She used to star as Jessie Sammler in the TV drama Once and Again, but Evan hasn't sat still since the show was canceled at the end of last season. This month she has two movies out — Simone and Little Secrets. Luckily, she still found the time to talk to ym.com.
Have you ever spilled someone's secret, like your character Emily in Little Secrets, and then felt bad about it afterwards?
I did once. It was something silly, like whoever my friend had a crush on, I told the boy, and it was really bad for my friend. I felt terrible.
How does starring in a film aimed at a teen audience differ to being in an adult drama like Once and Again?
Being in an adult drama is a little more intense. Usually in a teen movie there's not as much drama going on. It really should be the other way around — teen movies are light and fun and there's not a lot of drama, which is totally not the way a teenager is — your life is one big drama! This movie was more laid back, which was probably easier because Once and Again was intense and dramatic — every day you had to get in this sad mode.
How did you feel when Once and Again was canceled?
Very sad and disappointed. It was one of the last things on TV that actually dealt with real life. It was a show people could actually relate to, and it had beautiful writing and great actors. I had a lot of people talk to me about it, and I had to tell a lot of our fans that the show was being canceled — it was really hard. We have such a great fan base, and they were all really hoping for it to come back on the air. I almost felt like I let them down.
Do you still see your old cast members?
Of course — they're like my family now. I keep in touch with them all. Last time we got together we went to Six Flags; it was something we'd talked about the years we were on the show, and we finally got to do it. It was a lot of fun. At one point, we started calling each other by our character's names. It was Billy Campbell, Susanna Thompson, and Shane West — our family in the show — and it really freaked a lot of people out. They didn't know if we were serious or not!
How was it working with David Gallagher [Simon Camden from 7th Heaven] and Michael Angarano [Elliot from Will and Grace] on Little Secrets?
It was great — they're the nicest guys and both hilarious. We all had the same taste in movies and music, and we were all staying in the same hotel. It was like being in college and living in dorms. We went a little crazy — every night we were in someone's hotel room jumping on the bed, having pillow fights and playing hide-and-go-seek in the dark.
We read that your first kiss was this one on-screen — is that true?
It wasn't my first kiss with a boy, but it was my first on-screen kiss — but I have no complaints! It was fun, but a little embarrassing, because you have all these people sitting around watching you.
Tell us about Simone, the film you co-star in with Al Pacino.
I play Al Pacino's daughter. Basically my mother is a movie studio head and my father is a movie director. I'm the one who keeps them both grounded. I play a 13-year-old going on 30 — she's very wise beyond her years. It was very fun to play — she's very sophisticated.
Who do you hang out with in your down time?
My friends from Little Secrets, David and Michael. I hang out with Elaine from Lizzie Maguire and Penn Badgley from Do Over. Penn lives in my apartment complex and Elaine lives right down the street.
What do you have coming next?
I just finished an independent film called Thirteen with Holly Hunter. I play her daughter, a girl named Tracy, who is really trying to fit in and be the girl that society tells you to be. She's surrounded with all the images of perfect women like Britney Spears; then, at her first day of school, she meets these girls who are like the picture-perfect women, even though they're only 13. She befriends them and gets involved with drugs and stealing and boys and everything you can do wrong, until her life is spinning out of control.
She must be very different from you.
She is, but I've seen this story happen to so many girls — a lot of girls who I was close with — so I drew from that.
Does seeing images of people like Britney Spears affect you?
It does affect me. I don't try and [look like her]; I try and be myself, but it is kind of hard because that's how you're usually accepted — especially by guys. Most girls, if they want the guys to like them, they'll dress up like Britney Spears — and most of the time the guys fall for it.
So which celebrity's style do you admire?
Kate Hudson — she's so comfortable with her body and she doesn't show if off in a trashy way. She's very classy.
What do you do to relax?
Actually, I really love to go up on my roof with a sketchpad or a book or a script I'm working on; it's peaceful and quiet up there. At night I lie down and look at the sky and that always relaxes me — no matter how bad my day has been.
