Newsweek - USA (2021-11-26)

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Culture

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if there’s one word to describe avan jogia, it’s “undefinable.”

From acting to writing to art, he refuses to do just one thing. “It probably

would have been easier for me if I had fully committed myself to one discipline.”

In terms of acting, Jogia can be seen in the next installment of the Resident Evil

franchise, Welcome to Raccoon City (in theaters November 24th). “It’s about the

beginnings and how all the myth and the lore of Resident Evil started. It’s cool

to run around in that world.” A longtime fan of the video games the franchise

is based on, Avan says “it was cool” to see director Johannes Roberts bring that

world back to life. “Horror fi lms evoke a very specifi c type of feeling in you.

We like to get scared. It’s a weird human thing.” In 2019, Jogia released his

fi rst book, Mixed Feelings: Poems and Stories (Andrews McMeel Publishing).

“I fi nd joy when I get to explore, whether it’s books or movies or painting.” For

Jogia, that joy can also be memes sent in from fans. “It’s art in a way. It’s a way

of communicating shared human experiences and we all go, ‘Oh, I get that.’”

Avan Jogia

Were you a fan of the

original video games?

I grew up playing the games. My

mom was a gamer, so I’m second

generational. My mom just didn’t like

horror games, so I was like, that’s the

game that I want to play. [laughs]

Did it feel strange to essentially

be in a period piece set in 1998?

They set the movie in the period in

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movie isn’t about the culture of the

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What makes the zombies of

Resident Evil different from

say a Walking Dead zombie?

They’re not just wandering undead,

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There are all types of zombies,

and they’re all different.

Did you ever feel pigeonholed

by your child actor image?

I just want to keep on chasing things

that are interesting. A lot of people

who come from teen television get

caught up in the cliches of trying to

separate themselves from the thing

rather than, “I’m just going to be

conscious of being a good actor.”

What inspired you to write Mixed

Feelings: Poems and Stories?

I’ve written poetry my whole life.

Pursuing that was a way to look

at my family and my origin as a

person, because you can’t really

understand what you want to do until

you know yourself. —H. Alan Scott

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evoke a very

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of feeling in

you. We like

to get scared.

It’s a weird

human thing.”

PARTING SHOT