Exclusive Interview
‘Walter Boys’ Star Ashby Gentry Compares ‘Challengers’ Love Triangle To Netflix Show & Explains Viral Halloween Costumes
My Life with the Walter Boys Season 2 is in full swing, and all of the main characters have returned to Colorado (okay, more like Calgary, Canada, where most of the show is filmed). In the midst of production, Nikki Rodriguez, Ashby Gentry, and Noah LaLonde had some fun outside of shooting their scenes.
With Halloween looming right around the corner, the trio decided to dress up as another iconic pop culture love triangle: the Challengers characters. Embodying Tashi Duncan (Zendaya), Art Donaldson (Mike Faist), and Patrick Zweig (Josh O’Connor), the Walter Boys trio went viral for their costume idea.
First posted on TikTok, everyone slightly in touch with internet lore started talking about it. But how did it all come about?
@nikki_rodriguez 🎃👻@noah lalonde @ashbygentry ♬ Challengers: Match Point (Challengers Soundtrack) – Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross
Gentry, who plays the role of Alex in the Netflix series, eagerly spoke to Swooon about the Walter Boys trio channeling their inner Challengers for Halloween. “I was like, we should do the Challengers love triangle. And they were like, ‘Oh my, God. Are you sure?'” Gentry began. After that, they ended up executing it at “the last minute” by going to Goodwill and buying “everything in 20 seconds.”
He also linked the Luca Guadagnino movie to My Life with the Walter Boys by calling the Netflix series “Challengers Junior.” When asked what the comparisons are between the two projects, he divulged, “It’s actually super microcosmic of Challengers in that Tashi’s character is in love with the game of tennis, more so than with Art or Patrick. She’s in love with her progression through that world.” In Jackie’s (Rodriguez) case, he said, “She likes these boys, but her focus is getting herself to Princeton, making a name for herself, and almost not redeeming herself, but making her proverbial family proud to the extent that she could have.”
As for how Art and Patrick compare to Alex and Cole, Gentry noted, “More so than loving Tashi, they [Art and Patrick] love each other, and they love competing with each other, and acting as the foil to one another and rivaling each other. And I think Cole and Alex are the same thing.”
Gentry then explained, “There’s pain within the love triangle between Alex, Jackie, and Cole, but there’s an almost psychoanalytic desire for that pain. They love to fight over Jackie. They need to fight over Jackie because the only way they can access the relationship that they have with each other is through competition. And so without the competition, they wouldn’t be able to interact with each other, and they would thereby lose the other.”
The actor had some downtime from filming to work on this epic Halloween costume trio with his costars. Gentry spoke to Swooon as part of his partnership with Invisalign. “The Invisalign aligners were more convenient than
braces, and I’m an actor, so having to work, I don’t want to be limited by the aesthetic of braces in my mouth. Being able to take the aligners out before every take when I’m shooting was really helpful.”
My Life with the Walter Boys, Season 2, TBA, Netflix
