411mania Interviews: The Vampire Diaries' Candice Accola
Posted by Al Norton on 09.10.2009
411's Al Norton sits down for an exclusive interview with Candice Accola, star of the new CW series The Vampire Diaries
You may recognize Candice Accola from guest spots on Supernatural, How I Met Your Mother, or her role in the Oscar winning film Juno. She also toured with Hannah Montana, appearing in the record breaking Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour movie. She currently stars as Caroline Forbes on the new CW series The Vampire Diaries, which premieres tonight at 9 pm.
Al Norton: What did you think when your agent first brought you The Vampire Diaries?
Candice Accola: I was incredibly interested and excited for the opportunity to even audition for the show. I love Kevin Williamson; I grew up watching Dawson's Creek and all the Scream & I Know What You Did Last Summers. And what Julie Plec had done on Kyle XY was just incredible. Also, vampires are also such a fun genre, especially right now with their pop culture status. I was just excited to go in an audition the hell out of it.
Al Norton: What was the process like?
Candice Accola: A lot of auditions (laughing). I auditioned probably four or five times, including testing on camera. It was stressful, and I break out if I get too stressed. I can get blotchy skin and hives, so I was hoping things never got to that point. I think I did ok.
Al Norton: Clearly.
Candice Accola: Right (laughing). It's completely nerve wracking and then completely gratifying when you know that it worked out.
Al Norton: Was there a point in the process where you started to think, "I've got this"?
Candice Accola: I think you kind of have to. I think you have to go in there knowing you can nail the audition. You also have to realize that they know what they are looking for, and if you don't fit into their picture, there's nothing you can do. You can't think, "oh, if I only I were five inches taller." You can't control those things. You go in there thinking, "I've got this, I can do this, I can be Caroline."
Al Norton: Was part of the appeal playing a character who is a bit of a bitch?
Candice Accola: Yes, who doesn't want to play the sassy bitch? When I personally think of Caroline, I think she's more misunderstood than anything else. I think she's aggressive in going after what she wants and some people can construe that as her being a ruthless bitch but that's not how I view her. It is fun to play the bad girl.
Al Norton: How many episodes have you finished?
Candice Accola: We just finished episode 5.
Al Norton: How different is Caroline from who you thought she was when you auditioned for her?
Candice Accola: She's different. When you audition you get these descriptions that are really blunt. "The frenemy who is jealous and catty". But the when you get the script, Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec do such a great job with the writing that none of the characters are stereotypical. They have such great layering and everyone is much more relatable than you might think.
Al Norton: There are people who are grouping the show together with Twilight but with their popularity, it's hardly a bad thing, right?
Candice Accola: I don't think so. Twilight is fun, and they're huge, which is great. My favorite part of the Twilight pop phenomenon is seeing everyone's different interpretation of what a vampire is. Yes, they are dark and mysterious and sexy, and unattainable, but at the same time they are all different; in Twilight they sparking, in True Blood they can't go out in the sun but everyone knows they are around.
In Mystic Falls (the setting for The Vampire Diaries), there skin doesn't sparking, and no one knows they exist in the modern world. And it is the modern world, with teenagers in high school who read books like Twilight. It will be fun for the audience to watch the town discover who these beings are.
Al Norton: If they show hits as big as people are hoping, do you think you will be better prepared for that having done a world tour with Miley Cyrus and seen that kind of hysteria first hand?
Candice Accola: I don't know. She's like a whole icon herself. I was definitely taking notes in how she met people, always with gratitude and being excited. At the time she was 15 and she pretty much hit overnight and always enjoyed it. She always had fun and appreciative. As you get older you forget it's supposed to be fun. That definitely gave me insight to have fun and just appreciate the hell out of it.
Al Norton:Tell me a little bit about Dead Girl.
Candice Accola: Dead Girl was crazy. It was a fun shoot. I had a blast. It was very dark and we got to go to the Toronto Film Festival last year. It was a great experience.
Al Norton: So Dead Girl, Supernatural, and now Vampire Diaries…am I detecting a theme in what interests you?
Candice Accola: I think it's a coincidence. I am not a genre buff by any means. They are all darker but they all are completely different types of genre. I think the only similarity is that people die (laughing). In pretty gnarly ways.
Al Norton: Give me a quick pitch on why people will want to give The Vampire Diaries a shot, especially those who might not think of themselves as the typical viewer for a show like this.
Candice Accola: Because anything can happen, and anything does happen. It's not just "someone might get their heart broken" or "someone might talk behind someone's back", it's "someone might die." And people do die. And you never know who it's going to be. I think that's a very exciting reason to watch.
Don't miss the series premiere of The Vampire Diaries, tonight at 8 pm on The CW
