Nico Hiraga, the star of the new Max romantic comedy movie Sweethearts, puffs with pride hearing his beloved hometown’s name. With his heart in San Francisco, the actor and skateboard enthusiast declared, “Loud and proud. I was born and raised in San Francisco. That’s my home. My city.”
The 26-year-old, who celebrates his 27th birthday on December 19, spent his youth launching himself in skate parks across the city, particularly at Golden Gate Park. At 14, this skater boy got a sponsorship, officially setting out on his journey to become a pro skater.
“I had tunnel vision towards skateboarding,” he says. “I did it so much that I thought it was all I was ever going to do.”
Unfortunately, when Hiraga was 19 years old, he suffered a big injury that pushed away his dreams of becoming a professional skateboarder. As he started to recover, he decided to give acting a try, and in the years since—thanks to roles in films such as Moxie, Booksmart, and Love in Taipei—he quickly became one of Hollywood’s most promising young actors. And quite the heartthrob, too.
A Near Miss on “Sweethearts”
With a calendar that was full of auditions and scripts piling up at a time when Hiraga “was enjoying skating a little too much,” Sweethearts was a script that was set to the side. Hiraga shared, “I remember thinking, ‘I’ll skip this one,’” but with his reps reminding him to give the script a read, he gave it a try. Reading through the script, the actor immediately saw the potential. “Instantly, I was like, ‘This is good, dude. This could be a sick one.’”
Hiraga was attracted to Sweethearts because he was finally getting the opportunity to appear in an R-rated, raunchy comedy. “I’d been playing more high school-age rom-coms. So reading this script, it was very different,” he says. “I thought it was creative, hilarious, and cool.”
Sweethearts features Hiraga opposite Kiernan Shipka, most well known for her role as Don Draper’s drink-making daughter in Mad Men. As first-year college students who have been best friends since the eighth grade, Ben (Hiraga) and Jamie (Shipka) plan to end their long-distance relationships with their high school sweethearts over Thanksgiving break. This leads to a wild night out in their hometown that puts their friendship to the test.
Reflecting on almost missing out on Sweethearts, Hiraga called the experience “life-changing” and “super dope.” The actor said, “It’s about friendships and, even as you get older and things change, keeping close to the people you grew up with.”
A Different Life But The Same Roots
While the Hollywood heartthrob is climbing the Hollywood ladder, Hiraga still skateboards to stay close to his childhood friends and to make sure he stays grounded. Hiraga shared that both acting and skateboarding are important to him, so he tries to balance his acting pursuits with his skateboarding passion—keeping them separate so he doesn’t lose the joy and satisfaction both of them bring.
Between acting projects, Hiraga says he plays a little harder at the parks, taking more risks now that he has recovered. “I’m able to hurt my body and know that I don’t have to get up at like 6 a.m. the next day,” he says.
While not giving up his skateboarding passion, Hiraga wants to continue sharpening his acting skills. In his next role, he is moving away from his comfort zone and portraying a character Hollywood hasn’t seen him act yet. In January, Hiraga starts working on an indie film where he plays a college student who is a genius. The actor shared that, while he believes he has more “street smarts than book smarts,” he is hard at work practicing his words.
But whatever the future may hold, one thing is certain for Hiraga: he isn’t moving to Los Angeles, or anywhere else, for his acting career. No matter where his acting and skateboarding may take him, he will always end up back in San Fransisco. Hiraga said, “It crafted who I am. To be honest, I don’t think I’m ever gonna leave.”
