CELEBRITY

Interview: Mason Cook Dishes on ABC’s Hit Series, Speechless

(PHOTOGRAPHER: Ted Sun STYLING: Philippe Uter GROOMER: Crystal Tran)

Actor, Mason Cook, is best known for playing Ray DiMeo on the hit ABC series, Speechless.

Glitter recently sat down with Mason to discuss what it’s like working alongside Minnie Driver, John Ross Bowie, and Cedri Yarbrough, when he first started acting, some of his favorite actors, what he does on his spare time, and how he balances school and acting!

(Ted Sun)

 

GLITTER: When did you start acting?

MASON: I started acting when I was eight-years-old, after my dad, my brother, 2 sisters and I moved to Los Angeles from Oklahoma City. We didn’t originally move to LA for me to pursue an acting career, but after being here for about 6 months I thought it sounded fun and gave it a try. I booked my first audition which was a donuts commercial, and then an episode of Grey’s Anatomy and have pretty much worked non-stop since then.

 

GLITTER: We love you on ABC’s hit show, Speechless, but for those who haven’t seen the show yet, who do you play and what is it about?

MASON: Speechless is a family comedy in ABC’s impressive arsenal of family comedies. Along with their other shows, ABC has done such an amazing job of putting stories on the air that represent all different types of families in the world today.

The thing that sets our show apart from other shows, especially comedies, is that our TV family represents an often-overlooked type of family – those with a family member with a disability. I play ‘Ray DiMeo’, the perfectionist, high-strung middle child in the DiMeo family. Ray’s older brother on the show, JJ, has cerebral palsy and is non-verbal. Typically, that topic is not usually linked with comedy. In fact, most of the time characters with a disability are part of a sad and depressing storyline. That is not the case with our show. Our title, “Speechless,” is equal parts named for JJ being non-verbal and the insane things the DiMeo’s do that leave the audience speechless. The show is relatable to all kinds of families, so I encourage people who aren’t necessarily themselves part of the “disabled community” to give it a shot!

 

GLITTER: What’s it like working alongside Minnie Driver, John Ross Bowie, and Cedric Yarbrough?

MASON: As a cast, we hit the jackpot. We all clicked immediately when we met after being cast. During the filming of the pilot, seriously something magical happened. I have worked with a lot of different actors over the past 10 years and you don’t always have the type of chemistry we do as a cast. The whole group is stellar!

 

To read the FULL interview, make sure to download the latest issue here.