Allie Grant – A Budding Career

Q.  What are some of the recent projects that you’ve been working on?

A.  I just wrapped up season two of “Weeds” and I shot a film called Fanboy and it should be released some time during 2007.  Kevin Spacey is one of the producers of the film.  Basically, the second season of “Weeds” has been my primary project.  I also have an episode of “The Suite Life of Zack and Cody” coming out this Friday at 8 p.m./7p.m. Central on The Disney Channel.

Q.  Season two of the show “Weeds” will be coming out shortly.  What can we expect to see this season with your character?

A.  You can expect a lot of twists and turns with my character.  There will be a lot of revenge on her mom this season and actually things with my mom come to a turning point.  It either gets worse, or it gets better.  I can’t really tell you, but things definitely come to a turning point.  A lot craziness happens with my family, but it’s primarily Isabelle getting a lot of revenge on her mom in a way that I don’t think anyone could have predicted.

Q.  Since “Weeds” is such an adult show, what made you want to be a part of it?

A.  Well, when I got the script my dad read over it and he said, “Allie, this is going to be a really great show.”  I said, “Really, you think so?” and he said, “Yeah!”  So, then he told me to read my part and when I read it I said, “Yeah!”  It kind of gave me an overview of what it was about.  I was like, “This is so fresh, it’s such a new idea, it’s never been done before.”  People couldn’t say it was just like this movie or this TV show.  It was a brand new concept that people can’t get tired of because it’s always a to be continued on it.  It just seemed like a really great idea that I wanted to be a part of.

Q.  How is it getting to star opposite Elizabeth Perkins?

A.  It’s amazing, Elizabeth Perkins is probably one of the best actresses I have ever worked with.  She’s just so amazing, she just handles herself so well.  She comes in and she’s completely prepared and focused.  She is there to work and yet she still is there to have fun and do what she loves.  It’s really fantastic to work with someone like that.

Q.  We were so excited when Mary Louise Parker won the Golden Globe for the show.

A.  Me too!  I was really proud for the show because it was its first season.  It’s really rare that something like that comes along.  Something like a Golden Globe coming along to a show that is new.

Q.  What do you think about the chance for the Emmy Awards?

A.  I think Elizabeth Perkins will win, it’s really amazing.  Craig Ziff is nominated, he’s the director of most of our episodes this coming season.  I think it’s amazing, he’s such a great director.  He’s probably my favorite that I’ve ever worked with, one of my favorites.  Elizabeth is so great and everyone is.  I hope we win, but of course I’m a little prejudice.  I feel like we will and it’s an amazing group of people who are all very talented.

Q.  You mentioned working on the show “The Suite Life of Zack and Cody,” do you have a most memorable moment from filming?

A.  Probably the episode that’s airing on Friday.  It was so much fun because one of the scenes was a fight scene during a play.  It was so fun because we were all hitting each other with props and tearing up the set.  I felt so bad about doing it because I knew someone was going to have to come and clean it up.  We just had a lot of fun that episode!  I made a lot of friends from that episode that I keep in touch with today and that was about a year ago.

Q.  You also talked about the film Fanboy.  What can you tell us about the premise of the movie and about your character?

A.  The film is about these four friends and one of them is dying.  They are huge Star Wars fans so they travel cross country to break into the Skywalker Ranch, it’s their dying friend’s wish.  I am one of the people they meet along the way, I play Kimmy.   She is a girl that one of the boys met online in one of the Star Wars chat rooms.  I made him think I was this tall, beautiful mix between Jeanine Garofalo and Sarah Michelle Gellar.  I told him that I am this beautiful girl who is twenty-five.  He meets me in Texas.  I have really curly hair and they straightened out my hair and gave me really bag clothes that made me look super heavy.  So, he met me and it was so funny.  He was like, “Oh my gosh I’m a child molester, I’m a pedophile.”  But, my character is Kimmy and it wasn’t a huge role in the film.

Q.  Why should viewers take the time to check out the film?

A.  They should because it’s a very new idea, if you’re a Star Wars fan then it’s definitely for you.  All of the information on Star Wars is incredibly accurate.  It’s very funny, but it’s very real.  The storyline is very real, one friend is dying.  All of his best friends during the road trip think it could be their last laugh together and their last road trip together.  I think that a lot of people can relate to that, everyone has lost someone that they love.  It’s a really sweet movie and when you leave the movie theater you’ll feel like it was a really good movie and it was fun to watch.

Q.  You do a lot of comedic roles, is comedy something that comes naturally to you?

A.  I don’t really know, I have a lot of funny people in my family.  I try to mock them the best I can.  Ever since I was little I would always try to pick up different accents and watch different things and mimic it.  I guess it just kind of comes easily.  I read something and I think, “What would make this funny to me?  If I was listening to this how would I think it was funny?”  So, I would just do it the way I would think it would be funny and I guess it appeals to other people as well. 

Q.  What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

A.  In my spare time I like to read and I like to play on the computer.  I like doing graphic designs and things like that on the computer.  I like to write, I love to write in my journal.  I like to hang out with my friends, I am still a regular kid.  I am near my friend’s house right now in Mississippi.  I come home for the summer and I just really am a regular kid.  I take dance, my parents try to keep me as grounded as possible.

Q.  Do you have a latest obsession?  Are you into any particular music group, book, sport or activity?

A.  I just finished Pride and Prejudice and I can now officially say, Jane Austen is my favorite author.  I read that and now I’m reading Sense and Sensibility and I am taking dance at The Millennium and that’s very fun.  I’m learning to do the Hip-Hop thing, which I’m not very good at.  I am there for fun and it’s like my exercise. 

Q.  What would you like to say to your fans and supporters?

A.  I would first like to say thank you very much because you can’t have a successful show without viewers.  Thank you very much.  Second of all, I feel very blessed to be a part of the show “Weeds.”  It is incredible and thank you for watching!