Seventeen-year-old Josh Flitter has been acting most of his life, starring in comedies such as "Ace Ventura Jr.: Pet Detective" and the "Buddies" films (playing the voice of Budderball). Recently, Josh took on a role in the upcoming movie "Snowmen" that asked him to step away from being a Funny Kid and try something less than appealing: a bully.

We had fun talking to Josh about this challenging role and his take on the issue of bullying.

IML: Hi Josh! Tell us a little bit about "Snowmen" and about the character you play. It looks like a great movie.

Josh: "Snowmen" is a family film that deals with some elements that aren't typically shown in family films. It really tugs at your emotions. It'll make you laugh and cry. Billy, the main character, is diagnosed with cancer when he's very young, and when he turns about ten or eleven, he beats it, and is in remission. And then, when he becomes sick and assumes he has cancer again, he decides that he wants to be remembered in some way. So he and his friends decide to set the world's record for the amount or snowmen built in one day.

So the character I play in the movie, Jason, is actually the bully, and he doesn't want Billy to be remembered. My character thinks that he's the only person in the school who should be respected and cared about, so when the other kids are building the snowmen, I destroy them, and insult the kid. But this is all just a front, and I have deep inner emotions and characteristics that make Jason much deeper. Usually the bully in family movies is shown is a sort of "PG rated" way. And there's nothing wrong with that. But this movie is special, because there's so much more that this kid is going through. There's one scene that gets very edgy, and it's really scary, but in a good way. In a way that some kids will need to see to know that bullying is bad. And that's why it's so great to have this movie, because anti-bullying is huge right now. And it's so important in the lives of so many people. You get to see what some of the repercussions of bullying are.

IML: It sounds like the movie explores the motivations behind bullying, and why your character acts the way he does. How did you prepare for that?

Josh: It's funny, because at first the director was reluctant for me to audition, because he'd seen me in other things, and he thought I was the "funny guy" and didn't know if I could pull this kind of thing off. So when I went and auditioned, he was really kind of taken aback. I just took from the feelings I'd get if I was really angry at my brother or something, but to a point where you're almost saddened by how angry you are, instead of just being enraged. So I actually have multiple emotions happening at once. So it was more about that than about research. I just dove into my own mind and picked out little things here and there.

IML: Have you ever had any personal experiences with bullying?

Josh: I'm seventeen and I'm five-foot-two, and most of my friends are taller than I am, so I was picked on for that. But luckily, in my school system, and where I've grown up, everyone has been great. I don't think we've had many accounts of bullying. It used to be that schools would just allow that to happen...it was common. But now they've realized what some of the real repercussions are, and how teen suicides are skyrocketing, and they need to do something. So they really dove into it and are teaching kids that what you say really could affect someone.

IML: It sounds like your school's policy is working. What are they doing right?

Josh: We would have these school assemblies that were like tough-love sorts of things. Instead of sugar-coating it and saying things like "bullying is mean," they would really show us. When you hear real true stories of kids who were teased, and were always laughing it off, and never had any problem with it, and then one day, they're gone...I think of stuff like, "What if that happened to one of my good friends? What if we found out that he just couldn't take it anymore?" That really affected us. We'll still poke fun at each other here and there, being friends, but in the end, we say, "We were just kidding, we don't really mean that. We all love you." But what's really bad is talking behind someone's back. People will always do that and just say, "It's just gossip." But what happens when someone just doesn't come to school one day?

IML: You're definitely passionate about that issue! We hear you're also passionate about animal welfare issues and pet adoptions.

Josh: I am! I have two dogs of my own, and I've always asked myself, "Why not show love for animals?" Because they will always love you, so why not help the ones that are helpless? The ones that have nothing to live for? When animals are beaten and abused, given up and thrown out on the street...these animals need you. I'm trying to use my celebrity status to connect with other kids and tell them how they can help. I volunteer to help with animal adoptions, and young kids will walk up to me and ask me about my movies, and I'll say things like, "Yeah that movie was good, but you know what's a lot of fun? This dog!" And the feeling I get when I see someone adopting a pet that I was showing them...It's the greatest feeling in the world, because I just gave another pet a house to live in, and a family to wake up to, rather than a cage. And people have to realize that it's not about getting a specific breed... it's about getting a dog or cat that loves you, and a pet that you love. Knowing that I've saved as many pets as I have, it really helps me feel good about myself. We all see cats and dogs every day, but we forget about the ones that don't have homes. So I encourage other kids to help out with local organizations that adopt out dogs and cats, or to adopt one themselves!

IML: Thanks for talking with us, Josh! Good luck with everything!

Josh: Thank you!

"Snowmen" opens in theatres as part of a limited engagement on October 21. For more info, check out www.snowmenmovie.com.

What's your school's policy on bullying? Tell us on our new You Said It page on this subject!