411 Movies Interview: Larisa Oleynik of The Secret World of Alex Mack Posted by Tony Farinella on 09.26.2007
411's Tony Farinella interviews Alex Mack (Larisa Oleynik) to talk about her show finally being released on DVD!
Larisa Oleynik is one happy camper. In fact, during our interview, she laughs quite a bit and appears to not have a care in the world. She knows how to have a good time without going overboard. In fact, she's a lot like her character Alex Mack from the hit show The Secret World of Alex Mack. With Season One of the show about to be released on DVD, I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Larisa to talk about the show, her career, and a whole lot more. For all of you Alex Mack fans out there, Season One of the show will be released on DVD on October 2nd, 2007.
TONY: You've had a chance now to see The Secret World of Alex Mack on DVD with this big DVD release. What goes through your head when you watch the show today?
LARISA: I don't have an advanced copy or anything.
TONY: You don't? That's terrible. We gotta get you a copy.
LARISA: I actually would love one! I actually have not had the chance to watch it yet.
TONY: I'm sorry to hear that.
LARISA: But I am looking forward to it. I don't think it will be too cringe-inducing, considering that I was, like, 14. I don't think there's going to be anything that I'm like, "Oh, I could have given a little bit more in that scene." I am excited about it, and I know that some other people are excited about it, too.
TONY: When you first got the part of Alex Mack, how did your life change?
LARISA: It was all just very surreal. It was so much fun, ya know? It was so much fun, especially because it was Nickelodeon and it didn't feel like I was all of a sudden swept up into this adult working world or anything like that. I just really, really had a blast doing it. But it was a little bit shocking to be all of a sudden feeling a little bit different from my peers. That was the one thing that was just kind of weird. I remember going to meet with my friends from school or something, and all of a sudden people were paying attention to me. That was a very strange thing to experience at 13. But I think I turned out alright!
TONY: Season One of Alex Mack features the television debut of Jessica Alba. What do you remember about working with her, and did you see the potential in her?
LARISA: She has always been a very pretty girl. She looked then at 14 like she does now. I think more than anything I was just really jealous that she already had a spread in Seventeen magazine. That was the main thing. I was like, "Oh, man. She's a teen model!" I think that poor Jessica in half of the episodes that she was in ... She was supposed to be the bad girl character, even though she's very pleasant in real life, so they were constantly doing all these horrible things to her. There was one episode where she somehow got food all over her. I think there's one episode where her dress had to fly up or something. She was a good sport. She was a lot of fun to work with, as was everyone.
TONY: Alex Mack was really a role model for young girls to look up to, because she tried to do the right thing. Do you think we're lacking female role models in today's TV world?
LARISA: I can't really make the comparison, because, obviously, I watch TV differently now than I did then. I was a really big fan of Clarissa, which really paved the way for our show. Absolutely. If it hadn't been for that show, who knows how accepting people would have been to a female lead. Also, at that time, there was Blossom, which was a great show. And then My So Called Life came out. So, I know that I was really lucky to have those shows. But I didn't feel like I was being condescended to in any way. I can't really make the comparison, but I do know that just a couple of months ago before I knew the DVD was coming out, I went and I visited with some relatives in Pennsylvania. And my aunt was telling me, her oldest daughter is like 9, and she was like, "Please, please tell them to get the show out on DVD." So I think she's looking forward to that. Things have definitely changed. It's been 10 years.
TONY: I'm sure it's hard to pick just one episode, but do you have a favorite episode?
LARISA: Oh, my gosh. I don't really have a favorite. I just loved when we got to do real kid things, because we filmed mostly on a sound stage. But I just loved the episodes where we were roller blading. There was one camping episode that was a lot of fun, because we were outside all the time. We got to go hiking and stuff like that. I think I just liked when I got to be outside and active. I do remember one of my favorite episodes was called The Creeper. I think that was Season Three. It's not on the First Season, but hopefully the entire series will be coming out on DVD. It was one of the first times that I was able to have a little perspective and be like, "Ya know. I think the show is really sending out a positive message." It was about Alex befriending someone who was maybe not the most popular kid. I think the show dealt with that and that weird peer pressure about who you're friends with in a kid friendly, but pretty realistic way. I just remember being really proud of that episode in particular.
TONY: How hard was it to say goodbye to the show?
LARISA: It was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. I did it from age 12-16, so I changed a lot, because that's a crazy time period in your life. By the time the show was over, when I was 16, I was really ready to go back to High School. I was a Junior, and I was sick of missing out on dances and yearbook signing day and stuff like that. But when I tried to go back to school, I was like, "Wait a minute. I miss being on set!" Because I really became close with everyone who worked on the show, and we became a family. That was the hardest thing. I definitely missed the routine, even though I hated getting up in the morning. Just the routine of getting there and having breakfast with everyone and then going to see a movie with everyone.
TONY: Is it hard for people to not see you as Alex Mack?
LARISA: It is a strange thing now, because people very much recognize me from it, still, which is bizarre to me. That is just kind of a strange thing, because it was so long ago. I was so close to the character and the character was so close to me, and I was pretty much being myself for four years with these crazy circumstances, of course. But the more the writers got to know me, the more they wrote for me and the more I became comfortable putting my two cents in and saying, "No, I wouldn't say that or I wouldn't do that. I wouldn't wear that." That's kind of who I was for four years, which is even weirder.
TONY: How did you handle being on a hit show at such a young age? Did your parents help you?
LARISA: Yeah, I mean, especially, because it's Nickelodeon. I was very much in bubble. I'm lucky, because they kept me very sheltered and protected. And, also, my mom was with me all the time, so I couldn't get in too much trouble. I didn't really see much of it. I've always been a little naive towards things that are going on around me. Even in college, I went to a really Liberal college, and some of the things that people told me were going on around me, I was like, "Oh, really? I had no idea!" I think that's a good thing. I think I'm able to just block it out. But, like I said, I was very similar to my character. I didn't really feel that pressure, because I just really like doing kind of nerdier things, honestly. I definitely had my fair share of sneaking out of the house or whatever. I can't even imagine what goes on in like Jr. High and High School and even Elementary School. Luckily for me, I wasn't even a part of it. I was sneaking out to go bowling and not to a Hollywood party. I think I was just raised really well. And I have lots of good people around me. And, like I said, I became close with everyone on the set. And they wouldn't let me get into any trouble. I felt like I was kind of cool because I was hanging out with older people, but we were going to the movies.
TONY: In the past couple of years, we've seen a number of really good teen actors and actresses in Hollywood. Out of all the current teen actors, who impresses you the most?
LARISA: Let me think for a second ... It gets so inundated with the bad girls or whatever that the good girls are really under the radar. It's probably because they're working. Obviously, Dakota Fanning, but her little sister, I've seen more stuff that she's been in. She's not even a teenager yet. She's like 10. It's just amazing what kids are capable of and the understanding that kids have, which is why kids make such good actors. There's not all that filter of what people think of you and whether you're cool or whatever. That doesn't get brought in until later. I'm just trying to think ... What did I just see? I just saw a kid's movie that I loved. I'm not going to remember what it is. You know who I'm obsessed with? Little Manhattan. The kid from Little Manhattan.
LARISA: I loved that movie. The actress that's in that was awesome, too. I first saw that movie on a Sunday afternoon with a friend of mine, and we were like, "What is this random movie? Let's rent it." And then we were like, "Oh, my gosh. I think we need to buy this. There we go. There's a good example of teen talent.
TONY: What's your advice to young teen actors on how to stay out of trouble? If someone is reading our interview, what's the best way to stay out of trouble?
LARISA: Here's the thing about that kind of peer pressure: You're told that everyone's doing it or whatever. Not everyone is! That's the thing. There are just as many people who are staying home and hanging out with their parents or going to see movies or going to play softball. You can find those people. It's so hard to do, but just don't let that element affect you.
TONY: You mentioned earlier that you were going to go back to High School, but you got sucked back into the movie world. That said, you did go to College. What was that experience like?
LARISA: I thought I was going to do it, but I didn't really. I was still doing a lot of press. Right after that I did 10 Things I Hate About You, and then I got on 3rd Rock from The Sun. I had the best intentions. I thought I was just going to go and be just a regular kid at school, but it didn't really happen for me, because like I said, I just missed it too much. And it wasn't everything that I thought it was going to be. That's why I really made the decision to take the time off to go to College and just do that for four years and not take any time off in between and not have any distractions and just really have that school experience that I wanted in High School. I'm very grateful for that.
TONY: I always like to ask this question to girls like yourself who have survived in Hollywood without any major problems. When you see girls like Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears and you see all of their problems, what goes through your head? Whose fault do you think it is? Is it self-inflicted, or do you blame the parents?
LARISA: I think it's a combination of everything. I give my parents credit, and I give good parents credit, but I'm not quick to put the blame on parents when things don't go that well. With Britney Spears, that's a completely different level of fame then I can even fathom. I think that's a bigger part of it. It kind of skews your sense of reality, I think. It's so easy to get caught up in that, and especially if you don't have the people around you to ground you. And that constant scrutiny ... I just don't think it's healthy at all. It's gotten so much worse in the past couple of years, and people just have absolutely no privacy, which I think part of it you ask for, but everyone should be able to go to the grocery store. The more those regular everyday routines get taken away from you, the easier it is to forget who you are, really. I really think that's a much larger part of what it is. It's that, and also being addicted to the attention. Whether it's good attention or bad attention and whether they want it or not, it's there. I just think it's really unfortunate, but I think both of those girls, the ones that you mentioned, they're both so talented. I hope that there's an opportunity to shake it off at some point.
TONY: It seems like the media is really everywhere when it comes to covering different celebrities. How do you avoid the negative attention of the media?
LARISA: I had my taste of it enough when I was younger with doing the show. People recognize me, but it's completely different now. I've definitely had enough of a taste of that to know that I didn't like it, honestly. Fame was not what I was after. I had enough of it to be like, "Okay. Being in magazines is really fun, but I don't ever want to have it distract from my everyday life. I did my Junior Year abroad in Italy, and I enjoy that too much. I enjoy my real life too much, but I think there is a way to work. I want to work more and hopefully be doing more high profile things, but I don't want to do it unless I have a balance of a real life. And it's really possible, and there are people who really make it happen for themselves.
TONY: What was it like working on 10 Things I Hate About You?
LARISA: That was great. A lot of us were able to exercise some rebellion, but still have it be safe. Joey and Julia and I were all 17 and our parents were there, they were around, but we were really able to just kind of hang out and do our own thing. We stayed in a hotel, and how much trouble can you actually ...? Well, never mind! (laughs)
TONY: HA!
LARISA: We got to have a lot of fun. I really did feel like we all had a lot of freedom on that shoot. Everyone hung out. I had never experienced that before, where it was all of us. It was Gabrielle Union, Susan May Pratt, Andrew Keegan, David Krumholtz, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Heath Ledger. All of us pretty much hung out all the time. Susan was married, so that was a little bit different. But we went out to dinner and just chatted all night long. It felt like being at camp. We had great conversations. That was definitely one of the best experiences I've had on set, for sure.
TONY: You've performed in movies, musicals, and television in your career. Do you have a certain medium that you enjoy more than the others?
LARISA: I just like my job. (laughs) They all satisfy different parts of me. I wouldn't put one over the other. I just really, really like what I do. I just feel really lucky to have this job. Whatever avenues open up for me, I think I'm pretty much there. Whatever comes along, I'm ready. I just think it's all so much fun. It really is, and I'm constantly learning and exploring and understanding people and the world better. I just want to keep working for a long, long time!
TONY: When a script is sent to you, what do you look for?
LARISA: There's not one thing that I can put my finger on. Generally, I just know right away. It's very infrequently that I turn anything down. The only reason why I would turn something down is if there's something that offends me. I don't want to take my clothes off. Luckily, I haven't had any offers for that! If I think that something's offensive, I won't do it. For the most part, it's about the character. I know right away if I can play the character or not. It just makes sense. Jobs tend to come to me at the exact right time when I'm dealing with the exact same thing that the character is dealing with. I'm exploring something that the script is exploring or whatever. It always seems to match up that way. I've been fortunate as far as that is concerned.
TONY: You've worked with a ton of great actors in your career. What's the best piece of acting advice you've ever received?
LARISA: There's nothing in particular that really sticks with me, but like I said, I always learn something from everyone that I'm working with. Particularly, 3rd Rock, because there were a lot of big time heavy-hitters on the show with John Lithgow and Jane Curtin, people who have been in this business forever. And I just really learned by watching them. I also learned a lot from 10 Things I Hate About You and Larry Miller, who played our dad. I just like being around people who have been in this business forever, because I just glean what I can. I'm usually too shy of a person to ask for specific advice or anything. I just take whatever I can. It's generally more about just being a decent person than it is about being a good actor. That's what I've learned from some of these people who have had multi-decade-long careers. They're some of the nicest people that you'll ever meet. I mean, not nice in a fake way, but just really, really decent good people that are kind to everyone. That's probably what I've learned more than anything.
TONY: What was it like working with Rachel Leigh Cook on The Baby-Sitters Club?
LARISA: That was another movie that we just had so much fun on, because we were 12 or 13, I think. I just thought Rachel was so cool. She was only 2 years older than I was, but there's a big difference between 13 and 15. I just remember thinking that she was the coolest thing ever. Our characters in the movie were step-sisters, so that was a lot of fun. A lot of those girls ...Well, Schuyler Fisk is working. Bre Blair, who played Stacey, I run into her at auditions all the time. It's really fun. How cool is that?
TONY: Finally, what are your plans for the future?
LARISA: I just want to keep working. My life is pretty good right now. I don't have like a 5-year plan or a 10-year plan or anything like that. I just try to let it happen.
