Interview with Alexis Thorpe: "The New Girl"
From CBS.com


If one good thing came out of the "Glow by Jabot" house this summer, it was the growing friendship between Raul and Rianna. As this relationship takes a turn towards romance, a new Rianna steps in to help it take off. CBS.com chatted with ALEXIS THORPE about her whirlwind casting and how she's getting along at The Young and the Restless.

CBS.com: How is it going at Y&R so far?
ALEXIS THORPE: It's fabulous. I'm so happy. They are so nice over there. I'm having such a good time.

CBS.com: How did your casting come about?
ALEXIS THORPE: It was super quick [and] very weird. I don't think that many stories like this come along, so it's going to be funny. I got back from Arizona, [where] I was doing a movie called The Forsaken. It was summer [there] and I was so hot. It was like one hundred and twenty degrees, on a good day. I came back and I [thought], "I am not going back out of town for a while." I finished another movie - a quick shoot - in July and August in L.A. Then, I was in my manager's office and we were talking about what was going on next. With the whole [actors] strike, we had to get something together quickly. [My manager's] secretary had The Bold and the Beautiful on and there was this pretty, young, new character. I said [to him], "How come I didn't go in [to audition] for that?" He said, "Well, I didn't think you wanted to do soaps. I thought you just wanted to do movies." I was like, "I want to do soaps." So, he called Marnie [Saitta, Y&R Casting Director] and he asked her what was going on [at Y&R]. She said, not much, but that she'd like to read me. I went in to read for her. I think I read an Olivia and Drucilla scene and it was basically a cold reading. I only had [the script] for fifteen minutes [before]. After that she said, "Are you interested in a contract role?" I was like, "Well, of course, but I thought nothing was available." She said that maybe there could be. That day I went down and I met [Y&R Executive Producer] Ed Scott and I read the scene for him. Then a few hours later they called my manager and said that they wanted to send a tape of me to [Y&R Head Writer] Kay Alden. She just wanted to see who I was, so they sent her tape and within two days the contracts were drawn up. It was insane, but nice because they were so welcoming. I had such a good feeling up front with them that I was really excited.

CBS.com: So until that point, you were mainly doing feature work?
ALEXIS THORPE: Right. I've been here in L.A. for probably about eight month now. In these eight months, I've been doing those two movies. With The Forsaken, that was months of prep so I didn't really have much time to focus on anything else, or to even look to what I would be doing next.

CBS.com: Where are you from originally?
ALEXIS THORPE: Orange County, [California].

CBS.com: What was your first scene on Y&R like?
ALEXIS THORPE: It was with David Lago [Raul] at the coffeehouse and it was crazy. My first day, I think I had five scenes. I wasn't nervous. I was just a bit overwhelmed, very curious. Because it was my first day, I was very excited, but I'd never worked on a television set before. I was used to film cameras, and take after take, and filming like a page and a half a day, which is so time consuming. I heard that [Y&R was taping] basically a script a day for one episode. I was just blown away by that and when I saw the three-camera format, I had no idea what they were talking about.

CBS.com: Were those adjustments difficult?
ALEXIS THORPE: No, it's like learning something new. It just takes time. The first two weeks were a little bit awkward. [I was] focusing on getting a line down and trying to further the character because I didn't really know where she was going. The [producers] didn't have me watch any tapes of the previous actress. They didn't want me to, so I didn't really have much to go on.

CBS.com: So you weren't worried about having to take over an established role?
ALEXIS THORPE: Thankfully, [no]. I know that actors have to do that all the time. [In this case], I'm sure it was a little bit of change and it upset some people, but the character hadn't been on quite that long.

CBS.com: Tell me a bit about the "new" Rianna.
ALEXIS THORPE: I just want to make her really fun. She needs that type of personality because she's lusting after a guy who's been in love with another girl for a year. So anything to bring him around is what she wants. She's playing on a different angle. I mean, Brittany has her issues. She's conniving and manipulative and she gets what she wants - no matter what - without thinking about other people. Mac has so many problems. She's also really sweet, but things never really go her way. Rianna, she's just a normal, young girl. She's got desires and one of them is for Raul and she's willing to do whatever she can to bring that [around], but she's doesn't want to push Mac out of the way [in the process]. She sees that [Mac and Raul] have a really close connection, or a good relationship, and she wants that to come back [without] closing any doors. Rianna is kind of the mediator. She's trying to bring everyone back together [so they can] enjoy their senior year.

CBS.com: Do you think Rianna is capable of bringing everyone back together?
ALEXIS THORPE: I think so. Rianna doesn't know a lot of the things that Brittany's been doing. I don't know if there's any hope for Brittany and Mac. I don't think that Rianna can really help that. As far as bringing Raul and Mac back together, I hope that Rianna can do that because they had a really good relationship.

CBS.com: Would you like to see a strong relationship develop for Raul and Rianna?
ALEXIS THORPE: Oh, I definitely do. She needs somebody nicer than J.T. He didn't care about her at all.

CBS.com: What is it like to work with David Lago?
ALEXIS THORPE: He's amazing. He's such a nice person and he's been so helpful that it's been really cool. He's so dedicated to what he does. He knows Raul inside and out. To get his insight on the characters, that's been nice.

CBS.com: Tell me about the movie you just completed, The Forsaken.
ALEXIS THORPE: It's a Sony vampire movie. It was so fun. We were in Yuma, Arizona, down in the boondocks, where nothing happens - ever. It was my first leading role in a cast with stars in their own right. It was nice to work with them because they knew what they were doing and were so helpful to me. It was fun because we were all young and had a good time. The script was awesome. It is a really smart buddy movie, kind of like a Thelma and Louise with guys. It's got all the elements of surprise and bad guys. It just happens that the bad guys are vampires...and I'm one of them!

CBS.com: It's not a straight horror flick?
ALEXIS THORPE: It's got elements of that, too, but it's not very gruesome. You don't see the fangs and we don't fly, but it's not the cliche vampire [movie]. The vampires are hot, [with] great clothes, great makeup....

CBS.com: Will you continue to pursue feature work?
ALEXIS THORPE: Definitely. Right now, I'm happy where I am. It's nice to be in town and to know that I can be at work in ten minutes and be able to come back to my place and play with my dog. It's just good to be around and not have to worry about leaving for a few months.

CBS.com: What do you do during your free time?
ALEXIS THORPE: Well, I got a puppy about a month ago, so right now I'm playing mom. He's really sweet. He's a little Maltese and he's so tiny. I was really worried about him for a few weeks because I thought I was going to crush him. Now he's getting fat, so I love it. You never realize that having animals is like being a parent. I had a cat already and to bring the two together and having them get along and cleaning up after them, it's a full-time job. Besides them, I still have really close relationships with my friends from Yorba Linda. Thankfully, we're not too far away. Between them coming up here and me going down there, we hang out all the time. As far as hobbies, I love rock climbing, anything outdoors. I was the oldest, so I was kind of the tomboy until my brother was born.

CBS.com: Is he your only sibling?
ALEXIS THORPE: No, there are four of us. It's really nice. What's nice about it is that they are all still really young. My youngest sister is twelve, no matter what's going on in my day or what I think is so important here, I'll go home and the biggest issue is that my little sister wants Ranch dressing and my little brother wants Italian and it's just drama. [Laughs]

CBS.com: That must have helped keep you so grounded.
ALEXIS THORPE: It really does because you realize that there are so many other things to deal with and many more issues that are worthy of your time and effort.

CBS.com: Are any of your brothers or sisters actors?
ALEXIS THORPE: No. Not at all. My dad had a computer company for twenty-two years. My mom is a nurse. My sister, she just turned nineteen, she's pursuing a vet career. She's in college. My little brother is fourteen and he's six foot five. Needless to say, he's a basketball player and a good one at that. Then my baby sister, she's twelve. She says, right now, that she wants to be a writer. She's always winning all these creative writing story contests. Good family. I'm very blessed.