In 2011, School of Theater, Film and Television student Tobit Raphael stood among a sea of students, ready to graduate and step into the real world. Now, Raphael will be seen all over the world with his role as nerdy Google intern Yo-Yo Santos in the summer blockbuster “The Internship” alongside Owen Wilson, Vince Vaughn, Aasif Mandvi and B.J. Novak.
Raphael sat down with Daily Bruin’s Aalhad Patankar to talk about making it in Hollywood, working with the “Wedding Crashers” team, and his advice for graduating Bruins looking to follow their dreams.
Daily Bruin: Who is Yo-Yo Santos, and where did you get the inspiration to play him?
Tobit Raphael: My character, Yo-Yo, is a programmer. He is nervous, kind of socially awkward, and he has a lot of pressure from his family to succeed, and he takes it out on himself a lot. As for my inspiration, I actually used a lot of my theater training here because I knew he would need a lot of characterization. His physicality needed to be a little bit different than mine, so I kind of drew from other actors too that I really enjoyed. I really enjoyed Jesse Eisenberg’s style in “The Social Network,” and Mindy Kaling I think has a great sense of humor. That’s where I pulled from.
DB: Now you’re in a big-budget Hollywood movie. How did you get here? How did you land a role in “The Internship” as your first major film?
TR: I know, I know, it’s crazy because normally people would have to wait decades for an opportunity like this to come by, but I was lucky enough to get the audition through my manager. … I believe they were trying to see everybody for the role, so they opened it up to a lot of newcomers. This was to my advantage because I had very few credits, actually no credits, to my name. And things just started coming together. I auditioned about three times for the role, and I improved with Vince Vaughn. He was great, he was nice. And of course the program at UCLA helped me a lot for this role.
DB: What was the most unexpected moment working with Vaughn and Wilson?
TR: What really surprised me about them was how nice they were, and how great of dads they are. They both brought their little babies to set, who are so adorable, and they’re in love with their kids. It’s the most precious thing because in “Wedding Crashers” you see them as these playboys who are smooth and cool, but when you see them with their kids it’s adorable.
DB: Let’s take it to back to UCLA. What were you involved in besides acting during your time here?
TR: I got to join Samahang Pilipino at UCLA, which was great to meet friends, because I come from a very rich Filipino background and community. I got to perform for culture night in Royce Hall, which is something; it’s such a gorgeous venue, and I was a part of the theater and improv group of UCLA. … My life revolved around performing, so I did mostly those kind of clubs. I also did Dance Marathon my sophomore, junior and senior year, and I still have all the shirts. … There’s nothing like your first Dance Marathon, when you’re at “Power Hour,” you’ve been dancing for 25 hours and you’ve got one hour to go, and the whole Ackerman Grand Ballroom is together, dancing; it was so much fun.
DB: Just two years ago, you were a fresh graduate, and now you’re living your dream. What advice do you have for our graduating Bruins this year?
TR: I think keep your head up, and don’t compare yourself to anyone else, everyone’s different. Be good to yourself, be good to others, and do what you love. … The entertainment industry is as difficult as they say it is, and it can be very frustrating. … Just enjoy yourself, and know when to recognize those moments when you can let go of worrying, because I do believe it’s such a great privilege to have graduated from such a great university. I do believe that everything is OK, and everything will be OK, if you keep a kind of optimism and positivity.