You’ve been acting for quite some time. How did you first get your start in the business?
I got my start with my identical, triplet sisters. We had a friend in high school who acted on television. He told his agent about us and they decided to meet us. We booked our first audition, a Nissan Stanza commercial. At the time, I thought of acting as a fun novelty, not a viable career option. Soon after, we met at Disney, who put us under contract to develop a TV series for us, “The Parent Trap 3.” I know now, that by comparison, I had quite an easy entrance into the acting business. I have fond memories of those early days, getting to share in the excitement and thrill of acting for the first time with my two sisters. We were so lucky, and we knew it.
Throughout your career, you’ve done several types of projects that include comedy and drama. Which types of roles do you gravitate to?
I enjoy acting in both comedy and drama, but comedy has my heart, so to speak. I find it thrilling to perform in front of a live audience, as you do when working on a sitcom, and hearing the laughter from the audience sitting a few feet away. It’s terrifying, and yet satisfying at the same time. That said, there are a ton of new dramas out there that are inspiring to me. I would love a chance to be in Season 2 of “Stranger Things” or on a show like “Shameless.” As I get older, there are more and more interesting roles that I can play, so there are a lot of interesting opportunities on the horizon to keep me interested and challenged.
Your newest role is on Amazon’s “The Kicks”. How were you first introduced to the series and what made you want to jump on this opportunity?
I was asked to self-tape my audition and send it into the casting for “The Kicks”. Luckily, they saw something in my audition and asked me back for a callback and, ultimately, a “chemistry read” with the other potential cast regulars. I was attracted to the role of Sharon Burke because I could see this mom was involved, and more of an essential part of the storyline than the parent characters I’d seen on other family shows. Sharon and Tom Burke actually have their own problems and struggles, and the TV kids get to see that they are humans too. This is a unique aspect of this show. Plus, when we read together as the Burke family, we all clicked immediately. As an actor, you know you’re in the “sweet spot “, when it’s easy and you’re not “trying” to act at all. We had chemistry from day one.
As mentioned, you play the role of Sharon Burke. What more can you tell us about Sharon and what do you enjoy most about bringing her character to life?
I like that Sharon is struggling with re-entering the workforce, as well as trying to be an “A+” mom, just like many moms today. She’s the “head cheerleader” for her family, including her slightly neurotic husband. But, she is also struggling underneath with being lonely, after the family’s cross-country move and attempting to launch a new event planning business. She’s layered, and that is always fun to play. She’s a little too idealistic and quite naive, in thinking that starting a new company would be “a cinch” in Southern California. All of the Burke family characters have their unique struggles, and must ultimately lean on each other, which is not only sweet but also very realistic at the same time. I’m a parent in real life, and let me tell you, I’m working and also trying to be the best parent I can be… just like Sharon Burke.
Even though you make it look very easy, what challenges have you faced working with kids on screen?
The biggest challenge working with kids is the limited time they can work on set. Often, we’d shoot the “master” (the wide angle of a scene) and go in for the close ups on the kids, skipping my close up. We’d continue to shoot the various scenes of the day like this, and only when the kids time was up and they left, we’d go back to those various scenes and shoot my close ups. So, I’m always looking at a piece of tape on the wall, not the actual kids, for my close ups. At the end of the day I needed to be “on”, focused and able to “time travel” all around the script, so to speak. The kids working on this show are extremely professional and very hard workers. They came to set knowing their lines and ready to work. Shooting a TV show is hard work, with the grueling pace of memorizing lines, and early and late nights. But, these kids were total pros!
What can viewers expect to see in this first season?
Each episode stands on its own, but there is also a Season 1 story line that builds over the entire season and culminates in a heart-pounding final episode. There is something for every kind of viewer with “The Kicks”: the athletes and soccer nuts will love the classic “sports movie” action sequences and suspense, the kids/tweens/teens will love the girls’ rivalries on the team and the competitions with the boys soccer team. And, the parents will appreciate that the Burke parents are represented and shown having a meaningful presence in the kids’ lives. The themes of hard work, getting along, team work and adjusting to a new school or job, are ones that everyone can relate to. Once kids watch the first episode or so, it’s hard to not keep watching, I promise.
Most of your career, you’ve worked on traditional TV and film projects. How much different is it working on a streaming show?
For the most part, shooting a streaming show is no different then a traditional network show: there are big budgets, amazing directors, creative team, and sought-after actors. The biggest difference is all about Amazon and their unique process. Only Amazon shoots one episode, a pilot, and puts it online for the public to comment on. It’s a very democratic approach to creating content for TV. The public truly gets a say in which shows continue as a series and, lucky for me, the public responded very favorably to “The Kicks”. For me personally, it was great fun to be able to read the online reviews that people took the time to write. Most people had similar comments too; that they loved seeing a strong female lead on TV, and they found the show to be watchable with the entire family. As a parent of two kids myself, I’m always on the lookout for a show that my family can watch together. I was glad to read that thousands of people out there agreed with me about what makes “The Kicks” a special show.
If you weren’t acting, what career would you be pursuing now?
I always figured I’d be a teacher and/or a writer. I was always writing some sort of creative fiction since the third grade, and I was an English major in college. Acting, kind of “found me” though, when I was 16 years old. When I’m acting and creating a character, I get to tell an individual story, which is a similar process to writing. It’s the creative expression and invention that appeals to me. I have this drive inside of me to share my inner thoughts, feelings, emotions with the wider world. I’m lucky that I knew one person who was able to introduce me into the entertainment industry. I only knew one person, but that was all it took.
When it comes to fashion, what designers fit your sense of style?
I adore fashion! I find myself attracted to Erdem, Rachel Comey, and Zero Maria-Conejo, as well as Raquel Allegra, Isabel Marant, and Rag and Bone. I guess, I prefer designers that put their own creative spin on the classics. I’d define my personal style as “classic with an unexpected twist.” Not fussy, kinda bold, clean lines, something inventive and fun… but that I could wear to carpool and not be too terribly out of place.
We look forward to seeing how things develop on Amazon’s The Kicks. What other projects do you have coming up?
I’ll be continuing my gig as the spokesperson for AutoNation, by appearing in their television, print and radio campaigns. The best part about my partnership with AutoNation, is their company-wide commitment to curing breast cancer. They even changed their corporate colors to pink in support of the cause! Since my mom currently has Stage 4 breast cancer, this cause is terribly close to my heart. I feel I have a bigger impact in ending breast cancer, by appearing in AutoNation’s annual “Drive Pink” campaigns. At last years’ AutoNation Curebowl, the company was able to present a check for over a million dollars to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. I hope other large corporations in America will follow AutoNations’ lead, and also make substantial impacts with other deserving philanthropic endeavors.
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Photo Courtesy: Sean Armenta