More than just a pretty face, heartthrob Trevor Donovan is best known for his role as heart breaker, Teddy Montgomery in the CW series 90210. At first glance, it's easy to assume Donovan would be the typical arrogant young star hell-bent on focusing on his rising career. But after spending some time with him, you get the feeling there's a lot more going on behind those baby blues; much more so than the typical "Don't hate me because I'm beautiful"-syndrome that plagues most stars of his caliber.
Deeply passionate about anything philanthropic, Donovan has never forgotten his Mammoth Mountain, California roots. Coming from a town with barely 8000 people has helped him keep a rooted perspective on his overnight success (ten years in the making). And what may surprise people is although he is outgoing now, he wasn't always that way.
"I graduated from school for graphic design and I started to get into acting class just to get over severe fright. I was an extremely shy person. I could barely say hello to anybody."
Evidently the classes helped and he soon found himself discovered as a model which lead to him becoming one of the most likeable rising young stars in Hollywood. That charismatic smile, acting chops and awe shucks quality has attracted countless serendipitous moments including the recent opportunity to possibly star in a film adaptation of the new Thomas Caplan novel, SPY WHO JUMPED OFF THE SCREEN (Penguin).
"Tommy [Caplan] wrote the book and one night he saw me on 90210 and he did a double-take because he said, it was as if he were seeing his character come alive in the flesh. A few weeks later, he saw a picture of myself and Bill Clinton and Kerry Kennedy in People Magazine or Us Magazine and it was amazing because he too is friends with the two of them as well and now it looks like we may be making a film together," Donovan says.
One of the most challenging career decisions for the much-in-demand star to date was whether or not to continue in the role as Teddy Montgomery in 90210. The role did not begin as a gay role and at first Donovan was a little taken aback by the challenge.
"I was very hesitant when they changed my character's role because I was afraid of what they were going to do with it. I was thinking, would they make Teddy a stereotypical gay role? How was I going to pull that off? But no, I can't thank Rebecca Sinclair enough for creating the character. It turned out very well."
Being a straight actor playing a gay role has made him even more sympathetic for the challenges gay and lesbian young people face.
"The emails and the tweets and the Facebook posts and the fan mail that we get from young people all over America that are on the football team or on the hockey team, are so touching. They tell me, 'Hey, this is me. I still have to remain in the closet, but your role in 90210 makes me feel better the way being gay is being portrayed.' Some people have even came out because of it with their friends because of the role, and it feels good."
Whether it's taking on challenging roles on the small screen or meaningful roles such as his recent stint in the Oliver Stone film, Savages, the future seems like it will continue to be bright for Trevor Donovan for a long time.
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