SFist Interviews: Beth Behrs, a Direct-to-DVD American Pie Sequel Actress from Marin
by Amy Crocker
How does a girl from Marin County end up with a role in American Pie? According to Beth Behrs, with lots of luck. A graduate of the UCLA School of Film and Television, the Bay Area native is living and auditioning in Los Angeles - carving out a career in acting. Though she is a trained singer, her first film role is as the star of American Pie Presents: The Book of Love, which came out on DVD last Tuesday. SFist spoke with Behrs to get an insider’s perspective on the Hollywood ladder, American Pie, and of course, her run in with the cast of Twilight.
SFist: So what’s the reaction when you tell people you were in an America Pie film?
Beth Behrs: Well they’d be, “Oh that franchise is still running? What number is this?” They’ll ask me what my part is and did you have to do anything crazy? I always have to clarify: no I didn’t do any nudity. I play the sweet one. She’s the girl next door whose friends are pressuring her to lose her virginity but she knows she doesn’t want to do it with just anyone.
SF: How does this one compare to the rest of the series?
BB: Number three was pretty raunchy and it kind of lost what made the first one so good. So this one had the writer of the second movie and our director really wanted to bring back the heart. The female characters aren’t just naked.
SF: So how is this movie connected, story wise, to the original?
BB: In the first movies do you remember they had the bible that taught the guy who was dating Tara Reid how to give her oral sex? So in this they find it. It ended up that Eugene Levy was the creator of it. They do this big montage with the book and all these hilarious cameos like Screech and Kevin Federline. [Levy] really is the heart of the franchise and he really liked the film and was quoted saying this was the best one since the original. [And] it’s a peanut butter sandwich instead of a pie.
SF: This was your first movie role, did your theater education at UCLA help?
BB: I was an acting major until my senior year when I started auditioning. I didn’t have time [for the acting classes] so I ended up graduating with critical studies. But it was really theater based and film is a lot different but the basic acting is the same.
SF: Were your cast mates new to film also?
BB: I was the only one who had never done a film before. Bug Hall, who plays my boyfriend the movie, was a child star. He played Alfalfa in the Little Rascals. He also did The Big Green and The Stupids. He was a pro. I learned a lot from him, like how to deal with my mark.
SF: So what did you learn from your first film?
BB: The first day, I had a scene with the big ending monologue. There’s a really, really tight close up. You can’t move a lot of your face. It’s so small; it all has to come from your eyes. You really have to be completely there.
And there’s a scene where I have a snowboard and gloves and you have to remember each take exactly where I placed each glove in the gondola. So that kind of stuff was really technical. It wasn’t like I could do what I feel each take.
SF: So what was the timeline like for this movie?
BB: I auditioned last January. I found out I got it at the beginning of March and then we started shooting at the end of March. I was there for seven weeks in Vancouver. From there we had our premiere in October and then we started doing press for it in November. It came out the UK on December 7. And then it [came] out here [last] Tuesday.
SF: What was it like to film a movie in Vancouver?
BB: It almost felt like college again - all staying the same hotel. We could go downstairs to each other’s rooms. The hotel was called the Sutton Place. It was the Hollywood Mecca of Canada. Jon Corbett and Bo Derek and the Twilight cast were staying there. You felt like you were in young Hollywood.
SF: Wait a minutes, Twilight was there?
BB: I was pretty excited when Robert Pattinson was downstairs. Kristen Stewart was in the gym a lot. The whole Twilight thing was pretty crazy. Paparazzi were outside the hotel 24/7
SF: Did you have any run-ins with the paparazzi?
BB: The paparazzi were following [American Pie cast mate and star of England’s EastEnders] Louisa Lytton all the time. One time I went with her to Starbucks, I just wore Uggs, no makeup and of course they’re all following us. I was like, “Louisa, I’m never hanging hang out again.” I haven’t checked Google [if any were printed.]
SF: With all the competition for roles, are you able to be friends with other actors?
BB: [My American Pie cast mates] really have become my best friends and I still keep in touch with them. You can see in the movie we all have this connection and chemistry together. I think the original had that too.
SF: Is Hollywood as cutthroat for actresses as its portrayed?
BB: In film it’s hard to think of it as competitive. It’s so about your essence on camera. No two people are the same and the camera really captures people’s essence. [Casting directors narrow it to] ten people they think are good actors for the part and then they choose the right essence for the role. Sometimes people can tell from the moment you say “hi” and walk into the room. You have to be a good actor, but there are a lot of good actors.
SF: Do you ever think of moving back to the Bay Area?
BB: I have to be here for the industry but a lot famous actors live in the bay area. Maybe some day I can go back to live there and commute. I went home for Thanksgiving and it’s so pretty and people are so laid back. It’s such a different feel.
SF: Has being a part of American Pie opened any doors for you?
BB: It helps to have the American Pie name. Lots of the young actors who have been in those franchise movies have gone on to do cool stuff. Alyson Hannigan from the original and she’s gone on to How I Met Your Mother and then [Jessy Schram from American Pie Presents: The Naked Mile] who played my type of character, she just booked the new Denzel Washington, Chris Pine movie playing Chris Pine’s wife.
SF: So what’s next for you?
BB: We wrapped American Pie in the middle of May and I started shooting Serial Buddies in June. [By then] I was so confident in front of the camera and I was able to play more, to improve stuff because I felt so much more comfortable. [Serial Buddies] is about four guys who are losers and they become serial killers and me and Maria Menounos play these sorority sisters that they fall for. Kathy Lee Gifford plays our sorority mom. It’s kind of Dexter-ish. So now that I’ve done teen comedy, I’d be down to do some dark indie drama next.
SF: So your first movie didn’t scare you away from Hollywood?
BB: Everyone tells me that this was just a lucky experience. My next studio move probably won’t be as “family” as this one. I had the most amazing first movie experience.
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