Miles Heizer on Love, Simon and Making Work With a Message

If 2017 was Miles Heizer’s breakout year, then 2018 is destined to solidify his status as one to watch. Along with the upcoming second season of 13 Reasons Why — which already promises to be different from its controversial first season — and the forthcoming teen dramedy Love, Simon, Miles has built his career on tackling projects that aim to help spark a conversation.

So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that he was handpicked to be one of the faces for the GAP LOGO REMIX campaign, celebrating a new generation of talent who are “re-mixing culture.” The campaign features Miles alongside an all-star roster including SZA, Metro Boomin, and Awkwafina. The campaign’s centerpiece, an ad set to debut during the Grammys broadcast this Sunday on CBS, highlights this message by featuring its stars grooving along to Metro’s re-mix of the Thompson Twins classic “Hold Me Now” (all while decked out in their finest Gap threads, of course). And ahead of what’s sure to be a busy year, Teen Vogue chatted with Miles about everything from what it means to be a “cultural remixer” to why films like Love, Simon are so important.

Teen Vogue: This Gap commercial is your very first fashion campaign. What was it about Gap and this particular project that attracted you?

Miles Heizer: I think the cool thing about Gap is that it’s just such a classic brand. This campaign was just so cool because of all the people involved. I’m such a huge fan of so many people in it, especially SZA and Metro Boomin. I was honestly shocked they asked me to be a part of it, to be honest. I was so excited to do it.

TV: You’re a part of the campaign’s group of artists deemed “cultural remixers.” What does that title mean to you?

MH: It kind of means stepping outside of the box and being a little bit different, which I definitely think I relate to. I think that I am kind of, I don’t know, not super normal... I think that’s kind of just what remixing is in general. It’s taking things, making them a little bit different and more unique to yourself. And I think that everyone in the campaign definitely does that.

TV: What do you look for when picking your acting roles? Is that “cultural remix” aspect something that appeals to you?

MH: I would say definitely, yeah. I’ve been lucky enough that most of the things I’ve done have been like that — kind of unique in what they are.

TV: What about Love, Simon attracted you? What are you excited for viewers to see?

MH: I read the script and I just thought it was so smart and funny and I just wanted to be a part of it. I just liked all of the people that were involved in it. One of my good friends, Logan Miller, I’ve known him for a long time, he’s in it; and Katherine Langford, obviously, I had just worked with her. It’s also a mainstream big studio movie about a gay character [which needs to be done more].

TV: A number of your projects are centered on issues of self-identity, including mental health and sexuality. Is it important to you to find work that has a larger message?

MH: I think it’s always good to be a part of something like that. We’re just now coming into a time when these sorts of projects are being made… especially for teenage audiences, even though I think both 13 Reasons Why and Love, Simon go a little bit beyond just being for a teen audience. But those are the people who are watching these things the most, and I think it’s important for them to have something to look at and maybe help them figure out the things that they’re feeling and figure out ways to talk to people about it when they feel like they can’t. I feel like these TV shows and movies allow them to maybe relate to these characters and figure out what they’re dealing with. I think that they affect people at any age.

TV: Love, Simon, 13 Reasons Why, and even this Gap shoot are all ensemble projects. How do you like to bond with your costars on and off the set?

MH: Especially with 13 Reasons Why, we were there for so long it’s kind of like you’re at camp with [everyone]. You’re together for 12 hours a day so you’re kind of forced into bonding really quickly and you’re going through the exact same experience so I think you bond even faster and closer. You make friends pretty quickly there and then you become friends outside of work. I hang out with people I have worked with — most of my friends I’ve met because I’ve worked with them, to be honest.

TV: And speaking of remixes, you have a SoundCloud page and you've performed your music. Is that something you hope to pursue more in the future?

MH: I would really like to, but it’s just one of those things where I don’t really know how to pursue it really other than like, putting it on the internet and seeing what happens. That’s pretty much how I’ve gone about it at this point. My favorite thing to do is make music. It’s what I spend most of my free time doing. You kind of realize it’s just for yourself. I thought, “I’m never gonna show this to anyone,” but I just like doing it. It’s not my career so I can just do whatever I want and if no one ever hears it then it just doesn’t really matter.

TV: So because you don’t treat it too seriously, it doesn’t take the fun away?

MH: I would love to make it more seriously, but I think if that actually happens I feel like I’d revert back to that feeling of “I wish it was like the good ol’ days putting music on my SoundCloud where no one listened.” I would love to do what Metro Boomin does, but I’ll leave it to him for now!

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