netflix, and I absolutely loved it,” Foster told Us. “I thought it was such a great project. It had multiple story lines, multiple endings and I watched every single one of them and I loved it. So when [Choose Love] came across my desk, I thought it was a great opportunity to do something new I hadn’t done before.”
Another plus? The actor was also able to travel to an entirely new destination for filming. “I got to go to New Zealand. I’ve never been there before. That was amazing,” he gushed.
While Foster couldn’t get into too many details regarding Paul — but insisted he was a “cool” person to portray — he teased that the character has much more to him than initially meets the eye.
“He’s Cami’s boyfriend and he’s a professional. He is a lawyer and he’s dedicated to her. I think he’s a very good guy. But there’s layers to him, obviously. We wouldn’t have a movie if there wasn’t some drama,” he told Us, laughing. “I think he’s definitely more than just what he says on paper. He loves Cami and wants to be with her, but there’s always problems.”
Choose Love is Foster’s first time starring in an interactive film, but he’s no stranger to playing the romantic lead. He credits the onscreen chemistry he creates with his costars to his dedicated “work ethic” and landing roles opposite some incredible talent.
“I’m open and feeling and thankfully I’ve worked with a lot of really good actors who do the same,” he explained. “I think there’s just a level of professionalism that you have to bring to the project to even get close to that. Luckily I’ve worked with a lot of people [where] chemistry was very easy. I’m fortunate in that regard.”
When it comes to Choose Love, Marano’s character has potential with three love interests — and viewers get to decide if Foster’s Paul is the right fit. It’s an experience any “fan of rom-coms” will enjoy, Foster told Us.
“It’s fun, it’s quirky and you get to make the choices. You get to choose what Cami does throughout the scenes. It’s completely interactive,” he said. “I think if you’re a fan of [the genre], if you’re a fan of Netflix, I think this is gonna be right up your alley. It’s going to be something you’ve never seen before.”
