411 Movies Interview: Francia Raisa of The Cutting Edge 3

Posted by Tony Farinella on 04.03.2008

411's Tony Farinella sits down with the young actress for an exclusive interview!

Francia Raisa is definitely an actress to look out for in the future. Even though she's only been acting professionally for a couple of years, she's already made quite an impact in Hollywood. Not only that, but she has a great head on her shoulders, and she knows what's important. In my interview with Francia Raisa, we talked about The Cutting Edge 3, her career, and a whole lot more. I hope you enjoy my interview with Francia Raisa. Photo Credits for the first two pictures of Francia should read as: Photography: Dimitry Loiseau/ DimitryL.com



TONY: How has your life changed since The Cutting Edge 3?

Francia Raisa: You know what? I'm going insane ever since the movie came out. Out of nowhere, my publicist called me, and she's like, "You're in the top 100 on IMDB!" I was like, "What!?" My fans are going crazy, and they're like, "We want autographs!" And then my manager, all of a sudden, is getting phone calls from producers like, "We're really interested in your client, and we wanna talk to her about a future project that we have coming up." And even MGM, they're like, "We have you in mind, we're talking to these people about this movie, and we want you for this role" And I was like, "Are you serious? Are things going this crazy for me right now?" And every day, I have an interview, and I'm going insane right now. (laughs)

TONY: When you were working on this film, did you have any idea that it would catapult your career like this?

Francia Raisa: No ... well, I knew the movie was gonna do good. I mean, when I read the script, I fell in love with it, and I was like, "Anyone that does this is gonna be amazing." So, when I heard that the movie did really good, I was like, "Are you serious? 3.1 million viewers? Are you kidding me?" So, I was excited but really shocked.

TONY: How did you end up getting involved in the film in the first place?

Francia Raisa: Well, coincidentally, I ice-skated nine years ago, and I started doing it again months before I even heard about the film just to get back into it. And I went to Spain to film a movie, and as soon as I got back, I was so jet-lagged, I was tired, and they were like, "Oh, they want to see you for Cutting Edge tomorrow." I was like, "What? OK." So I go in, and I had a horrible reading, but they saw that I could ice skate. So, they called me back in, and I met with them again, and they wanted to see me ice skate. So, I was like, "Oh, I got this in the bag." So I come into the ice rink, I have my own skates, and I'm skating, and they're really impressed with it. Then I'm stressing for a week, not hearing from them and not knowing what's going on, because ABC Family had to approve it, MGM had to approve it. So I'm tripping out, and then finally I heard I got the role, and I was like "Yes!" I mean, I fell in love with the script when I first got it.

TONY: In your career, you have played a number of powerful female characters. And I really admire that about you, because it seems like so female characters are just eye candy with no real purpose whatsoever. Talk to me a little bit about that.

Francia Raisa: That's the type of role that I am aiming for every time I read a script. From the first movie that I did, I inspired many young children just to do cheerleading and just to follow their dream and become a cheerleader. So, every time I accept a film or I look into it, that's the type of role model I'm looking for. Now, for this film, what really interested me in it was the fact that she was a hockey player. Now, you don't see many female hockey players out here. Well, you don't see a lot of females doing sports that are considered for men. And I know a lot of girls do. I remember when I was in high school, this one girl really wanted to play football, but it's technically for men. So, when I got this, I was like, "You know what? It doesn't matter whether you're black, blue, male or female, you can do whatever you want to do." And I know that I've been a huge inspiration as far as that. And not only that, but in my films, I try to show where I'm from, my culture, because I know a lot of teenagers are kind of ashamed of their background, whether they're mixed or from a different race. And I remember getting a letter from a fan of mine saying, "I'm so happy that you spoke Spanish and that you showed your heritage and where you're from, because it showed that you're not ashamed. I'm mixed, and for a while, I was ashamed of who I was, but looking at you, you inspired me, and I'm so proud of where I'm from and I shouldn't be ashamed of it anymore." So I'm so happy that I do this for a living, because that's what I wanna do. So I try to focus on certain roles that do do that for young teenagers especially.

TONY: A lot of your characters also have to be physically fit to play sports and engage in such activities.. For you, personally, how do stay healthy and stay in shape?

Francia Raisa: You know what? My parents killed me when I was growing up. (laughs) Not only did I go to school and I had to get good grades ... they put me through dance classes, karate lessons, ice-skating lessons, I was a cheerleader. I mean, I did everything. So from the time I was five-years-old, I was very active. So my metabolism is just ridiculous. It's so fast; I can eat fries and hamburgers, and it will go nowhere. As far as exercising, I do focus on dancing at least twice a week for an hour, but that's really my only exercise. Other than that, I don't really do anything.



TONY:: As a young actress in Hollywood, is there a certain comfort level when you work with actors around your own age?

Francia Raisa: It is nice to have people my age, but a lot of times in the films that I've done, everybody is older than me, and I'm usually the young one. And they usually make me feel really comfortable. And apparently I don't act as young as I am. I'm only 19, and they're like, "Wow! You're only 19? You act like you're older than that." So I'm like, "Oh, good." So it really doesn't matter. I like it when I do have someone my age, because I have someone to talk to, and they're finishing high school and they can talk to me about that. And everyone else is like, "Oh, that was like five years ago for me." So it is comforting. But it's nice to talk to older people, too, because I learn a lot from them, especially when they've been in the business longer than me. And I just take a lot of advice from them and stuff.

TONY: You mentioned earlier how you have received a lot of positive letters from your fans. Are you ever surprised by the power of cinema?

Francia Raisa: Yeah. I had no idea that Bring It On would make such an impact on little girls. Any movie that I've done, I'm doing this because I love it, and my goal is to make an impact on young kids. When they write to me, I'm like, "Really? Did I really just do this? I thought I'd have to make like twenty movies before this happened." So for them to pay attention to every little detail that I do, something so simple as me speaking Spanish, and for them to pick that up right away, being so young, really shocks me and surprises me. It makes me feel good, and it makes me want to keep doing what I'm doing so I can do that even more.

TONY: How are your three sisters handling all of your success? Are they going along for the ride?

Francia Raisa: Actually, I only have two sisters.

TONY: I'm sorry. Your page on Wikipedia said that you had three.

Francia Raisa: Oh no, it's fine. There's three for us. For some reason, it says online that I have a third sister named Jacquiline. I have no idea who that is.

TONY: Oh, wow, again, I apologize. My research let me down!

Francia Raisa: No, it's OK. They're really just whatever about it, because I'm their sister, and they're not that much younger than me. One is a year and a half younger than me and the other one is five years younger than me. So when people are like, "Oh, my god, I saw your sister on TV," they're like, "Oh, yeah, whatever." But they're doing their own thing. My middle sister is a singer in the Hispanic industry, and she's doing her own thing. And my other one, she's in high school now, so she's enjoying her freshman year, and she's like, "Oh, I'm gonna become a surgeon." So, they're proud of me and they're happy for me and they're always supporting me and watching everything that I do and being there for me when I need them, but they're still like, "Ugh, that's my sister." (laughs)

TONY: How much of what is said about you on the Internet do you pay attention to, and how do you block out the negative message boards and comments?

Francia Raisa: I try not to look on IMDB, because people do say a lot of negative stuff. But I have a couple of times. And they've said some cool stuff and they've made some stuff up, and I'm like "Whatever." People don't know me, I'm not trying to go back to high school, so I just laugh everything off. It doesn't bother me, and it's not gonna stop me from doing anything that I wanna do. A lot of people, I dunno, maybe they're just hating. I mean, everyone's entitled to their opinion, but I don't pay attention to it. I learned a lot in high school that you shouldn't pay attention to rumors or anything that's said about you, because you're gonna do what you wanna do and you're gonna be successful no matter what.

TONY: You mentioned earlier in this interview how you're doing interviews every day. How are you handling the interview process?

Francia Raisa: I started interviewing when I was really little, because my dad was really, really popular in the Hispanic industry. So when I started back then, I was like, "I don't wanna do this anymore! It's too much pressure." But I got used to it, and then lately, because it's about me and not my dad anymore, I love it. It's fun. I have a blast. The last interview I had, we ended up talking about Grey's Anatomy for ten minutes. We were just going off on McDreamy and Meredith and what's going on with them, so I find it fairly easily. I really enjoy it. I have fun with usually everyone that I interview with.



TONY: Did your father ever pull you aside and give you tips on how to handle the industry? Or did you learn from watching him firsthand?

Francia Raisa: I kind of know from watching him firsthand. He's been in this business for a while, and of course something always has to happen. I mean, some shady stuff has happened to him, and those are usually the things that I just pay attention to: People's attitudes and stuff like that .... people who have turned their backs on him. And he has pulled me aside a couple of times and just told me to be careful with every decision that I make. He's always there just making sure that everything's OK with me and that I'm not stressing, I'm calm, because there's no reason to stress when I'm doing what I love to. So he's just there making sure that everything's OK. But I learned a lot just from watching. I try not to have him too involved, because then he'll stress for me.

TONY: How are you handling everything that comes with being a celebrity in the spotlight? Have you gotten used to it yet?

Francia Raisa: Because I grew up with my dad always in that spotlight, I kind of grew used to it, and ever since I can remember, I've felt like I was in the spotlight and people were talking about me all the time. So, right now, it's not really fazing me as much, and I really just learned to laugh things off. I mean, the people that do do that are really young right now, and eventually they'll grow up and be like, "Whatever. It's not a big deal. Why pay attention to it?" I'm sure Hilary Duff went through it a lot, especially from when she went from the transformation to Disney girl to the woman she is now. I mean, I'm sure it's all blown over now, and I have so much respect for her now. So I know that's gonna eventually happen to me, and I'm not worried about it. I think I'm gonna laugh it off or talk to the paparazzi and be like, "Hey, what's up? My day is cool. Nice to see you." I don't know why celebrities just can't talk to them. I'm like, "They're the ones who make you famous. Come on! If it wasn't for them, you'd be complaining." You gotta appreciate it.

TONY: When you first started out in the industry, was it pretty hard to find ethnic roles? I know you've had some success lately with ethnic roles, but what was it like early on?

Francia Raisa: When I first started out in this business, I was like, "Oh, my god, I'm so lucky I speak Spanish." I mean, it was like, "We want Hispanic/Spanish speaking, fluent in Spanish, conversational Spanish required please." And I was like, "Yes, that's me." And then, out of nowhere, as soon I was done with Bring It On, it was gone. It was hard for me to find a role that was for Hispanics only. It was either Caucasian or Black, and I was like, "What is going on with the world right now?" I was actually stressed out for a few months, and I was like, "Am I not gonna work ever again? Do they not love Hispanics anymore? What's going on with the world?" I have had to search a little bit, but things are getting a lot better right now. And I'm happy that I'm able to show my heritage and where I'm from.

TONY: I know you worked with Hayden Panettiere on Bring It On, and she's involved in so many great causes. For you, personally, what kind of charity work do you want to get involved in?

Francia Raisa: I've already been involved in a lot. When I was in middle school, the earthquake for El Salvador happened, and I actually left school for a little bit and went out there and helped out with people. My dad runs a charity, and he raised money to build homes for them and give them food to last a week. And I went out there, I carried bags, I was about 65 pounds back then, and I was carrying this bag that weighed about 40 pounds on my back from home to home, making sure that every house had food to last them a week so they can have energy to work and provide more food for their children. So I was out there for a few weeks just carrying hundreds of bags on my back from home to home and helping out and building these homes for people. And every Christmas, I go back to El Salvador to donate toys to the kids. So we go from church to church or from town to town, who are still trying to build their homes back up. And just recently for Easter, I went over to the L.A. Mission to hand out food to the homeless and the poor. And I was actually there from about 10am to about 1 I believe just handing out food. People were like, "Oh, my god, I can't believe you're still here. People usually leave once the press leaves." And I didn't even see that there was any press.

TONY:: How are your friends handling all of your new success? Are they pretty understanding?

Francia Raisa: Now that we're older, they're more understanding towards it. But when I started, I was a senior in high school and I had to leave school. I got my diploma early and I left school to film Bring It On, and my friends didn't really understand what was going on and why they couldn't see me anymore. So, I actually lost a lot of friends of mine. I remember there was one time I was supposed to go over to a friend's house to watch a movie and I had worked about fourteen hours and I was exhausted, and I fell asleep. So, they were calling me all night, and I didn't hear the phone, because I was knocked out. Then I woke up the next day and called them and they were upset, so I lost my friendship with them. And we were in high school, so they didn't understand the whole process. I mean, I'm from the Valley, and no one in the Valley really knows about the business that much. Now that I'm older and they see what I'm doing and they see how crucial it is, I am friends with them and they have come back into my life and they've apologized for it. But it was hard in the beginning. And, now, they're just more understanding, and they see what I have to go through.

TONY: Finally, what are your plans for the future?

Francia Raisa: I want to do everything. I have a TV show coming up, so I'm focusing on that. I want to do as many movies as I can, and I actually want to have my own clothing line soon. I am a very short girl, and I've noticed that it's very hard for me to find clothes for people my size. So I wanna make a clothing line for people that are my size, like jeans and tops and stuff like that. I wanna have my own cosmetic line, because I'm in love with lip gloss. And, really, I wanna make a charity for dancers, because there are a lot of dancers in this industry who struggle a lot. So I wanna do something for dancers for when they're struggling and they're not working that much, they're able to pay their rent and have food on their table the next day. I mean, I have so many plans for the future that I can't even think of everything. (laughs)