By Christina Radish
Returning to Fox, the smash hit The O.C. is back, with new stories, new characters and a whole new look, now that the young stars of the show are headed off to college. Autumn Reeser, the 26-year-old La Jolla, California native who joined the show last season as the ultra-perky, highly motivated Taylor Townsend, becomes a regular part of the cast this season, and she promises that there will be plenty of juicy material to look forward to.
Having discovered acting at a very young age, while watching a performance of Cinderella, Reeser participated in numerous local theater productions, while excelling at school and keeping busy with a variety of extracurricular activities, such as cheerleading and sports. Immersing herself in the acting world while at college, Reeser studied theater history, acting technique, dance, voice and movement, which soon helped her land roles in Star Trek: Voyager, Complete Savages, CSI and Cold Case.
With her career taking off, Reeser loves the time she is spending on The O.C., and is grateful for all the new opportunities it is allowing her. Taking time out to talk to MediaBlvd Magazine about what fans of the show think of her character, Reeser’s excitement for her work is as infectious as her real-life personality.
MediaBlvd Magazine> What’s in store for Taylor this season?
Autumn Reeser> I’m so excited for Taylor this year. Taylor was a little too much for high school. I think she’s been waiting her whole life to get out into the real world, and I think she’s going to make a lot of her life this year. From what I know of where the story is going, I am really excited. Right now, she’s off studying in France at the Sorbonne, but there are extenuating circumstances that, perhaps, bring her back. They are pretty juicy, but I can’t tell you about it. It’s good.
MB> How do you feel about your role being expanded?
Autumn> It’s really nice. I found out in January that they were going to make me a regular and I was pretty excited about it. It was cool. I was already having to go through pilot season, and it was going really well. I was going to test for two shows, and then I got the offer to be on The O.C., which was great because then I didn’t have to do all of the craziness of pilot season, where you go on five auditions in a day. You’re just exhausted after a typical L.A. pilot season, so I was glad to bypass that.
MB> Are you on every episode?
Autumn> I’m on all season, for however long the season is.
MB> Do you consider this role your big breakout?
Autumn> Yeah, I guess so. I’ve been acting since I was seven, and I’ve been acting professionally for five years. Even though I’ve been working a lot, it’s definitely the highest profile show that I’ve been on, for sure.
MB> Had you watched the show prior to being cast?
Autumn> I had seen a couple episodes, but I didn’t watch the show.
MB> Did you have expectations of what it would be like, before you started working on the show? And, did it turn out anything like what you thought it would?
Autumn> I was surprised to see that they had a beach built on a soundstage. There was a whole beach with a lifeguard stand and cliffs and everything, which ended up being very important and necessary because filming on the beach in January is not so fun. It’s nice if you can have a beach in a nice, warm soundstage. But, that was the only thing I was really surprised by. It was pretty much just another job for me.
MB> When you got this job, were you hesitant at all about walking into a show that was already established?Autumn> It’s always weird when you join a show that’s already been going for awhile, but I booked the part and started filming it so quickly, I didn’t have any time to get nervous. I had time to learn my lines and that’s about it. Everyone was so nice on the show. It’s really a fabulous crew, and most of them are back for our fourth season. And, the cast was all very warm and welcoming. It was a very easy transition. I was happy about it.
MB> Originally, Taylor wasn’t the most likeable character, but she became a really fun character as time went on. Was that something that you knew would happen, or did that happen from the time you spent on the show?
Autumn> Taylor was only supposed to join the show for about four episodes, for the story arc with the Dean of Students. She was, basically, a villain. But, they just kept writing for her, and I’m so happy that they did because I think she made so much more sense when we got to see her vulnerable side, and when we got to see her be a little quirky and socially awkward, which is really what all of that bitchiness was covering in the first place. I really like how Taylor has turned out, and I like playing the quirky, socially confused girl.
MB> What was it about the character that originally appealed to you when you were auditioning for the show?
Autumn> I loved the idea that Taylor’s whole goal in life was to become the First Lady of the United States, and she ran her whole life like that. That was my concept for her. She was about building her whole life so that it would be great on her resume when she was First Lady. She really liked to take charge of everything, and she liked to be in charge of as many committees as she could. Taylor’s very future focused, so she was always trying to be involved in as many clubs as possible. She was always thinking about how many things would look good on her resume for college. I loved that about her, and I found her endearing because of that.
MB> Is your own personality like that at all?
Autumn> Yeah, I’m fairly similar to Taylor. I’m organized. I’m a big planner. I make lists. There’s so much chaos in the world and in this industry, so I take comfort out of organizing things. When I have a crazy day, I like to come home and rearrange the furniture.
MB> Is it hard to play a character when you don’t really get to know ahead of time what will happen to her?
Autumn> It’s like life. You don’t know where your life’s going, and your character doesn’t know where their life’s going. It’s fun to watch them deal with things that come their way. I love reading each script. Every time I get a new script, I’m just as excited as the people who watch the episode because I don’t know what’s going to happen either.
MB> Has the success of this show helped you get more offers?
Autumn> Definitely. I’ve been able to get into a lot more rooms, but it’s hard to really be able to do anything else because I’m working on the show. Eventually, there will be time for all of that. Right now, I’m really enjoying being in the place in my life that I am, and being able to work on the show and have a steady job. I’ve never had a job this long in my life. To have some stability with a character that I like as much as I like Taylor, I feel very lucky.
MB> Has the success of the show made it harder for you to be anonymous? Do you get recognized now when you go out?
Autumn> Yes, I do. I forget that I’m on the show when I’m not working, and I always get weirded out when people come up and say hi because I don’t know who they’re talking to. I was at my friend’s party recently and there were three people who recognized me and took pictures with me, and it was so strange. I love it. It’s great, but it’s still very strange and foreign.
MB> What sort of fan response do you get?
Autumn> People get very excited. They really like Taylor, which I’m happy about. I think a lot of people relate to Taylor and relate to that inability to be constantly cool. So many characters on the show have this great ability to be cool all the time. And, Taylor doesn’t have that. She just doesn’t quite get it, and I think most people relate to that.
MB> Do you live in Los Angeles?
Autumn> I live in Hollywood. I’ve got a dog named Gatsby, who’s a papillon. It means butterfly in French. He’s eight pounds and he’s got big ears. He’s so cute.
MB> How do you like to spend your time, when you’re not working?
Autumn> I’ve been going to dance class a lot. I paint. I read a lot. I see a lot of movies. I mostly go to dance class and then come home and take a shower. I cook.
MB> Would you aspire to be a dancer?
Autumn> No, it’s far too late. To be a dancer, you have to start so early, and I didn’t start until I was 18. I do it because I love it. I wish I would have started it earlier. I took about four years of really intense ballet, and then I started taking jazz and I just fell in love with it. I love it. I’m passionate about it.
MB> Do you have anything else coming up?
Autumn> I just worked on a little indie film with Johnny Lewis, who played Chili on The O.C. last season. I think he’s a fantastic actor, so I was really excited to have the chance to work with him. It was just a very small indie with the tentative title of Palo Alto, about a small group of college kids who come home for their first Thanksgiving break, and what happens to them during the course of a night. It was all night shoots, so for most of my break, I worked from 9:30 at night until six in the morning. Then, I went to sleep from six in the morning until noon. It was crazy. I went a little insane, honestly. It was a 10 or 12 day shoot, so it wasn’t too bad, but it’s surprisingly hard getting adjusted to that. You feel like a vampire because the sun comes up and you go, “Ooh, time to go to bed.” It’s very weird.
MB> Is there a type of character you’d like to play in the future?
Autumn> I look for characters that are interesting to me, and characters that reflect an issue that I’m currently dealing with in my life. I play younger so often that it’s nice when I find a character whose interests and problems reflect things that are going on, either in my life or my peers’ lives. I’m definitely starting to feel too old to play 16 anymore because the issues of living at home with your parents hasn’t been me for eight years, so I’m not relating to that as much. That’s another reason I’m really glad the characters are going to college this year. That’s something I’m very interested in. I’m just so fascinated with that transition between childhood and adulthood. I think it’s going to be really exciting, on the show, to be able to portray that time in these characters’ lives. That’s what the movie I just did was about. It’s one of the biggest transitions, other than having children, that people go through in their entire lives. I like exploring that.
MB> Do you have any dream actors you’d like to work with?
Autumn> I’d love to work with Cate Blanchett. I adore her. And, Robert Downey, Jr. is amazing.
MB> What about directors?
Autumn> I would love to work with Alexander Payne. He’s my favorite director. His work is such a great combination of comedy and drama, and I love that.
