Chyler Leigh: The 'Pretty Ugly Girl' Goes Punk

You know her best as Janie Briggs, the "pretty ugly girl" in Not Another Teen Movie, but it's her newest role as a punk on That '80s Show that is quickly becoming her claim to fame.

An east coast girl who travelled west for an acting career, Chyler Leigh entered the entertainment world as a Miami-based model before doing commercials for Wendy's and Coca-Cola. The jump to television came next and, amongst auditioning for pilots that never became a series, Chyler landed a three-episode gig with the Camden family on 7th Heaven. Next was Not Another Teen Movie. Chyler's role spoofing the teen genre as the "Pretty Ugly Girl" left Chyler ready to forge a movie career after NOTM became a modest hit. The big screen, however, would have to wait. In 2001 Chyler auditioned for Fox's That '80s Show, winning the role of Tuesday, a sarcastic punk who works alongside the series' main character at a music store.

Like That '70s Show before it, That '80s Show is becoming a break-out hit for FOX and Chyler has found herself in an enviable position—she's a Hollywood actress with a steady gig. Get to know this teen star by reading the interview below.

My first question is about That '80s Show. Who is your character and what is she like?

Chyler: Her name is Tuesday. She is the punk rocker of the show. She's a firecracker, she's very sarcastic, a very feisty girl who finds who find Glenn Howerton's character Corey to be one of the only people to meet her in a match. They have great chemistry together; they're always goofy with each other.

And they work at the record store together?

Chyler: Yes, at permanent records.

How well do you understand your character at this point?

Chyler: Oh very well. Tuesday has a lot going on. She's not just a girl who likes to make a joke. She's 19 and she's just trying to figure out what she's going to do in the world, as are all the characters on the show. They're at that position where it's time to stop screwing around and figure out what you're going to do. She's got a lot going on for herself.

I'm like Tuesday to a certain extent. I'm pretty darn sarcastic myself so the joking mannerisms are the same.

Were you ever into the punk scene when you were in high school?

Chyler: Not really. I listened to all sorts of music and I dressed however I felt like. Friend-wise I got along with just about everybody, I didn't stick to one particular clique of anything. So yeah, I had some punk friends and some gothic friends.

How many times did you have to audition for That '80s Show?

Chyler: Only a couple, actually. I originally went out for Sophia, I read for that character and then on my way out one of the casting directors came up to me and said, "We'd like to consider you for Tuesday, can you read this?" I said "sure" and I went in and read for it. In the end I only went out for it maybe two or three times. It was really easy.

The 1980s were such a unique decade. What was your favorite aspect of the '80s?

Chyler: I agree with that. They were very unique. It's such an energetic decade. Everything was go-go-go, let's do what we can and conquer the world sort of thing at that point. That's what I liked most about it, it was very fast.

Were you born in 1981 or 82?

Chyler: 82.

So do you have any memories of the decade?

Chyler: Not too much. I remember playing with my brothers G.I. Joe's, watching Care Bears and My Little Pony. I didn't participate too much in the 1980s.

So you get to live the decade through your character...

Chyler: Exactly, I get to be 19 years old in the '80s.

The same people who produce That '70s Show produce this show. How is this show different?

Chyler: The characters are completely different. They are a lot more driven. In That '70s Show they started out as teenagers so they were going through more teen angst type stuff. We're more art vs. commerce. We have our Reagan type character who's very much into the business stuff, go-go-go. And then there's Sophia who's into any type of oddball job she can get. There are a lot of entrepreneurs in our show who are really trying to figure out what to do with their lives as opposed to what they're going to do on the weekend.

Before you were an actress you were a model. Why did this interest you?

Chyler: I was in Miami where everybody's a model. (laughs) Everybody's beautiful. Really though, I don't really know. I stumbled into it. It was partly my idea and partly my mom's. My mom was a model when she was younger. I jumped into it that way and started when I was about 13 years old. Then I started doing commercials and commercials led to pilots.

Did your parents support you in becoming an actress?

Chyler: Yes, definitely. My mom was enthusiastic and my dad has always been very proud.

What were you like when you were growing up?

Chyler: I grew up in Virginia and Miami. Virginia gave me the real adventurous sense that I have. I hung out by myself a lot as a kid and I'd always take my bike and go riding and hang out by creeks and get dirty and roll in the mud and stuff like that. It just gave me a real sense of being away from a crazy city.

When I moved to Miami it was the biggest culture shock in my life. It was the craziest place to go to. I'd never seen so many different types of people and different ethnicities. It completely blew my mind. My first year in Miami I did home schooling, and when I went back to public school I still had a bit of an accent and I got made fun of so I dropped that very quickly.

Did you like Miami?

Chyler: Yeah. Well, Miami is a great place to visit but it kind of sucks to live there. After a while you've done everything that you can possibly do. I lived there for about five years during high school, and high school was what it was. I had fun, did things I wasn't supposed to do, the typical high school thing but I also had to go to casting (auditions) the next day, so I couldn't get too crazy. That did throw a damper into things. I wanted to join sports and play in the school band and I never really got the chance to do it.

Acting takes a lot of dedication, doesn't it?

Chyler: Yes.

And now it's finally paying off for you. What's it like being an actress in LA?

Chyler: You know, when I came out here the first couple of times, almost three years ago now, it was the most difficult thing that I've gone through. I was about 16 when I came out here. Coming out here at a time like that when you don't really know what to expect. Coming from Miami where it's really not that busy at all, I'd done a couple commercials and I came out west for pilot season...and it really threw me a curve ball. I wasn't expecting it to be quite as much as it was.

I fell in love with California as soon as I came out here. I loved it. But I had five auditions a day for two months and it was exhausting and depressing and frustrating and exciting all at the same time. It was a whole mix of everything because it's really what I want to do with my life, but at the same time I've gone out on so many pilots and I didn't get one until the very end. And I didn't even want to go on that one, I wanted to go home.

There's a lot of rejection in Hollywood.

Chyler: It's ridiculous. That's why I can't understand kids being in it. What they must go through when they're told they aren't pretty enough or their too heavy or they're not funny, I couldn't imagine it. I have a tough time with that, you know. Rejection is tough on anybody.

Now besides TV, your biggest role has been Janie in Not Another Teen Movie. What can you tell me about Janie Briggs?

Chyler: Oh boy, Janie Briggs. Janie Briggs was the artistic rebel girl that was just an absolute goof ball. Her character stems from Rachael Leigh Cook in She's All That. That's who I was spoofing, her and Molly Ringwald in Pretty in Pink. Janie was a mix of both of them. She was the ugly girl because she wears glasses and had a ponytail, that's it. Otherwise, they had me in these tiny little tops to make a joke about how in She's All That Rachael Leigh Cook was gorgeous to begin with.

Do you consider yourself a funny person?

Chyler: Well, after doing the movie I wanted to do another film rather than go into TV, and I wanted to do a more dramatic piece because I didn't want people to think that I was only a 'funny' girl. Then I got That '80s Show and just fell in love with the character. So, yeah, I think I do a pretty good job with comedy. But I think the next project I work on will be a more dramatic piece for film just to show I have some range.

Chyler, where do you see yourself in five years?

Chyler: Well, hopefully the show's still going. I would love this show to go for at least five years; I think that would be perfect for me. It gives a wider range for me because this character is so complex anyway. In five years I definitely want to still be in this business, I want to be doing films on hiatus.

In the long run, I'd like to say that I'll do this for as long as I think I can. I really don't know where it's going to go. I'm engaged right now and I'm going to be married this summer, and my fiancée is from Alaska. Eventually we want to move to Alaska. That's down the road but we definitely want to be living there when we have children.

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