Noah Galvin voices Prince Rupert in Gimlet’s new podcast series The Two Princes. All episodes dropped on June 4. The story follows Prince Rupert as he sets out to break the mysterious curse that’s destroying his kingdom. He’s ready to face any villain or monster that stands in his way, but what he isn’t prepared for are the new emotions he feels when he meets the handsome Amir, voiced by Broadway’s Ari’el Stachel, a rival prince on a quest to save his own realm. The two princes team up and discover that the only thing more difficult than saving their kingdoms is following their hearts.
Noah talked with HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY about tackling a scripted podcast. Noah is no stranger to the audiobook world. His audiobook work includes Stephen Chbosky’s The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Matthew Quick’s Forgive Me, Leonard Peacock. He opened up about subverting the fairytale genre and the exciting reaction to Booksmart. Check out our Q&A below.
What was it about the role of Prince Rupert that made you want to be a part of The Two Princes?
Well, having the opportunity to have narrated an audiobook such as The Perks of Being a Wallflower and have the opportunity to delve into a story for as long as a book lasts, something cool about the reason the scripted podcast was interesting to me is that I got to really sink my teeth into a character over the course of a whole season.
What would you say is the best aspect of doing a scripted podcast?
Noah Galvin: I think it’s fun to get to just sink my teeth into one character and not have to worry about the arc of several characters. I sort of just get to live and breathe life and give humanity to the one character in particular. That’s something that excites me about the scripted podcast format.
Would you want to continue doing scripted podcasts in the future?
Noah Galvin: I think the beauty of these scripted podcasts is that once you’ve written them, it doesn’t take that long to record. We recorded all of it in about a week and a half and then it went off into its editing process. It’s a medium that is a little bit easier to produce than a television show or a movie. It’s also a little bit cheaper. So I think that it’s like a beautiful opportunity for young writers and young people to try something new.
The Two Princes is a really amazing concept. It’s a modern love story with the fairytale element. It’s about two princes who fall in love. What’s it like for you to subvert expectations regarding fairy tales and take on this really awesome love story?
Noah Galvin: I think it’s sort of genius, the idea of taking a form and a format that people already know as a fairytale. A love story, you know, would normally be a prince and a princess or a king and a queen and we’re subverting it and making it about two teenage princes. I think it’s beautiful and it’s beautifully representative of you know, not only Pride Month, but also where we are in society. I think it’s something that people need and I think every little bit of representation matters.
Absolutely and it’s about damn time.
Noah Galvin: Hell yeah! Let’s gay it up!
Is there any story or anything you would want to try for maybe a different type of scripted podcast? Do you have any ideas yourself?
Noah Galvin: My sister also has an illustrious voiceover career. She has her own show on Cartoon Network and she’s won like a thousand awards for her audiobook work. So the two of us want to put our heads together and figure out a little series for ourselves, I think. We like the idea of the same group of actors but changing up the story and working with new writers.
With The Two Princes, does the first season of this leave it open for more? Or is it a full story?
Noah Galvin: You know, I’d say there is a full emotional journey within this first season, but like any story, this isn’t the end.
Congratulations on Booksmart. What’s it been like for you as an actor to be getting the response that you are getting, from not just celebrities but fans as well. Everyone is talking about this movie.
Noah Galvin: It’s super exciting. I very badly wanted to be in this film and did everything I could to be in it. Beanie Feldstein and Molly Gordon are both close friends of mine and have been for the past five years of my life, so getting to be on a set like this and look across this big Hollywood movie set and look at my best friend was very grounding and exciting for me. But at the same time, it just felt like I was making something with my friends. So the fact that it’s now in movie theaters and people all around the world are seeing it, is pretty wild to me. It’s so exciting.