The Runarounds Stars Started Playing Music Together at Age 6. Now, They’re Making a ‘Childhood Dream’ Come True (Exclusive)

It’s rare to have your dreams become a reality. It’s rarer to get to do it alongside your best friend. However, for actors William Lipton and Jeremy Yun, that’s exactly what happened when they were cast on Prime Video’s The Runarounds. 

From Outer Banks co-creator Jonas Pate, the series follows the formation of a local band — including Lipton’s Charlie Cooper and Yun’s Topher Park — that goes viral after the members from a local Wilmington, N.C., high school. 

While the series documents the band’s rise to fame and the friendships they form along the way, Lipton and Yun’s own journey started way back when they were 6 years old. “We used to do School of Rock together, like a little after-school music program,” Lipton explains to PEOPLE, noting that their friendship was pretty much fated from the beginning. 

“There was this one moment where we were probably like age 6, and we both had our guitars, on the couch together, and there was another person, she was like jumping on the couch. And then our, both our guitars fell over on each other, and they never played the same after that. We were kind of united in our guitars. That’s our meet-cute,” Lipton recalls. 

As they grew up alongside each other, their music together also evolved, from doing a Kiss cover band to playing eighth-grade birthday parties. “He’s been basically my only bandmate throughout this whole thing,” Yun says of Lipton. “It’s been fun to grow with him.” 

“Jer has always been by my side throughout my best moments in life,” Lipton adds. “We played a ton of different stages together.” 

Yun notes that music has been “some version of a childhood dream” of theirs for a while now. However, they never could have imagined the trajectory it would take on. 

While The Runarounds marks Yun’s first starring acting role, Lipton is no stranger to the small screen, having previously played Cameron Webber on General Hospital. Though he left the series in 2023, Lipton adds that he was grateful for his experience on the soap opera, where he was able to incorporate his love of both acting and music on a few occasions. 

“I’ve been very fortunate that it’s never had to be one or the other,” he says of his love of acting and singing. “I was still able to do a lot of music on General Hospital, where I was writing songs for the show for some musical performances. I loved my time there and it really gave me the confidence that I want to do both of them for as long as I can in my career.” 

From the beginning, Lipton and Yun both agree that they were a “package deal” as they auditioned for The Runarounds together. And eventually, along the way, they formed close bonds with their other bandmates, Axel Ellis (Neil Crosby), Jesse Golliher (Wyatt Wysong) and Zendé Murdock (Bez Willis). “We got more best friends,” Lipton adds. 

Because the cast is made up of real-life musicians, Lipton notes that the entire music process on the series was very “collaborative” as Pate wanted to “have the music feel authentic to the show.”

“We would get certain scripts and sometimes we’d just write songs totally on our own,” Lipton explains. “And [Pate] would really love them, and he would try to do his own interpretation of how to incorporate it into the script. It was just like the coolest thing ever. We got to write songs in a very unique way. We came up with a pretty cool soundtrack that we’re excited for people to listen to.” 

“I mean, part of this process is that we haven’t really had a process in many ways,” Yun adds. “Like all of these songs have their different origin story. Some of them were the result of the script. Some of them are just like, we’re gonna write a song, let’s see if, where, how it lands.” 

Lipton flags that another highlight of the series was getting to work alongside people who are just as passionate about music as they are. “All of them are so incredibly talented at what they do,” he says of his bandmates. “So to be a part of a group of people that are just so passionate about the craft of acting or music, it was such a privilege and a learning opportunity. It’s something I’m gonna be telling like my kids, like, ‘Back in my day, I was one of the Runarounds.’ ” 

“Time’s been on our side here, too,” Yun adds. “We got cast for this back in 2020. But we shot the pilot back in 2022, and the crew has remained the same. We’ve had friendships with the PAs team, obviously, within the actors too, for years now, and it’s just been so exciting to go through this with them. In many ways, we grew up with them.” 

Though the series just premiered on Prime Video, Lipton and Yun already have a lot more to look forward to as the band prepares to hit the road this month. “We’re excited,” Yun says of the upcoming tour, which kicks off on Sept. 13 in Charleston, S.C. “It’s gonna be a bunch of fun little venues. We can’t wait to see everybody and just to share the songs and share the story.” 

While they both have high hopes for their characters in a potential second season, what they are most looking forward to is continuing to work together. 

“It is pretty damn special,” Lipton says about getting to work alongside his best friend. “All my best moments have been, have been with this dude,” he says of Yun. “It’s really beautiful. This guy is beyond being a musician, just like one of the sweetest souls of anyone you’ll ever meet. I’m so fortunate that I get to be in your life and that we get to do this incredible thing together.” 

“Best friends are the best, right?” Yun adds. “I mean, there’s something truly irreplaceable about it. The bond of approaching 15, 16 years, that is just so hard to replace. We got a number of years ahead, too.” 

The Runarounds season 1 is currently streaming on Prime Video.