In an interview with CBR, Allen spoke about what it’s like to be part of not one, but two of Netflix’s most popular shows. He spoke about his journey playing Kyle and how the character’s experience has paralled his own as the show moves into Season 4. Plus, he discusses how the reception from Sweet Magnolias fans compares to the feedback he got during the fourth season of Stranger Things.
CBR: It’s unique and interesting that people have seen you play two vastly different characters on the same platform, in two shows that are both major hits. Was it just a coincidence that you recurred on Stranger Things and then are starring in Sweet Magnolias? And what was the transition like for you between Jake and Kyle?
Logan Allen: Netflix likes to reuse a lot of their people… Millie Bobby Brown has [other] Netflix stuff as well. It’s just kind of like how directors reuse [actors]. I don’t think it’s a coincidence; I think Netflix likes to stay with their people because they trust those actors and they like them.
Every character is in yourself. We all play characters throughout the day. We have great days and we have bad days, and different emotions come out of that. So it really just comes down to identifying [with] that character in some way, even if you don’t morally agree with it… It is really just about understanding who you are at your core so you can bring those emotions up and outward onto screen. So when it comes to the transition between the two shows, it wasn’t super drastic, just because we’re constantly doing auditions all the time, doing different roles, doing different characters, sometimes weekly.
So how did you perceive Kyle when you were playing him in Stranger Things Season 4? Do you think he could have been a good guy, or at least learned something from his experience with Eleven?
All it took was to see his girlfriend get hit in the face with a skate. [Laughs.] I don’t really get to play a lot of of bullies. And of course, my character of Kyle is very different. He’s the sweet, sensitive, empathetic kid, and Jake was interesting. But even though he was a mean guy on the outside, usually with characters like that, there’s some kind of insecurity going on internally. Even if the audience can’t see, that helps us as actors to really lean into that.
If you really dive deep into the psychology of the character, and the insecurities that he may have — why he’s like that, what has led him to act this way — the way I approached it was, he’s not really a mean guy at his core. He’s trying to be cool around his friends. He’s trying to be cool for Angela. He’s trying to put on a front to to be accepted by the group. Because maybe he’s not accepted at his own home, and that’s the one place he can be accepted, the one place he gets attention — whatever it may be — is through being this mean guy.
I got so many DMs — not a lot in person, but so many DMs that were just going off on me. [Laughs.] Like “leave Millie alone,” “leave Eleven alone.” People said, “I’m gonna throw a milkshake on you now.” I’m like okay, that’s cool. [Laughs.] But nothing too wild.
I do get a lot of [people saying] wow, you’re actually really nice compared to your character. And I’m like yeah, that’s what acting is… It’s very funny. Even with Kyle, people expect [me] to be that character on screen, and that’s just a very interesting thing, because the more actors you meet, the more you’ll realize that’s not the case at all. We’re all our own people, and have our own characteristics that you may not see on screen.
How would you describe Kyle’s arc in Sweet Magnolias Season 4? He’s definitely not bullying anybody, but he’s also continuing to figure out who he is and what he wants.
Kyle is getting older, and I’m getting older as well. Season 1 we filmed in 2019; I was 14, turning 15. I’m turning 21 this year. I’m 20 now. It’s insane… I’ve gone through a lot of these same experiences, because I’m aging the same as Kyle. I went through that teenage period where you’re wanting to take on responsibility and wanting to become more mature. But a lot of teenagers don’t understand [that] when you take on responsibility, some consequences come with that.
You lose a lot of your time. You have to then balance not only school, but maybe work and your hobbies, and then relationships and friendships. Those relationships and friendships and all those hobbies become more serious, and you’ve got to be more mature, and you’ve got to grow with that. And so Kyle is really trying to navigate the responsibilities that he has now that he’s getting older. He wants his responsibilities because he wants to grow, but he gets slapped in the face when he realizes how tough it is to balance everything in life.
Is there anything about the season that you particularly loved, or want to tell Netflix audiences to look out for?
I think that this is probably the best season — up there with Season 1. Season 1 holds a special place in my heart. I’m a big purist, in the sense of people that like the originals, Season 1 of different shows and the first entry into a film series. I’m the same way. But Season 1 and Season 4 [are] my two favorite seasons of this show.
I really, really love what the writers’ room did. They went crazy. We had some new additions in the writers’ room, like the showrunner’s daughter wrote an episode as well, and Sara [Jumel] did amazing. We had some new guest directors that absolutely killed it. You’re going to be shocked, you’re going to laugh, you’re going to cry. It’s going to be one heck of a ride, so I cannot wait for everyone to see that.
Sweet Magnolias Season 4 is now streaming on Netflix.
