My Interview with Justin Andrews, aka Young Papa Nihil

So…. Guys…. I recently had the chance to talk with Justin Andrews, aka Young Papa Nihil, from the Ghost videos for Chapter 1: New Blood and “Dance Macabre”. As many of you know I am a huge Ghost fan, and while we do discuss the Ghost videos, I really wanted to make this interview about Justin and let the readers get to know more about him and hear about his experiences.

So for those readers who aren’t familiar with who you are tell us a little about yourself:

Justin: I’m just an up and coming actor. Been lucky enough to do some really cool projects, two of those being with the band Ghost. I do a lot of commercials, and really where my heart lies and what I want to do is movies and comedies and things like that. But you know, that’s pretty much it, in this pursuit of my artistic outlet I’ve kind of had the opportunity to do some really cool projects.

I’ve been watching some of your things from YouTube and the short film that you’re in, Bridge, I think that is awesome. I watched it for the first time last night and I was just blown away.

Justin: Awesome, thank you. Yeah, that was a cool project. I would say that was like my second year in L.A., and it was with a young film director who was an editor for the Disney channel that was trying to… or is currently trying to, I don’t know, I haven’t talked to him in a while… but he was trying to make his break into the directing side of things, and so that was like his first project to show that he can direct and write and do those other things. So yeah, that was a fun project.

I’m a social worker so I really liked the message, too, and I thought it was a good way to show that… you know… people are there and you don’t ever really know why.

So, I really like your dance videos too…

Justin: Oh, thank you!

Yeah, so I was gonna ask are you into other metal, like what other kind of music are you into?

Justin: Um, I listen to everything, like literally everything really other than country music, so I’m sorry to any country music fans.

(Me laughing) Nope, I’m the same way!

Justin: I listen to everything from 70s rock and reggae and classical jazz… sometimes I do listen to older country or rock music from the 70’s, I like 80’s music and 90’s rock. That’s probably one of my favorites. You know, I was a 90’s kid so Nirvana and Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Alice in Chains and Stone Temple Pilots. I find myself listening to that probably more than anything.

Right on, I’m the same way.

Yeah, I got really tickled when I watched your video where you were dancing to “Hello”. I was just like… “Oh God, that was so great!”

Justin: Yeah, that was just kind of like an impromptu, me being goofy. I had just gotten like an original press of a Lionel Richie album, like a vinyl album…. And um…

(We both laugh)

Yeah, I thought that was so great.

So okay, kind of tell us… how did end up being involved in the Ghost videos?

Justin: Um, you know, it was an audition, I really didn’t think much about it. It was just another audition for me. They were very… there’s was really like a lot of secretness around it, they really didn’t give us an idea of what the project was for, it just said something like, “European rock band or European metal band” or something like that.

Wow.

Justin: I don’t know, it was just a really strange process. The audition didn’t really have anything to do with what the video was for. I went in to audition for what I thought was a completely different part, and somewhere through that process of auditioning I got a call a few days, maybe a week later and said, “Hey, we want to book you for this.” And at that point I still didn’t know what I was really doing. I had no idea really what I was doing, what they had hired me for until I showed up on set that day. And as the day progressed and I asked questions to get a feel for what I was doing I found out who the band was. I had heard of them before, I knew who they were, and so I did some research and was like, “Oh okay, this is legit, this is awesome! This is such a cool band, they seem to have a great following.” And that was the very first video, the Chapter 1: New Blood…

Right.

Justin: And that was in like February, I think, of last year, and even then after… and again, I didn’t even know that I was going to be like… young Papa Nihil… I thought I was doing something completely different, uhh… I didn’t find out until they were like “Hey, we want you to do this and do this,” and okay, let’s just start getting dressed and get ready. And then I kinda figured out what it was and I got the backstory. But it was kind of a very quiet thing until I was actually doing it. And afterward I didn’t really think anything about it. I didn’t realize how big of a following, how amazing the fans were, umm… So that was February, I get a call middle of summer, “Hey, can you be available around this time in the August,” or something like that, “Ghost wants to work with you again.” And I said, “Okay, yeah sure, absolutely no problem.” One day was rehearsal, the next day was the shoot, and again a lot of it was secretive. And you know, I had found out a little bit about the dancing stuff, when we were gonna have rehearsals, you know, it was like location and everything was kind of last minute. I get there and they’re like, “Okay, this is the dialogue we’re gonna do,” so everything was very hush-hush. And it was an amazing experience and I still didn’t realize the gravity of everything until the video came out. The video came out and literally I just… my message were blowing up, and people were trying to find out who I was, and I’m in all these conversations on the internet, and people were like actively looking. That first week after the video I really realized I got to be part of something that was really cool, really amazing, and the fans, you know, have been just super cool. The whole experience, I think, so far has probably been the coolest thing I’ve done thus far as an actor and entertainer.

Yeah, I remember when Chapter 1 first came out and they showed the young Papa Nihil, oh man… I’m in all these Ghost groups because of course I’m a fan, and I just remember everybody just went completely nuts. As soon as they saw him, your character, they were like “Wow!” So yeah… it’s really cool that they’re so secretive about everything and that they’re able to keep it under wraps.

Justin: Yeah, a lot of it didn’t really catch up to me until like I said, a week after “Dance Macabre” came out and I was like, “Wow, this is a really big deal!” And I was already honored. I had spent time with and talked to Tobias and gotten to know him a little bit, and he’s just an amazing person, amazing to work with, and you know, just being in that environment I was already honored to be able to play the origin of this beloved character. So I was already very honored to do that, and I thought it was awesome, and then the funny part was between the first and second video, probably a sixth month period had gone by, and actually until even when, I don’t remember exactly when it came out, but it came out around fall, October I think, or something like that. So from like February until October I had no idea that people were trying to figure out who I was, like “Who’s this guy in the video?” I didn’t realize people were searching me. It wasn’t until again that the second video came out, “Dance Macabre”, that I started to do a little research and I’m like, “Wow, these people have been searching me out this entire time, this is really cool!”

(both of us laugh)

I love it! That’s awesome!

Okay, I gotta ask: anything new coming up?

Justin: No, I wish. I would love to have some really cool stuff to report. It’s actually been a little slow. I did a couple of commercials before the holiday, and I was in Texas last month for 4 days shooting a series of like… instructional videos and commercials and footage for a bunch of different stuff for this company. So, I was in a small little town outside of Houston for 4 days shooting, and that’s the last I’ve done. So, mostly commercials the last couple months and I’ve been auditioning for some film stuff and things like that, but nothing big yet. It’s kind of the life of an actor. I’m either sitting around twiddling my thumbs in full-blown panic mode because nothing’s going on or 19 people want me to do all the same stuff for 4 days.

Well… okay so I gotta tell you… I’m in this one group on Facebook, it’s a bunch of girls, and they all wanted me to tell you they love you. It’s the Sisters of Sin.

Justin: Oh, that’s awesome, tell them I love them as well. That’s very cool. I’m very, very thankful for all of them.

Oh, also I want to tell you that I really love the Fan Art Friday that you do on Instagram. I think it’s so awesome that you show the things the fans have drawn for you. I think that’s so cool.

Justin: Thank you. I mean for me, it’s like, the least I could do. It’s like… I’m completely flattered and humbled and very, very grateful to have people take time to draw me and paint me. And I love art. I have the heart of an artist. You know, fortunately I chose to be an actor because I can’t draw or paint or play an instrument so acting was it for me but there’s a part of me that wishes I could draw, so to see it and to be part of it the least I can do is showcase some of that for other people. And I think it’s amazing.

Right, and I know they appreciate it, too.

Okay, so last question: Have you been to see Ghost in concert?

Justin: I haven’t, but I would like to. I was not able to see them unfortunately. I wanted to see them when they were here in L.A. because they were at the forum and it was a big deal and everything, but unfortunately, I just wasn’t able to make it work with my schedule and everything, but I would like to see them in concert. Everybody tells me that they’re amazing and I’ve seen a lot of clips of them, and I guess being part of the different Ghost groups I see people posting clips and pictures and things like that, it just looks like a really awesome experience to be part of concert, to be there.

Right. I’ve only been to one, but it was just really… they just put on such a great show. I’ve been to a bunch of a concerts, but it’s just really different. There’s just something a little bit different about it. It’s like they interact more, I guess? I don’t know, it’s just weird.

Justin: Yeah, you know, the coolest part I think of being involved in everything is just… in a world of fragmentation and a lot of division and things like that, um, Ghost brings together a community of people surrounding art and music and, in a way, theater, you know, the theatrics with the Cardinal and the band and the characters and videos and things like that, so the coolest part of the whole experience is just the community that is Ghost and it’s fans.

Right. Well it was awesome to talk with you, and thank you so much for taking time because I know you’re probably super busy all the time.

Justin: I try. (me laughing) But I appreciate you taking time out to want to interview me. Thank you and shout out to the Sisters of Sin, and to everybody that takes time to be involved with what I’m doing. You know, that’s very… I’m very thankful and very grateful, and I don’t get a chance to always read everybody’s comment or look at everybody’s messages… uh, stuff like that but, I do see it. And I am very thankful for every like, for every person that took time to watch a project or be invested in what I’m doing and things like that. And little things like this. Like doing an interview that people want to actually hear what I’m involved in and what my experience was so to me it’s very flattering and I appreciate it.

Well, I thank you too, and hopefully we’ll see you soon, in some new things. Maybe some Ghost things? That would be awesome.

Justin: I’m open! I’m open, and hopefully will see you guys soon.

I would just like to again say that I am very thankful to Justin for taking time to speak with me. He was very easy to talk with and, as you can see for yourself, very humble and thankful for all the attention he is getting from the Ghost fans.

For anyone wanting to know more about Justin Andrews you can google “Actor Justin Andrews” and it will bring up a lot of information about him, or you can find him at any of the following:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/actorjustinandrews

Instagram: www.instagram.com/actorjustinandrews

YouTube: www.youtube.com/actorjustinandrews

Twitter: www.twitter.com/justinandrewsla

MHF Magazine/Monica Redwine