By Zachary Swickey
Actress Jessica Stroup is best known for playing Erin Silver on "90210" – The CW's revitalization of '90s fave "Beverly Hills, 90210 – and being a modern day scream queen after starring in a string of horror flicks: "Prom Night," "Vampire Bats" and "The Hills Have Eyes 2." Stroup's latest role, however, comes in a comedy and it's a high-profile one at that – "Family Guy" Guy creator Seth MacFarlane's feature directorial debut, "Ted," hitting theaters June 29.
The kind folks at AXE Hair have partnered with the film and hooked MTV News up with Stroup for a quick phone chat about her new role, the R-rated nature of the flick and what's goin' on in the 90210.
So tell us about your character in 'Ted.' You're Mila's co-worker/gal-pal in the movie, correct?
Yes. Well, there's a lot of underlying storyline with my character. It was more about the fact that Seth MacFarlane is one of my best friends and I knew he was coming up with this idea for this project and I just wanted to be involved however I could. So, I got to go up to Boston for a month and watch them film and got to play a little part. It's definitely one of the funniest scripts and movies I've seen in a while.
What was it like working with Kunis and the rest of the hilarious cast (Mark Wahlberg, Joel McHale, Patrick Warburton, Giovanni Ribisi)?
Mila is just such a normal, down-to-earth, chill, cool girl and we were already friends. So it was a good experience to hang out with her in her downtime. But watching Seth, Mark, Patrick, Joel and Giovanni was inspiring you know? You get around kind of a boy's club and you're dancing around getting let in or whatever, but I got really close with a lot of the writers and with Seth being a good friend, he would just let me sit behind him and watch him at work. I had to do everything I could to contain my laughter and not get kicked off the set.
>> Exclusive 'Ted' Photo: Foul-Mouthed Teddy Bear Up To His Old Tricks
What's it like acting with Ted, a CGI character? Was Seth MacFarlane literally standing by providing the voice for you to act off of?
Actually, I never actually got to talk to the bear. Wait for the second one! But I was there and yes, I got to see the process of how they created the whole thing. Seth, because he was directing and running around so much, had a special suit made with armpit holes that was breathable and everything. So he would get in and out quickly if he had to direct. They had to get larger objects that would represent whatever the bear was supposed to be holding, but instead it's Seth in a suit with this huge thing as if he's the bear. It sounds so weird but it worked and it's hilarious. The bear is super-confident and gets all the ladies. There's a scene where he's using the AXE Hair product and the ladies just can't resist him.
Yeah, I was surprised to see Ted at the end of an AXE Hair commercial online, which was pretty funny.
Yeah, you just wait! Seth is actually directing a super-cool commercial for AXE Hair. A much raunchier version than the one you probably saw, which should be posted soon on YouTube. There's a "When Harry Met Sally" moment in it that's like the classic scene from the restaurant. Ted has this super-soft hair because the product and helps a lady to reach her… uh, "ultimate happiness" in the commercial. (laughs)
That's a nice segue to my next question. So just how R-rated is this movie?
Ha, that's a great question. Actually, they did have to take out certain stuff, because during the testing I know there were a lot of females having issues with some language. So, I think they had to take it down a tiny bit, but there are definitely a lot of scenes that no human person could do and actually retain their respect and likeability. So you have a bear – who doesn't love a teddy bear? – doing all these dirty things and it's okay to see, because he's a teddy bear. It's a great date movie! You get to go in there, laugh, see a bear do disgusting things, and you head home happy.
It's hard to believe that "90210" is already about to embark on its 5th season this year. Are you excited for your character Erin's "having a baby with her platonic, gay friend Teddy" plot line?
I've talked to the showrunners and writers and everything and it's terrifying that I might actually be working with a child next year. (laughs) Filming with a kid is much different than having a kid, I think, you're not the mom! But yeah, next year will be something totally different than all of the seasons before, because I think they're going to take a stance on actually having our characters seem older and writing more mature material for them. There will be storylines about bigger parts of life and not just school, boyfriend/girlfriend drama type stuff. Teddy's back! So let's all cheer for that, because everyone loves Teddy! I think it will be fun for the character if they have a baby and he sticks around. I'm not sure yet, but we'll see.
>> Seth MacFarlane's 'Ted' Trailer: Five Key Scenes
Have you already started filming the new season?
No, we're still on hiatus right now. We'll start back the first week of next month. It's all about to happen.
Any future film projects you can discuss?
There is a project this year that's coming up that I'll shoot during the season, but they're changing the name and stuff so I don't want to talk about it yet. It's been cool though. This show has given me a lot of opportunities and going into the 5th season the producers and network are more lenient if I find an outside project I'd like to work on. So yeah, there's definitely stuff coming up next year.
For more on "Ted," visit MTV Movies Blog and watch the trailer below.
Are you excited for "Ted"? Let us know in the comments below.
