[Editor’s note: The following contains some spoilers for Sidelined: The QB and Me.]

The Big Picture

The Tubi original ‘Sidelined: The QB and Me’ follows Dallas and Drayton as they pursue dreams, find common ground, and form a deep connection.
Noah Beck discusses transitioning from TikTok to the lead role in a movie, embracing new challenges, and falling in love with acting.
Siena Agudong shares insights on embracing insecurities as an actor, working hard on the dance scenes, and adding personal touches.

Based on the breakout YA novel by Tay Marley, the Tubi original movie Sidelined: The QB and Me, directed by Justin Wu, follows high school seniors Dallas (Siena Agudong), a driven dancer determined to prove her skills by scoring a spot in her late mother’s dance alma mater, and Drayton (Noah Beck), the cocky quarterback whose life is not without some family drama of his own. As the two get to know each other and learn they have more in common than they realized, a deep connection forms between them that gives them the courage to pursue their dreams and decide what they mean to each other.

During this interview with Collider, Beck talked about turning TikTok fame into a leading role in a movie and how he’d like to continue acting now that he’s discovered his love for it, while Agudong revealed how hard she’d worked on her final dance scene and the personal touch they added in. The co-stars also discussed how they got past their nerves on set, filming shirtless scenes, whether they’d make the same Truth or Dare choices as their characters, favorite rom-coms, the fun they had together, and what it’s like to have James Van Der Beek as your onscreen dad.

Noah Beck Hopes To Prove He’s More Than a TikTok Star With His Lead Role in ‘Sidelined’
Image via Tubi

Collider: Noah, you’re a big deal on TikTok with 33 million followers, and I don’t even know how you wrap your brain around those numbers, but that doesn’t necessarily translate outside of TikTok. It’s not a guarantee that you’ll necessarily find the same level of success with something else. So, what made you want to step outside of being yourself on TikTok to be an actor and play a role that’s not you? Had it been something that you had thought about and were working towards, or was this just an opportunity?

NOAH BECK: I was just sick of being Noah. No. I think for the longest time, I was craving the collaboration that you get with a movie. Yeah, it is pretty crazy number to think about, and to keep my sanity, I don’t think about it. It is one of those things where you start from scratch. One of the things that appealed me was that I know nothing about [acting]. I wanted to go in and be a sponge and be an absolute student of the craft. Starting from square one was refreshing. I knew that the number might give me a little head start, but if I did end up booking something, I didn’t want people to watch the film and be like, “There’s a reason he got this part, and it wasn’t his acting.” More than anything, I wanted to prove to myself that I could do this acting thing that I knew nothing about a few years ago and just completely hone in on this craft. I’ve fallen in love with it, so that’s made it easy. It would suck if I dedicated so much time to something I didn’t enjoy, but I truly found myself enjoying it and becoming so passionate about it.

So, basically, what you’re saying is that the 33 million people get the door open, but it’s up to you to keep them from slamming the door in your face.

BECK: Absolutely! I don’t want a door slammed in my face. Those 33 million people can help me peek in, but ultimately the rest is up to me. And so, I think and hope that this film shows the work that I’ve been putting in.

Your character in this has a certain level of confidence and assurance about himself, and to step into a role like this, you have to find that within yourself to make it believable. Did you go into this with that confidence, or were you nervous on day one? How did you handle that?

BECK: That’s a good question. I’m a huge fan of this genre and this category of movie. I love rom-coms. We’ve seen this plot before. I think what separates this one is just the rawness and the layers that you get from it. I think my job was to know my guy as well as I could. I pulled from the source material of the book. I was like, “Okay, the script tells me this, but how can I know a little bit more?” The thing with confidence is that you just fake it. [Siena made] it easy and everyone on set made it so easy to fake the confidence that Drayton has. So, yeah, I was nervous, of course, on my first day, but I was more excited than anything. I knew who my guy was, and so I knew what I needed to do.

Siena, what was that like for you? Are you always nervous when you start a new project, or is this a character that you felt confident in because you understood her?

SIENA AGUDONG: I’ve heard it from other actors, but I think with every role, I revert back to second-guessing myself and being insecure about my acting. It applies to everything, whether it’s acting or your job. Well, this is a job, but it doesn’t feel like one because we’re playing. Someone told me that insecurity is what makes your acting valuable because you recognize that there’s growth to be done and there’s more to learn. That’s where the layers come in. If you’re so confident about it, there’s not a lot of play to it. So, going into this, I was so nervous for many, many different reasons, but I was also extremely excited and extremely grateful. This was coming into a story that’s already well-known and loved, but also ended up being something I was so proud to walk away from. I worked really hard on the dancing, and I’m proud of that. I’m so grateful for the people I worked alongside. And then, [Noah] worked so hard. Coming to set with someone who has such an unmatched drive, in general, made the experience so rewarding.

One of the things that I love about Dallas is that she gives attitude back to Drayton when he’s being too overconfident. How much fun was it to find that inner sass?

AGUDONG: I had to reach really hard for that one. No. It was really fun. It ultimately comes from a place of being emotionally guarded that I understand. There was a balance of not wanting to play it too much because she’s charmed by him and it’s just a choice that she’s not entertaining it. She’s so confident that she turns away. It’s not like she’s just constantly trying to dismiss it. It was very fun. I love characters like that. Go Dallas!

Noah, there are some fun moments in this where you’re a little bit objectified, taking your shirt off.

BECK: Yeah.

Noah Beck Hopes He Kept His ‘Sidelined’ Shirtless Scenes to a Tasteful Amount
Image via Tubi

Were there conversations about when and how to do that, so that it’s not gratuitous? Was it all just in the script?

AGUDONG: I had to keep telling him to put his shirt back on.

BECK: Yeah, anytime I could find a chance, I was like, “Guys, I think I need my shirt off for this scene.” No. I don’t know. It’s funny that you say that because you look at the script, you see what the stage direction is, and you see what your part is in whatever scene we’re filming, and then it says, “Shirt comes off.” You’re like, “All right,” and you’re just doing your part. As actors, you do your thing, you show up, you film, you give it, and you don’t really know what the editing process will be like. You put your trust in the people that have it now. I walked away being like, “How often did I have my shirt off? I hope that was a tasteful amount. I hope it wasn’t too in-your-face.” There was not a conversation. There was not a number that we put on it. It was just like, “Look, you know your guy. You know who you’re playing.” It’s a funny question. It was something where, if I saw it in the script, I’d be like, “Yeah, okay.” I don’t think I ever questioned it. I was never like, “Can we add a shirtless scene?” I was like, “Yeah, let’s do it. I’ll go shirtless.”

Your characters play Truth or Dare in this, and I thought it was funny that Drayton always chooses dare while Dallas always chooses truth. Have you guys ever played Truth or Dare, and if so, would you always choose the same thing, or do you like to change it up?

AGUDONG: I’ll change it up, depending on who is the one asking me the question.

BECK: For me, yeah, it depends on the group. It depends on the crowd. I think I have some friends where I would be a little hesitant to say dare, purely out of the unfiltered-ness. Can’t lie, I haven’t played a game of Truth or Dare in a while.

AGUDONG: Yeah, same here.

Noah, what’s it like to have James Van Der Beek play your dad?

BECK: I will continue to sing James’ praises. He is amazing. I was a fan of his, so when I saw him attached to the film to play my father, I was terrified, but I knew it was gonna be fun. He just has this ability to pull you in when you’re working opposite him. I am so blessed that he was my first screen dad. I felt so blessed to have had such an amazing dad for my first role. He’s a great actor and great guy, and I have nothing but the best to say about him.

Siena, Dallas is a dancer and a cheerleader. You’re doing cheers, you’re dancing in a studio, and you’re out in a club at night. What was your favorite dance moment in this?

AGUDONG: I feel like I have to go with that final audition scene. We worked so hard on that. I remember the moment Tessa, Jeffrey Mortensen’s assistant, went through the whole routine and showed me what it was going to look like. Jeff kept peeking at me, throughout it, while she was dancing in front of me. He told me, at the end of it, “You’re gonna get it. I swear, you’re gonna get it. It looks crazy, but you’re gonna get it.” We worked so hard to get to a place that I love. For dancers watching it, I think they’ll be able to break it down and really see the art. Jeffrey is an Emmy-nominated choreographer and he put so much heart into the choreography. When you really break it down into the story that it tells, it’s really powerful. There are elements of myself and my background that he put in there to tweak the dance. I have a little bit of a Tahitian background, so he put that in there to make it more personal. That dance really resonated with me. Dancing is still new in my life, so that meant a lot.

Noah Beck and Siena Agudong Are Fans of Rom-Coms and Believe ‘Sidelined’ Measures Up

There are a lot of great rom-coms, but there are also a lot of terrible ones. What makes a great rom-com for each of you? Do you guys have any particular favorites that you think really got it right?

AGUDONG: I really love How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, with the push-and-pull dynamic that exists in this one too. That just creates tension, and it’s so exciting to watch that frustration of misunderstanding each other, and you just want them to communicate. That’s frustrating because it’s such a real thing. We’ve got that in Sidelined. That’s what I like about it.

BECK: Have you ever seen Midnight in Paris? I love that film. Would that count as a rom-com? I found it to be a rom-com. I love that movie, just purely out of the creativeness of it. It had more to give than just a surface level relationship, with the history of it. I thought it was a fresh version of that.

Noah, what’s next for you? Do you know what you’re doing next? Do you know what you want to do next?

BECK: I wanna keep acting. This was my first one. Going into this project, I was like, “This is going to answer whether or not I want to do this.” The idea of it is nice. Being like, “I wanna be a movie star,” has a nice ring to it. There’s that appeal. But are you really cut out for the long hours on set, being away from home for multiple months, learning the lines, and every little thing that makes this job challenging, even with how fun it is when done correctly and when you have an amazing cast and crew? This project answered all those questions, and it’s a yes, I want to. I think it actually set the bar a little too high, to the point where I’m like, “All right, it’s all gonna go downhill from here,” because I had the best time. I’m like, “If it’s all like this, or even close to this, yeah, I wanna do this.” So, that’s the goal. What’s hopefully in my future is more projects.

Siena, how about for you? Do you have a plan? Do you try not to have a plan, since you can’t really plan for anything in this business?

AGUDONG: No, you really can’t. I’ve been lucky enough to balance trying to create a life for myself outside of acting, so I’m not relying on it so much that I lose the love for it. I love this job so much, but I’m also pursuing school at the same time. I love that aspect of things. Somehow, I’ve been so blessed to film in the summers. I have two indie movies coming out. I’m not sure when, perhaps next year or perhaps the year after that. One has been announced, but the other hasn’t. So, be on the lookout for those. I’m just chugging along.

Release Date November 29, 2024

Sidelined: The QB and Me is available to stream on Tubi. Check out the trailer:

Watch on Tubi