Review Fix Exclusive: Isaiah Frizzelle Talks ‘Boy Friends’ And More

Review Fix chats with actor and writer Isaiah Frizzelle, who discusses his role as Dom on “Boy Friends,” as well as his podcast, writing and more.

Review Fix: You wear many creative hats in entertainment. How do they affect each other?

Isaiah Frizzelle: I do wear a bunch of hats, huh?! I’ve been trying to just get a custom made hat to replace all of them. As an actor, your biggest challenge is seeing and believing every “disappointment” is a necessary step towards your win(s). I place a heavy emphasis on mental health with the podcast, as well as fitness training because what we think, is what we feel and what we feel is what we believe. It’s important to unpack what we carry day to day so we understand exactly how it affects us. Each medium I work in is contingent on me being in the best mental space to effectively work. 

Review Fix: How did you get involved in Boy Friends?

Frizzelle: Early 2017 I received a phone call from a good friend of mine, Joe Menziel. It had actually been a while since he and I connected which was cool! He was calling to see if I’d be interested in auditioning for this pilot that he was working on. As he was explaining the story I was like “wait I auditioned for this a few months ago, but never heard anything”. My tape was submitted after the deadline apparently so they never saw it!! I came in to read in person and the rest was history. 

Review Fix: What was your research process like for this one?

Frizzelle: I didn’t have to dig too deep, in terms of research, just pulled from life. I think we all have had experiences that stick out from Highschool and College; Relationship dynamics, camaraderie, rival cliques and singing duh !

Review Fix: Why did you choose to play this role?

Frizzelle: Dom seemed like a good guy so it made choosing to play the role easy! He’s laid back, athletic, open to new experiences, and definitely someone who values his friendships. I want to be like him when I grow up.

Review Fix: How has COVID affected your career?

Frizzelle: On the acting front, COVID definitely made things weird for almost if not every artist. Auditions slowed, projects you were on hold for unfortunately had to take a hit, it was a lot. I’m careful when I say this, but on the flip side I really benefited from the “lockdown”. I wrote a book. I’d been eluding the process for some time and when this all hit, I said to myself “ you have nothing but time and experience”. “You’re not allowed to flake on yourself” so I got to it. I value solitude a great deal because it gives me time to work things out, and that’s what I spent this time doing. 

Review Fix: What makes this performance a special one for you?

Frizzelle: What’s special about this performance is that it was a pivotal point in my life altogether. There were a lot of personal changes happening that were full of uncertainty!  How this fell in my lap was just a reminder that you’re not allowed to count yourself out because you never know. “Boy Friends” I feel centers around that very concept. Life, (especially the young adult years), is wild, it’s crazy, there are awkward moments, low  moments, but you keep showing up because there are awesome moments waiting. I also made some pretty solid buddies from this project and that’s always a good thing

Review Fix: How do you want this role to be remembered?

Frizzelle: I’d definitely like this role to be remembered as one of those that reminds you to just be YOU unapologetically. Look out for your friends, and just enjoy the growing process. Uncertainty is inevitable, but uncertainty can be the best thing to happen to you. 

Review Fix: What’s next?

Frizzelle: Up next, uncertainty haha ! I am finalizing this book, and in the meantime I’m back in full effect with the podcast. Halloween season is fast approaching, (and it’s my favorite), which means I’ll be writing a lot more horror stories, and even filming some of them to get in the spirit.  Auditions are slowly unfolding which is nice, but I’m definitely going to use this time to just be an artist and appreciate the ability to create. 

Review Fix: Anything else you’d like to add? 

Frizzelle: Check out The Bird Brain Podcast on any listening platform & Youtube. We are also on Twitter: @thebirdbrainpodcast, and above anything check in with yourself and your people because that is imperative. Also you can find me on Twitter & Instagram as @IsaiahFrizzelle

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About Patrick Hickey Jr. 13819 Articles
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports. Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders. His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023. Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief. Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale. Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.

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