MACK ON THIS
Career Updates on the Lovely Larisa
Okay, I know you guys are going out of your minds waiting for updates on Larisa, but you can relax - the new stuff is here, along with some amazing pictures from her latest CS photo shoot. (See? We knew you couldn't stay mad at us for long.)
Independent, kick-ass chick that she is, Larisa has been living on her own in Los Angeles for several months now. She's planning to pull a "Felicity" and start college on the east coast next fall, but in the mean time, she's working hard on "3rd Rock" and a couple of new movies. While we COULD get into details about what her apartment's like or why she has nothing but Cherry Coke and apple sauce in her fridge, first we've got to update you on what's happening career-wise.
Larisa recently wrapped an independent film called "100 Girls," and she told us she'd just gotten a call from the director saying all of the scenes were looking really good. You know that Aerosmith song "Love in an Elevator?" "100 Girls" tells the story of a college guy who meets an incredible girl in an elevator during a power outage. They hook up, but somehow she bolts before the lights come on, and our protagonist becomes obsessed (in a good way) with finding her again.
There's the one male lead, Jonathan Tucker, and then there are five of us girls that are kind of like the female leads, so we all have pretty much equal parts. I didn't get to work with any of the other girls, which kind of bummed me out, but it was still really fun," Larisa explained. "I play Wendy, who is described as the uber-girl next door. Somewhat obsessive-compulsive, immaculate in everything she does. She's kind of your average girl that everyone looks at and says, 'She has it all together.' That was fun though, because there's a lot less pressure in just being the girl next door.
'10 Things' was like, hi, I'm supposed to be the most beautiful girl in school, and I'm going, 'what?' [LAUGHS] Okay, sure, whatever. But for '100 Girls' it was like, they just put my hair in a ponytail, and I didn't have to have any beauty shots or anything. No slow-mo shots, thank God!"
We tried to tell Larisa she was just being modest, and that those gorgeous-girl roles are NOT a stretch, but she just laughed and said we should see first thing in the morning, rolling out of bed to go to Starbucks in her pajamas. Um, whatever. :)
Mind you, Larisa made two movies while working steadily on "3rd Rock," so Fall 1999 was incredibly busy. "I really don't know how many days I worked [on "100 Girls"], because I was working on "3rd Rock" during the week, and then on "100 Girls" on the weekend AND doing "American Rhapsody" at the same time, so I'm not really sure where I was - I was in like fifty different mind sets."
"'American Rhapsody' doesn't really count, because I'm only in it for like two seconds, and they could totally cut me out. I might end up not being in the movie at all. I really don't even know how to describe it. It's kind of like a family drama, coming-of-age story. Scarlett Johansson from 'The Horse Whisperer' is the star."
Larisa always seems to bond with her co-stars, and as you might guess she and Scarlett hit it off quickly. "She just turned fifteen, and she's very mature, but not in a bad, precocious way. She's just a cool girl. I loved talking to her, and it was fun being her sister even though it was only for like four days. Again, super, super small part." Okay Larisa, we've got it. ;)
As for "3rd Rock," Larisa said it was, "Going well. I'm enjoying myself a lot more this season because I feel that I'm more a part of the cast. It's weird at first, and it's not because they weren't welcoming, because they definitely were. I don't know, I feel like I've found my place there."
Larisa gets on really well with the cast, particularly her "10 Things" friend, Joseph Gordon-Levitt. "[Out of everyone on the show], I'm the closest with Joey. We're really comfortable around each other now, and he's the kind of person who takes a while to get to know. I totally love him, and he knows if he ever needs to talk to anyone or whatever he can come to me."
"During tape nights, Simbi [Khali] and Jane [Curtin] and I kind of hide in the wardrobe room, because they have a monitor in there where you can watch the show, but we don't have to be out with all the writers and producers (not that there's anything wrong with them). But we don't have to talk. I love Simbi. I love everyone there, actually."
Larisa told us she really digs performing in front of a live studio audience, even though it sounds completely nerve-wracking. "I love it. That's my favorite part, except when I mess up. This one time, I swore, and everyone gasped because I forgot my microphone was on. And I heard everyone in the audience [react] and I'm like, 'Oh my gosh!'"
Okay, this has gotten WAY long, but at least you know what Larisa's up to. Next, check out Up Close to sneak behind the scenes of this stellar photo shoot. Later.