If you missed the sneak peek, A.N.T FARM is the new show that’s premiering tomorrow night at 7:30 ET on FAMILY CHANNEL! Starring China Anne McClain, the series follows the life of Chyna Parks (McClain), a gifted 11 year old that gets bumped to high school early as part of the “Advanced Natural Talent” program. With her new friends, Olive Doyle (Sierra McCormick) and Fletcher Quimby (Jake Short), Chyna does her best to adjust to her new school while trying to steer clear of the school’s queen bee, Lexi Reed (Stefanie Scott).
The Mag got a chance to speak with the head cheerleader herself, Stefanie Scott! Here’s what she had to say about filming the show and playing such a prevailing character…
Are you excited about starting the series A.N.T FARM?
I’m so excited, we’ve been having such a great time filming it together and I’m just so happy that it’s finally going to be on the air and everyone’s finally going to be able to see it!
Tell me about your character, Lexi?
Lexi’s is the head cheerleader, the student body president, she’s the star of all the school plays, and she pretty much owns the school, she runs the school. She’s the head of everything, so she feels really threatened when Chyna comes in and she has so much talent.
Does she get along with Chyna?
No, they clash instantly! She feels threatened by Chyna, so she feels she needs to make herself seem better, so she kind of tries to get Chyna to feel threatened by her.
How does it feel playing such a dominant character?
It’s great, honestly! I have so much fun playing her, I have so much fun with all her witty remarks and her comebacks and she’s just so different from me so I have so much fun being someone totally different. And the wardrobe is great, I love her fashion!
What kind of stuff does she wear?
She wears really high heels, she has a lot of heels, like stilettos and high heeled boots, and there’s this one episode where I got to wear these hot pink boots. So lots of heels and boots, and lots of rhinestones, I’ve noticed. Lots of sparkles
Lexi being so different from you, how do you get into that character mindset?
I get into this character, honestly, I know a lot of people like Lexi! I know a lot of people who will be like her, so I kind of act like them, I pick up on things that they would do in a certain way. That’s how I kind of become Lexi, she’s just so fun and she is so much different from me, so it’s so great to be somebody else, it’s fun. Especially when they’re the head of everything!
Is there any TV/Film character you think of specifically to get into character?
I think that Lexi is honestly, she’s a mix of Rachel’s character and Quinn’s character on GLEE. She’s the popular girl, but at the same time she’s the musical theater girl who’s the star of all the school plays and she can sing and she can act and she can do it all so I think she’s a mix of Quinn and Rachel from GLEE, that’s how I would picture her.
You mentioned she’s very good at most things, what kind of the things that you personally love to do?
Me, I love doing music and I’ve always really been into ballet my whole life, so those are some things I love to do. And art, I’m very artsy and creative like that, so those are the things that I’m probably good at!
You’ve been a guest on TV Shows before, but how does it feel to get to be on a steady show for a while?
It’s so exciting! I love it because it’s a character that I get to stick with for a couple of years, and it’s exciting having a new script every week and to be able to play the same character every week and all the things that she says and all of the comebacks, and there’s certain things that she does or there’s a certain sentence that she would always say, and it’s just “her thing”, so I think it’s really fun to have that kind of character in the show where I get to play her every single week, where as a guest star, you only get to play that character once. And in movies, you only get to play the character for like a month or two, so I think it’s really exciting that I’m going to get to play her for the next couple years!
Have there been any strange moments to happen while filming so far?
There have been a couple crazy moments, not like embarrassing but sillier things that have happened on set. Like, I remember on one of our first episodes, it was really in the beginning, we had a blackout on our soundstage. There were no lights, and we were all in the scary sound stage all by ourselves, so we turned all the lights out and started telling scary stories and the director bought us all ice cream, and we just had like a real party! It was a lot of fun, so that was probably the craziest moment…the most memorable, too.
How do you think A.N.T. FARM will stand out from other Family Channel Shows?
I think it’s really unique, because it involves the younger kids in a high school setting. So instead of just being about highschoolers, it has a really wide range of ages. It has a wide range of kids and personalities so I think it’s really relatable and that a lot of people will just be able to relate to each character. There’s always that one character that everybody is like, so that’s really cool how we have that on our show and I think it will fit in great and I’m so happy that it’s going to be on the Family Channel and that everyone’s going to be able to see it, I think it’s going to be really great, I hope so!
What are some of your personal favourite TV Shows?
I really like MODERN FAMILY and GLEE and PRETTY LITTLE LIARS, those are probably my top three that I like.
Do you have any dream roles that you’d love to play one day?
I don’t have any exact role, or something that someone else has done, but I’ve always wanted to be in a scary movie! I love watching horror movies and I’ve always wanted to be a part of one so just a scary movie in general, I’d love to play the bad guy.
You’re a known animal lover, how many pets do you have?
I have two dogs, I have Frosty who’s a Bijan and Mocha who’s a Chihuahua, then I have two cats, Tinkerbell and Pumpkin, and they’re adorable, I love animals so much! And we’re thinking of getting a kitten soon, so I’m excited about that.
Thank you, Stefanie! Be sure to check out the premier of A.N.T FARM at 7:30 p.m. ET/PT on Family Channel!