QQ: Has “Awkward” been your recent project?
A: I just finished filming the new season of "Awkward" that fans are watching now. I'm headed back to school soon, and that's what I've been focused on.
Q: We've already seen some new episodes of "Awkward" this season, what can you tease about what's coming up with the show and with Lissa?
A: Lissa is very over-eager in her friendship with Jenna. She likes Jenna a lot, which is a really fun aspect to play with Ashley (Rickards). You’re going to see, I mean there’s so much that happens, it’s hard to even keep track of her. This past episode her and Sadie became friends again. She forgave Sadie for everything and is ready to hang out with her again which is good, because I really enjoy Sadie and Lissa’s friendship together, even though it’s mainly Lissa just kind of being pushed around, but it’s fun. Molly and I describe Lissa and Sadie as Sophia Grace and Rosie. We love playing them as friends, but we love their dynamic on camera, it’s really fun. As far as teasers go you’re just going to see me being with a little bit more. You’re still going to see Lissa and Jenna and Lisa pursue Jenna as friends. As far as the season goes in general, you’re going to see Jake and Matty find out about each other which is insane. There’s just so much that happens. It’s crazy.
Q: Is Lissa going to possibly find another love interest? Or at least set her sights on someone else?
A: No, Lissa unfortunately doesn’t have really a love interest this season, and she’s not just making out with random people anymore like she was in that one episode. She loves Jesus, so that’s kind of her love interest this season, but she might set her eyes set on somebody that we’ve already met toward the end of this season. We don’t really know what happens with that yet. It’s kind of just like a little crush. But yeah, no real love interest for her.
Q: It's interesting to see Lissa stick to her core values, while many of the characters are doing the direct opposite.
A: It’s kind of been funny because somebody tweeted me about that the other day and was like, Lissa’s kind of the ditzier, I never like calling her dumb but she is kind of ditzy, she is kind of all over the place and whatever, yet she’s kind of the most grounded with who she is and her belief, which is like funny because she’s the ditzy, dumb character as people see her. She has never strayed from that. She’s never had any interest in breaking her cherry, I mean, she’s done a couple of other things but is very intent on staying a virgin. She’s a good girl. She’s grounded in her belief because it’s what she loves and she believes everything that the church has to say, in good ways, she’s never a negative person.
Q: With a lot of other shows and character portrayals, it's nice to see someone stick to purity and keep their core values. There is a character on this show that everyone can relate to.
A: Yeah, that’s the good thing about our show. Every single character is relatable. Jenna is kind of every girl, every girl even if you’re the popular girl in high school, you kind of, I don’t know if you feel that way, I know I wasn’t popular in high school so I think everyone can relate to certain things. Maybe not having two gorgeous men pining for them, but you can relate to her. People can relate to Sadie whether they like her or not. There is, sometimes, a really Christian girl that people look at. There’s a great guidance counselor. People have problems with their periods. It’s just kind of a show for everybody and that’s what’s great about it, I love it. It’s definitely, there’s the hormones and there are normal high school issues. I mean, even when it came to Lissa last season, when her friend said something like you’re going to lose your boyfriend and she gets all scared, she was like oh my God, maybe I will lose him, maybe he doesn’t like me, maybe he is losing interest. It was scary and she questioned what she should do. So it’s a normal part of high school, just questioning and finding out who you are and what you believe in.
Q: The show has so many incredible quotes, are you having fans come up to you and say some of the infamous lines from the show?
A: It’s funny, both Brett and Beau were saying something how like whenever they go back to work, the past two seasons, they all of a sudden start talking like teenagers and really weird and all their friends are like, what are you doing, what are you saying? We all kind of do the same thing. We quote the scenes all the time. We talk about quotes and a lot of the new ones that are coming up. We say amazin,' and the new one from this season, which I think comes in episode eleven or ten, one of those, is adorahorrible, which is funny but sweet. We would say that one a lot. Yeah, we quote all the lines and all the stuff. It’s a really fun set. We’re all saying really funny things.
Q: Did the chemistry with the cast come naturally or did it take some time to develop?
A: It all kind of came really naturally with us. We shot the pilot in May of 2010, I believe, and that was the first time we all met. Except I knew Jillian (Rose Reed) previously through friends, we shared a mutual friend, so I knew her when we both filmed the pilot. We were like oh my God, we’re working together! But other than that, that was the first time I’d ever met Molly or Jessica or Ashley or Beau or Brett or anybody on the show. We just sort of filmed it, I think it took like maybe five days to film the pilot, but we all became such a fast family. Even throughout the period of time before we got picked up for a second season, the girls would have hangout days, we’d all go out and meet at Jillian’s house or somebody’s house and hang out and get food and then see a movie. One day, I think it was me, Jessica, Ashley, Jillian and Molly went to the Griffith Observatory, that was right after we shot the pilot. We just all kind of have gotten along and then when we got picked up for first season it was like, we just kept hanging out and then we started filming, and we’re a family that just naturally happened. Everyone genuinely gets along with each other and it’s so nice to be able to be on the set with people that are your family.
Q: Just getting to see your interactions on Twitters, you all seem to have a genuine bond with one another and love supporting each other.
A: Yeah, like Beau won a freakin’ Teen Choice Award last night, and I’m still bragging about it today. I’ve like gone up to almost everybody, like all my friends that I know who watch the show, and I’m like Beau won a Teen Choice Award! And they’re like, who? And I was like, Beau, he plays Matty, and they were like oh, okay. He won Choice TV Breakout Star, this is so huge for him, I’m so proud, I think I like talked about it five times on Twitter and then retweeted everything. We’re all so ecstatic for him and I texted him and said congratulations, I’m so happy for you. It’s the same with Jillian when Super Psycho came out, because she did Super Psycho Sweet 16: Part 3, and Jessica and I hang out all the time. So yeah, we have fun Twitter conversations.
Q: The cast does an incredible job with fan interaction, will you be doing more ustream and live tweeting during episodes?
A: I think we all definitely want to. Molly and I did the Ustream through MTV so that was their decision, to have us do that. I know that we both want to do that again. So I would love to participate in that. I would love to even do my own or hang out with more people from the cast and then all do it together. I know that we try to get on, we try to interact with our fans as much as possible. I know some of the fans do, like, a Tinychat thing after every episode that I know Brett and Jillian like to join, and I definitely want to join in next week. We like interacting with our fans and doing that. It’s fun. It’s nice, and I know that it makes them really excited.
Q: What do you think it is about the show that really has endeared it to so many fans?
A: Oh my gosh, so many things. I think that a lot of the credit has to go to our creator and our writer, Lauren Iungerich, who created the show. She’s so brilliant. The way that she writes and talks and her tastes and everything is kind of all her. We’re just blessed to be saying her words. I think fans love the language. I think they love that it’s relatable. I think they love the comedy, but they also love the drama of it. It’s suspenseful. We have so many things going on, we’ve got the love triangle and last year it was the mysterious anonymous letter. I don’t know why people love it so much, I’m glad they do, but love it and I think those are all the reasons I love it is for the comedy and the writing and the storylines and just everything.
Q: You have a wonderful personal style, do you look to any specific fashion stars or icons? Where you get your style from?
A: I always say that I’m so not fashionable, so I just try to go with what looks cute. I love colors, pink is my favorite color, I think I wear that almost too much, but I love it. I love old Hollywood. I love Audrey Hepburn and Marilyn Monroe and all the retro styles. As far as makeup goes, I like minimal. I usually only wear mascara and maybe a little bit of eye shadow if it’s something special, like the movie awards or something. I try to always keep as natural looking as I can. I’m really into the backless outfits right now; strapless dresses, strapless shirts. There’s something about it that I think it’s so subtly sexy. I don't like dresses that are so short that you’re like I’m pretty sure I can see everything. So it’s just your back, and I like it. I don’t know, yeah, I’m just very easy going. You'll see me out and I’m usually in shorts and a t-shirt, and sandals, or those maxi-dresses also might be great. A very simple-to-girly, elegant kind of style is what I like because it’s attractive on me.
Q: Now that you're attending more and more events, fans will be starting to look to you to emulate your style.
A: Yeah, that’s awesome. I really like my MTV Movie Awards outfit which was like this light-blue electric shocking kind of blue dress. Then they matched it with hot pink pumps and a hot pink clutch, and just my hair was down, and people really responded well to it. One person said I looked like Malibu Barbie, but when was that ever an insult. That’s the one thing that I love, color, so I hope that a lot of people do see that and be like I want to do those bold colors as well.
Q: Is there anything else about this season of "Awkard" that you'd like to tease about or anything you'd like to say to the fans?
A: Myself and the entire cast are so thankful for all of our fans because they’re really the reason why we are where we are. MTV loves our show, but last year I guess they didn’t do a ton of press for us, as much as we wanted. I feel like the reason that our show got so big and so popular was because of our fans and because we were getting great reviews in magazines and online and just regular people who were just like oh my God, this show is amazing. So I really think it came through word of mouth. That’s amazing, it’s just so incredible to know, and so we’re so thankful for all of them. I’m just thankful to my fans for supporting me and for being interested in me. Just the support, it means loads to all of us.
Q: I was really hoping that MTV would let the cast do some sort of mall tour, would you be interested in that?
A: That would be so much fun. I’m sure that all of us would be so excited to do it even if they only let it be for a couple people. Like for instance, when I was thirteen, I totally went to the Degrassi Mall Tour and I believe it was Ryan Cooley who played J.T., and Adamo Ruggiero who played Marco that were at the tour that I went to at the Glendale Galleria. So even if we did something, it’s such a huge cast, where we did like two people go to a certain mall and whatever, that would be fun but I don’t know if we even thought of that. That would be cool.
