Degrassi was your very first acting gig — do you remember what you were doing when you found out you’d gotten the part of Lola?

I found out through a phone call I missed … I remember it was dark. I got home. There was a missed call. I listened to it, and it’s the casting director. She’s like, “Amanda, call me back! I have some really exciting news.” So I called her back, and then she told me that I booked a different role … I auditioned for [Arlene] first, and they made Lola for me.

When I booked Party of Five (2020), it was because I had auditioned for the lead role. I was on my way back to the airport and I got a call … they told me I wasn’t gonna get it. And I was like, “It’s okay.” Like, I knew it wasn’t gonna get it. But then they said that they wanted to offer me a role on the show anyway, because they enjoyed me. So that was exciting too.

Looking back, how did your years on Degrassi shape you as an actress?

I’m very grateful for it. I’ll always be grateful for Degrassi … it gave me a place to go. I really thought that I wasn’t gonna go anywhere. I was failing all my classes in high school, so I didn’t know what path I was going to take in university or college if I were to go. And finding Degrassi really helped me. Some might say it saved my life. It really did help me, like, it really pushed me. I knew right there that [acting] was the only thing I ever wanted to do for the rest of my life. I’m very grateful. … It’s very sad that [the HBO reboot] got scrapped. It would have been so good for the kids nowadays that want to be actors here in Toronto.

I still [get recognized] by Degrassi fans. Older people, younger people, people of all ages. … It’s actually very interesting because my hair’s brown [now] and [people will be] like, “Oh my god, you look a lot like Lola,” or “You look like somebody.” I’ll be like, “Who?” [Laughs] … sometimes people just know me because I’m on Instagram a lot.

I did have one specific Degrassi question I wanted to ask. Next Class was canceled before your character got to go to senior prom, but what hair color would you have wanted Lola to have for the occasion?

I think I would have done Season 1 Next Class pink, but long. Or maybe just white. Lola would pretend it was her wedding.