Moderator
How important are social networking sites to the promotion
of shows like Pretty Little Liars, that's still kind
of new?
S. Mitchell
They are getting increasingly more important and more
important. I mean with Twitter and with Facebook and
MySpace, it plays a very big part of the whole marketing
strategy. And I think the reason is because you can
reach so many more people from across the world.
Twitter, I don’t even know how many fan pages and everything
we have, and it’s in Brazil and Australia and everywhere.
I don’t know, it's bringing the world a little bit closer.
So, yes, it's extremely important for the marketing team to
be on top of everything and on those pages and have their
own pages just so you keep up with everything else that's
moving so fast.
Moderator
With the show becoming such a bit hit, how do you deal with
all of the attention and popularity you're getting now?
S. Mitchell
I still have my friends that I had in Toronto before the
show, before everything. I still talk to my friends
just as much as I do. I still talk to my parents every
single day and catch up with them and see what they did.
So I'm just - I don’t know - I haven’t really noticed it as
much just because - and I don’t think, I think it's the same
with all of the girls just because we're working so much,
and we're on set. We wake up. We go to work, and
we go home and we hang for a little bit and then go to
sleep. So we're not really realizing what's going on
outside of like the studio unless we travel outward, which
is - like last weekend when we went to New York, it was
amazing and intense in a way, some of the girls that were
coming up to us, looking for us all over New York. So
it's changed, yes, by more people coming up and recognizing
you, but as far as everything else, I still go home for the
holidays. I keep my …and I think you kind of have to
when something happens real quick.
Moderator
What draws people to keep tuning in to watch Pretty
Little Liars?
S. Mitchell
I think the fact that each character is so relatable, and if
you don’t feel that you connect completely or totally
understand one character, you kind of find yourself in each
of them. And I think because a lot of the issues that
we deal with quite possibly happen on a day-to-day basis,
but you either have it happen to you or you know someone
that it has happened to, it makes the show not so dreamy and
farfetched. It brings it to a very realistic kind of
world and situations that happen in it. So I think
each of the characters are very relatable and yes.
Moderator
You seem like so much fun and just like a ball of energy.
So you tweeted recently that you watched Black Swan
and then you couldn’t sleep, … So I'm wondering, are
there are scary episodes or particularly scary moments for
Emily coming up that you can talk or tease about a little
bit?
S. Mitchell
Yes. So I think with the second half of season one,
obviously everybody was left off with Emily's storyline that
her mom saw that strip of her… And I think it was, to
say scary as in like the scary Black Swan … there are
scary and eerie kind of things for Emily coming up, I think
more of that happened in the first half of season one for
Emily's character, not for the other girls. And I
would say that there's a lot of intense moments. Not
so much scary but more intense moments for Emily and the
stakes are raised a lot higher with her different
relationships with her family members and such friends
because of everything that happened in the first half.
And I think it just gets more intensified as opposed to
being scarier, if that makes sense.
Moderator
No, it does.
S. Mitchell
Yes, but there are some very intense moments that Emily has
that's different, like I said, members in her family and
people in her life. I'm very proud and I'm very
excited for everyone to see these episodes in the second
half. Yes, I'm very happy.
Moderator
And do you have any fears that you might have to be
overcoming in the future if they say we're going to work
with spiders or we're going to have you jump off - I don't
think they'll have you jump off a cliff but … anything scary
that they might say we need you to do and you'd be like,
"Oh, it's a fear?"
S. Mitchell
I think I'm pretty claustrophobic, so if they had us
crawling through some kind of tunnel to get towards A - I
don’t know if I'd be able to do it. Or be stuck in an
elevator, like a small one with everybody. I don’t
know. That would be a little bit tricky. So I'd
say any kind of claustrophobic situation or dealing with any
sort of rodent. Not a fan.
Moderator
Oh yes, it's scary.
S. Mitchell
Yes. I will sky dive. I will jump out of a
plane. I will bungee jump. I will do everything,
but rodents and being in a small, tight space, not so good.
Moderator
I noticed that you and Ashley have a boutique.com page.
S. Mitchell
Yes.
Moderator
Can you talk a little bit about that real quick?
S. Mitchell
Yes, it's really cool. I mean you can link up and I
know that I'm following a bunch of people like Nicole
Richie. I love her style. And it's really neat
because you can just log onto boutiques.com and I see her
page and then you kind of see her style and different things
that are on her wish list and her favorite items. And
then it just makes kind of shopping online a lot easier
because I really love the way that she dresses. And I
see the things that she picks and you can get them from a
variety of different places. And then I can just click
off that and get it too. It's just really cool.
You get to see exactly things that they want, their favorite
items, and their style, and it's almost like shopping with
them in a way.
Moderator
I was wondering, how did your fashion sense differ from your
character's?
S. Mitchell
Okay, how much time do we have for this answer? It
differed quite a bit. They always say it's kind of
cool to come to work and be in someone else's shoes and
really live in someone else's shoes, as the saying goes.
I honestly feel like when I come to work and when I'm in
Emily's wardrobe, I turn into her and it's great because it
helps me so much. But my style is completely different
from hers and not for any bad reason or anything, just
because I'm so girly and I love playing dress-up. I
love sequins and I love bright dresses and high-heeled
shoes. I don’t know, I just like having fun with
fashion.
So yes, my closet's a little
bit brighter, whereas Emily would go for a more comfortable.
She's pretty athletic, so she always has running shoes
galore. She would choose comfort over a trendy outfit that
was not so comfortable for her, whereas I would probably get
the outfit. I'm just the opposite. But yes, I
have just as many heels as Emily does runners and dresses as
she does jeans, so it's kind of different. But I do
love coming to work and getting to try on and be comfortable
in her clothes.
Moderator
So what else helps you get into character as Emily besides
wearing her type of clothes?
S. Mitchell
Hanging out with the girls and every scene that we have with
the four of us is really cool because now it's actually,
I've really gotten to know each of the other characters as
well. And it's interesting because even now I'll be
shopping or I'll be with one of the girls from the show,
I'll be like this is a piece that Aria would wear. And
I say that to Lucy and she's like "Yes, I know. Oh my
gosh, this is what Emily would wear." So it's like
weird. We're really getting to know each of the
characters so much better obviously than when we first shot.
So it's really cool that our relationships are getting
closer as cast members as they are characters, so it's
really neat.
Moderator
I wanted to know what is it like for you to play a character
in the closet when television has quite a few openly gay
characters now?
S. Mitchell
I was very excited to play, and I think it was important to
play a character who was still discovering herself just
because yes, like you said, there are a lot of characters
now in television who are out. But I think there
weren't so many that were in my age group and even in other
age brackets that were still trying to figure themselves
out. And I think because I've gotten such great
response from the fans and people around the world that have
said, "Finally like somebody I can relate to because I'm
confused. I don’t know what to label myself. Am
I gay? Am I straight? Am I bi?" And I
think with Emily's character, she wasn’t trying to define
herself. She didn’t feel like she had to put a label
on herself. And I think that's what makes it unique,
and I think that's what makes it so great is that she didn’t
have to explain herself to anybody. Yes, she didn’t
come out and say, "I'm gay or I'm bi." I think it's
just kind of cool to have a character on TV who has
discovered herself and doesn’t want to quite put herself in
one category.
Moderator
And also, how will the show change now that A has moved from
threats to attempted murder?
S. Mitchell
It's definitely raised the stakes. It's made the girls
a lot more aware of everything that goes on around them.
Now they knew that he/she wasn’t really messing around
before, but when he/she hits your friend with a car meaning
to probably kill you, you definitely are a lot more careful
with everything and just you realize that now A is not
messing around whatsoever. So I think, again like I
said, it kind of brings each of the girls closer to one
another because this traumatic event happened. And it
just makes them want to find out even just get closer and
figure out who A is now. So all of the girls are on
more of an intense mission to try and figure out who A is.
Moderator
Can you tell us in what ways, if any, do you relate to
Emily?
S. Mitchell
Yes, definitely the swimming aspect. Emily feels this
huge competitive swimming and doing the best on her team.
Not that I was one of the best on my team, but I definitely
was in the pool at a very young age. As soon as I
could walk, I was thrown into the pool. So I share
that love for the water like my character does, and also her
competitive drive that sort of comes from that too. I
would definitely say that I'm competitive, so I can
understand Emily wanting to be the best on her team. I
also relate to the character’s amazing respectable qualities
about her, like one of the things that I respect about her
the most is her loyalty to each of the girls. And I
would love to say that's the characteristic that I share
with my friends, and I think it's hugely important and a
good one to have. So yes, I think those are some of
the qualities that I have with her.
Moderator
On-screen or off-screen, what's been the coolest experience
for you personally since Pretty Little Liars started?
S. Mitchell
I think on-screen, the next couple of episodes that will air
January 3rd, those are some of my favorite scenes
up to date. So those were … characters and were scenes
that I was really, really happy with everything, and that
was kind of the best moments for me on screen. And
then off-screen I would say everything was just driving up
to Warner Brothers Films and getting to go to work with just
amazing girls and amazing crew. It's just become such
a great big family, so it's just lovely. There's too
many things to list, but those are just some of them.
Just getting to go to work every day.
Moderator
You talked a little bit about Emily struggling with her
sexuality, and we were wondering with all the kids in
schools today being bullied and worse for their sexuality,
do you have any advice for teens that are struggling with
the issue?
S. Mitchell
Yes, and I would definitely say talk to somebody. I
mean we are so - I just worked with the Trevor Project, and
I think it's an amazing organization where they have a
hotline 24 hours every single day where you can call in and
talk to somebody. And I think at times like that when
you're getting bullied and you feel like you are alone and
you're the only one, that is key. I feel like there
are so many people out there that would help you and are
willing to listen and talk you through it. And I think
that you need a friend. Everybody needs a friend.
And I feel like with these hotlines out, they're so crucial
and that you should definitely call them.
With everything else, I
think with the bullying - in all bullies, you have to
realize it’s because they're insecure with themselves and
really at the end of the day it has nothing to do with you.
It has everything to do with them and what's going on in
their life and their need to make you feel bad. I
think it's important, so crucial, and everything to life an
authentic life, so I would say never change yourself or
never fake being somebody or never want to be somebody or
something different than who you are. So with all of
those things, it's horrible and that's why playing this
character, I've been very proud to do it.
Moderator
And we also saw on Twitter that you saw Black Swan,
and we were wondering since you started as a dancer and now
you're an actress, what do you think of the film as a dancer
and as an actress?
S. Mitchell
I think it was absolutely amazing. I think for Natalie
Portman who is an actress before a dancer, for her to go
through such a huge training process and everything that she
had to do, not just the dieting but literally doing her own
dancing for the most part is absolutely amazing, so I can
appreciate it as a dancer and I can appreciate it as an
actor. It was an amazing movie. I just was not
prepared for it to be as much of a thriller as it was.
I don’t watch previews or anything like that, so when I go
to a movie I'm blind and I don’t listen to what other people
have said about it. So I went into it not knowing
anything and was just a little bit more frightened than I
thought I was going to be.
Moderator
Your character Emily along with Aria, Hanna, Spencer, …the
drama and the danger surrounding them. Do you have
someone in your life that you can always count on to be
there for you?
S. Mitchell
Definitely. Yes, I'm pretty blessed to have a tight
knit relationship with all of my family members: my mom, my
dad, my brother, my grams. So I have all of them to
talk to in addition to some of my best friends that I've
grown up with. So to count, I would say that I
definitely have about five good friends, and I think that's
amazing and I’m blessed with family members if I have
somebody to call on and yes, I feel very lucky because
playing Emily's character, you realize just how important it
is to have the support from your family members. When you
don’t have it, it's a whole different world.
Moderator
As far as the four girls on set, do you have any time to
just be normal friends, to just have girl time?
S. Mitchell
Yes, we do. On weekends, they all have their own
groups obviously from growing up here and living here.
So that's why I've gone to kind of figure out the city a
little bit more, walking around on my own, but definitely
Troy and I get together and we do like a movie night on
Sundays. We've done that a couple of times. And
we’ll do a dinner, so that's kind of nice. And yes, we
do. When we have time, if we're not busy doing other
things, then we do try and get together. Otherwise, we
see each other at events too, and that's kind of fund
because we're not on the lot and we're just out together, so
that's kind of cool too. But we do try and make time.
Moderator
Are there any books that you're reading right now that you
think that someone should definitely put on their Christmas
list or should go pick up in the store ASAP?
S. Mitchell
Yes, The Four Agreements. I bet I've read this book
a bunch of times, but this is definitely an amazing
Christmas gift and I already have several copies that I'm
going to give out this year. So I would say The
Four Agreements.
Moderator
I was wondering if you watched Christmas Cupid last
night, since your costar Ashley Benson starred in it?
S. Mitchell
I am watching it, and she has given me the actual film to go
and watch it this weekend when I come home and go home to my
family because - it's a big tradition in my family household
is to watch Christmas movies on Christmas Eve. And
because most of the time you're always watching the same
movies, your favorite movies that you watch all the time -
the classic ones - this time when I go back, we're actually
watching Ashley's movie. So I want to be just as
surprised as everybody else and I'm going to bring it home
and we're all going to watch it together. So that's
how I'm going to watch her movie on Christmas Eve, but I
heard it's absolutely amazing.
Moderator
What do you want fans to take away from your character Emily
when they watch the show?
S. Mitchell
Yes. My character, I would want for them to see
themselves and like I said, I don’t think there's anything
more important than just being true to who you are and
living an authentic life. And if they get anything
from that, it's just be you, live your life and don’t be
afraid about what anybody else says. At the end of the
day, it's only what you think, so that's what you're happy
with.
Moderator
Do you have any traditions with the character, the crew that
you guys have kind of started now that you're getting into
the … of the second half of the first season like anything
that you tend to do?
S. Mitchell
Okay, it's not really like a tradition or anything, but we
do have a lot of inside jokes that I can tell you. We
have one inside joke that the cast and the crew and
everybody makes fun of me, and it's still sometimes when I
say my lines or even some of the other girls are doing it
too on purpose now, but because of my accent and being
Canadian, I still say sorry a lot and I haven’t switched it
over completely to sorry. So on set, like the cast
members and crew, whenever anything happens now no one says
sorry on set, and they all say sorry. I mean it's a
small inside joke but it's kind of funny now because even
after at one point I'll be like, "Oh, I'm sorry." And
like it's kind of a little jab to me but it's just kind of
funny because everybody's switching it up now, so you’re
hearing a lot more sorry’s on set than you are sorry, which
really isn't helping me out.
Moderator
And in terms of pranksters, do you have anyone who is
playing pranks on the set or does anything silly like goes
and musses up your trailers or?
S. Mitchell
No one’s messed up our trailers, but we all talk about in
the first half of the season that Ashley was the biggest
prankster on set, because she would go around putting
clothespins on different crew members … and they couldn’t do
anything about it. And she did a bunch of stuff like
and she'd just joke around. She's a jokester.
But she actually hasn’t done really any pranks in the second
half since we’ve been shooting, so, I haven’t thought about
that. But I’ll have to bring that to her attention …
Yes, she is the prankster. She just hasn’t been
pranking anybody recently.
Moderator
I was just curious if there's any hint about Toby you can
give us for the second half of the season or at least
Emily's feelings about Toby?
S. Mitchell
Yes, Toby … Everybody loves Toby. Everybody on set
loves Keegan and everybody really loves Toby because she
would have such a soft spot for him. And his
relationship with Emily is definitely very unique, very
special. And they have their moments that were really
sweet before everything. And I think with Toby, she
won’t be leaving …just yet. So he will be hanging
around. As far as his relationship with Emily or
anybody else, that I would have to say you need to tune in
because if I say one thing, it would not be good. But
yes, Toby does stick around … He will be seen again.
Moderator
Even though we love you playing Emily in Pretty Little
Liars, do you have any other projects that you are
currently working on or see you working on in the future?
S. Mitchell
Yes. I do have a different kind of project that I do
have at the end of the year, which I would love to tell
everybody right now but I have to keep my own secrets, too.
So there are some goals that are happening next year.
So it will be good. It’s hard to do these interviews
because I want to tell everybody what happens, and I would
love to share with everyone …oh my gosh, in this scene, but
we have to be very tight lipped around here, so I'm trying
my best.
Moderator
Have you had a chance to actually meet the author Sara
Shepard yet? And if so, what was your favorite moment?
S. Mitchell
Oh my gosh, yes, we did meet Sara Shepard. We met her
actually in New York last March, end of March of this year,
and she was so great. We met her twice because she
came out to L.A. again and did the book signing with us that
we had right before the show premiered. Sara is
amazing. She is so much fun. We had a great
dinner with her and then when we saw her in L.A. last time
and even when she came on set for that episode that she did.
So, yes, she is so great and we want to have her back to do
another cameo.
Back to the Main Articles Page
Back to the Main Primetime TV Page
We need more episode guide recap writers,
article writers, MS FrontPage and Web Expression users,
graphics designers, and more, so please
email us if you can help out! More
volunteers always needed! Thanks!
Page updated 4/14/15




