Exclusive: Pretty Little Liars Star Troian Bellisario Talks on the Show’s Early Success, What’s to Come & More!

By: Melanie Rob

Since launching two weeks ago, Pretty Little Liars has become the latest ABC Family success story and one of the summer’s hottest TV shows. TVDoneWright.com had the chance to sit down with one of the show’s four young stars, Troian Bellisario, who you may know better as Spencer Hastings.

I had the chance to quiz Troian on the show’s early success, how she got the part of Spencer — and yes, I did ask her about my favourite new TV couple, Wrencer. Read all about it below!

First of all, congratulations on the success that Pretty Little Liars has had already. You guys retained 100% of your premiere audience for the second episode. How has the cast and crew taken the news? Did you know it was going to be such a huge success?

Bellisario: You know, it was something that we were always positive about and really excited for. It was very funny, the constant feeling on set and still is, because we haven’t gotten the word of continuing for the back ten. We’re all really excited and really elated but we don’t really feel like we can quite celebrate yet. We have a lot of people running on set being like, ‘We retained 100% of our numbers yay!’ and we’re like, ‘Yay, that’s awesome… get back to work’, because we still have a lot of work. So we’re waiting for that final moment where we can pop a bottle of champagne and be like, ‘Yes!’.

Tell us how you got the part of Spencer.

Bellisario: I got an audition, I went in and I loved the sides. When I first read it was for ABC Family, I was kinda like, ‘Okay, I know exactly what this is gonna be’, and then she was like cheating with her sister’s fiancé and bumming cigarettes, and she was so smart and witty. I was just like, ‘This is a killer role. This is going to be a blast’. I went in and I did it [the audition] the way that I normally dress, and it was funny because I knew that I did a great job because I never, ever in a million years, thought that they’d want someone like me. So that gave me the freedom to be like, ‘Alright, I’m just gonna have fun with this because they’re not looking for me, they’re looking for some pretty blonde thing’. Then they called me back and I was kind of like, ‘Wow! Okay, I guess I gave it a really good audition but they’re not going to go with me’. They called me back and they were like, ‘Can you come in and kind of, just glam yourself up?’. So I did my make-up and hair for like, the first time since prom. It was funny, I came in and they go, ‘Oh perfect’. And I was like, ‘Okay, do you guys want me to do the scene?’ and they were like, ‘Honestly, we don’t need you to do the scene but we really like watching you so just do it’. I did it and it was kind of like singing karaoke; there was certain moments in the scene and they were like, ‘Oh my god, so much fun’. I was just like, ‘When are they gonna wake up and realise I’m not who they usually cast for this?’ and then they gave me the part. I think I was the first person they were sure of. I mean, they offered Aria to Lucy [Hale] but I was the first person that they were sure of that they cast.

Pretty Little Liars is based on a series of books. Were you familiar with the books prior? Or did you read any of them once you knew you had the role to find out about the Spencer character?

Bellisario: I had no idea that they were a book series. They didn’t tell me that till I had the role and I looked it up and I saw this Spencer, and I saw that there was a model who took all these pictures for Spencer. Then Alloy sent me the books and I read them immediately. They were so easy to devour and I couldn’t put them down. That’s funny actually, growing up, one of my favourite book series was an Alloy book series – actually it was created by Bob Levy, who created this show. I was obsessed with their books ‘Fearless’ and the character of Gaia Moore, so I was so excited to be part of an Alloy book series because I think they make really, really great stories.

The concept of the show revolves around the disappearance of Alison and these mystery messages from somebody called ‘A’. How long will the fans have to watch and wait for a resolution? Is that going to be something that continues throughout the whole show or just a portion of the first season? How will it work?

Bellisario: Well, in the books, by the fourth book, because Sara Shepard [author] only thought she was only going to be writing a cycle of four [books], she wrapped it up by the fourth book and kind of exposed ‘A’ and they had to deal with who that person was that was torturing them. But then, it was such a big hit that she had to bring it back for more, so then a new ‘A’ arose for the second cycle of books. In our show, I’m not really sure if we’re going to keep ‘A’ going throughout all of it or if, like the books, we’re going to have one ‘A’ come up and maybe ‘A’ gets picked up by some other character. I think that mystery and that blackmail storyline is always going to be part of the girls’ lives.

Your character Spencer is kind of, tightly wound and very academic. How different or how similar are you to your character?

Bellisario: I’m quite similar to Spencer, that’s what worries me! [Laughs] That’s what’s so funny to me, I have a very, very dry sense of humor and I am highly anxious and neurotic in everything that I do. I’m such a perfectionist and I was anally academic in high school, I still am – my scripts for every show are just littered with notes. When I read this role of Spencer, I felt so connected to her; she has the same sense of voice, the same drive that I do, the same obsessions that I do. But what’s interesting about her is that she’s light years ahead of me in sexuality, in terms of where I was when I was in high school. I was obsessed with academics but I used books to hide my face, and I used math problems to avoid sitting with people at lunch. I ate of lunches in the bathroom. Spencer’s not afraid to be out there, she’s got the same anxieties as I do but she’s much more of a confident, social person than I am.

If you could be any of the other characters, who would you choose?

Bellisario: It’s funny, I feel like in my life, I’m a mixture of Aria and Spencer. My obsession with music and with alternative culture connects me to Aria. My academic and intellectual drive is resonant with Spencer, but I feel like I really love all of the girls. I’ve definitely struggled with image concerns like Hanna and I’ve also struggled with feeling competitive and not really knowing where I fit in like Emily. But I guess if I had to pick another one, I’d say I’d feel closest to Aria if it wasn’t Spencer.

Your character Spencer is currently falling in love with her sister’s boyfriend and I have to say, I love this couple and I’ve already been calling you guys ‘Wrencer’…

Bellisario: [Laughs] I read that! I love it!

I’m so ready for you guys to get together. Are they going to get together eventually?

Bellisario: You’ll just have to watch. I completely adore Julian [Morris] who plays Wren. He and I have way too much fun together on set. One of our favourite things to do is teach each other new accents and when we’re going off on set, there’s no stopping us. We really do have a blast. I hope that they might get together but I don’t know. You’ll just have to watch…

It seems like Pretty Little Liars is on it’s way to becoming a hit like Gossip Girl and 90210. Have you guys already experienced a new found level of fame with magazine covers etc.?

Bellisario: I’m kind of waiting for that to hit me, it hasn’t [yet]. We were in one magazine, we’re going to be in an issue of InStyle coming out quite soon but nothing’s really changed. I still get up, I still go to the WB lot and work from pre-dawn until post-dusk, and then I go home and I still see all my same friends and we still laugh at the same jokes. Nothing has changed yet. I know a lot of people have been saying, ‘Oh my god, everything’s going to change… just you wait’. I’m still kind of, holding my breath and waiting for the first thing to happen.

Similarly, are you wary of comparisons with shows like Gossip Girl and 90210?

Bellisario: Oh, absolutely. There have been a lot of questions about, ‘How is your show different from Gossip Girl?’ or stuff like that. I think there are a lot of similarities but I think that our show really tries to adhere to a more realist – I mean it’s highly dramatic and highly sensational – but we are more Middle America and we really try to deal with issues such as divorce, eating disorders and homosexuality. Gossip Girl is a bit more of an indulgence and an escape of you know, private jets and 16 year olds sipping martinis whereas I’m just trying to sneak the vodka soda at the table.

Well, we’re only two episodes in so far, can you tell us what’s to come for the rest of this season?

Bellisario: So much! It’s crazy. We are just about to start our second to last episode of this cycle and things have just snowballed in every regard. In Emily’s relationship with Maya. The introduction of Toby, who’s somebody from our past. My relationship with Melissa has just completely gone out of control. Aria and Ezra are still trying to figure if what they’re doing is right or if they can even get away with it. Everything that you’re seeing is now has just reached almost a breaking point and on top of that, ‘A’ is really coming down hard on all of us.

Finally, what are you currently watching on TV?

Bellisario: You know, I don’t have time to watch TV! I really have never – I guess because I kind of grew up in TV – I never really watched it unless it was a very special show that my dad was really proud of. I didn’t have cable for, I think, five years when I was at school and I just recently watched all of Six Feet Under and then I started watching Deadwood and Lost. I’m still on the second season of Lost. I have so much great television to catch up on. But oh… I did see one of my very, very close friends on True Blood. I now have gotten a chance to watch some of her episodes. I’m a huge Alan Ball fan, I think he’s one of the greatest geniuses in television and I have a blast watching his shows, especially with her on it. Her name is Deborah Ann Woll, she plays the character of Jessica.

Oh, Jessica! She’s fantastic on that show. I just watched the season three premiere and she is hilarious!

Bellisario: Yeah! She kills me. We went to the same theater school and we were in a lot of plays together. She’s a little bit older than me so I just looked up to her so much. When she got out and started immediately on True Blood, I was just like, ‘Oh my God, if I can be half as good as her, I know I’m walking on the right path’. Hopefully one day we’ll get to work together.

Thanks to Troian and her management for their time.

Pretty Little Liars continues on Tuesdays at 8pm ET on ABC Family.

Posted by Adam Wright on June 21, 2010. Filed under Features, News, Preview. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry