Did you catch Debby Ryan on Thursday’s 2-hour episode of “Private Practice”? If you missed it, you missed one powerful performance.
Debby guest starred as Hailey, a recovering cocaine addict who is in rehab with Amelia Shepherd (Caterina Scorsone). “Private Practice” creator Shonda Rhimes sought out Debby for the role and Debby said it “was a huge privilege and a big honor.” She told Zap2it, “She’s [Shonda] one of the biggest showrunners in television right now. I love her use of music, her way of writing — she has very much a Shonda style. To be able to be a part of this was such an honor.”
The role was definitely more mature than most of Debby’s fans are used to, but drama is something she’s always loved. Don’t worry though, she says she definitely will never forget where she started. “I’m never the kind of person who’s like ‘Great! I want to completely abandon my fan base,'” she admits. “I have so much love and respect for my fans and my demographic and my place of work. That said, I realize that I won’t be in Disney forever and I won’t be in sitcoms forever. Actually, I began acting to do drama and really emotional-feeling things.”
You can read more of Debby’s interview here. If you missed the episode, you can watch it now on Hulu. Would you like to see Debby do more dramatic roles?
