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What can we expect this season?
There's a lot of new things. Another maybe pregnancy, weddings; there's a lot of confusion as far as in Ben and Amy's relationship; there's a lot of up and downs with Ricky's character and trying to figure out who he is and what he wants. A lot of the characters are going through that stage in high school where you're starting to become a person and in that recognition of who you are there's a lot of confusion and you get scared. And I think a lot of teenagers react in not the best ways and I think the whole next season kind of discovers that and goes into depth of that confusing state of adolescence.
Amy had a personality change after the baby was born. What do you think the writers were trying to do there, was that postpartum depression or was she just overwhelmed?
I think that all teenage girls kind of go through that mean stage where the world revolves around them. I think it's very hormonal and especially after having a child I think that your hormones are all out of whack and it causes a lot of mood swings. So I think they were just trying to portray that life isn't perfect after you have baby, you are going to go through exactly like what you said, post dramatic depression. You're going to go through a lot of things that you wouldn't necessarily go through if you hadn't had a child at 15.
What would you like to see from your character, from Amy going forward?
I'd like to see her grow up a little bit. She's kind of been on the border the last couple of episodes over the last season of making a change; and definitely in the newer season it definitely explores Amy's choice to grow up and to mature in a very optimistic positive way versus living in her pessimistic past. I like it when she gets to smile and I think it's really cool to be able to explore a teenage girls point of view on life. I was there, it's a very hard process to go through as a child, and so I just can't wait to be able to portray that growing up in Amy.
How much input do you have with the character, well now that you've been able to know Amy even more?
As far as like future scenes? Brenda is very open to our opinions, so we can go and be like, "Hey, I really see Amy being powerful in this situation of her life, can we like maybe go with that route or do this?" And most of the time, the writers have their own opinions of the characters, but every now and then it's just like, "Hey, can Amy ...," and they'll be like, "Okay, we can write that in somewhere." Most of the time they're very responsive to our opinions.
How has playing Amy changed your view on like teenage relationships and teen pregnancy?
As far as teenager relationships go, Amy and Ben's relationship like I said is very immature. Not immature in a childish way, but immature in a not super grown up way. And I think a lot of high school relationships are like that. I've had a couple of those where you're in the moment and you think that he could be the one and everything's fine and then two weeks later he does something stupid and you're like, okay, next.
It just kind of showed me that high school is really like a game board almost. You’re kind of going through each different aspect of your life and you're testing the waters. And I think it's a really fun, exciting time, but I also think you have to be careful, and that kind of showed me, when you're in the moment, it could seem one way, but when you look at the big picture from afar, it's completely different. So I guess to just open your eyes and look outside the box.
And then as far as teenage pregnancy, I don't think it's a controversial thing. I had two kids from my senior class. One of them is a dad now, one of them is a mom now, in two different situations, and it's kind of bizarre to know that I've grown up with these people. I've gone to elementary school, middle school, and high school with them, and now they're parents at my age. It's bazaar to think that it actually happens in real life and it's not just a show. So when that happened to those kids at my school, it kind of opened my eyes to the fact that this is a real life situation, and not only am I just like playing a character, I'm playing thousands of characters that have to go through this emotional turmoil every single day of their lives, for the rest of their lives.
I think just be strong and talk to people, communicate. The more you communicate, the more love you're going accept into your body, and I think that is the only way to kind of cope with situations like that.
What would you say that you've learned about life as a teen mom role while being on the show?
I learned that it is probably one of the toughest things you could ever take on in the world. I was fortunate enough to never have to go through that, but I cannot imagine actually living as a teenage mom. I can't imagine having just even the silly little things they have to do everyday like change the diapers and heat the milk bottle. The things you never think about, but really take a toll on the mother; and to just be a teenager myself and to know all the dreams and ambitions that I have for my life.
I was talking about this with one of my good friends the other day actually how crazy would it be to have to give up our dreams for the child. I think that it's very scary and wonderful at the same time and I'm just glad I never had to go through it. But the teenage mothers that do take on motherhood at a very early age, kudos to them, because that is not an easy task.
Is there anything that sticks out that's really difficult about teen parenting that you really wanted to portray right on camera, study, or research?
Not so much like study or research, but I guess the whole thing that stuck out to me as being the most difficult is giving up your life for the child. All the physical things of holding the baby, you hear the baby crying, and all that, that's something that it's not easy to handle, but you can manage. But to give up your own personal life for the baby, if you wanted to go travel the world, you couldn't do that with a child, because you couldn't bring a child with you to half the places you wanted to go to. I think just being selfless and giving up your world for the child, that's probably the most difficult thing I can think of.
How do you see your relationship with Ricky evolve in this season?
Amy and Ricky have a very interesting relationship just in the event that Amy knows he is not a good boyfriend, but she knows that he is an amazing father. Ricky knows that Amy is not the girl he wants to be with, but he knows that she is the mother of his baby. So they're always going to have that secret connection of family. They're their own family now. Each episode, Ricky I think is the only person Amy can one hundred percent feel like she can tell him anything and know that a rumor won't get started. She knows her secrets are safe with him and vice versa. I don't know, we'll see what happens with them. As of right now, they've kind of still just remained friends, but you never know.
Do you have a relationship that you're rooting for with Ben or Ricky or maybe someone else that we haven't seen yet?
In the new season, there's another guy that comes into the picture. I think that Ben and Amy aren't a good match, just for the fact that Ben has a lot of growing up to do and Amy has a lot of growing up to do. And it always seemed to me that their relationship kind of stemmed from, he said he loves me, so I love him too, versus actually going into depth about why they love each other. I think they kind of realize that in the last season.
I think that they have the potential to be an amazing couple, but I think at this point they need to figure out who they are themselves before they can be happy with each other. I think Amy and Ricky have a lot in common, but I think that will always kind of be the teaser. Ricky is just not responsible enough to be a boyfriend in my opinion yet.
If you had to choose in real life who would you pick to end up with Ricky or Ben?
That's difficult. I definitely don't think I would want to be with Ben, just for the fact of I think Ben is kind of a little bit too pushy of a boyfriend, but I also wouldn't want to be with Ricky because he's so irresponsible. I guess I would choose Ricky, because there's just something intriguing to me about his character, something where you know he has a good heart and you know one day his good heart will show, but right now he's nowhere near that. It's a very tricky question.
What do you and the cast do for fun especially on the tough days of filming?
When all the cast works we bring guitars and - a lot of the guys play - and we'll all kind of like sit around and make up stupid songs about each other, or someone will bring their computer and we'll go on YouTube for hours and just laugh hysterically.
We all get along really well. It's a very comfortable set. It's really neat to be able to have a physical scene and then afterwards go out and be comfortable around the person enough to share your own personal stories and stuff. So it's kind of like high school all over again without the drama.
How is it working with the boys that play your son?
They're great. They're one and a half year old boys, so they have their moments, but most of the time they're just complete angels. It's so cute. I'll always go in there every time we film together, about an hour before we actually start filming just to bond with them, and so they can get comfortable around me, and their smiles, they're just like normal little kids. And it's such an interesting dynamic to watch a one year old be put in a room with cameras and lights and microphones and people everywhere and watch them stay quiet and stay professional I guess you could say. It's really interesting to me how a baby could do that.
If you could have anybody guest star or direct or just help in the show in anyway, who would you like to see be involved in the future?
Oh man, that's a tough one. Obviously, who wouldn't say Meryl Streep? I don't know, I think there's a lot of amazingly talented people out there and I think there's a lot of actors who haven't even really done a lot, who've only maybe done a couple of things, but who are truly incredibly talented. Anyone who just brings forth commitment, I think that's the most important thing. I'm always happy to meet new people and see their amazing talent.
ABC Family has this wonderful network of shows that have such incredible casts and incredible story lines, are you friendly with a lot of the other cast members from some of the other shows like Make It or Break It or Greek?
Honestly, I haven't met many of them that many times, but in the couple times that we did, of course everyone is so friendly and so open to each other. And it's cool every time we see someone from 10 Things I Hate About You, I'll go up to them and we'll be talking, to like Megan for instance, and they'll just say, "My other part of my family." We always joke around with the whole new kind of family thing, ABC Family. It's really cool. Even though we're not close and we hardly know each other, we're very open with each other.
Since the show was so controversial in the beginning, how do you see what type of impact it's made?
Honestly, when little girls come up to us and say how they feel about the show, it's always like, "Ah, Ricky is so hot, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah." But they're really amazing. Feedback that we've got from parents who have come up to us and said like, "Wow, this shows opened such incredible avenues for me and my children to communicate."
I grew up in a very open household where if I had a question about anything, I could ask my parents, and they would answer me truthfully and not hold anything back. I think that really helped me as a child know exactly what everything was. I had a lot of friends who couldn't talk to their parents, so they would ask their peers information about guys and that whole situation and make mistakes because they didn't know the true facts.
I think it's really incredible that parents have been able to say that they have watched the show with their children and then been able to talk about how certain things happen and why they happen and kind of go through all that and be comfortable around their children. And that's really inspiring to me to just know that we've opened up communication in households that might have not necessarily talked about it before.
Have many of the fans that are teen moms or pregnant given you their thoughts or feelings about the show?
Honestly, I haven't met as many teenage parents as I have met parents who are now like in their 40s or 30s even, but were pregnant as teenagers; and pretty much their feedback is just like, "Wow, the show brings me back to my days of confusion and torment and putting myself down for doing such a thing as a teenager; and I think it's really great how you kind of opened this up into current day 2009's teenager world and showed them the consequences of having fun per se without being careful about it."
What TV shows that are on right now do you enjoy?
Honestly, I don't watch a lot of TV, and the little TV that I do watch....I like the reality shows that you're not supposed to watch, but I'm a huge fan of Top Chef and Project Runway. And then as far as actual script written television, there's a couple shows that I kind of bounce back and forth each time. I'm kind of obsessed with Glee, I must say. I watch every episode of Glee, I love it. It's fantastic. It warms your heart. And it's a good social show too that you watch it with your friends. Other than that, I'm kind of more of a movie girl.
If you could guest star on any TV show right now, what would it be?
I would have to say Glee.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
I would love to be in New York going to NYU. I want to get a degree in Psychology and Interior Design. I have two randomly different things, but I find both of them very interesting and intriguing, so hopefully that's what I'll be able to do.
The Secret Life of the American Teenager on ABC Family airs Mondays at 8/7c.
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