Tonight at 8p on ABC Family the final season of The Secret Life of an American Teenager begins. I was recently on a conference call with Daren Kagasoff and he talked about what it was like being on the show. The bad boy turned good guy also previewed what we can expect during the final episodes of the show that launched the network’s original programming.
Did you know that Kagasoff did not want to be an actor until months before he landed the job that changed his life? Here’s his story on that, “Well, I never knew I wanted to be an actor until maybe six months before I got the job, so it just has taught me you’ve got to work so hard for the things that you want in life, and things don’t come easy.” The he added, “And you can see it through the characters that were on Secret Life, whether certain things that happened in their lives they have to conquer and overcome. And as people, as myself speaking about me, there’s a lot of obstacles in this business and in life in general, so from the show I just got keep your head up high, work hard, be respectful, polite, and good things will come.”
So will good things come from the series finale? When asked if he’s happy with the series’ ending, he said “Very happy, very happy. I think the fans will be happy too.” Whatever happens during that episode definitely left an impression with him. When he was asked what was his most memorable day on the show, he said “Probably the last day of shooting. We shot a lot of intense scenes, and to wrap up the show the way we did. I’ll never forget it. And all of the people that were there that day, you just don’t forget those types of moments, and thankfully I’m going to have that for the rest of my life, so probably the last day of shooting.” So what will happen between now and then, he teased us with “Many questions will get answered, that’s all pretty much I can say. I know everybody wants Amy and Ricky to end up together, and I guess you guys will see if that happens.” Does anyone think they won’t be getting married and living happily ever after?
Now his character has gone through the most changes. He went from troubled teen who was sleeping with any girl that said yes to being a responsible dad who only makes love to the woman who said yes when he asked her to marry him. So as he looks back at Ricky, here is what he said about his character’s growth “In the beginning, when Secret Life first started Ricky was just a high school kid that didn’t really take any responsibility for his actions, and was just was kind of floating through life. And ever since he had John (his son) with Amy (his fiancee) things changed drastically, and I think he made the most positive decisions in his life to put his son first and his girlfriend first priority. So I’m very pleased with what the writers did with my character from the beginning to the end. I think he’s made a full circle and it was a pleasure to play and hopefully the fans will like to see that.”
Well if you are like me then you can’t wait to see it every Monday at 8p on ABC Family to see how it all ends. You also wish this show wasn’t saying goodbye because it is really important show for teens to watch and also to enjoy.
Now when it comes to what is next for him, he is working on a Fox pilot. Whether Delirium is a go or not, I am sure his acting career will go into a delirium state now that he is a free agent.
Before Renee Olstead was in The Secret Life of The American Teenager a show all about safe sex, she was in a Levi’s commercial promoting it. How awwwdorable was the 6 year old in that 1995 commercial.
During last week’s episode of ABC Family’s The Secret Life of the American Teenager we watched as Ben and Adrian go to the hospital to give birth to their daughter who sadly didn’t make it. Now the couple will be dealing with the loss of their little one and struggling to make it as a married couple in high school. It is an emotional storyline for any actor to deal with and I was recently on a conference call with Ken Baumann and Francia Raisa and they talked about how they prepared for heart-wrenching story and what we can expect from their two characters in the future.
When I asked Francia, who plays Adrian who she prepared for the pregnancy and still birth, here is what she told me, “When I first found out she was pregnant, I was shocked but I was so excited. I was like, ‘Yay! I get to wear a belly!’ I could not wait to put on that stomach. I kept asking when am I going to do it, when is it finally coming. I was very excited, and then when I found out she lost it; I love kids and I was so excited to finally work with a baby and playing with the kids because I always play with Matthew and Joey who played John on the show. I’m always with him when they’re on the set. So I was a little upset and devastated when I found out that there was going to be no baby, but at the same time I was very excited to be able to play this role because it’s probably one of the toughest roles I’ve done since I started acting. So, I appreciated the challenge that the writers gave me, and I can’t believe they trust me to take on such tough material. So in that sense, I was very excited.” Then I asked how she found out about the sad way her pregnancy was going to take, she said, “I found out when I read the script. They were very good about not telling us. You know, they kept hinting it. They said, “I think she might lose it,†and I was like, ‘Really?’ She’s like, ‘I’m not sure yet.’ So she kept beating around the bush saying she wasn’t sure, she was sure, and then I read the script, and then I was, ‘Oh, my gosh.’ I just started crying when I read it because I had been carrying this, you know it’s fake, but I’ve been seeing myself with a pregnant belly for, I don’t know how many months, and then all of a sudden it’s gone, and there’s no result coming from it.”
Another person on the call asked her how she prepared for last week’s tearjerker, not that you really can, but here is how she said she did it, “I was trying to listen to some really depressing music, and the best thing that I could have done is I went on YouTube and I typed in stillbirth and there was a few videos that popped up, and there was one in particular, I think it’s the first one that comes up when you research it, and it’s about a couple who actually went through what my character goes through. You see the woman pregnant and how happy they are and the whole process of waiting for her to be born, and then you see them hold their dead child and you see her in a coffin and you see pictures of her, and you just see the whole family just crying and grieving. So, yes, that sold me, and that’s how I prepared for it, and the song that they added in the video I had on my iPod and I just listened to it over and over again. The flashbacks of that baby just sticks and came back into my head every time they called action.” I don’t suggest looking for that video because I did and watching it just broke my heart. Just like last week’s show did.
When asked what will be coming up for Adrian, here is the preview she shared with us, “Adrian was carrying the baby for nine months and she really felt emotionally attached to it. Like I said, her whole personality and her whole character changed into this welcoming person, and she felt blessed that everything was coming together in her life: her family; her friendships; educations; and then it all just came crashing down. So she becomes very angry and bitter, and she just wants to be left alone, and handle her own sorrows. Even if people try to come and try to be there for her, she just wants to be left alone. She just becomes, I guess, some sort of a loner again, and doesn’t really want to accept anyone because all she wants to do is grieve about her baby. ” But Adrian isn’t alone in her grief, her husband Ben also lost his daughter and this is what Ken said is coming up for his character, “Well, regardless at the very beginning before this event, it’s a pretty tricky situation, but I would say that it both kind of settles any disputes or conflicts they have just temporarily because everyone kind of bonds together in grief, paradoxically enough. But at the same time, once Adrian and Ben are trying to recover, it gets pretty nasty. And naturally, you’re going to have two people who are stricken by grief, and they’re going to look to make themselves feel better, and that may involve trying to reach back into the past, and go back to how it was once was, and reignite old loves and all that stuff. So, it gets even more convoluted, but temporarily, like I said, everybody comes together in this tragic event, which is very, very painful and bittersweet.”
So even though it seemed like last week was an ending, it was really a beginning for some more emotional episodes with two amazing actors portraying the storyline. Secret Life is growing up and tackling issues most shows with actors twice their age deal with and they are doing an excellent job with. So tune every Monday night at 8p to see what Ken Baumann, Francia Raisa and the cast of The Secret Life of The American Teenager do next.
The Secret Life of the American Teenager Volume 6 is out on DVD now and I am giving away five copies of it. All you have to do is E-Mail me the answer at [email protected] to “Which couple is planning a wedding on this DVD?” by June 17th with your name and address! Five winners will be chosen at random.
The Secret Life of the American Teenager, ABC Family’s critically acclaimed original TV series returns to DVD June 7 with a sixth volume filled with even more excitement from the third season.
Get ready to experience all the excitement, passion and power of this acclaimed ABC Family series. Unlikely friendships are forged, longtime loyalties are tested and once-solid relationships tremble on shaky ground in the wake of jealousy, competition and raging hormones. With wedding bells about to chime for Ben and Adrian, Amy tries to pressure Ricky for a similar commitment. Meanwhile, Grace and Grant consider taking their romance to the next level, and an unexpected event turns lives and loves upside down. Anything can happen – and does – in this phenomenal, must-own Sixth Volume!
The Secret Life of the American Teenager: Volume Six is a 3-disc set, available to own for the first time, so fans can revisit the drama again and again of the season’s first 12 episodes.
The 3-Disc DVD set is packaged with a Collectible iPod/iTouch decorative skin
Before Ken Baumann was dealing with love, marriage and death in high school on The Secret Life of the American Teenager, his dad was preparing him for it for Audi. How awwwdorable was the 18 year old in that 2008 commercial?
