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Amy Rider: An Actor to WatchIf you've watched any amount of television in the past few years, you've probably seen Amy Rider at some point. The talented actress has been on Veronica Mars, Big Shots and Without a Trace. You can currently see her as Alice Valko on the popular seriesThe Secret Life of the American Teenager. She can also be seen in the film Kissing Cousings.
Tell us about yourself. Where are you from? Where did you go to school? I the majority of my schooling took place in Japan. I grew up there. I had moved around in Japan to 11 different places by the time I was a teen, so it's difficult to say exactly where I'm from in Japan. If I had to pick I'd say Tokyo. How did you get into acting? I fell into it. I was looking for an easy "A" so I took a drama class. They ended up casting me as the lead in the school play - the experience of doing that play, even though I'm sure I'd cringe at the work now - was the first thing that made me think that acting might be something that I could really put my focus into. What and when was your first acting role? I like to think my very first acting role was doing charades with my family! Do you find that as an Asian American actor, that it is harder to make it in Hollywood? Do you feel you often get typecast? To say that being Asian makes it easier to be successful in Hollywood would definitely be a lie. However, I am pretty hopeful that things are starting to open up for Asians. I look forward to the time when we will be commonly cast in leading roles that have nothing to do with nerdy intellects or flying fists. I do believe we are getting closer to this every day. Are there Asian American actors networks around that are helpful to your career? I just went to a Kollaboration event the other night, though it's not quite an actor's network, there were alot of Asian actors there to support. I find that it's just nice to know that there are people out there actively putting time into creating vehicles and support for Asian talent. Tell us about your character, Alice, on The Secret Life of the American Teenager. She's very headstrong, she doesn't really care about being the "cool" kid in school, or conforming to what everyone else thinks is hip. She's enough of an individual to not fall for that. She's a fun character because she doesn't have alot of social filters so she doesn't think twice about telling people what she thinks or even whacking people - in fact that's probably her signature move. She's been having a relationship with Henry Miller for forever, and they are kind of like an old couple in many ways. But they are now experiementing with sex and I think that's really bringing some spice and emotions into their relationship. What was the toughest part playing Alice? Dealing with all the stats she's constantly spouting off. You've had roles in various TV shows, and are now in your first independent film, Kissing Cousins, is there any difference between TV and film acting? Which do you prefer? Why? Independent film can move just as fast as TV depending on their budget. So it can actually be similar to TV in many ways. I'd have to say the biggest difference depends on the director because film is very much about the director's vision and TV is more about the writer's vision. The films that I have been able to work on so far have been fun because I've been able to take alot of risks. With Kissing Cousins, I was always waiting for the director to tell me to change my performance or tone it down but he never did. He just let me do my thing. He was wonderful. I suppose I prefer the experience of film acting because it has a beginning middle and an end. And you can play the character then get out of the character's head and move on to the next project. Tell us about your role in Kissing Cousins. I play a very outspoken, quirky Japanese exchange student who takes over the main character's bedroom. What's next? I have two films that are in post production right now that I make fun little appearances in. One is called Fast Glass with Nick Carter and Andrew Keegan, and the other is Priviledged with Nikki Reed. |
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