Driven Season 2’s Michael Roark: “I’m going to learn so much”

Michael Roark dazzled Passionflix founding members during a screening of the first two episodes of the four-episode Driven Season 2. The red carpet premiere took place in Santa Monica and was the first time fans had a chance to see Roark in action as Colton Donavan. He didn’t disappoint. After the screening Roark participated in a Q&A session, where he talked about what attracted him to the role.

Roark took over the role of Colton Donavan after scheduling conflicts prevented Casey Diedrick from returning. Passionflix CEO Tosca Musk, who served as director of the second and third seasons of the wildly popular series based on K. Bromberg’s Driven series, approached him for the role, but Roark admits he wasn’t sold on the project in the beginning.

“It’s like you start with a no, and then you try to move to a yes,” he said. “I was in the Jeep on the way [to meet with Musk], already coming up with my excuses.”

Once he met with Musk and co-star Olivia Applegate, though, he was sold.

Michael Roark appreciated what he could learn from Passionflix, Driven

“As soon as I got there and once I undertook the story, and [met with] Tosca and Olivia, I mean, it just felt right,” he continued. “It felt like these are my people, this is my tribe. This is a story I’d want to tell.”

More importantly, though, Roark appreciated Bromberg’s story and Musk’s mission to tell stories about strong women. That’s the key to why he accepted the role.

“[Tosca] explained to me the mission that she’s doing with Passionflix movies and with Driven, and how she wants to tell stories about the empowerment of women and to show what love is through the eyes of a woman. Through communication and connection and compromise. I’m sitting here just like wow, I want to be a part of that. That really resonated with me. I was really excited and it was something that I’m like, yeah, I’ve got to do this. I’ve got to do this as an actor, but I also felt [I had to do it] as a human being. I remember thinking these women have so much to teach me. I’m going to learn so much. And I did. It was Tosca’s school of gentlemen callers, and I am now a graduate.”

Applegate agreed, noting that she knew from the moment she met Roark that he was the one to play Colton moving forward. After Roark spoke about understanding the Passionflix mission, Applegate told him how she knew he was a good fit. “I knew that I wanted to work with you and I was excited to work with you when I saw you realize the value of these projects and the thing that Passionflix is trying to do,” she told him. “I was like, oh, this is an actor and a co-lead who gets it and is excited about it and wants to be here and make the best movie possible. And I was like yes, I want to work with you!”

The first season of Driven debuted in 2018 and fans have been eagerly awaiting the continuation of Rylee and Colton’s stories. The cast filmed seasons 2 and 3 back to back in the fall of 2020, so fans won’t have to wait too long to see what happens in season 3.

Driven Season 2 premieres on Passionflix on July 22, with new episodes released weekly.