Nikki DeLoach – Luck of the Draw

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

A.  Up until recently I’ve been waiting to hear back from a couple of projects that I unfortunately can’t tell you about.  I would tell the world if I could!  So, over the next couple of weeks I should hear back about if they will work out or not.  Honestly, I’ve just been on hold with “Windfall” waiting to see how it does and what NBC will decide to do with the show.  I haven’t had a lot of TV opportunities with that, but I’m waiting to hear back about a couple of films that I may be doing this year.

Q.  We read that “Windfall” hadn’t gotten picked up.  Is that not true?

A.  Well, I had read that somewhere and I called my manager.  My manager made a couple of calls and found out that it had not been confirmed yet by NBC.  So, I was like, “Oh, okay!”  I guess there were a couple of actors on the show that had spoken to NBC and it had not been confirmed.  We don’t know yet exactly, we haven’t heard from the real source.  They haven’t made a definite decision so there is still hope!

Q.  For those unfamiliar with the show “Windfall,” what can you tell us about your character?

A.  I think that the thing with Sunny, which I really love, that sets me apart from her is she will do anything to get what she wants.  Except for hurting Peter, Luke Perry’s character, who she has been absolutely infatuated with and in love with for a very long time.  I think that aspect of her going after what she wants, makes people believe that she is a bad person.  In ways the things she does to get what she wants can be considered bad.  Like when she took the lottery ticket away from the lady who had the kid and they were the nicest people on the show.  But, I do like that aspect about her.  She’ll go after what she wants, to be able to do that and to not think twice about it, is a characteristic I love about her.  She’s a lot of fun to play and acting opposite of Luke has been really great.  He’s such a nice guy, that’s also been a huge blessing.

Q.  Sunny seems like one of those characters that you love to hate because you want to see what she’s going to do next.

A.  Yeah, you do want to see what she’s going to do next.  It’s so much fun to play, in the past everything I’ve done has always been the nice girl or the more reserved girl.  With Sunny, you don’t know what she’s going to do next.  You don’t know if she’s going to do the ethical thing or if she’s gonna burn your house down.  She could go either way!  That’s the fun of playing her and watching her.  She’s just a lot of fun to play and what I’ve heard from a lot of other people, a lot of fun to watch as well.  The other thing I love about the character is when it comes to the character of Peter, it’s like the one thing in her life she wants to try and get right.  She doesn’t pull out her bag of tricks with him.  She tries to go the ethical route and tries to get him to love her.  As you will see in the episodes, it’s the one thing she tries to do right in her life and it makes it a really sweet love story.  The other aspects of her life may not be that sweet, just him.

Q.  As you mentioned, Sunny took the money away from Kimberly, will we get to see Sunny get her just desserts?

A.  You’ll find out one way or the other in the show whatever happened.  If she really did have it, if she really didn’t and who she reveals her secrets to.  I will say it will be revealed and I like the way it turns out, hopefully the audience will too.  I would say within the next couple of episodes it’ll begin to come out.

Q.  What made you want to be a part of the show?

A.  It was a really weird thing, I went in to audition for what I thought was going to be two episodes of the show.  I thought it hadn’t worked out and I got a call three weeks later and my manager said they wanted me to do it.  I hadn’t heard from anyone, usually you hear back within a couple of days.  But, then about the time I was doing the second episode they asked me to do the next one.  So, I was like, “Okay, I’ll do the next one, and the next one, and the next one.”  They said they wanted me to do the rest of the season and I said okay.  Honestly, what kept me on the show and wanting to do the next episodes is because I was having so much fun with this character.  Like I said, most people don’t give me the opportunity to play the girl who stirs up trouble.  The girl who makes life a little bit harder for everyone else.  Mostly, I’m kind of the nice girl or the good girl.  Nobody kind of sees me in the other light.  It was just so much fun to play and so I of course kept saying yes.  By the time I kept saying yes, I had done all thirteen episodes. 

Q.  Do you have a most memorable moment from working on the show?

A.  Yes, I absolutely do!  I had been working on the show starting in September and then this was before Christmas break.  A lot of the crew had come up and said “We don’t understand, they haven’t given you a chair with your name on it.  You’re on every episode.”  I was like, “Yeah, it’s okay, I don’t need a chair with my name on it.”  The crew were adamant and I told them not to worry about it.  I came back from our Christmas break and the crew had gotten together and put their money together and had a chair made for me with my name on the back of it.  It was the most precious gift in the world because first of all, it came from the crew’s eyes.  They are just such wonderful people anyways, but the fact that they got together and decided to do that for me, meant so much.  The producers didn’t say to get me a chair, it wasn’t a studio or a network thing.  It was friends, people that you work with on a daily basis.  It was my favorite moment and I’ll never forget it.  Work wise, probably actually acting wise, my most memorable moment was from the episode where I got really stoned off of the morphine.  Where I had to walk down into the pool area and place myself inside of the pool. Just doing that while everyone sat around and had a look of shock on their face, that was so much fun.  The two little girls who were busy putting makeup on my face while I was knocked out in the bed.  It was hilarious because they kept putting all of this fake makeup on.  Then finally one of the little girls pulls out a bottle of nail polish.  I didn’t see it at first until she said, “Oh, nail polish!”  I was like, “No!”  In between takes to make sure that they kept busy I would let them keep putting the makeup on my face.  At that point, I was like, “Can somebody please get this nail polish away from them!”

Q.  What do you think it is about the show that has gripped so many viewers?

A.  I think it is the subject matter, there is this idea that we have in our country (especially with all of these reality shows that have come around), I think people are infatuated with the idea of instant wealth.  The idea that it could happen to you, that it could happen to your next door neighbor.  It could happen tomorrow, you could be walking down the street and all of a sudden you’re on “Amazing Race” and you’re gonna win a million dollars.  That idea in some shape or form has come alive in our society.  This show is representative of that!  This group of people, none which have money, they live in a small town and a lot of them work at a factory.  They just get together and buy lotto tickets and the next thing you know, they’re each twenty million dollars richer.  That idea of instant wealth and what it does in your life, what are the positive effects of that and also what are the negative effects of that.  I think that’s a really interesting place to start a show from.  After that, I think that Laurie McCarthy, who is the executive producer and creator, I think she’s created a handful of really heartfelt, interesting characters to watch.  Because of that, you want to see what happens in these people’s lives.  It starts with the subject matter, if you can make something interesting there, then create some interesting characters then people are going to want to watch.  Also, in the summer there are not a lot of dramas going on.  So, it’s something that is on TV that you can watch and have fun with, kind of like a getaway.  I think that’s why people like it. 

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

A.  In my spare time honestly, I love outdoor activities, anything outdoors.  I love hiking, walking outdoors, I just like being outside.  I love to travel so much and I really enjoy spending time with my family.  Just relaxing with my friends, I enjoy cooking, I like to read.  I love learning about new things and actually, I’m still trying to get my college degree.  So, in my spare time I take classes.  I just finished this one class online and so lately in my spare time I have been trying to do school. 

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

A.  My latest obsession reading wise, I am reading a lot of biographies and autobiographies about people that I am really interested and admire.  I have read tons of books about Katherine Hepburn lately and almost bought every single one of her movies, I’m obsessed.  Right now I’m reading Goldie Hawn’s book, which is really great, she seems like a really lovely person who has a lot of life lessons that have been learned.  I’m really into Chris Brown and his CD, as a performer he’s great.  I’ve seen him a couple of times with performances that he’s done.  I think he’s going to be a huge superstar, I think he’s incredibly talented! 

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

A.  More than anything else, thank you so much!  Thank you so much for taking time out of your life to support the show and watch the show or anything I’ve done for that matter. If not for me, watch it for someone else!   I think there is a lot of effort, time and love in making a lot of TV shows and movies that people do.  The only way that we keep working, the only way we get to do what we love to do, is because people take the time to watch.  Everything we do, we get to do because of people like you who actually will watch the show.  Basically, thank you so much and please keep tuning in.  Tell your friends, your aunts and uncles and hopefully we’ll be on for a couple more years to come.