If the extent of your on-screen cheerleading knowledge is limited to Bring It On and what the camera catches on the sidelines of televised football games, prepare to have your mind do somersaults. Premiering tomorrow night on The CW, Hellcats — an entertaining new series executive-produced by Smallville star Tom Welling — features Aly Michalka as Marti, a pre-law college student who loses her scholarship and has to resort to joining a talented squad of cheerleading guys and gals in order to pay for school. But it’s not all backflips and cartwheels, as Marti has to deal with her caring but flighty mom (Gail O’Grady); a brewing love triangle between her, her friend Dan (Matt Barr) and male cheerleader Lewis (Robbie Jones); and the Hellcats captain Savannah (Ashley Tisdale), who’s rubbed the wrong way by Marti’s initial distaste for all things cheerleading. A vet of Disney Channel shows and movies — and daughter of a one-time Raiderette — Michalka also is one-half of the music group 78violent (formerly Aly & AJ) with her sister Amanda, and she stars alongside Emma Stone in the upcoming comedy Easy A, in theaters Sept 17 (click here for a clip). Read below for what Michalka has to say about doing all those cheerleading stunts, what’s next for her character (beware for some minor spoilers) and what she does on location in Vancouver for fun, and check out this clip from tomorrow’s season premiere of Hellcats.
Photos courtesy of The CW
The CW has many shows that are pegged to a certain demographic, but I think a lot of people will find things to like in this show.
I do, too. You can also not be necessarily a fan of cheerleading and dig our show. It’s not just pom poms and short skirts all the time. It’s the real lifestyle of these kids in college. And they’re young adults, so they’re going through all of those ups and downs that you experience at that age. It’s showing the relationship aspect, the friendships, the struggle to stay in school, money, family, living at home – it really touches on a lot of things. And it’s great because the show can definitely change people’s perspective on cheerleading. Your respect level is going to go up for these young women when you see the show because of how committed you have to be, how much time it takes out of your own personal life, and how dangerous it is, really. You can get seriously injured doing just a simple stunt — if something goes wrong, the whole thing can collapse on you. It’s definitely tapping into that world that no TV show or movie has really ever done. I like that we’re breaking some new ground.
Have you sustained any injuries yet?
Yeah, during the pilot, which was the worst timing. I was able to push through it thankfully. I ended up twisting my left ankle pretty bad doing the pilot during rehearsal. I was basically limping around on it for five days. I had to stay put at home – I didn’t even go out and enjoy Vancouver. It was my first weekend here. I just stayed at home and I had a physiotherapist come over and work on my leg, and I had a bunch of patches and herbal creams and hot and cold [things] I was putting my feet in. I literally had about four days to rest up because I was dancing on it heavily at the beginning of that next week. I went into full-on panic mode: “Oh my gosh, this is the pilot, this cannot happen!” I was able to rest it just enough for me to dance where I felt comfortable, but it was wrapped for a while and it didn’t start feeling better until about two months after it actually happened. In June, I was finally back to normal.
After they get hurt, a lot of athletes are affected psychologically by an injury and favor it even though they’re fine. When you returned to Vancouver to shoot more episodes, was your ankle always in the back of your mind?
A little bit, that’s funny that you say that. It was definitely like, “OK, no pressure on that foot where it feels uncomfortable,” and anytime that I would feel that something was unsafe, I would immediately voice my opinion. During the pilot, I saw these amazing gymnasts doing these crazy stunts, so of course I wanted to start trying it out of excitement. And that’s when I knew, you know what, you need to leave that up to girls who have been doing this since they were 5. They’re extremely well trained and there’s a difference between an actor who dances and happens to feel comfortable with hip-hop and freestyling, and then somebody who’s been doing it since they were a kid. But that’s when I leave it up to my stunt double, who does anything that’s a backflip or a dangerous stunt.All the dancing and any basic stunt that doesn’t involve a crazy amount of height in the air, I do myself.
Did you tend to want to do it all at first?
Yeah, I was tending to lean that way until I actually saw what was extremely necessary and what was needed out of me. I just said, “You know what, I need to be safe.” Obviously if something was to happen where I was really injured, the show would go down. I’ve gotta keep myself safe no matter what.
It looks like you got into crazy good shape. Were you already there or did you go through a grueling training process?
I already was in great shape just before the show, but no one would necessarily know that just because I’m not going to walk around with a crop top on. [Laugh] It was something that I took really seriously and I had been already working out regularly for about a year and a half before then, so I had a lot of experience just with my own exercising and I had a personal trainer with me already. Now that I’m up here, I’m able to take what I’ve learned from being in LA and utilize that on my own time.
The pilot sets up Marti as a member of the team as the school year starts. What you can you say about what you’ve filmed so far?
Marti definitely has some issues with her mom in the first few episodes. There’s some lack of parenting that starts to really show. [Laughs] Marti is struggling with that, as well as her feelings for Dan and Lewis. She starts to discover that there’s something there with both of them that she’s attracted to. And there’s also the building of her friendship with Savannah that you’re going to see in those first few episodes and the fact that they are able to trust each other even regardless of their difference.
In most other shows, that would be a tension that would go on for a while if not a whole season. So it’s interesting that they’re more friends than frenemies early on.
Totally. I like that it’s unexpected and that they’re a completely mismatched friendship, but in the most perfect way. They both have respect for each other when it comes to what they love and what they take seriously.
How much will we see Marti in the law aspect of her life?
A lot. You’re going to see that come into the series on the third episode, when we really get into her studies when it comes to law. You’ll meet her professor and one of her law partners. It’s really interesting.
Which is harder, the law stuff or the cheerleading?
Not really either. I find both extremely interesting, so I’ve been able to talk to the creator about it and really get his feedback on exactly where he’s going with that and I really like it.
You and your sister have been doing music for a while, and she’s been acting more, too. Was acting always the goal for you two?
Yeah, it was. It as always a love for me and AJ on both levels. We both broke at the same time when it came to our music and acting, but we were always known for what we did together. They’re completely different satisfactions to me. We’re also in the process of just writing a bunch because after the show [ends filming], we’ll want to make a record.
Have you successfully campaigned to have AJ on Hellcats yet?
Not yet but I think that will definitely happen.
Tom Welling is also in Vancouver filming the final season of Smallville. Does he show up on your set often?
He does. When he has days off, he’s always here. He’s really got his hands busy with that show and our show as well. He really does have a great eye for not only just directing and producing, but also advice when it comes to us as actors. He’s really supportive and he’s not just putting his name on our show. He’s fully in there doing all the work.
He’s a guy who really grew up on TV. What’s the best thing he’s taught you so far?
To speak up about anything that might be bothering you, or if you’re having a down day, to talk to somebody about it. It’s a great thing for him to say because he’s like, “You know, there are times when it’s going to be really hard and you’re going to need somebody to talk to. I’m always there to talk to and don’t hesitate.” I really appreciate that.
Are you the kind of person who wouldn’t speak up and would just grin and bear it?
Yeah, probably. I’d just bite the bullet and go through it, or talk to my sister about it. But it’s nice to know that somebody’s there who’s not going to freak out about you maybe having a bad day. It’s cool.
Have you found anything fun to do in Vancouver when you’re not filming?
There are a lot of great places to bike and some really cool vintage shops, so I’ve been checking those places out. And there’s some really great food out here. I’m happy. I like that we’re in Vancouver. I can’t complain.
I can’t wait to see it