Amanda Noret – Menacing Madison

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

A. I just finished filming a movie this summer in Austin, Texas and it is called The Insatiable. It’s supposed to be released some time around Valentine’s Day. It is a twisted love triangle between this guy who is kind of a loner and his flirty neighbor “Cindy,” who I played, and a vampire. It’s a horror film and it was starring Sean Patrick Flannery and it was directed by Cary Solomon and Chuck Konzelman and it’s wonderful. I had such a great time working on it! That’s basically the big thing that should be coming out for me in my future.
Q. What can you tell us about your character “Cindy”?
A. She lives just down the hallway from the main character, played by Sean Patrick Flannery. She starts out a little bit awkward, which is fun to play, and then she develops what the audience thinks is a crush on him. She is very, very flirty, she loves his attention and she is a little bit lonely I would think. She really loves getting attention from him and she’s also very persistent as to what she wants. She was a very different character from “Madison.”

Q. What made you want to be a part of the film The Insatiable?
A. I read the script and I absolutely fell in love with it. It is a horror film but also it’s mostly about the characters and their relationship together. I just loved what the film was about. It’s kind of about a guy who doesn’t really know much about himself and he’s very, very much a loner. He ends up crossing paths with a vampire and it totally changes his entire life. My character is kind of the light road and the vampire is the dark road and he has to choose between one or the other. The struggle there and also the characters, how they interacted together and the writing. Chuck and Cary, the directors and the writers, their writing is just brilliant, so I couldn’t not do the film. I loved it so much; I was very excited to see what was going to happen.
Q. How was getting to play opposite of Sean Patrick Flannery?
A. It was really a dream to work with him. He was so professional and he knew so much about sets. Everything from camera angles to lighting and he just knew his character inside and out, it was wonderful to watch him work. When I did work with him and I did our scenes together it just felt really natural, we both could play off each other really well. He was really brilliant to watch so I learned a lot from working with him.
Q. Do you have a most memorable moment from filming The Insatiable?
A. There were quite a few memorable moments but, I did have my first on-screen kiss from filming that movie. That is definitely a little bit memorable, it’s kind of nerve-wracking to think that you’re going to have to do that. That was fun and actually the entire filming process of this movie was so much fun. The cast and the crew and everybody were wonderful, I can honestly say the entire thing was pretty memorable. The one scene in particular I was so nervous about it.
Q. Did you have anything to do in order to prepare for the role?
A. For me, I always try as much as I can to get in to the character’s head. Creating a background for her, what isn’t already in the script I try to create myself. I think that is the actor’s job to make the character come to life. I really just did a lot of personal work with her as to where she’s coming from, why she was so persistent in her relationship. Once you finally get on the set and you start working with wardrobe a lot of the pieces of the character start coming together. There are so many different elements to the character and everything from where she lives, what her apartment looks like and the wardrobe, what she wears, it all starts coming together. I did a lot of personal work with her drawing from my life and other people that I know.
Q. Why should viewers take the time to check out this film?
A. It’s going to be released in the theaters around Valentine’s Day, I believe that’s the projected date. The movie is very dark, with the characters there is a dark comedy and horror. It has an Indie feel but it’s also commercial, I think a wide variety of people will enjoy it. I just think the storyline is so different, I think it is definitely something that people are going to want to check out. It’s going to be a cult hit I think.
Q. You’ve been guest starring on the hit show “Veronica Mars” as mean girl “Madison.” What information were you originally given about the character and how have you developed her?
A. I fell in love with the character as soon as I heard who she was. As far as in the show the original information that I was given, I was told that she is Neptune’s mean girl who is “Veronica’s” enemy. She is a cheerleader, an ‘09er which is kind of the elite group of people at the school. I was like, oh my gosh, this is going to be so much fun to play! When I found out that I got the character I was so excited and since then, when I found out I got the character, I was like you know, I know this girl. I met this girl in high school, as I think a lot of us have on some level or another. I think that there is probably a “Madison” in every high school and I went to four different high schools growing up, so I had to encounter her a lot. What I originally started doing was just thinking about the girls that I encountered in high school who were very much like “Madison.” So, I added on that and I was a cheerleader in school and also I did competition cheerleading and stuff like that. In high school being a cheerleader and I grew up in Texas and it was a big deal to be a cheerleader. You do get special things; at least we did, like we got to leave class to paint signs. Stuff like that, which is really funny, so I guess with the uniform and all that you do kind of feel special for the day. I think “Madison” takes that really far and on top of that she has a lot of money and she’s popular. I just took all the experiences that I had and made it even bigger for her. Then, also I learned more about her relationship with “Veronica” and also her family and I got to her character’s mother. When you get all this added information you just start building on the character. She’s definitely so much fun to play.
Q. We only got a small glimpse of “Madison” last season. Will we get to know more about her now that season two is running?
A. I just finished filming an episode on “Veronica Mars” for this season so “Madison” the bitch is definitely back. I’m really, really excited about that and she does change, she’s definitely growing. She’s out of high school now, she graduated and now she’s a college student so she has a little bit of a different air about her. She still is the same old “Madison,” just a little bit more grown up. We will definitely get to learn a bit more about her. I think that the episode that I filmed should be airing next Wednesday, I believe that’s the 16th of November.
Q. What are some of your passions besides acting?
A. I’ve been singing my entire life, everything from doing musicals on stage and also writing my own music, I play the guitar. I love doing that, I love that, it’s something that I’ve been getting in to even more lately as far as performing with a band. I’m in a band and we should have some gigs and shows coming up soon and so I’m really excited about that. I’m a big fan of music in general, I love the theater, I have an amazing dog that I love taking on walks. I got her about two years ago and she’s just been such a joy in my life. Right now that has been pretty much what is going on with me, I just moved so I am really into redecorating right now and painting. I had no idea how much fun it is to paint walls!
Q. What is your latest obsession? Are you into any particular book, sport, music group or activity?
A. I love sports, I love football and all that but I don’t have my TV set up right now because I just moved. I’ve been missing a lot of games but I’m in to knitting and I love making shawls and scarves and all of that. I make scarves for my dog, I have a Boxer so I make her some custom scarves and like I said I’ve been into decorating my new place. I am decorating my place like Retro meets Bohemian and so going out I’m looking for a really comfortable couch right now. That is my latest endeavor.
Q. You mentioned you’re a part of a band. What genre of music does the band play?
A. We write our own music so we have a bunch of different backgrounds coming together, which I love. I grew up in Texas so I listen to country music and then I was also a huge fan of classic rock and movies like singer/songwriters, music from the sixties and seventies and also I’m a huge fan of just fun music. Gwen Stefani and getting my groove on to some fun music out on the dance floor, I love dancing. Putting all of that together and also some of my band members are really into rock. It’s great to put everything together and we’ve made the kind of music, it’s like rock and roll with the instruments, good guitar riffs. It has a pop hook so it’s just fun, fun to listen to, so it’s great. I’m really excited about being back on the stage and singing and performing and dancing around the stage again.
Q. What would you like to say to your fans and supporters?
A. I haven’t had much of a chance to meet my fans face to face until recently. I did a DVD signing down in San Diego for “Veronica Mars.” So many people turned out for the signing and to meet the cast and a couple of people actually came up to me and said that “Madison” was their favorite character. Honestly, I just felt so lucky, I feel so lucky and grateful. To all of the fans I’d just like to say thank you and I know I can speak on behalf of everyone by saying that we all appreciate your support, we appreciate you checking out the show and thank you for continuing to watch it.