Rising actor Aidan Langford returns to the screen in Netflix’s comedy “Roommates,” premiering globally on April 17th, 2026. Starring alongside Sadie Sandler and Chloe East, Langford plays Alex, a teenager navigating his sister’s transition to college while going through his own unexpected coming out journey.

After stepping away from acting to focus on music and painting following projects like 1985 and Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings, Langford is back with a role that feels both personal and timely. We caught up with him to talk about the film, his creative process, and what this moment means to him.

The film was directed by Chandler Levack, and also features Carol Kane, Janeane Garofalo, Natasha Lyonne and Nick Kroll.

Finding His Way Back with ‘Roommates’

VENTS: ou took some time away from acting before coming back with Roommates, and what made this the right project to return for?

Aidan Langford: Yeah, I think when I initially read the script, one of the first things that sort of jumped out to me was how similar I felt it was to a lot of iconic sort of early 2000s, late 90s films. It felt very similar to those, and those are some films that kind of were like my comfort movies, like Mean Girls, I love so much. That felt like a very close comp to this, and also it being written by SNL writers, like, I so miss the days when SNL writers were making feature films as well, because I think that they’re all so talented and funny, and a lot of the movies that they make sort of become these like culturally significant films.

So that was the first thing, and then just Alex’s character in general, like, I felt like I related to a lot of the sort of situations that he was finding himself in, and just sort of figuring out who he was, and I didn’t have that growing up when I was his age, and I didn’t have those sort of characters that I could look up to in film sort of earlier in my life, and so being that person, and being able to sort of be that for other people, and like younger kids in the next generation, is something that I thought was important.

VENTS: Sure, and of course it’s an Adam Sandler related movie, so that’s like a…definitive Saturday Night Live connection right there.

Aidan Langford: Yeah, and doing anything with Adam Sandler is like a total bucket list check mark off the box now.

Building Alex

VENTS: When it comes to your character of Alex, what drew you most to that story?

Aidan Langford: Yeah, I mean, when I was his age, I was going through a lot of the same sort of like self-discovery and issues around sort of my identity, and figuring out where I fit in, and dealing with you know, bullying at school, and feeling very self-conscious about who I was, and I feel that Alex is sort of going through that same thing. I came out at 15, and Alex comes out in the film, he’s 16, so that immediately was like a very close connection to myself, and then I also have an older sister as well, and there was something interesting about his relationship with a sister in this film that was something maybe I didn’t quite have.

Me and my sister kind of fought like cats and dogs growing up. We’re very close now, but there was definitely like that sibling rivalry, and I think that Devin and Alex don’t have that at all. They have a very like close relationship and close bond, and that was something that I really wanted to just like portray and dive into, and something that I kind of admired about the two of them.

VENTS: Yeah, there was a camaraderie is what you’re saying. I think that’s the right word.

Aidan Langford: Yeah, there was definitely a camaraderie, and just a support of each other that I thought was really like beautiful.

VENTS: Well yeah, it’s nice to, it’s nice if characters like brothers and sisters can get along, because it’s more common…to have them at each other’s throats.

Aidan Langford: Yeah, ripping each other’s hair off.

Relationships On and Off Screen

VENTS: So how did you approach portraying Alex’s relationship with his sister? What were your underlying, like what did you draw from?

Aidan Langford: Yeah, I pulled a lot from, because the thing that was most important to me was that they were like best friends first. Like they are siblings, but I think that their relationship is a very sort of like best friend relationship as well. So I pulled a lot from my relationships with my friends, and sort of the support that we give to each other. That was like the number one thing that I like tried to focus on.

And then when you have a sibling, there is always that sort of like love for them, no matter what. And that was a lot easier, because that was so like, like I experienced that I love my sister, you know, no matter what. So that was a easy thing to pull from. I’m very lucky I have a sister and was able to, to take directly from, you know, my own relationship with her and the love I have for her.

VENTS: So when you’re working alongside Sadie Sandler and Chloe East in the movie, what was the dynamic like on set with them?

Aidan Langford: Yeah, I think we all kind of hit it off, kind of right off the bat, which was really nice. We’re all close in age, and we all kind of keep up with the same sort of TikToks and reels. And so there were a lot of like things that we could talk about in between takes.

And also Sadie, she’s incredibly sweet, and very like humble and chill and just a really easy person to talk to, which was super helpful in sort of building our like relationship and chemistry, which then translated onto screen as well. That made it a lot easier. We would go and watch like movies when we had days off, we would go to the AMC and see movies.

And so those sort of experiences, not just in between takes, but evenings we had off, were really helpful in sort of building that on screen chemistry.

Creative Life Beyond Acting

VENTS: And I understand that you’re also a musician and a painter. Did those creative outlets influence how you approached this movie?

Aidan Langford: I think they all feed into each other. I think creativity generally is kind of boundless and can be translated between multiple things. So it does, each one sort of influences the other one.

I will say that like music for me feels more personal and feels more like personal narrative than acting. And of course, with acting, I’m pulling from my own life as well. But at the end of the day, you are portraying a character and trying to do justice for that character, versus music feels more like I’m sort of doing justice for myself in a way and using it as like a therapeutic sort of outlet.

VENTS: So when it comes to the music, which artists or bands have shaped your sound?

Aidan Langford: I have always been a huge fan of Lana Del Rey. I think she’s one of the greatest lyricists of this generation. I think she’s incredibly talented in the way that she’s able to sort of weave words together in these really poetic ways that are dark and haunting and also really beautiful.

I’m also a huge fan of Ethel Cain. I’ve always been drawn to these like melancholic, sad artists. And I also am a fan of Radiohead and The Smiths and Fiona Apple.

Themes, Identity, and What Matters

VENTS: Did working on Roommates connect you in a meaningful way? What did the story mean for you?

Aidan Langford: Yeah, I definitely was connected to it a lot. And I think what I take from it, and what I hope that a lot of people take from it is sort of communication being really important, and not bottling up your feelings or kind of hiding from who you are. I think just standing in your truth and being open with the people around you is really important.

And it’s something that I need to do more of. I’m a very anti-confrontational type of person. And I can be a bit of a people pleaser, much like Devin is in the film. But we see how that can kind of go south very quickly. So that’s what I hope people take away.

VENTS: And when it comes to the LGBTQ angle in this story, what would your message be about that?

Aidan Langford: Yeah, I think it’s really scary right now. I find myself being unsure and scared right now with everything going on. It’s hard to see a community that I love so much being sort of targeted. But I hope that with this film and with LGBTQ characters being more prominent, I hope that that gives people an outlet and something to make them feel good or feel represented.

I think as a community, it’s important to find people that you can relate to, not just in film and TV, but in your life, and have that camaraderie and that community. It’s very important in keeping yourself sane. It’s very easy to get wrapped up in headlines and in the news.

Final Thoughts

VENTS: Is there anything else you would like to add as a final observation?

Aidan Langford: As a final observation or final note, I would just say to watch Roommates on April 17th. And I would also say to talk to the people around you about things going on in your life. And I just hope that the film resonates and people get a good laugh out of it.

INTERVIEW: Actor Aidan Langford Talks ‘Roommates’

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