Teen Vogue caught up with the director about all things 1D, from what it was like to film on the road to how he captured their most vulnerable moments.

Teen Vogue: How did you become involved with this project?
Morgan Spurlock: I was approached last year by the studio to see if I'd be interested in making the film. I thought, this is a great opportunity and I would love to be able to tell that story. It was an incredible moment in time for them—the rocket is still racing through the sky. They're just getting bigger and bigger.

TV: What can you tell us about the film?
MS: They're incredibly charming guys who are very likeable, and you can't help but root for them. What this film will do is show people a side of the boys that they haven't gotten to see. Especially for people who aren't really familiar with them, it'll show them who One Direction really is. Once you see that, so many things that you may have heard—oh, they don't have any talent, they just got put together, they're a fake band—all of that falls by the wayside because you realize they are five really talented guys who were incredibly fortunate to get put together.

TV: So where did you film while you were on tour with them?
MS: We filmed with them in Japan, which was their first trip there, and it was incredible. It was such a great moment to be there with them. We also filmed as they launched their U.K. tour and went just all across Ireland, Scotland, and England. We've been shooting with them throughout the European tour.

TV: Do we get to see the boys when they're not working? They work so hard!
MS: We went with each of them to their hometowns and filmed with their families. One of the goals for me was to show an intimate and different side of the boys that you normally wouldn't get—something different than what you'd see in a typical interview—like seeing them in their homes with their families and spending days off just being regular guys. Day to day, that's who they are. They're just regular folks, like you and me. They're ordinary guys who have been put into such an extraordinary situation and they've done an incredible job at dealing with that.

TV: Were the boys hesitant to talk about personal details in the movie?
MS: In the beginning, they were. Whenever you first start shooting with anyone, there's a period of having to gain someone's trust. The more time you spend together, the more open people become. Suddenly, I was that guy who just wouldn't go away and was always around, so they were like, "Fine, we'll all talk to you." It's about earning and gaining that trust.

TV: Did you ever have to say, "Hey, if there are moments that they're not comfortable, tell me?"
MS: Completely. I said, "If there are things you don't want to talk about, just give me a head's up. I'm going to ask you about things, I'm going to push you to talk about things, and if you don't want to go there, just tell me you don't want to go there." So, we had a very open and honest dialogue from the start.

TV: Did the boys open up about the downside of fame?
MS: There's a lot of stress that comes with being under the microscope all the time and that's one of the things we talk about a lot. Suddenly everyone's writing about you and they're chasing you and you can't walk out of your house without a photographer taking your picture and having it end up somewhere.

TV: While interviewing the band for our cover story backstage in Miami, it's was shocking how normal they seemed. Is that true to your experience?
MS: They're very real. What you see in the movie is how much each one of them relies on the other four guys. They have this really tight bond. Nobody else in the world knows what they're going through except those other four guys. That relationship for them, I think, is invaluable. Part of the reason why they've been able to stay so grounded is because they have the others there to kind of keep them in check constantly.

We were staying in this really crazy, incredibly ornate hotel in the middle of like Nottingham and Zayn had this huge room that had two bedrooms in it. He said, "I can't sleep in here, man. It's just too weird. It's too creepy for me. I'd rather stay on the bus." So, he went back and slept on the bus. There was even a snowstorm! But that's where he stays. And he does that all the time on the road. It's amazing. And it's not just him! He does that, Louis does that, Liam will also do that. When they're on the road, they don't have friends and family around. They have each other. So after a gig, they'd rather have the comfort of that family around.

TV: How is this movie different from Justin Bieber: Never Say Never and Katy Perry: Part of Me?
MS: Part of what makes This Is Us work is that they're telling their own story and letting us into their lives. I also think these guys have a lot of fun—that's the other thing that sets them apart. The boys really do enjoy themselves a lot and they have a good time. That's what's different from someone like Katy or Justin. Louis said to us, "None of us thought any of this would happen. We were having fun when it did and we want to keep having fun. We want to keep having a good time."

TV: Can you tell me something we might not know about one of the guys?
MS: People know that Zayn is a wonderful singer and that the guy is incredibly talented—but he's a really great artist as well. He's fantastically artistic. We went back home and spent the day with him, and he painted at his house. He's got a graffiti studio in his house and that's just how he unwinds. He has friends over and he listens to music and he paints and he hangs out. For him, there's nothing more important than being home and being surrounded by people that he loves. There's something really wonderful about that.

TV: Don't you think that at least part of the reason people are excited to see the movie is because you're directing it?
MS: Yeah, no pressure! We're trying to do some different things. We brought in some music journalists and some historians and other people who can talk about the band's place in the world and in the music business. We sought out a doctor—a neurologist—who will talk about what happens in a girl's brain when she listens to One Direction, and how that impacts her body and how she reacts to that.

TV: You recently tweeted that there are shirtless moments in the film&can you tell us more?
MS: There are many moments where the boys have been caught—as some people would say—with their pants down.