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Moderator Support Team
Joined: Mar 2000
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Syd - Thanks for the new thread.
Reposting the Aimee interview for those that didn't get to read it yet.
Quote:
Exclusive Interview: Aimee Teegarden, of Friday Night Lights
February 7, 2007
Aimee Teegarden, the 17 year-old actress who portrays Julie Taylor (Coach Taylor's daughter), on NBC's Friday Night Lights, has already established herself as a young face to watch in Hollywood. Aimee sat down with us yesterday at BuddyTV to discuss how she got started in the business, her experience on Friday Night Lights, and her aspiration to one day be killed in a horror movie.
Can you tell us a little bit about how you got into acting?
I was probably around four or five when I really wanted to start acting and my mom was totally against it. She’s like, “No, no, no, we’re not going to do that. We’re going to put you in sports.” So I played sports for five or six years; baseball and basketball. And then these people called my house for an acting class and I was like, “Mom, please, please!” and she’s like, “Okay, you can take a few classes but you’re not allowed to be in the business.” I was like, “Okay, whatever.” So, I was about ten, and then I got an agent from there and I started going out on auditions and it just kind of all fell in my lap. So, it’s quite exciting.
How did you get involved with Friday Night Lights? Did you try out? What was the audition process like?
The audition process, it was kind of interesting because on the break-downs it was written that it was like “must be 18 and over, must do this, must do that”. And I was like, “I’m not 18 and over, blah blah blah, I’m not emancipated.” I was just kind of going into the audition for my agent to make him happy. And I went into the audition, I did my thing, and ended up with four callbacks, and then I ended up landing the job, which is pretty sweet.
How hands-on was Peter Berg [director of the film version and pilot of Friday Night Lights]? Did he have anything to do with the casting process?
I had never even heard of Peter Berg before the second audition and he was there and I had learned all my lines and I was excited and then he was like, “So, what really pisses you off these days?” And I was like, “Um, excuse me?” He’s like, “What gets under your skin and pisses you of?” And I’m like, “Uh, gas prices.” Everybody can relate to gas prices.
What was it like shooting the pilot? The show is so different, the filming is so stylized, it seems like a lot of hand held stuff, filmed entirely on location. Was it difficult adjusting to that after doing a lot of stuff in LA?
Um, it’s definitely a different experience. We have three cameras going at all times. You never know where you’re supposed to look. I’ll turn around a lot and like look straight into a camera and be like “darn it”! But, um, the pilot was really awesome. It was a month in Austin. I got to stay at the Four Seasons Hotel, which was pretty sweet. It’s very different, it really is. There’s no rehearsing, there’s no you hitting your marks. It’s all just kind of “Okay, so here’s your lines, and play with them and have fun.”
Did you have a feeling while shooting the pilot that it was going to be kind of a big deal? Did you feel confident that the show was going to get picked up?
From what everybody was saying, I had a good feeling but, I mean, there’s millions and millions of pilots that are made that just never, ever go anywhere. And that was actually my first pilot ever, so I was kind of a newbie to the whole process.
Did you kind of go and seek any inspiration, any influence, for playing a coach's daughter or was it kind of your own invention?
Um, I can just relate to Julie a lot. And it’s not just about being a coach’s daughter, it’s about being a teenager in general and just going through the struggles of a normal teenager.
It feels like you’ve been featured more and more in recent episodes. Do you think this is going to be a permanent thing or is it just kind of how the story is arcing at the time?
I don’t know, I mean, I hope it’s going to be a permanent thing. We have ten principal cast members that are there all the time. There’s a lot of people who have to work a lot. And I think every episode kind of focuses on a different character or characters. But it’s been a lot of fun having work and stuff, and working four or five days a week as opposed to like, two.
You seem to have pretty good chemistry with your onscreen interest, Matt, played by Zach Gilford. Do you guys work well with each other? How is your relationship?
I love Zach Gilford, he is awesome. He’s a great actor and he’s just cool to hang out with all the time. He’s like my big brother, he watches out for me and takes care of me. So, it’s all good.
How’s the set atmosphere off camera? It must be a different experience for you guys not working in LA and kind of being isolated from the whole show business aspect.
It’s kind of isolating, it is. But I think if we were in LA I think the show would definitely not be as good. Number one, because we’re not shooting in Texas and wouldn’t be all on location. But number two, it just, it really gives the cast time to bond with each other and really get to know each other rather than just going off and doing their thing and then showing up to work.
Friday Night Lights has been a pretty big critical favorite but the ratings haven’t been totally there yet. Do you have any kind of ideas on why you think the show hasn’t found its audience yet?
I think a lot of shows, like 24 or Friends, you know, start out kind of slow, but the one really cool thing about our show is there’s never a decrease in numbers. We’re always gaining new viewers every single episode. I think it’s just going to be a slow process. I think if they moved us back an hour we’d have a better audience. Because it plays at 7pm (CT), so a lot of people DVR it and stuff. So you don’t get the ratings unless they watch it within the same day.
It seems like NBC has, regardless of the ratings, had a lot of confidence in the show from the beginning. Did you get that feeling early on or was it kind of up in the air whether you guys would get picked up for the whole season?
It was kind of up in the air, but they have had so much faith in us. But I think they’re really gonna go with us for a second season, at least I hope.
Can you give us any information about what’s next for Julie on the show?
Ooo. Next for Julie…She deals with a lot of teen issues, I would say, like the boyfriend on-again, off-again. But at the end they’re always going to be together...kind of.
Do you have any big favorite TV shows besides Friday Night Lights?
My guilty pleasure would have to be The OC. I'll watch a full season in like, three days straight.
Well are you upset that it’s canceled?
I am a little upset, I’ve actually never seen it live. I’ve only bought it at Best Buy, like a full season. But I haven’t seen the fourth season at all, so I’m excited for that.
What are your plans for the future outside of Friday Night Lights, just in general?
Um, I don’t know. I mean, I want to do a horror film where I either get to kill somebody or be killed. That’s definitely on my top priorities.
Are you close to fulfilling that?
Possibly, we’ll see. We’ll see what’s up. And being a beach bum on Venice Beach, that’s my goal for the summer.
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NOOOO
Tim's Rally Girl #33 
