Exclusive Interview : Coastal Dreams Star Danica Stewart

Recently, I had the opportunity to speak with Danica Stewart, who stars as the character Zoe on NBC.com’s Coastal Dreams. Danica had just returned to California from Washington, after spending the Thanksgiving holiday with her family. Much like her character Zoe, Danica is full of life and it was a pleasure to speak with her.

Here’s the interview:

Bags: What motivated you to get into acting?

Danica: In high school on career days, all my friends always knew what they wanted to do, and I would always change it up. They used to make fun of me (laugh), because I could never decide. ‘I kind of want to do this, I kind of want to do that.’ For a while I wanted to be a pediatrician then a lawyer, there were all these things.

I like change. I like new and different things. I wasn’t sure I would be really happy doing one thing, (living) everyday in the same routine. In acting you have different parts and your always doing something new. It’s fun and exciting.

I first started modeling, and I had an agency in Seattle that also had an acting department. One of the agents in the acting department contacted me and asked me if I was interested. So, I started taking acting classes (at 13). I immediately loved it. I strayed away from the modeling end of things and was strictly acting and taking classes. I enjoyed the classes so much. Once I built up enough skills and felt confident with it, I started going on auditions and (eventually) moved to LA.

Bags: Have your parents been supportive the whole time? I noticed your grandmother left a message on the NBC boards.

Danica: (Laugh) Ha. Yeah, she just told me that over Thanksgiving. She (grandmother) said, “I think you’re so great (an actress).”
Everyone’s been supportive. When I first thought of moving to LA, I was encouraged to go to college, getting an education, and taking the less risky path.

So, I said I would go to a community college, work, but also pursue acting. They were more on board when I compromised. Ok, I will do this (college), but I’ll also pursue acting and I’ll do college in California. My mom was always really supportive of me following my dreams.

It’s scary. They all just want the best for me. They know how hard this business can be. And, I do to. I was up for the challenge. They were supportive. I was so gung ho, and so determined. They’ve been great throughout the whole process.

Bags: What’s the production schedule like on Coastal Dreams? Have all the episodes been shot already?

Danica: Yes. We shot all the episodes at the very end of August. It was a whirlwind experience. We shot all 24 episodes in four days, and each episode is about 3 minutes long. It was so draining. It was very hard because of our time schedule. We didn’t have a lot of time.

Everybody on set wanted it to turn out so good. We all believed in the project so much that everybody just really came together and made it work. I’m really happy with the way it turned out. The hours were pretty insane. We were filming in the valley. The commute was an hour there and an hour back. One night I didn’t get home until 1am; then I had to be back on set the next morning at 7am.

Bags: What’s been your favorite part about working on Coastal Dreams?

Danica: I worked on Passions for almost 5 years now. So, It was really fun to dive into a whole new role and have a complete change of scenery. We filmed this kind of like a movie. We were on location in a beautiful house. The cast members were always great. I really loved the character I played on Coastal Dreams – Zoe. It was a great experience.

Bags: In one episode you woke up and Christian was taking off your bracelet. If you woke and someone was taking off your bracelet, do you think you’d have the same reaction as Zoe? I’d be more freaked out.

Danica: Did you think it more of a laid back reaction?

Bags: It was more like quick fright. I’d probably jump into an attack mode.

Danica: Zoe was freaked out by it. I think deep down she’s kind of skeptical of Christian. She trusts him and thinks he’s a good guy. She loves her cousin and knows her cousin wouldn’t be with someone who wasn’t a good guy. That put her more at ease. She’s still skeptical.

Personally, I’d be pretty upset, and a little freaked out that someone would be in my room breaking in to steal my jewelry. Probably, I’d just be a little more angry. You’re invading my personal space. I don’t know. That’s never happened to me (laugh).

Bags: That brings us to our next question. Your character Zoe is on the run from a stalker boyfriend. Have you ever had any crazy romantic experiences?

Danica: (laugh) I’ve never had any stalker boyfriends, (laugh) which is a blessing. I think that would be horrible. I wouldn’t wish that upon anybody.

It makes it exciting for the character.

Bags: You briefly touched on this before, how does your work on Coastal Dreams compare with your work on Passions?

Danica: Passions is on Direct TV, and it’s completely different. Passions is (filmed) on a sound stage. Coastal Dreams we filmed on location. We had some outside scenes. With the planes flying overhead we had to stop tape and (for other) annoyances interfering with your mic. We filmed this more like a movie. They did such a beautiful job filming it.

The character is also totally different. On Passions, I play a disturbed character. She hasn’t had the most ideal life.

Bags: Do you relate more to your character Zoe or your character on Passions?

Danica: I relate more to Zoe. She’s really adventurous and she has a really soft heart. She’s full of life. She cares about people. She’s not self-absorbed. She doesn’t feel sorry for herself. When something bad happens to my character on Passions, she goes into a mode where she ends up cutting herself. She starts rebelling. Whereas when something happens to Zoe, like having a stalker ex-boyfriend, she makes the best of it and gets out of town. And goes to Pacific Shores (joint laughter).

Bags: You dye your hear black for Passions. Do you prefer brunette or blond?

Danica: I’m a natural blond, so when I got the role on Passions, I auditioned as a blond. When I got it I knew I had to dye my hair. I had to fit in with the family I was playing off of. The girl who played the character Jessica before me had dark hair. I knew that and knew I’d have to die it. I don’t think I would ever dye my hair that extreme. So it gave me a good excuse to. It was fun for a little while. Its fun to have a different hair color. I remember walking past a mirror, when I first got it done, and I was like “Oh my God who is this girl?” This looks totally different.

It’s nice to be back to blond. It’s much easier to take care of. I’m not always having to dye my hair.

Bags: On Coastal Dreams, any romances on camera or off?

Danica: (laugh) No romance.

Bags: (laugh)I know it was only four days.

Danica: We all had a great time filming together, but no romance. It’s better.

Bags: How does Hollywood life compare with Seattle, do you ever go back?

Danica: I go back all the time. I go back every year for Thanksgiving and Christmas, and I go back usually once during the summer, Fourth of July or something. My family always comes to see me too.

Everywhere has their pros and their cons. I love LA. I love the weather. I just got back from Washington and it was in the 30s. It was just freezing. It’s nice to be back.
The hardest thing for me living in LA is to be away from my family. I’m very close to them. I have a really good support system out here. I have great friends.

Bags: Things are really heating up between Zoe, Christian and April, any clue about what’s going to happen?

Danica: April’s really upset with me. She thinks a lot more is going on. There’s definite chemistry between Christian and Zoe. They both want the best for each other. There’s a possibility of something happening between them. I don’t know what the writers have in store. As of what we shot, there’s a lot of chemistry between them.

Bags: Are they planning to go on for a second season?

Danica: I’m really hoping so. I would love to continue where we left off with the character. We leave off on episode 24 very open ended. I’d love for it to go further. We’re waiting to see the response of how good it does, and if we have a good audience for it.

Bags: Do you have a favorite movie or TV show that you watch?

Danica: My two favorite TV shows are Entourage and Sex in the City, I can’t wait for the movie. My favorite movie all time is Pretty Movie. It’s a girly movie, but I just love it.

Bags: If you could pick one person in TV or film to co-star with who would it be?

Danica: Adrian from Entourage. He’s very handsome (smile). Patrick Dempsey, I just watched Enchanted with my mom. He’s very appealing, though he may be too old for me, and he’s married (laugh). I think he’d be fun to work off of though, he’s such a talented actor.

Bags: Do you have a dream role?

Danica: I love all the animated films that have been coming out. I would love to do an animation project at some point. I never have. It would be really fun to be the voice of a character. It would be a new challenge.

Bags: What does the future hold for Danica Stewart?

Danica: Everyday is different. This business is always changing. One day I don’t have a job and the next I get a call, “Oh, you just booked Coastal Dreams.” This experience is very fun and exciting. You don’t know what’s in store; you don’t know what the next day is going to be. Well I could book this, and I could have a new job in a week.

I’m just going to continue working hard, and trying to do as much work as possible. And improve as an actor. I would love to have a TV series or get into some movies. That would be great. This is all very difficult, its (about) what comes my way. What role is perfect for me. When I go on auditions too, I can feel it. I’m reading a script and I feel the character. I can definitely feel this character or this character would be a challenge for me. I would love to get into movies or have a nighttime TV show.

Bags: Anything you’d like to share with your fans?

Danica: All love. Thank you so much. I adore all my fans. I thank them so much for all the support they’ve given me throughout the years that I’ve been acting.

Bags: Well Danica, I just want to thank you for the interview.

Danica: Thank you so much!