Skylar Astin Talks His Earliest Performances Including ‘Friends’ And ‘Popeye The Sailor Man’ Theme Songs

When it comes to musical projects, Tinseltown must have Skylar Astin on speed dial.

The actor, 32, starred in the “Pitch Perfect” movie franchise before landing stints on “Glee”, “Ground Floor” and “My Crazy Ex-Girlfriend”, not to mention Broadway and stage productions of “Spring Awakening”, “Rent”, “West Side Story” and “Into the Woods.” Clearly, Astin was born to perform.

“I played piano since I was five years old,” Astin tells ET Canada. “I used to sing at my piano recitals. I actually sang the ‘Friends’ theme one year. I sang the ‘Popeye the Sailor Man’ theme one year. I was a pretty big hit. Then, I became more of a fan of musical theatre. Just by growing up in the Tri-State Area, I would go to Broadway a couple of times a year. That evolved into a ‘Phantom of the Opera’ medley I did at my piano recital. So, at this point, now I have props. I feel like my mother had an idea I might have an interest in this.”

“Fast forward six years later, I’m in middle school and I’m about to go into high school,” he continues. “She could tell I’m at least a big fan of musical theatre. She figured why not give it a try and convinced me to try out for the local production of ‘Godspell’, where there were very limited amounts of boys. I was lucky enough to get the lead part, because I could carry a tune and a bucket and could read off of a paper.”

Astin currently sings up a storm on the TV series “Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist”. The romantic comedy follows Zoey [Jane Levy], a computer programmer who discovers she possesses an unusual superpower: the ability to hear people’s innermost feelings and heart’s desires through song. Those around Zoey – friends, family, colleagues and complete strangers – break into show-stopping numbers at the oddest, most-inopportune moments. But there’s a catch. No one but Zoey can hear or see the routines. That then leaves Zoey to piece together what it all means. Astin plays Zoey’s co-worker, Max, a role that ticked off all the boxes for him.

“I just loved that it was something different,” Astin says. “I love doing musicals, but I love when something within a genre gets to do something different within itself. That’s what this show does. It incorporates magic, and even superhuman abilities, in a way I’ve never seen a musical do before. I really appreciate how music is interwoven, introduced and transitioned into and out of throughout our series. The rules that we’ve created for our universe make it really unique and very watchable.

“I knew Max was Zoey’s best friend,” he adds. “He’s also her co-worker and he has a little bit of a secret, that he has a crush on Zoey. When I met with [creator] Austin Winsberg before signing on, I wanted to make sure that Max wasn’t just her work friend, but her real friend. A real friend would know her parents. Her real friend would know of her family’s unfortunate situation. I just wanted to make sure Max could get out of the office with Zoey and go on her adventures. And, also, he could lead our audiences in another direction, and we could see what Max does when he goes home.”

So far, Astin has covered tunes by the Jonas Brothers, the Partridge Family, the Proclaimers and Shawn Mendes. Pop, rock, soul, ballads and even… opera. Nothing is off-limits.

“I like doing Top 40,” offers Astin. “I just like to repurpose the song. As long as it sits nice in my range and I can do something special with it, I’m always on board. They always pick great songs and I tend to walk right into it, which is fortunate. It was definitely a different focus when they put an opera song in front of my face. We’ve done some other genres that I haven’t done in a while. I know Austin thought it was going to be a funny bit to have me coming in and carrying coffees for the entire fourth floor while belting out Andrea Bocelli, like an Olive Garden commercial.”

“Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist” features more than just vocal gymnastics. There’s also plenty of dance sequences, too. Astin attributes the success of that component to the show’s “amazingly fearless, crafty” choreographer Mandy Moore.

“She takes such good care of us and understands exactly how we all move as our characters and as people,” notes Astin. “Mandy’s never tried to put inorganic movements on top of us. She’s just trying to stretch our abilities and bring out the best in us. That’s why we couldn’t do this without her and why we need her for own individual characters and as a group.”

Max and Zoey have been stuck in the friend zone. Sure, he’s unknowingly professed his love to Zoey, but she hasn’t reciprocated. In last week’s episode, “Zoey’s Extraordinary Confession,” Zoey finally came clean about her gift. That bombshell didn’t sit well with Max, so where does that leave their relationship now?

“All the cards are out on the table,” explains Astin. “There’s no secrets. There’s an opportunity to go a little bit deeper with Zoey and Max’s connection and just get real. If they have to redefine their relationship, if they ever want to transition into some sort of a dating life, they need to understand what that means. I’m glad they don’t have to be hiding anything from each other. She knows he loves her. He knows she has this insane superpower. Now what? ‘I still have these feelings. Are we going to be able to now make this work or are we going to have to remain friends? Or, what’s worse, distance ourselves from each other.’”

In the backend of the season, Max will belt out a boy band song. Zoey’s powers glitch, forcing her to sing to others. Astin confesses he could discuss music and “Playlist” for hours. So, we can’t help but ask, what is Astin’s current playlist, and is it extraordinary?

“Right now, I’ve been listening to ‘Slide Away’ by Miley Cyrus, ‘Up All Night’ by Khalid, ‘So Close’ by NOTD, ‘Intentions’ by Justin Bieber and ‘King City’ by Majid Jordan,” says Astin. “It’s weird, I know. Also, ‘Pineapple Skies’ by Miguel and ‘Hold Your Head Up High’ by Darlingside. I have a lot. I have a good playlist.”