By Christina Radish
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Kristen Bell at the San Diego Comic Convention on July 26, 2007.
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Award-winning, critically acclaimed actress Kristen Bell (Veronica Mars) has joined the second season of the NBC hit drama ensemble Heroes as Elle, a sexy, intriguing, mysterious young lady who has ties to Peter’s (Milo Ventimiglia) apparent death, H.R.G.’s (Jack Coleman) past, and Claire’s (Hayden Panettiere) future, which leaves audiences wondering whose side she’s really on. The petite 27-year-old Michigan native, who is also currently the voice of Gossip Girl, talks to MediaBlvd Magazine, along with creator/writer/executive producer Tim Kring, about working on such a secretive series.
MediaBlvd Magazine> Kristen, how did you come to be a part of Heroes? Did you reach out to Tim Kring, or did the show reach out to you? And, were you a fan of the show, even before the opportunity came up?
Kristen Bell> I was a huge fan of the show. I’ve watched it from its premiere episode. And, I joked with the writers that Heroes was the water cooler conversation on the Veronica Mars set. I certainly put feelers out there during Comic-Con and let them know what a fan I was of the show, with the secret hopes that one day I could be a part of it. And then, it was ultimate flattery when they came to me and said, “We might have something for you to do.”
MediaBlvd> Tim, was the character of Elle written with Kristen in mind, or did you create the character and then wonder who would be good for it?
Tim Kring> The character was created before we cast Kristen. We had been talking and thinking about the character for a while. But, when you do cast an actor, especially one whose work you’re familiar with, and who has as much personality as Kristen has, you try to tailor the character a little closer to who the actor is. So, it’s hard to know when one starts to influence the other. But, certainly, the character was created and conceived long before we cast Kristen.
MediaBlvd> Are there any other details that you can reveal about Elle?
Kristen> She has ties to HRG and to Claire. And, there’s going to be a very interesting dynamic between her and Claire, as far as what is and what is not. And, I think there’s going to be a deeper relationship there than people are expecting. They’re going to see some parallels. But, she also has ties to Suresh. Plus, she’s a little messed up in the head, which makes her really manipulative and always out to get what she wants. She doesn’t have many boundaries, which is the really interesting part of playing this character on this particular show. The whole first season has been about these fairly good-natured people, trying to embrace these confusing abilities and being very conflicted, as to how they should be using them. And, Elle is not that way at all. She very much enjoys her power, and enjoys the emotional power it gives her over other people.
Tim> We are tying this character to the company that we have talked about for the last year on the show, and that Claire’s father was involved with. And so, one of the ideas was that Elle was actually raised within the company. In some ways, it’s a cautionary tale of what would happen to any of our characters, had they lived with their powers their whole life, the way Elle has.
MediaBlvd> Kristen, you spoke of Elle’s moral ambiguity and her mental health status, but what are some of her strengths?
Kristen> Determination. She’s has a very fierce and intense personality. When she wants something, she wants it now, which I think is good when you’re working with the good guys, and really bad when you’re working with the bad guys. And, I think that’s what she’ll ping-pong between. She has an inability to decipher between right and wrong. That’s what makes her so interesting. She always thinks what she’s doing is right. But, it’s because she was raised by the company and not by a normal family that you’ll sympathize with her. At least, I certainly hope you’ll sympathize with her, in trying to understand how her childhood really messed her up. And, hopefully, she can get a little bit of redemption.
MediaBlvd> Was it difficult or intimidating for you to join a cast that had already been working together since the show’s beginning?
Kristen> There was anxiety and nerves certainly, but nothing about it has been hard. They are some of the nicest people I’ve ever worked with. And, having had social relationships with a few of them, I’d heard through the grapevine what a great job it was, and that it’s not just an excellent show, but actually really fun to be a part of, with an ensemble that really supports each other. To find that many good people in one setting is really hard to find. But, clearly, that speaks to what comes down through the grapevine, starting with Tim. Every time you join a different job or a different show, it feels like you’re changing schools, like when you were in high school. It’s that kind of anxiety. You’re thinking, “Is everyone going to like me? Is this going to be fun? Am I going to do well?” But, the warmth that I was greeted with, it felt like I was starting a school that all my friends already went to.
Tim> Kristen had known several of the cast members, some for years and years, and she had real long-term relationships with people. And, not only that, but she also had relationships with some of the writers on the show. And so, she was already a part of the family, by the time we cast her.
MediaBlvd> Kristen, can you talk a little bit about your relationship with the cast before you joined the show?
Kristen> I have known Hayden since she was eight. We met in New York. We had the same agent. I was substantially older than she was, but I was just starting college when I met her. And, she came to some plays that I did in New York. She was a lovely little girl. Even then, you could tell that there was something so alarmingly special about who she was and what she was going to be able to accomplish as a performer. It was right before she did Remember the Titans, which she was so great in. I’ve kept up a relationship with her, just socially. And, having joined the cast now, it’s been really nice because I think really good girlfriends are so rare to find in LA. She’s a really cool, honest girl, and we’ve become closer because of the show. We always used to joke about trying to play sisters or friends in a project. We might not be either of those in this show, but it’s still fun to get to work together.
MediaBlvd> Has it been fun playing this mysterious character?
Kristen> Oh, it’s been so much fun. I have been crossing my fingers in hopes that I’d get a job where I could play someone who was, as Tim likes to call it, a little off, or perhaps didn’t have the brightest and shiniest of intentions. And, the depth at which they’ve written Elle is so much fun to play with. She’s so conflicted and comes across as such as vixen.
MediaBlvd> Heroes is a show where even the actors don’t get to know a whole lot about where their characters are going, but it sounds like you actually do have a lot of information. Coming from Veronica Mars, which was another mystery show, do you have a way of approaching these characters, where you might not know the ultimate point of the arc?
Kristen> Yes. Actually, that’s one thing that the actors on Veronica Mars struggled with a lot on the first season. So, I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s just all about trust. I was -- and I’m giddy when I say it -- a little lucky that, when I was picked for the character. Tim let a few cats out of the bag, which is exciting and certainly something that I would never repeat. But, ultimately, I think working on a show that is centered around a mystery that is of vital importance, as an actor, means that you have to trust that, as long as you’re asking about what details you need to know, you should be able to adjust adequately and foreshadow. And, other than that, you just have to trust your creator, your writers and your director that if you weren’t giving enough, or if they needed to allude to something, they would tell you. It has to be all about trust.
MediaBlvd> What connection does Elle have to Peter Petrelli?
Kristen> Elle has a lot of information about Peter’s past.
Tim> We introduced the character, and she is looking for Peter Petrelli. And, I think one can assume that she finds him.
MediaBlvd> There are so many hardcore fans that always want to know leaks to the show’s plot. How do you keep quiet about the storylines? Do people come up to you and ask you to leak anything?
Kristen> Yeah, of course. Even amongst the cast, everybody’s always asking everybody else who has more information. Going into it, I just had a big old smile on my face, or maybe they could just sense it, but I had a substantial amount of information and all the other cast members were trying to get it out of me. But, I think I did a pretty good job of just smiling through it and knowing that I was lucky enough to have been told a little bit about where my character was going, or at least know her first arc. It’s hard because, when you have secrets, of course you want to spill them. But, you have to realize how important it is, and how vital it is, to keep them secret, and that it keeps your job. It’s actually kind of fun when you know a little bit more information than everyone else.
MediaBlvd> Kristen, it was widely reported that you were offered a recurring role on Lost this season. Why did you decide to be on Heroes instead?
Kristen> The facts of the situation are that the media might have gotten a little ahead of themselves. I had been spoken to about possibly doing a role on Lost, but I was never actually offered one. That certainly would have been a wonderful opportunity. But, I have been such a fan of Heroes, from the very beginning, that this would have been the dreamiest situation I could have possibly thought up, as my next job. So, when Tim came forward, I pounced on it.
MediaBlvd> Tim, can you talk about the danger of over-population, and whether people think you’re crying wolf too often, particularly with Peter surviving a nuclear explosion. Is there a danger that you have too many characters and that you really need to kill people more often?
Tim> Yes, on a show like this, you have to be able to fold people in and fold people out. So, the audience should fully expect to see characters leaving, in the near future.
MediaBlvd> How do you guard against a little bit of fan frustration setting in, if the plot seems to be getting more and more complicated, and viewers seem to be further away from any answers?
Tim> We are not a show that tries to keep answers away from the audience. Our feeling is that no answer is so precious that we can’t tell the audience what it is. That being said, there’s a certain amount of fun with drawing things out enough that it keeps your interest. But, our show changes and morphs, all the time. One of the things that we did this season, that we didn’t do last season, was that last season we had one volume. It was called “Genesis,” and it happened to be 23 episodes long. And so, by the end of the year, we were dragging a tremendous amount of story behind us that had to be paid off in that final episode, which made for an episode where the expectations are so high that it’s hard to meet everybody’s expectations. So, this season we’re going to have multiple volumes. The first one is called “Generation,” starting with episode 1 of this season and ending with episode 11, where every question that is raised will be answered within these 11 episodes, so that it’s one complete volume. That then slingshots us with a cliffhanger and takes us across the break, into another volume. If people are feeling the frustration of wanting answers, they will really enjoy the idea of following the mystery and watching it twist and turn.
MediaBlvd> Tim, can you talk a little bit about the reconstruction that you’ve done with Matt Parkman’s character, especially with his wife?
Tim> We will see the wife again, shortly. But, there is clearly a mystery, as to what happened in these intervening four months, between the end of the season one and the beginning of season two. Clearly, he went from a man whose wife was pregnant and expecting a baby, and living in LA, to a man who’s living in New York, that is no longer with his wife. Something happened in that intervening time, and we will find out about it.
MediaBlvd> Viewers are really responding to the Matt Parkman (Greg Grunberg) / Mohinder Suresh (Sendhil Ramamurthy) / Molly Walker (Adair Tishler) family dynamics. Can you talk about the importance of that relationship, for the rest of the season, as well as West and Claire?
Tim> The secret of the show is that it really is about the relationships and the characters. We always try to filter it through that idea. But, in our show, things change and morph, and they become very complicated and different, as you watch. One of the hallmarks of the show is that nobody is really who they seem to be. So, in terms of West and Claire, I’m sure there are lots of questions that the audience has, as to whether West is ultimately good for Claire or not. And, you’ll just have to stay tuned. As for Mohinder, Matt and Molly, we wanted to do our version of My Two Dads, with a domesticated life for these two characters, who we saw circling each other, all last year. One of the interesting things that’s happening this season is the joining of different characters that we never saw last year. And, Mohinder and Matt is certainly one joining, along with Matt and Nathan, and Suresh and HRG. It’s a continual quest to try and shake things up.
MediaBlvd> The storyline about Micah’s new family unit focused more on him and Monica (Dana Davis) than on Nichelle Nichol’s character. Will she get more play, as the story progresses? And, has the cast now become jaded to meeting Star Trek cast members?
Tim> Nichelle Nichol’s character will be in support of Dana Davis’ character for a while. But, around mid-season, that character will start to emerge, in its own right. As for being jaded about Star Trek, it’s not really our intention to bring characters on from that show. In a strange way, it has been an odd coincidence. The best people who walked in to read for both the character of Kaito Nakamura (played by George Takei) and for the character of Monica’s grandmother just happened to be former cast members of that show. And, it’s been a lot of fun for a certain segment of the audience to see that. But, clearly, there are not many others that we can tap into. As of now, this is where we’re leaving it.
MediaBlvd> Now that you’re starting to really move the plot forward and narrow the focus down to a few key storylines, how do you balance the desire to catch people up or bring new people in, at the start of the season, and just get on with the story?
Tim> One of the problems with starting a season is that you have to start everything at the same time, or at least that’s the impulse. And, on a show like ours, where there’s a lot to cover, it can get a bit cluttered. But, we have now settled into a pattern of telling fewer stories, which allows for a deeper experience with the show, with each one of the stories. One of the pressures becomes the balancing act of people coming in and people sitting out. Not everybody can be in every episode. And, part of what happens, on any show, is that you enter a relationship with your viewers where you teach them how to watch your show, and they teach you what they seem to be responding to. We are in the process, right now, of teaching the audience how to get used to the idea that not everybody is going to be in every single episode. I don’t think that you really miss not seeing someone for one episode because you know that their stories will pick up where they left off last time.
MediaBlvd> Kristen, with the rise of shows that have a sudden emphasis on geek subculture, as a female geek icon who is beautiful and brainy, what are your geeky guilty pleasures?
Kristen> Comic-Con is a geeky guilty pleasure. I think the geekiest of all my pleasures at Comic-Con is that I try to go around and get pictures with every single person who dresses up because the people come in full costume. They just absolutely fascinate me. And, what’s even more fascinating is that, if I were to come in costume, dressed like a Storm Trooper or something, I would expect that people would want pictures of me. Most of the time, when I ask them for pictures, they’re like, “Oh, all right, just make it quick,” like it’s like so frustrating for them. And, it’s so fascinating to me because I’m thinking, “Well, you’re the one that came in costume, so don’t get angry at me.” Having done Fanboys, anything Star Wars is now wonderful and fascinating to me. I’m still learning. All my friends are fanboys. So, it’s not that I’m going out on my own. I am learning from them, and have just been so embraced by this community that I love it. And, now, I’m coming into my own as a fangirl and seeking things out. The New Beverly in Los Angeles had a double feature of Tron and The Last Starfighter, which was an awesome double feature.
MediaBlvd> Do you keep in touch with any of your former Veronica Mars castmates? Have you had a chance to catch Jason Dohring in his new show, Moonlight?
Kristen> Actually we keep in touch a lot. I recently had breakfast with Ryan Hansen, who played Dick Casablancas, and our Director of Photography. I have not caught Jason’s show, but I have been Tivo-ing it. Tim’s been keeping me pretty busy, so I haven’t caught up on all my Tivo yet. But, it’s funny how many people from Veronica Mars are working on Moonlight. There’s a substantial amount of the crew, and then there’s Jason, and some of the Assistant Directors. Everybody got along really well on that show as well. We’re all pretty supportive of each other’s careers.
MediaBlvd> How do you expect the fans of Veronica Mars will react to this character?
Kristen> One thing I will say about Veronica Mars fans is that they are extremely interactive, whether it is on a street corner, or whether it is on a blog. So, I hope everyone will have fun with it. Honestly, I’ve been having a blast with it. It’s a little deeper character work, when you have to really figure out someone’s intentions, because I don’t even think evil characters are evil. They always think they’re doing something right. To work with that conflicted, what’s the difference between right and wrong, point of view is fun. That’s cool to work on, as an actor. I hope everybody’s going to have fun with it because I love rooting for the underdog. But, it’s also a lot of fun to play someone who’s a little crazy.
MediaBlvd> What is it about doing television, and Heroes in particular, that is attractive to you, creatively?
Kristen> What attracted me to Heroes was the fact that, when I caught the season premiere, it was just so engulfing that I couldn’t think about anything else. We would come into Veronica Mars and the entire camera crew would stand around and be like, “But, did you see what happened last night? Did you see who Claire’s father is?” There are hooks that people are able to sink into you, when telling a story, that I think Tim has mastered. I think Rob Thomas mastered that for the much smaller, but certainly avid, viewers that we had on Veronica Mars. It makes you want to be involved. And, they’re also really smart shows that are a little harder to follow and, when you treat the audience like they’re intelligent, you tend to attract intelligent viewers. For me, the medium is the difference. I certainly love and miss theater. Film is so much fun, as well, and it’s a little bit more like camp because you’re usually on location and you have a couple months with people that you get really close with, and then it’s always like end of the summer syndrome. With TV, I really like the security, and I like the sense of family. I like knowing who I will be working with. I work in this business because I like performing and I also really like the creative relationships. And, coming to work with people that you love, and being able to see them on a daily basis, is a really special thing. Not that many people get to absolutely love what they do, and I’m lucky to be one of those people.
MediaBlvd> How long can we expect to see you on Heroes? Would you be up for it being more of a long-term commitment, or something where you could come back periodically?
Kristen> Funny you should ask. Yes, I would be up for that. There was no hesitancy with entering, as far as becoming a main part of the show. It was like, “Let’s feel each other out and see how you fit into the show, and if you’re happy.” And, it’s been a great relationship, so far. Right now, I am signed on for 13 episodes which, to the discretion as to how it fits into the major plot lines, they could use me for, or I could just sit on the sidelines. But, quite frankly, I hope they use me because I’m really having a good time. And then, at the end of the 13, we will have a pow-wow, and sit down and see if it make sense for me to continue.
MediaBlvd> You’ve played Veronica Mars, considered joining the cast of Lost and are now on Heroes, so you seem to be attracted to cult shows. Why is that?
Kristen> The thing about cult shows, for me, is that I would much rather be on a show that people are wildly obsessed with and watch because they can’t not watch it, than on a show that people just turn on because it’s on primetime television. That’s the whole reason that you want people to invest in your project. You want people to love it, not just like it. It can get really intense. I’m not going to lie. The one thing that is different about those kinds of fans, because they are so invested when they see you, there’s tears and they don’t really know what to do with themselves. It’s not just like, “Oh, that’s the person I watch on that television show,” but it’s like, “That’s the person I follow and am deeply invested in.” There’s a lot of shaking, sweating palms and tears, but it’s precious.
MediaBlvd> You’ll be appearing before millions of people worldwide with this show, and you’re not playing a teen. Is that a relief for you?
Kristen> I have always played about 10 years younger than I am, which is a major blessing. My family’s very petite and I have a young-looking face and good genes. I’m thankful to my parents. That being said, as an actor, there are certain things that I’m going through in my own life, in my late 20s that, and that’s what you draw upon in your acting. And so, I hope that I’ll be accepted as playing closer to my age. I know that I still look a lot younger, but I’m thankful to be out of teenage-ville, a little bit. I don’t dislike it at all, but I’ve had my fill of it.
MediaBlvd> Having been a fan of Heroes since the beginning, of all the characters on the show, which would you like most to see Elle interact with? And, if you could steal the power of another character, what would it be?
Kristen> I would most like to interact with -- and this is for on and off camera reasons -- Zachary Quinto because Zach has been a good friend of mine for almost 10 years now. I’ve always wanted to work with him, besides the fact that his character is pretty much the coolest thing because he’s so unpredictable and so downright evil. It’s almost hard for me to watch because it’s the polar opposite of Zach’s personality. He’s just the kindest, gentlest, most giving person. I would love to see him and Elle face off, one day. That would be unbelievable. As far as stealing power, I don’t know that I’d want to steal anyone’s power, but the one power I would like to come up with would be multiplicity because I think it would be great to be able to multiply myself and cook myself dinner. I’d be like, “Hey, clean that up!” I always feel like, if there were more of me, I could get so much more done. I’d be so much more happier.
MediaBlvd> Who is your favorite superhero?
Kristen> I like the little pixie girls because I can relate. It’s great to love She-Hulk, or anything that’s big and dominating, but for me, it would be Harley Quinn, Lost from Avengers, or something like that. Those are characters I can relate to.
MediaBlvd> How does it feel to be the voice of Gossip Girl?
Kristen> Gossip Girl has been great. I’ve known [executive producer] Josh Schwartz for a little bit, and was happy when they wanted me involved in it. It’s an easy deal for me because it’s not on camera. I’ve always dreamt about having a job, where I could show up in my jammies, and that’s what Gossip Girl is. But, I love and support Josh, and it’s been a lot of fun.
MediaBlvd> Because you were Veronica Mars for three seasons, do you miss playing her, or were you ready to move on?
Kristen> I do miss it. I miss the crew. I miss the writers. I miss actually playing the character because there was a certain ease you get, when you’ve been at a job for awhile and you just feel like it clicks. When you have a character like that, that you’ve worked with for so long, there’s a certain part of you that is a little bit her, and she’s a little bit you. After awhile, it’s not only easy, but it’s really fun.
MediaBlvd> There’s been talk of show creator Rob Thomas continuing Veronica Mars in comic book form. Between that and the environment you’re in now, do you have any aspirations to write an issue or two yourself?
Kristen> If Rob invites me to go mow his lawn, I’ll consider it. I have heard rumors of that, and I certainly hope it comes to fruition. I know Rob is a very busy man, and rightfully so. But, I wouldn’t be opposed to being involved in that.
MediaBlvd> Can you talk about working on the films Fanboys and Forgetting Sarah Marshall?
Kristen> Over the last few years, those were two of the best experiences of my life. Fanboys was great because there a lot of my friends involved in it, and it really introduced me to the world of fanboys, which I now love and respect so much. It was about a bunch of Star Wars-obsessed guys, and I was the only girl in the movie. We had so much fun. I can’t wait for it to come out. Plus, we got to work with a lot of people from Star Wars, who did cameos, so it was a great experience. And then, certainly, to be a part of this point in Judd Apatow’s career, which he says is a dream come true, was amazing. And now, I’m really happy to call those people my friends. I hope to be one of the improv artists they draw upon in the future.
MediaBlvd> Looking back on your current career, what is the one thing you remember, or miss, about doing Stage Crafters theater back in high school?
Kristen> What I miss the most about live theater, in general, which Stage Crafters was certainly part of, is the audience as a participatory member of the production. When we were at Stage Crafters, we would make the set very comfortable, with a circle of friends. Growing up in the theater, I was never much for sports because I was always about 50 pounds. But, when I joined that theater group, I found my first really good core group of friends. And I really miss being on the live stage and getting the immediate gratification of seeing the audience laugh or cry, or emote at all.
MediaBlvd> Do you have any predictions for 2008, either for yourself or in general? Is there something that you’re looking forward to, in the world or in your life?
Kristen> Well, one thing I try to stay with is to not think too far ahead. I try to live moment to moment, in general. I’m fairly spontaneous and impulsive. And, I don’t really know what inspires me until I read it, as far as projects go, so it’s sort of difficult for me to say that. I just hope I’m happy what I’m doing. I hope that I’m still involved with Heroes because I’m having such a great time right now and I can’t get it off my mind, how much fun it’s been. I have two films coming out, one in January and one in May. I certainly hope that those are wildly successful and that people enjoy them. That would just be fun.
