QQ: Has "The Inbetweeners" been the most recent project you've worked on?
A: That’s the most recent theatrical project. Since then I’ve done some commercials and print work, that kind of pays the bills in between the big stuff, but yeah that’s the most recent theatrical project that I’ve worked on. That comes out the twentieth and we’re pretty excited about that.
Q: If you could, tell us a little bit about the premise and about your character as well.
A: The premise is basically about the average American boy who is just like the title says, they’re stuck in between, they’re really not the low end of the spectrum when it comes to high school but they’re certainly not the top and they’re just trying to achieve that cool-person status and they’re willing to pretty much do anything it takes to get there. We follow their little journey and the mistakes that they make that at the time looks like a good idea but when you look back in retrospect it’s probably not the best idea to do whatever they do, and I think it’s just highly believable. A lot of the guys I talk to are like my husband. I mention some of the things that are happening in the episodes and they’ve all been there. They’ve all done a certain version of it. So I think that’s why it’s going to be such a big hit, because everybody has done that stupid thing or had that friend who said that stupid line and got them in trouble. I think that’s what makes it fun. My character, I’m the mom of the lead character, Will, played by Joey Pollari. Basically her job is to embarrass Will at all costs. She has no idea she’s doing it, just like normal parents do. She’s so loving, and she happens to be hot, which his friends love and it drives him crazy, so he gets tormented on that quite a bit. But basically she’s a normal mom saying normal things and it’s not helping his status at school other than the fact that he gets attention because everybody thinks his mom is hot.
Q: How much presence in the show will your character have?
A: I guess I’d describe it pretty much like the parents in “90210." They’re kind of present in almost every episode for a couple scenes here and there, like when he’s going off to school or he had a tough day and he comes home and mom is there to console him. Things like that. So there are some touching moments between us when we’re alone in the house. There’s also those embarrassing moments when the friends are around watching me interact with him. My character often forgets that her son is too old to be pinched on the cheek and those little things. I’m in there, seven out of the twelve episodes, and I wouldn’t say like a huge, huge presence but there’s two or three scenes per episode.
Q: What is it about the show that really made you want to be a part of it?
A: I know everybody says it’s slightly inappropriate and it’s got all these crazy, crazy things happening, but honestly, the script just made me laugh. There were moments where you would be reading a good book and you start laughing out loud. I thought, if I’m laughing from something on the page imagine what it’s going to be like when we get these brilliant actors who are doing their thing on screen. I thought I just have to be part of something like that. It’s one of those things, you go to work every day and you have a great time, and it doesn’t feel like work. We have great people and they’ve done a great job of putting the right people together. I just think it’s magic. I couldn’t imagine anybody else playing any of the roles, so I’m hoping that the audience feels the same way.
Q: With the show being a comedy, has comedic timing been something that’s come naturally to you, or has it something that you’ve kind of studied and honed?
A: I think it’s a little bit of both. We’ve taken a bunch of classes out here in L.A. It’s so competitive you really have no choice. You have to learn certain methods, and certain shows, they each have their own vibe and you kind of pick up on the vibe, and you’re taught those things. But you also have to have some kind of a natural ability to pick up on those things. I guess I credit my dad for that. He’s always been the one walking around the house cracking jokes, saying silly things, and they were not necessarily things that everybody thought was funny, but of course we were just kids and we thought they were hilarious. These days, my dad is that guy telling the same jokes over and over again, just looking for a new audience. I think it was very much a household where you made jokes to get through tough times. That was super-helpful for me and it taught me to cope in certain ways and it just helped adapt me for these circumstances on the set.
Q: Did the chemistry with the cast take time to develop or was it instant?
A: I feel like it was instant. I really didn’t feel like it was forced or anything. I don’t think it works if it were forced. I think that the whole point of chemistry testing is to see how everybody is going to work with each other. It’s funny, when the cameras are rolling, the guys just click. The timing’s there and nobody’s really stepping over each others lines because it’s just kind of like, it feels right. It’s really hard to explain, I guess, but I think it helps that a bunch of us hang out outside of work as well, so you get to know each other on a personal level and that really helps.
Q: Do you have any special memorable moments from filming that you can share?
A: I’m sure there were. It’s tough because we filmed this a year ago, so trying to call up memories like that, a year ago, is tough. I know there was a scene that I think was cut from the episode, but my character, Polly, she kind of has a little bit of a crazy side. I feel like almost every woman does if you push her that far. One of her friends backed out on her or something so she throws a fit, only it’s kind of like a raving lunatic fit, and she’s throwing her phone in the dishwasher and kicking cabinets. It was an exhausting scene to film because you have to throw everything into it, but the director was great. He’d come out and say, hold nothing back, I don’t care what you ruin or damage, do whatever it takes. Throw a fit like you think the craziest person in the world would throw a fit. That was a lot of fun because I’m doing this fit, and you get into a fit of rage and you have no idea, you forget that people are around you and watching you. When they yell cut you kind of stop and you’re sweating, and you’re out of breath, and you look around and these people are just looking at you like wow, I cannot believe she has that in her, and you know they’re thinking, does she do this at home? So that was kind of a fun moment to push it and explore some, I don’t know, weird side of me.
Q: What do you think it is about "Inbetweeners" that will set it apart from other teen dramas like "Awkward" and shows on ABC Family?
A: “Akward” is great and I think that “Inbetweeners” can be set apart just because it’s not age-specific, yet all of the main characters are teenagers in there. We’ve all been teenagers and we’ve been through the embarrassing moments and we would like to forget them, but somehow it’s funny to relive them, watching on TV. I think that’s what’s going to set us apart. We’re all going to relate to them in one way or another. Most of the terribly embarrassing or awkward moments that are happening, the writers who wrote that episode actually went through that moment. As we’re reading and we’re learning about this stuff, every episode we stop and look up and be like okay, which one of you went through that. We would stop and tell the story, so it’s not too far fetched really because they really went through this moment and it was terror for them and it’s nice to know that you weren’t the only one who had a tough time in high school, and I think that’s what really will attract a lot of people.
Q: Do you think that social media will be an asset to the show?
A: Oh, absolutely. I think that it really targets that age range who are just really into social media right now. They know way more than I do. I think that’s definitely going to help. The kids on the show have been teaching me so much about Twitter and Facebook and how you link this and that. I never felt old until I started shooting this show because they are so knowledgeable when it comes to that stuff. I think that’s really going to help us with marketing and I think it’s going to bring the fans closer to the people they’re looking up to on the show as well because they’re going to be able to contact them and make comments and get answers to questions.
Q: Are you planning to tweet along to episodes or chat with fans that way as well afterward?
A: Absolutely. I’m definitely going to attempt it. I’m not as good as the others and I’m still practicing but I’m up for the challenge and I’m going to giver it a try and see how I do.
Q: Is Twitter the best place that we can interact with you or are you on Facebook too? What’s your handle?
A: I’m on Facebook and I’m also on Twitter. I believe my handle is @C_S_B, but I also have a fan page on Facebook that I check regularly too in addition to my regular Facebook page so it’s kind of neat where I get little comments here and there from fans and fan mail and I answer all of that.
Q: Is there anything that you would like to tease about the show or share with us as sort of final thoughts for the people who will be watching?
A: I just feel like big fans of the show, I know a lot of people really love the British version, but our version, I feel like it’s going to have it’s own following. We’ve kind of, the comedy is more but their humor seems to be a little different that the writing to the American version and I think that people are going to be surprised. There’s definitely going to be the awe factor there, the shock factor. I think every episode, I don’t want to say gets worse, but you’re going to be like oh my gosh, I can’t believe they went there, but they did, and it’s going to be fantastic. It’s going to be one of those train wrecks that you can’t look away from. It’s going to be a fun show.
