ALEX SHAFFER

Sundance Film: The Lifeguard

Age? “19”

Where are you from? “Jersey. I can be really loud and obnoxious.”

Big Break? “Losing my Sundance virginity last year [as Paul Giamatti’s costar in Win Win] was one of the best moments of my life—I loved getting free shit and seeing all the famous people. What’s his name? That actor who was in I Love You, Bro.”

Paul Rudd from I Love You, Man? “Yeah, Paul Rudd! He said I did a good job. I remember being starstruck.”

So what’s the buzz about The Lifeguard? “Kristen Bell is amazing and damn, Alex Shaffer looks good with a blue mohawk.”

Describe your character in one sentence: “He had a very rough life.”

What’s next? “I just did a pilot called Trooper for TNT. Having Mira Sorvino play my mother is fantastic!”

MILF alert? “Yeah, she’s a good-looking lady.”

What about before you became a Sundance sensation? “Well, in sixth grade I had a part in the Pirates of Penzance. I did a kick-ass job—my mom said so! And I won the New Jersey State Wrestling Championships two years ago. That was awesome.”

Could you pin Robert Redford? “Yeah! Let’s set up a match.”