What you need to know
Ryan Guzman’s Instagram account has an unforgettable origin story.
While discussing the return of 9-1-1, which kicked off Season 9 with a thrilling two-part premiere on Thursday, Oct. 9 and Oct. 16, Guzman, 38, also spoke to PEOPLE about the 10th anniversary of his 2015 thriller The Boy Next Door, in which he co-starred with Jennifer Lopez.
But for the actor, it’s hard to believe that this project is already 10 years old. “I didn’t know it was 10 years… 10 years since that movie?” he says. “Where has the time gone?”
In the film, Guzman plays a 19-year-old girl with a dark past who moves in next door to her mother, played by Lopez, who is experiencing marital difficulties. Working on this production has been memorable for the actor for many reasons, including that it was his Instagram debut thanks to his famous co-stars.
Suzanne Hanover/Smart/Blumhouse Prods/Nuyorican Prods/Universal/Kobal/Shutterstock; Steve Granitz/WireImage
The 9-1-1 actor revealed that he was surprised to learn that Lopez, now 56, doesn’t have an Instagram when he was doing press for the movie. “I think I just had Facebook or something, and she asked me for my Instagram handle or something, and I was just deadpan. She said, ‘You know what? No, I’ll set it up for you,'” he recalls.
“She did, and my first post was because of her. I think we were doing press for ‘The Boy Next Door,’ and she was in charge of that for a little while,” Guzman says. “It’s really crazy now that I think about it, that Jennifer Lopez was the one who started my Instagram.”
The first post currently on Guzman’s Instagram is a black-and-white photo shared in August 2015 to promote his role in Heroes: Reborn, but it’s unclear if that’s the first official post fans have thanked Lopez for.
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In addition to opening an Instagram account, Lopez inspired Guzman with her ability to balance so many different roles at once. “It’s one thing to see what superstars are doing, but it’s another thing to see individuals maintain a level of entrepreneurship in so many different fields, whether it’s acting. I think she was writing a book at the same time, and I think she was curating a reality show with dancing. I think she was doing music, and then trying to get ready for another movie. All of this was happening at the same time as filming,” he recalls.
The “Pretty Little Liars” actor added, “For me, this was a huge indicator that you can do it and this is the way you do it. You can delegate a lot of practical things to people you trust.”
It was so inspiring to see Lopez show off her creativity in so many different lanes, Guzman continued. “At the time I was just a fly-by-night guy, a relatively new actor, so I was just trying to absorb as much as I could, and I was very grateful for the opportunity.”
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New episodes of 9-1-1 air every Thursday at 8pm EST on ABC.
