If you haven’t heard of Sugar Highs, it isn’t quite like that song Harry Styles made (and I thankfully haven’t heard all of it), it’s an LGBTQ+ comedy series that takes place in San Francisco but is being filmed in Halifax, Nova Scotia. (I have an old family friend living there, I wonder if he’s walked past any of the sets?) It focuses on three different roommates who can’t afford to pay rent or even bother to get jobs. Instead, they get high all day and enjoy tripping out. But that doesn’t pay the bills, so they become sugar babies to earn some income. You can bet hilarity ensues. They get all kinds of characters, like new partners, some ‘Daddies’ here and there, and other types. Speaking of characters, I spoke to Adam Fox who plays the role of Bud. Just recently, he and everyone else finished off production on Season 2, and there are sure to be some interesting stories coming up. I talked to Adam and asked what we could expect of Season 2 while learning a little about Season 1, just to help us get prepared while the second season gets through post-production. We’ll be ready for it after this, I guarantee. Just enjoy this sweet little interview.
HNMAG: Tell me a little more about your character, Bud and what he does.
Adam Fox: Bud is a modern dance student with little money and expensive aspirations. Like a lot of creatives, he wants to be able to focus on his passions and not be bogged down by a survival job. He’s creative, sassy, naively adventurous, and at times vulnerable and sweet. He’s often misdirected and gets himself in a lot of trouble. He’s definitely the pot-stirrer and driving force behind all the drama, as well as often the wild card.
HNMAG: Are you hoping to be included in future seasons of this series?
Adam Fox: I really hope so! I have so much fun playing Bud, and I think there is endless potential with where, what, and who he does. In a lot of ways, I think he’s the core and heart of the show, and really represents the concept in its purest form. Bud is a character that elicits joy and laughter, but also makes people feel understood. Rarely do we get to see an effeminate, sex-positive, and very confident character in a lead role like this. So yes, let’s hope for more seasons to come!
HNMAG: What do the fans think of Bud?
Adam Fox: I would say that given the show is on OUTTV, and Bud is openly queer, he relates the most to the primary audience of the show, even in spite of all his flaws. I’ve had friends and fans of the show reach out to say that Bud reminds them a lot of themselves in their early 20’s, in a lot of ways I think he represents a lot of the stages queer folks go through in that time of their lives. A lot of my friends who are not part of the LGBTQ+ community or who in their friend groups are more the ‘voice of reason’ tend to identify more with Mickey because he’s a little more rational, whereas Bud brings fire, fun, and is really the force multiplier and catalyst for any drama.
HNMAG: You’ve recently wrapped Sugar Highs for Season 2. What is new for Bud in this season?
Adam Fox: My character is definitely in more of a desperate place, and that manifests itself in how he interacts with the other roommates like Mickey, to how he interacts with the potential Daddies. I’ll also say that in the first season Mickey and Bud are both kind of the main characters, in the second season it’s more centred around my character and it’s a fun season. Tonally the first season can come across as a dramedy, even a coming-of-age. The second season I think will be more of a comedy.
HNMAG: And how was the experience of filming on set?
Adam Fox: The experience was fast and fun, even at times gruelling in an energizing way. We filmed about 7 pages a day in the first season, which is quite a bit, given that we still shot from multiple angles, and did multiple takes to get the right performance. For comparison, other projects like Lifetime or Hallmark movies are shot even quicker, sometime 11 pages per day, whereas most productions would only shoot 1-3 pages per day. As my character has the most dialogue and scenes, there were work weeks where I was in every single scene, 12 hours per day, 5 days in a row. Though it can be tiring, it’s also empowering, and you definitely sort of step into a leadership role when you’re a lead.
HNMAG: Given your past experience working behind the camera, would you see yourself doing some of that work in the later seasons of Sugar Highs?
Adam Fox: I could see myself doing that, maybe some sort of spinoff, it would be super fun, and I’d love to be behind the camera for future seasons. On set, we’re always giving ideas and Tom likes hearing ideas.
HNMAG: With your past experience working behind and in front of the camera, are you often tempted to look at behind the scenes of productions you’re acting on and seeing how they could improve?
Adam Fox: Not necessarily this show, but I think in general when you do have some experience, there’s a part of you that wants to sometimes. But I think that it’s pretty demanding for the schedule of this show. So it’s enough to just do your role. If you had a smaller role, it’d also be a bit easier to manage behind the camera. I’ll say that when I’ve done my own projects, I’ve been both director, writer, and actor. It’s fun and energizing, but also hard to sort of act with your scene partner but also have a third eye taking in what the actor’s doing. It’s fun, but definitely challenging.
HNMAG: When directing, given your acting work, do you find yourself coaching your actors when discussing scenes or meeting with them?
Adam Fox: I do, especially if I’ve written the character. I have a pretty specific idea of what I want. It’s always tough if it doesn’t match up with what they’re offering. I think at some point, especially when you’re doing something more Indie, at the end of the day, you might have just asked a friend to do it. They’re not necessarily the perfect person for the role, and so you sort of roll with what they give you and you have to let go of what you imagined a little bit. I guess when you’ve been classically trained you look for performances that have nuance to them and you tend to want that from the actors you’re working with.
HNMAG: What is your favourite genre to make and/or be involved in?
Adam Fox: I’d say comedy, but I don’t only want to do comedy. I love psychological thrillers, and I love coming-of-age and I love drama and romantic stuff. It would be really fun to make something in the romantic genre, maybe a romantic comedy. I would also love to do some type of horror, I wrote a horror during the pandemic and we’ll see if it ever gets made. I hope so.
HNMAG: Do you prefer creating short films or features?
Adam Fox: So far I’ve only done a short, but I would love to do a feature. I’ve written them, and I’m currently developing a TV series, so I hope that comes to fruition. That’s the closest thing to being made right now.
HNMAG: Are there any other projects you’re currently working on of your own that you can discuss at the moment?
Adam Fox: The series I just mentioned is called the Sisterhood of the Traveling Wigs. It’s basically about this drag queen quartet that used to perform together but now all live in different places around the world. But a mysterious package from their shared past shows up at their doorstep and helps them reunite. What leads is a series of ups and downs, hashing out old drama, and a once-in-a-lifetime epic reunion performance. Ultimately it’s a story about friendship, and thematically and visually it recalls movies like Spice World, To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything! Julie Newmar, and even Rupaul’s Drag Race.
HNMAG: What would your dream role be in a future production?
Adam Fox: I personally tend to prefer to do a character every single time, even if it’s similar to myself, it’s just more freeing. To that point, I would really just love to play a completely unhinged character. Just saying whatever they want, aggressive, flying off the handle. That would be fun for me.
Super Sweet, huh? Well, I hope that gave you a sugar rush for some Sugar Highs, why not get started on the first season now? Sugar Highs is on OutTV, and can be streamed on Amazon Prime, Roku, and Apple TV.