Exclusive Interview : Bratz Star Chelsea Staub

Coming out on DVD today is Bratz the movie. If you haven’t seen it, Bratz is about 4 best girlfriends that face off against a domineering student body president. Buzzfocus had the chance to talk with Chelsea Staub, who plays that devious president of the student body. I promise you that Chelsea’s nothing like her character in the movie and is, in fact, very sweet. Check out our conversation below:

Link: Hi there, Chelsea, how are you doing today?

Chelsea: I’m very well, thank you.

Link: How was your Thanksgiving holiday? Did you do anything special?

Chelsea: Oh, it was amazing! I actually spent Thanksgiving in New York City. I went out there with my mom, it was her 50th Birthday and we went to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. It was so beautiful out there, it was perfect.

Link: Yeah, I was in New York as well, it got pretty cold there the day after Thanksgiving.

Chelsea: Friday was freezing! But Thanksgiving, I couldn’t believe how warm it was, we were walking around Central Park without any coats on or anything, it was great.

Link: Now shifting gears to Bratz, the Movie - You played the student body president/super villain Meredith - definitely not an easy character to play. How did prepare for the role and did you model your performance on anyone you know?

Chelsea: [Laughs]. When I first auditioned for Meredith, I only had a one page monologue. So, when I auditioned, I knew she wasn’t one of the Bratz and she just had this student body president speech. So I wasn’t quite sure what she was. I didn’t know if she was the villain or just an added character. I just did this speech and put a funny twist on it and I guess they liked it! So they called me back about 5 or 6 times and I found out I got the part, which was exciting, of course. And then, they sent the script to me at 11:30 at night for an 8AM table read. So I’m reading the script for the first time at midnight and every time I’m turning the page, I’m like “Oh my gosh” this is a huge part! This is awesome! So I realized I was the villain and a part of me was really excited and another part of me was nervous because if I’m doing my job right, little kids should walk from this movie absolutely hating me. So that was kind of nerve-wracking. Once I got into it, I loved it, I loved playing the villain. To prepare for it, I was the student body president at my old school, which a lot of my friends back here give me a hard time for. I took the power I felt with that to the next level, almost to where Meredith ran the school like a prison. And of course, there were a couple girls that added to the character, but I probably shouldn’t say their names.

Link: Yeah, that would probably be best.

Chelsea: [Laughs]

Link: You had an awesome musical performance of It’s All About Me in the movie, not to mention your song Fabulous. What’s more fun for you, acting or singing?

Chelsea: Well, I grew up doing musical theater, so I was always singing, dancing and acting all at the same time. When I started doing movies, I love acting and Meredith was a fun part to play. There was so much to work with and so many little added things that I could do with her. Singing was a bonus, like as I said the night I was reading the script getting ready to go to the table read… I didn’t know Meredith sang and danced in the movie! [Laughs]. So reading that Meredith performs at her super sweet sixteen and Meredith performs at the talent show.. It was like Oh my gosh!. The coolest part about that was being able to work with Ron Fair at Geffen Records, he was the guy that discovered Christina Aguilera and Fergie and the list goes on and on. That was nerve-racking. But to have my first time I’m in a record studio to be with Geffen and to be on an album, have my name and picture on an album was totally surreal, I never saw myself doing that.

Link: So now that you have done it, are we looking at the next triple-threat, sorta like J.Lo… singing, dancing, acting?

Chelsea: I don’t know, I know that’s what a lot of kids do these days. And I respect the ones that do it. I’m friends with a lot of kids like the Jonas Brothers that do a movie and go on tour for six months. It’s a lot of hard work. I don’t really consider myself a singer, or a pop singer. I mean, maybe one day, but as of right now, I’d rather focus on doing more movies.

Link: What was it like on the set? How was it working with the other girls?

Chelsea: It was great! You know, you think wow, we have five girls on a set with a lot of hair and makeup and only have 2 boys. This could easily be one month of catfights. It was the opposite. We all got along so well and everyone was so supportive. When I was doing my “It’s All About Me” number, all the Bratz girls would sit in the audience and applaud. When they did their “Open Eyes” number which was at the end of the film during the credits, I was already wrapped, but they said “Hey we sat through your all your numbers, you have to come back and see ours.” So I went to the Grove and watched them perform. We became really good friends. It was exciting, because for most of us, it was our first big film. To go through that together and be experiencing everything that goes along with it together, I think we’ll always have a special bond.

Link: Sean McNamara is pretty seasoned when it comes to teen-oriented entertainment. What was it like working with him?

Chelsea: Sean McNamara is awesome! He’s such a nice guy and so sweet. I loved him because he let me get away with anything. When we were shooting the birthday party scene, there was a stunt guy standing on a ledge juggling. We were getting ready to roll and I was up on the same ledge. He said “Hey, heads up I’m a stunt guy. If you want to push me off this ledge when you get up here, feel free”. I was like are you sure? We didn’t OK it with Sean. I was like “alright, I’m going to do it, you can’t get mad.” So they called action, and walked up on to this ledge I pushed this juggler and he took this huge stunt fall. Sean burst out into laughter! So he came over to the stunt guy and said “Please tell me she told you she was going to do that.” He thought it was so funny, but he freaked out because he thought I had taken the character to the next level. But he was awesome, we ended up keeping it in the film.

Link: Jon Voight is also pretty seasoned. Did you have fun working with him? Did you get to learn anything from him?

Chelsea: I learned so much from Jon. It was cool because I looked at him as such a mentor during the film and about a month later, I read an article with Shia LeBeouf where he was saying the same thing. Jon was in his first movie and kinda showed him the ropes. I thought that was cool that so many young actors look up to Jon. To do your first movie with an Academy Award winner was really awesome. The first time I met Jon was at the production office - no one told me I was going in there to meet Jon Voight - I was told to meet to come in to meet the guy that was cast to play my dad. I walked in and there was Jon and everyone could tell I was totally excited. He told me to come into his office and talk for a couple of minutes. We ended sitting in his office for about an hour and a half talking about our characters. By the end of it, he wrote his home phone number down on my script and said “If you come up with any ideas for me or have any notes for my character, please feel free to give me a call.” I was like yeah, that’s what I’m going to do, call Jon Voight and tell him I don’t think this is working - you need to do this differently”. [Laughs] He’s just the coolest guy.

Link: Are you still star-struck in Hollywood or are you completely familiar with the whole scene?

Chelsea: Oh, I’m definitely still star-struck. You see so many people get into this business and I love it. I feel so lucky that I get to be a part of it and meet other actors that I’ve looked up to and I get to perform. It’s awesome.

Link: What can fans expect from the Bratz DVD coming out?

Chelsea: Well, of course we’ll have the movie and there are a lot of awesome deleted scenes. We did a lot of really funny scenes that unfortunately never made it to the film. But they’re some of my favorite. I’m excited for people to see that. There’s a bunch of behind-the-scenes stuff. Plus when they get the DVD, there’s a scholarship in there. Four girls are going to get a $15,000 scholarship (they have to go online to enter). In the movie, we gave a scholarship away to Cloe’s character and to go along with the positive message in the film, we’re giving 4 girls money so that they can go to school for something they’re passionate about. It’s awesome.

Link: How many copies have you given to your friends already?

Chelsea: [Laughs] Well, it’s coming out today, so I’m definitely going to stock up - that will be my big Christmas gift this year for all my friends.

Link: Your work in J.O.N.A.S is coming up next year, have you started production yet given the writer’s guild strike?

Chelsea: We haven’t started; we plan to start at the end of January since the boys are on tour right now. I think it’s going to be awesome - it’s a show that’s different from anything Disney’s ever done before. We’re shooting it single-camera; it’s a little edgier for Disney. It’s going to be a blast, it’s going to be the three boys and me and we play secret agents. It’s a little bit of 24 mixed with the Monkeys… with a little bit of music in their too.

Link: How about Minutemen, the Disney Channel original movie, that’s coming in January too, right?

Chelsea: Yup, that will be coming out January 25th. I just finished my ADR for it yesterday, so you’ll be able to see a little bit of it. I’m so excited for Minutemen. We have one of the best casts - everyone in that cast just killed it, they’re so good. I’m really looking forward to seeing the whole thing.

Link: So, here’s my introspective question for you…You’ve already built an impressive resume at your young age. When looking back on your career down the line, what do you want to be known for?

Chelsea: Oooo. What do I want to be known for.. that’s good! [Laughs] [I want to be known for] being funny and people knowing that I don’t take myself very seriously. But still being respected and not having completely lost my mind in the business [Laughs]. I want to do funny movies and be known as a comedic actress, so pretty much anything where I made someone laugh will make me a happy camper.

Link: Well Chelsea, I want to thank you for taking the time to speak with BuzzFocus.com, I hope you have a great day and a great holiday season!

Chelsea: Oh, thank you so much, you too, it was great talking to you!