411 Movies Interview: Chelsea Staub of Bratz Posted by Tony Farinella on 11.28.2007
411's Tony Farinella sits down with Chelsea Staub of Bratz!
Everybody loves the bad girl, right? RIGHT? Well, I love the bad girl! That being said, Chelsea Staub is one sweet young lady. Even though she plays the evil Meredith in Bratz, she's polite, cordial, and friendly on the telephone during our interview. Sorry to ruin anyone's image of her! In my interview with Chelsea Staub, we talked about her time on Bratz and what it was like playing Meredith, the spoiled girl who battles the Bratz in the film. Bratz is now out on DVD.
TONY: What's it been like being a part of the Bratz franchise?
Chelsea Staub: You know, it's awesome. I feel very lucky just to even be involved in this. As an actress, this was my first movie. It was my first big role. It's always a big step for a director and producers to take a chance on someone who doesn't have a lot of credits. And that's with a small indie movie. I mean, people are always second-guessing someone that hasn't had a lot of work. So, for someone to give me this huge role to play Meredith in a movie that already has millions of fans, it was a leap of faith. The pressure was definitely on, because it's not like, "Oh, I hope people go see this" and no one knows anything about it. I mean, I can walk around anyone and be like, "Oh, I'm gonna be in the Bratz movie," and people will be like, "Oh, wow. The dolls?" It already has a fan base and people know of it. So, that was cool to be working on something where you know people are gonna go see it, because they already love them.
TONY: What was it like getting a chance to play such a juicy character? Was it a lot of fun?
Chelsea Staub: Yes. (laughs) Yes. Yes. Absolutely. Meredith was my favorite character that I've ever played. I've done a lot of shows and I've done other roles since then, but to be able to be so mean and get away with murder, pretty much on set every day, it was just a blast. She was so much fun.
TONY: Did you try and model Meredith after anyone in particular? Did you use anyone as inspiration for this character?
Chelsea Staub: Oh, definitely. I probably shouldn't name names, but I think everyone has those girls in school or those people in their life that are just so mean and you don't know how they sleep at night. (laughs) Or how they can say the things that they do and get away with the things that they do and not feel bad about it. There were definitely girls that I've grown up with that I modeled her after, and plus, it's funny, because my friends back home make fun of me because I was student body president at my school when I went to school in Arizona, so to be able to play student body president in a film was great. And then I just kind of took that to the next level. Like the stuff that I wish I could have done at school or the stuff I wish I could have gotten away with, I get to do it with Meredith and get paid for it. So, it was great. (laughs)
TONY: It's interesting, because I've talked to so many actors and actresses who have said the same thing. They really, really enjoy playing the bad guy or the bad girl. Why is it so enjoyable?
Chelsea Staub: I think when you're playing a role where you know you're not being yourself, I don't know how to describe it, except it's more fun to kind of have this out of body experience. And you know you're not yourself, and you really get to transform into someone else. I feel like when you play a nice girl or quote-unquote a real girl, people are seeing you. I mean, as a person, that's probably how you really act in real life. But when you're playing someone like Meredith, you can do whatever you want. I mean, you can even talk a different way. Look, I even talked a different way in the movie. Right now I have a cold so you probably can't hear it, but I tried to make my voice like an annoying valley girl type voice. You can really just go all out: the stuff with the dog, the outfits. There's a lot more to play with if you're playing a character as opposed to just trying to be real.
TONY: Your father in Bratz is played by the legendary Jon Voight. What was it like working with him? I interviewed Rachael Taylor from Transformers, and she spoke very highly of him.
Chelsea Staub: Jon Voight is amazing. I learned so much from Jon. The first time I met Jon, I didn't know I was meeting Jon that day. One of the producers called me and said, "Come on down to the office. We want you to meet the guy who's gonna play your dad. We just want you guys to meet each other, and we wanna see you next to each other." So, I was like, "Sure." So, I'm in sweatpants and just hanging out, and I run down to the offices and it's just Jon Voight sitting right there. And he was so cool. He was like, "Let's go talk about our characters." And I think we sat in his office for about two hours and just talked about different ideas that we had and our relationship as the characters, and we just sat there and kind of got to know each other. He's so amazing, and he's such a big help on set. He really wants to help with your lines or rewrites or what could we do to make this better. I thought he was such an inspiration on set and to work with an Oscar winner on my first movie, it was just like, "Wow." And it was cool, because it was at the same time that Shia Labeouf was coming out in Transformers, so they were interviewing him a lot, and he was saying his coolest experience was working with Jon Voight, because Jon is just really an actor's actor. He tells me movies to watch that will help or what you could do to make it better. So, I was like, "Alright. I know what Shia Labeouf's talking about. Jon Voight is awesome!" So, it was pretty cool to hear that other young actors look up to Jon Voight the same way I did.
TONY: As a young actress, what it's been like promoting this film all over the world? Have you run into any bad apples in the press? I hope not!
Chelsea Staub: Knock on wood, no. (laughs) I've just had a blast. I mean, how cool is this? This kind of crazy lifestyle of traveling, interviews. And I've wanted this for a long time. I started small and doing little shows, and I've always wanted to do this, and it's incredible. I've been able to travel and meet cool people and do my first red carpet. I'm just loving it. I'm in New York City right now and going to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on Thursday. It's cool to just sit back sometimes and be like, "Wow. This is what I wanted, and it's happening."
TONY: You also got a chance to show off some of your Broadway skills in Bratz. Was it fun to show off not only your acting chops but also some of your other talents?
Chelsea Staub: Oh, my gosh ... it was just unbelievable. I auditioned for Meredith with just a monologue, and it was one of her speeches to the student body. And that was it. That's all I had that told me about Meredith was a one page monologue. And then I got the part, and they sent over the script at about 11:30 at night for an 8am table read the next day. So, the first time I'm reading the script, I know I have to read it out loud in a couple hours for all the producers and all the other actors. And I'm sitting there with the script, and I was like, "This part is huge!" I wasn't expecting it, because I wasn't one of the Bratz. I thought, "Oh, I must just be like a little extra character on the side." And not realizing that I was the villain and I'm the conflict in this script. And then we're at the table read, and they're like, "Oh, by the way, Meredith has a song and dance number." I'm reading this, and I'm like, "Wait. Are you serious?" Now they're telling me, "Oh, yeah. And after the table read and after your wardrobe fitting, we're gonna send you over to a voice rehearsal and some dance classes." It just happened so fast. And it was great to sing and dance in a movie. I couldn't believe it. It was my first time in a recording studio, and it was with Ron Fair, the chairman of Geffen. It was pretty intimidating. The choreographers were great and some of the best in the business. I got to cover just about every form of entertainment.
TONY: What's your most vivid memory from shooting this film?
Chelsea Staub: My most vivid memory? Hmm. That's a good one. There were so many cool things throughout this whole movie. Some of my favorites were my first time meeting Jon Voight. That was pretty big for me. And The Super Sweet Sixteen Party was just probably the craziest week I've ever had in my entire life. The song Fabulous that I perform at my birthday party, I literally learned in two hours. They taught it to me the day before, and I had to shoot it the next day. And I just remember I was staying in a hotel and I was out in the middle of nowhere shooting at this 16 million dollar mansion, and it was so big. So, I'm staying in this hotel, and they gave me these six inch heels that I had to perform in, so I was standing in the bathroom in my pajamas in my six inch high heels practicing my dance number at 3 o'clock in the morning. I think that's my most vivid memory is being exhausted but you gotta get it done.
TONY: As a young actress working in Hollywood, how do you stay grounded? What keeps you on the straight and narrow?
Chelsea Staub: It's pretty cool to be in such big films. I've been lucky, since I've done Bratz, I've done another film with Disney and a TV show that's coming out with Disney. But I really haven't gotten sucked into the Hollywood lifestyle. Nobody knows me, nobody knows who I am, and nobody cares. (laughs) I have a really great family. We're really tight. So, usually when I'm not working, I take advantage of the down time. Like right now, my mom's 50th birthday is this week, and she's always wanted to see The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, so it was like, "Let's go!" And that's the stuff that keeps me grounded is just staying close to my family and the friends that I've had for years that wouldn't ever let me kind of become a Hollywood girl. They wouldn't allow it. But I really haven't gotten sucked into that Hollywood lifestyle, because no one really recognizes me. (laughs)
TONY: In terms of female actresses, who do you look up to?
Chelsea Staub: I've always been a huge fan of female comedians, beautiful women that can make fun of themselves. I think that's awesome. I love Goldie Hawn, I love Kate Hudson, Jennifer Aniston. Let's see. Who else? I love Debra Messing. You know, I just love female comedians. They're my favorite.
TONY: When you're not acting, what do you do for fun?
Chelsea Staub: I live in Los Angeles, I've been there about three years, four years, and I love just kind of running around L.A., going to museums and hanging out with friends. I'm big into friends. I have three really close girlfriends. If you're ever gonna find me anywhere, it's probably at the Arclight Theatre. I'm always at the Arclight Theatre seeing movies. I love going to the beach, and I also love painting. And I just got my first apartment, my very own apartment. My favorite thing lately has been decorating that. It's the first time I bought a couch and a bed and furniture. So, it's been awesome decorating. I love fixing up my apartment.
TONY: You mentioned earlier in this interview how you're extremely close with three of your friends. In Bratz, we see how it's difficult sometimes to stay in touch with everyone and how you sometimes drift apart. How do you make sure you don't lose touch with your friends? I mean, at the moment, you're very busy with the movie industry.
Chelsea Staub: Right. You know, it's tough. I met these girls, I've had these friends for a long time, and when I first started working and traveling, we did lose touch. You stop calling as much, or you don't see each other as much. I think once we got back into touch and I was back in L.A. and finished working, you kind of realize how you have to work to keep your friendships alive. They don't just hang around, and people move on in their lives. I think a lot of people, when I would go away, thought that everyone else was just frozen in time and when I came back, we would pick up right where we left off. So, I think the lesson I've learned is that I work really hard to keep my friendships going. We talk on the phone when I'm out of town. I mean, I have great girlfriends. I was in Utah when I was shooting Minutemen right when Bratz came out, so when all the crazy hype was going on in L.A. for Bratz, I was in the middle of nowhere in Utah. And I just remember my girlfriends sent me this big care package, because they had all gone to see the movie, and they took pictures of themselves in front of the poster, and they were handing out pins at the theater and one of them had my face on it. So, they sent me a pin, and they would write letters. I think when you find those people, you have to fight to hang onto them, because they're rare and they're amazing.
TONY: Since you were the bad girl in Bratz, have you heard from a lot of Bratz fans who have been upset with you? I know it's only a movie, but sometimes people really get into it. What's that been like?
Chelsea Staub: I feel pretty lucky that actually the opposite has happened. People love Meredith. (laughs) When I first read the script and I saw that I was the bad girl, even though it's exciting, it was like, "Wow. If I do my job right, people are supposed to hate me." I mean, if I play this role how I'm supposed to, people are gonna walk out of the theater going, "Ugh. I hated that Meredith girl." So, I didn't want anyone to hate me, and I didn't wanna walk down the street and have people throw stuff at me because of what I did to the Bratz. But I've been lucky in the sense where a couple of girls came up to me the other day and started singing All About Me. And it was like, "Oh, cool. They know my song. They really love the character."
TONY: Did you ever feel left out on set? Again, I know it's only a movie, but you're supposed to be against the Bratz. Did it ever feel weird interacting with them? How did you balance that?
Chelsea Staub: We were all really close. You know, after the first table read, Nathalia, who plays Yasmin, had us all over for dinner, and it was kind of a getting-to-know-you party. I remember Nathalia's mom leaning over to her and saying, "I can't believe you invited her. Isn't she really mean?" Because at the table read, I was so mean and so evil, and her parents were afraid I was gonna be this horrible girl when they met me. So, that was kind of funny. And we got really close, and we had a great time, because we were friends off set, and then I'd get to go on stage and be horrible to them. And then when they'd call "cut," we'd run over to hug, and I'd be like, "I'm so sorry! I love you." But we became really good friends, which is rare when you have five girls on set. I think people were a little worried about that. I mean, you have five girls, two boys, and a lot of make-up. It could have easily been a huge diva session, but it wasn't at all.
TONY: Finally, what are your plans for the future?
Chelsea Staub: Well, I just finished shooting Minutemen, which is a Disney Channel Original Movie that will be on in January of 2008, and I also did a new pilot called Jonas with The Disney Channel and that's with The Jonas Brothers. And that will be coming out, if the writers' strike ends, in June of next year. So, that will be a weekly series, which I'm really excited about. So, I'll be doing that for a couple of years, actually, about three years I'll be working on that. I'm still auditioning and still working hard for roles.
TONY: Thanks for your time. It was great talking to you, and I hope you feel better.
Chelsea Staub: Oh, thank you so much. I really appreciate it. Nice talking to you.
