Mason Gooding makes people feel seen

Having appeared on the big screen in Booksmart back in 2019, Mason Gooding — born and bred in LA — has appeared in a slew of feature lengths. The most recent was this year’s Valentine’s horror, Heart Eyes.

While each film reveals more of Gooding’s talent, the actor is keen to redefine that word. “A lot of times it feels as though the conversation around ‘talent’ begins and ends with the final product, instead of considering the pieces that go into that in any meaningful way,” the 28-year-old says. “This new wave of talent seems to be more cognisant of the machinations around their success and, hopefully, try to appreciate every piece of that.”

It’s not just about acknowledging the minutiae of what makes someone good at their craft, though. For Gooding, it’s about using his skills for good. “If there was any place my ‘talent’ had in Hollywood, it would hopefully be to make people feel seen,” he affirms. That humble approach is, perhaps, something that comes from the actor’s youth. “I was an overweight kid with about seven sizeable scars on my face and a plethora of different social anxieties I’ve since worked really hard to make peace with,” he shares.

Gooding’s definition of “perfection”, therefore, is more about being a good and honest leader and someone he can be proud of. “I’m not perfect, no, but I’ll certainly try to be better than I am today. That feels good enough to me.” And it’s something he wants anyone cutting their teeth in the industry today to hold in mind: “Forget trying to be perfect. Forget trying to be exactly what they want you to be. If you’re going to fail, do it your way. You just might end up succeeding in your own perfectly imperfect sort of way.”