Chace Crawford is the hottest new property in Hollywood right now.Having previously been a student before deciding to go for a career in the performing arts, The Covenant is the 21 year old's big movie. This supernatural thriller, directed by Renny Harlin and written by J.S. Cardone, tells the story of how in 1692, in the Ipswich Colony of Massachusetts, five families with untold power formed a covenant of silence. One family, lusting for more, was banished - their bloodline disappearing without a trace. Until today that is!As the plot unfolds, it appears that four young students at the elite Spenser Academy - the Sons of Ipswich - are bound by their sacred ancestry. As descendants of the original families who settled in Ipswich Colony in the 1600's, the boys (Caleb – Steven Strait, Reid, Toby Hemingway, Tyler – Chace and Pogue – Taylor Kitsch) have all been born with special powers. When the body of a dead student is discovered after a party, secrets begin to unravel which threaten to break the covenant of silence that has protected their families for hundreds of years.FemaleFirst were able to have a chat with this rather lovely American hunk on the phone this week during a break from his acting schedule. Find out what he had to say below:Is it strange getting used to seeing yourself on the big screen – especially with The Covenant being your first key feature film? Is it all happening too quickly for you?(He laughs) Yes actually it has taken some getting used to. It was a very surreal experience for me to be honest. It was crazy because it was like my first real job, so to be in a big studio feature film I’m very fortunate in a big way. Do you have a girlfriend - if so, how does she deal with the fact that you have acquired status as the new heartthrob in the movie industry over there and have a huge following?

I’m single at the moment actually; I do not have a girlfriend. It’s weird you know I still don’t know what a heartthrob is. (Laughs) No one’s yet managed to tell me exactly what that is. No but (Laughs) it’s really cool – I mean I can’t say that I don’t like some of the attention but I just want to focus on my career now and I haven’t really bought into the whole Hollywood scene so….

What preparations did you carry out for your role in the film - did you get the chance to meet a real life warlock?

Actually when we got there, we did a lot of wire work and so spent a lot of time at the gym (Laughs) That was probably one of the most fun aspects of the whole shoot actually – getting to go and practice on this really cool wire rigging computerised motion kind of set. It was really fun to get on there and go to town on it – it was just great.

There were no real life warlocks though. It was definitely all stunts and what not. (Laughs) Luckily we got to do a lot of it so it was really cool.

Having done your own stunts in this movie – would you be brave enough to do that again in another action filled production then?

Oh yeah – I would love to do that in some other film. As much as I can do to make it work and do my own thing without having to cheat or whatever (Laughs) But I would definitely do something – I’m all about making it look real and wanting to do everything I can physically to make that possible.

The film has been compared with other magical, supernatural flicks like the Lost Boys, the Craft and Buffy. What are your feelings about that?

Yeah – I mean it is a little bit like the Lost Boys, which is one of my favourite movies. I feel honoured that it’s being compared to something, which is such a cult classic. It definitely has some similarities to that. There’s something kinda intriguing - and a wish fulfilment kind of a thing - about having super powers, being young and having to deal with the conflict of the repercussions of using the power. It’s all that kind of stuff. The people who liked it really liked it – it’s good to have those fans.

What was it like working with the green screen and all the special effects stuff…did you find CGI particularly challenging?

It actually was. There were times in certain sequences – for instance, where we were supposed to act like we were falling off a cliff and we were just stood still in the middle of a studio with some green screen around us at 9am in the morning. So we had to deal with that – being completely stationary and acting like we’re falling off the edge of a cliff. But it is fun with the green screen though actually when it all comes together. It looks stream less you can’t even tell so it was really interesting to me to go through that whole process.

Was there anything that you were told to do during the filming process and you were like “No Way”?

No nothing at all honestly. I probably had the scariest kind of jump because I had to go off backwards. We started off slow and then it got to full speed – I had fun, I had a blast. You get used to it. Everyone was like “Oh my God How Can You Do That” I was like “It’s Not That Hard” I’m not that afraid of heights. I don’t know if in the future I can say I will do completely anything. If it involves real life spiders I don’t know if I could do that but I guess I could do anything besides that.

You’re a talented artist I believe and love drawing. Can you name one piece of art that has changed your life?

Yeah – oh there’s lots. I’m an artist – I’m very artistic and it’s great to have that. I have a lot drawings and paintings up in my apartment. A film is such a collaboration and you have to do all you can just to get a role but it’s also very interesting to see how it all comes together. Every little aspect and all the little mechanisms that are geared to create a film. It just blows me away. I was really into photography and worked with 35mm on a smaller basis. Everything was so intriguing to me and I really fell in love with it you know. Art has now become a part of me, and a part of my life because it’s so interesting.

Have you ever been tempted to put a spell on anybody in real life?

(Laughs) There have been a few girls that have gotten away that I wish I could put a spell on – make them fall in love with me. No but there have definitely been a few times that I’ve wished I could make something disappear too (Laughs)

What was the weather like when filming – I believe you filmed the Covenant in Canada?

Yeah – it was really cold actually. Especially – there was a scene in like the first opening sequence where we’re at a party outside. It’s supposed to be about September. But it was about November really and it was just freezing cold man! It didn’t affect us too much because we had warming coats and you kind of get used to it – you just go and take a hot shower. It didn’t affect anything technically on the film or our work too much. So in that kind of aspect no, but I mean we were freezing. It was below zero one night and the lake had frozen over. Steam was coming from our breaths too. I hadn’t been in that kind of a cold temperature for a long time to be honest so it was a wake up call for me.

Can you tell us more about how the director, Renny, works?

Oh he let us have free reign. Renny was so cool. Oh yeah he’s such a great guy to work with. He gave us advice but we always got to have fun with it and that was blast for me to experience that – to create my own thing. He’s so friendly he actually called us up the other day and we went out. It was really good to see him because it had been a long time.

Did the producers intervene much in the various stages of making the film?

Actually they did. It was funny because the President and the Vice President of Sony Entertainment were there on set a lot. They had a lot of input and we got to be friends with them. They took us out for dinner and we would talk about it. They had their input and if we wanted to add a line to the script or I wanted to change something I would go to them instead of asking anyone. So I liked that kind of thing because it was the first big project for everybody really except for maybe Steve. That was my first time to actually visualise and feel out how it all worked out and the process of it so I kind of utilised all those different people.

Your character Tyler faces the threat of dying in the film because of his powerful “gift” – if you were going to die tomorrow, what one thing would you still like to do beforehand?

Oh man! I’ve always wanted to get my pilot’s licence. That’s kinda like one of my big things above all the obvious –like getting married. If I would die tomorrow I would like to fly a plane.

Has anything spooky ever happened to you – like say an out of body experience?

There have been a few times in my life where I’ve gotten freaked out. Yeah – like some ghost stories that have really creeped me. One being in our fraternity house, when I was a freshman at Pepperdine University. Me and my friend thought we saw a creepy kind of a figure so (Laughs) I can definitely say that I believe in the supernatural – ghosts and stuff. They freak me out -like something out of Poltergeist.

Can you tell us about the first time that you were asked to sign your autograph?

It was really surreal, you know. It was after the Covenant and we did a lot of that signing. It was just surreal that people would want something with my signature on it. It seemed kind of useless (Laughs) but then it seemed kind of special at the same time because they look up to and admire you for what you do. My dad (who’s a dermatologist) will ask me to send them some headshots with signatures for his patients, friends and our family. It’s pretty interesting – I’ve had to sign a few and I have to say it still blows my mind.

Your sister, Candice, is doing a broadcast journalism course. Have you had to deal with any negative press attention at all yet?

I did a year in college. I actually used to be a broadcast journalism major and my sister does it now too. I don’t know much about the journalism process obviously because I got into acting but I haven’t had to deal with any bad press yet. So hopefully – I know it will happen – the media will twist but so far it’s been great. It’s really worked out for me so. (Laughs) We’ll just have to see in the future I guess. (Laughs again)

Would you like to try your hand at some theatre work in the future?

Oh yes, you know I would. I would actually like to get even more training. My friends that I met from the Covenant, a lot of them grew up and, like say Toby, took like a BA in theatre, and they’re really well trained. I would just like to keep learning about it. Some others from the film and I, we actually just saw Sebastian Stan do an unbelievable play on Broadway and it made me really want to eventually do something like that.

You grew up in Dallas, Texas. What’s the best thing about coming from there?

The best thing about it is the way I was raised. I’m so thankful for my background. I feel like I’ve got a good head on my shoulders and that my parents raised me right. I just love the people there in general in the South. It’s a great atmosphere and a great place to actually live – so I’m really thankful for that.

What other projects have you got coming up?

I’ve just done a film with Jesse Metcalfe called Loaded. I did it last November. Jesse is just a great guy- we actually became friends through the whole thing and it was a really fun project. It only took about a month to shoot here in LA – it’s an edgy kinda fast paced film that revolves around his (Jesse’s) character in general and the fact that he deals with some bad people and bad things. It’s all about his downhill spiral in the world and the LA club scene – the violence, drugs, dealers and stuff like that. I play his younger brother.

Is there going to be a sequel to that then– called Reloaded?

We’re not sure actually- we have to figure that out but we’ll see. There’s also Gossip Girl – that’s a pilot of a TV show that I just shot in New York last month in March. It’s based on a book series – a very popular series, mainly with the girls here in America. It’s based on this group of teenagers from an elite private school in New York. They’re the popular kids in Manhattan. It’s created and produced by the same people that did the OC. So it’s like a New York version of the OC but it has a lot more different aspects to it. It’s got a good chance of being picked up and a good shot of being a real hit series in the fall, so keep an eye out.

You say you’re now mates with Jesse Metcalfe through work. How’s he doing at the moment because there were reports of him being in rehab for alleged “alcohol issues” recently?

Well we have hung out together several times and as I say he’s a great guy so we still talk every now and again. I’ve been busy over the past few months but back in January or February we hung out. We have a blast – I’ve been over to his place and just hung out a bit and we grab dinner with a few other people and what not. We talk about all sorts – he’s a very interesting, cool guy so it’s fun.

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