Lauren Storm
Lauren Storm is about to cross the line from guest star to leading lady as she stars in the new series Flight 29 Down which will premiere on October 1st on NBC in the Discovery Kids schedule. Best know thus far as playing Frankie Muniz's girlfriend in the Super Bowl aired episode of Malcolm in the Middle, Lauren has now found a home on Flight 29 Down as Taylor. We caught up Lauren for an interview.
THE STAR SCOOP:
Tell us a little bit about your show,
Flight 29 Down.
LAUREN STORM:
Flight 29 Down is about a class of kids that are going on a field trip and their plane crashes. And they end up on a deserted island and we have to survive. And we all have pretty conflicting personalities.
THE STAR SCOOP:
What age group do you think the show will appeal to?
STORM:
At first when we were filming it, it was guided more toward pre-teens but now that I see the finished product, I think it could go probably as old as fourteen, fifteen, sixteen.
THE STAR SCOOP:
So how did you end up with the role of Taylor in the first place?
STORM:
I'm an actor, so my agent sends me on auditions, and if they like me for a part, they give me a callback and if they like me enough for a part, they book me on the job. I was going back and forth in between auditioning for the role of Taylor and also auditioning for the role of Darcy on
Darcy's wild Life which is made by Stan Rogow, who did our show. So I went back about, I'd say between fifteen and twenty times going between roles and finally they paired me up with some people for
Flight 29 Down and they liked me more for that. So, they had me sign a contract and we flew out to Hawaii.
THE STAR SCOOP:
How would you describe the overall experience so far?
STORM:
I think it was wonderful. It taught me a lot of discipline, for sure. I had to be up and ready by five o'clock in the morning and besides the technicalities, we had a really talented, wonderful cast. I made a lot of really good friends, and we still hang out now, even after the season's done.
THE STAR SCOOP:
So you've really become friendly with the cast.
THE STAR SCOOP:
Besides Kristy Wu, all of us live within five miles of one another. So we hang out quite a bit, whenever possible. We got really close, like a family.
THE STAR SCOOP:
So you knew that there would already be episodes airing of the show. Did that make you nervous at all?
STORM:
There's always a stigma with kids' shows, that they're going to be a lower quality than primetime programming, or the outcome would be a lot different or a lot lighter than regular shows on the evening schedule, so I was really worried that our show would be very fluffy and very childlike, but actually, we had a really wonderful cast and a really great crew.
And I had a big responsibility, carrying the show, as well as the other six cast mates, but it turned out really well, I was very pleasantly surprised.
THE STAR SCOOP:
Tell us about your character, Taylor.
STORM:
Taylor is dumb as a fox (laughs). She doesn't have a whole lot of brain going up there, but she ends up getting what she wants. She knows how to work her charm and at the beginning of the show, she's definitely stuck up and very self-centered and not compassionate to the situation - I don't even think she really got the gravity of the situation, but by the end of the first season, she grew a heart. And she definitely pulled her own weight, which was good, because I was kind of worried at the beginning that she would be a negative character. But our writer did a really good job at having an art to every character.
THE STAR SCOOP:
When the show comes out, everyone will be watching it, be watching you. What are you watching?
STORM:
Actually, I don't watch a whole lot of TV, but when I have time I watch a lot of HBO. I think they have really good quality television. And I think they have really well made products.
So, do you have a favorite moment from filming?
STORM:
In the script, there's this one scene toward the end of the season. It's a dance. We come and we find that one our classmates has set up a stereo and lit some candles and there's a dance. And it shows how the entire group has really grown together and really learned to depend on each other. It's just such a genuine, sweet moment. I think that's my favorite. Off set, I was notorious for falling asleep during shots or not during shots. And I had quite a few pranks pulled on me. So I guess one of them was video taped and everybody dumped their garbage on me and I didn't wake up. And I saw the video and it's pretty funny (laughs).
THE STAR SCOOP:
Do you have an official website?
STORM:
www.laurenstorm.com
THE STAR SCOOP:
Is
Flight 29 Down the only project you're working on now?
STORM:
There are a couple of things up in the air. I'm kind of seeing what people are interested in me for and what the scheduling is as far as when the next season starts and stuff. I'm probably, hopefully, knock on wood, going to do a small part on a show or a small part in a movie, something like that. I'm going to try and do something before we go back.
THE STAR SCOOP:
Speaking of movies, do you want to venture into movies?
STORM:
Oh, I definitely would love to venture into movies. It's a lot less consistent work, but I think with movies, you get to do such a huge range of emotions as a character, where as TV, you kind of stay on the same page. But I'd be happy with either, but I would definitely love to do movies as well. As far as acting [in the future], I would like to be able to get increasing challenging roles and steady work. I just want to get better at what I do. Hopefully get some, not necessarily recognition, just have people know that hopefully I'm getting better. I just want to be good at what I do. I'd also like to do more charity work.
THE STAR SCOOP:
Good luck, and we'll be looking for you!