One of our favorite new shows of the summer is hands down “Baby Daddy” on ABC Family. The show is hilarious and the casting is spot on. In fact, we aren’t the only ones loving the show. Chelsea Kane and Jean-Luc Bilodeau have even been nominated for Teen Choice Awards!
We had the chance to chat with Chelsea, who plays Riley, about the show and tonight’s episode, “The Nurse and the Curse.” Check it out!
The show is doing really well. What kind of feedback have you seen? I’m really into social networking and twitter and I love hearing feedback. It’s been really incredible to have such positive feed back consistently. Especially since I’ve been doing blog parties for the show and chatrooms. I’m very active on twitter. Normally there’s that one person has something negative to say and you hope that people will send tweets or let you know what they think. The amount of tweets and texts and everything coming in and the positive message across the board. It’s awesome. It’s what you hope happens.
What is it about Riley that made you want to play her? I think Riley is really fun because she reminds me a lot of the women I watched growing up on television like the Rachel Greens and Debra Messing on “Will & Grace.” It’s very fun to watch self-deprecating women, women that have no problem making fun of themselves like Monica on “Friends.” I think that’s something I’ve always loved, that kind of humor. On top of that, she’s a really strong woman. She’s smart and sexy and knows what she wants. I think as a girl, you always want to play characters like that, the confident young woman who is a good role model as opposed to “cheerleader #1” or the popular girl, not that those roles aren’t fun to take on once in a while. To play a long term part like Riley, to have it be a girl that I hope someone can look up to is what really attracted me to the role.
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We have a big episode tonight that includes a girl fight for Riley. What was your favorite memory from this episode? This one is really fun because I get in a girl fight in the stands, which is something that has never happened to me before. I think the most hilarious part is that our director just said, “I don’t know, just go for it and we’ll see what happens.” We had a guy there ready to teach us choreography and I think they were worried we were going to be too scared but by the time they called “cut” they were trying to pull us apart because we both threw ourselves into it. It was a lot of fun and a girl fight is something that I’ve never been involved in in my personal life. It was really cool building a Rangers stadium on our soundstage. It looks pretty awesome and Derek, who is 6’5 in full hockey gear and roller skates was pretty adorable. I also really like this episode because at the very end, Riley and Ben finally have a nice moment where they get to talk as friends. I remember filming that scene and it just felt good talking to Jean-Luc and it felt so natural. There were so many moments there that I loved. I really like the last scene.
In this episode, Derek has a lucky jersey which ends up getting destroyed. Do you have a lucky charm? I actually didn’t. I’m more of a superstitious person in the sense that if something worked well one day, I try to follow in my footsteps the next day. For example, if I did well in an audition and got a callback, I’ll eat the same thing that morning, wear the same clothes, go through the same exact routine that I did before.
WATCH: Chelsea Kane & “Baby Daddy” Cast Reveal Most Embarrassing Nicknames
Riley is in love with Ben but Danny is in love with Riley. How will we see this love triangle progress over these first 10 episodes? The love triangle is so fun because everyone is constantly missing everyone. As soon as one person starts to fall for someone, the other person finally gets over that person. Everyone is always in the wrong place at the wrong time. It’s really cute. There’s some really cute moments between Riley and Danny that I love. I love their friendship and they have such a cute chemistry that is always popping back and forth between them. There’s a lot to look forward to with this love triangle that is fun, sweet, and always keeps you on your toes.
One of our favorite relationships on the show is between Riley and Bonnie, Ben & Danny’s mom. What is it like working with the hilarious Melissa Peterman? Melissa is the best. I adore her. She is someone that I look up to. She’s absolutely hysterical and gives me so much to strive for. I have so much to learn. To be in scenes with Melissa is the best, especially in front of a live audience. She’s always coming up with fresh stuff, new ideas, she improvs a lot of the scenes. So working with her, you kind of never know what’s going to happen. You have to be ready for anything and I think that makes some of the best moments on the show. The reactions that you’re seeing on camera are so genuine and 100% real because they’ve never been rehearsed because no one expected Melissa to say that. It’s really fun to work with Melissa.
If people aren’t tuning into “Baby Daddy” yet, why would you tell them to tune in? I would tell people to tune in because it deals with all relationships in your life. Granted it is about a young man raising a child, but it’s not all we’re touching on. You get to see love, how you deal with your parents, how your parents deal with you, how your parents deal with each other, old friends vs new friends. It’s just very real and the situations are very real and fun and we poke fun at situations that otherwise could be traumatizing. I really like that we bring a likeness to things that everyone goes through in life.
Be sure to tune in to “Baby Daddy” on ABC Family Wednesdays at 8:30pm!
