Italia Ricci (Chasing Life) Interview | AfterBuzz TV’s Chatting With Cathy
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And now, your host of Chatting with Kathy, Kathy Kelley!

Hello everyone and welcome to another episode of Chatting with Kathy right here on AfterBuzz TV. Today's guest is the star of the newest hit ABC family series, Chasing Life. She plays April, a 24-year-old journalist who finds out she has cancer. You may also recognize her from her recurring role on Secret Girlfriend and the one time she was in Greek. Yeah.

Atalia Ricci, thank you so much for being here today. Oh my god, thank you for having me. This is so cool. So we've been chatting for about half an hour before the show started, so I got to know a lot about you. But you're from just outside of Toronto, right? I was born in Richmond Hill and my family now lives in Newmarket. It's about an hour north.

So what we do on the show is we take it back to the very beginning, how you got your start, and then talk about the role you have now. So going back to growing up in Richmond Hills, is that what it's called? Richmond Hills is where, yeah, I lived until I was like six or seven maybe. I always enjoyed...

performing. Like I would, I would lay down like a full length mirror and just like give monologues until I was like crying like a maniac or like laughing hysterically or getting so angry. I'm pretty sure my parents thought I was properly psychotic. Um,

And so I would love just doing that and feeling everything. And I remember being a kid and not being able to pick one profession. And I was so impressionable. I would want to do everything that I saw somebody else doing in movies. And I just never... I could never imagine myself doing one thing. Yeah. And so I was like, well, I guess if I just play pretend, I could do everything. You can eventually play one on TV. Which is funny because...

My parents actually just told me this recently. When I was in junior kindergarten, when you're really little, apparently I refused to play with the kids because they would be playing with...

Like, the baby dolls and the kitchens. I'm like, that's not real food. You don't have to change its diaper. It's plastic. And, like, I was like, you guys are so dumb. And I had no imagination. Yeah. And so I would just sit and read in the corner. And, like, apparently I was, like, diagnosed antisocial. Oh, my gosh. And now I play pretend for a living. Like, it's just full circle. Anyway. That's so funny. So I – as soon as I was old enough and able to, I started doing a lot of community theater at, like, the Old Town Hall and –

I remember in my elementary school, it was a seventh grade play. They were doing Little Drummer Boy. And I was in third grade. So I was like being asked to be a tree because I wanted to be in the play. So we were trying to rehearse and the lead drummer boy couldn't remember any of his lines. They had to like write it on his drums and he just couldn't do it. And so I was like, can I try? Yeah.

And I got it. I was the little drummer boy in the seventh grade play when I was in third grade, which was like a huge achievement for me. That's the big leagues. Yeah. I was just like, I'd like to thank God.

But neither of your brothers were involved in acting. Well, my mom put one of my brothers into it because he was always really shy and she thought maybe if he did a play with you, you know, at the old town home, like, you know, professional, it would help. And we had a lot of fun doing it. Basically, he just repeated all of my lines. Like, one of my lines was like, my name's Jazzy and I'm not afraid of you. And he goes, yeah, her name's Jazzy and she's not afraid of you. It was the cutest thing ever. I wish we had video of it. Yeah.

But Vincent, my youngest brother, just graduated from the same university I went to with a drama degree. Oh, okay. And he sent me his shorts and stuff, and I watched these, and I'm like, we have to make this happen. I want to get them. I sent it to my manager. He sent it to agents who want to meet him. Wow. And I was like, we have to do this, please. But I think he's going to go to teacher's college and be a drama teacher. You're a good big sister, though. Oh, I was begging him. I was like, you can live in my house, please. Just come. We can do this. This is going to be so much fun. And he's so good. I feel like...

Actually, I feel like a little bit of a shitty sister because I was like, you surprised me. I did not think you had that much talent. Sorry. That's funny. So your family's been supportive of you your entire career though, right? Yeah. Oh, yeah. Well, I mean, when I started, I sort of skipped the story straight to being here. When I had finished university, I was like, I love performing. I love it so much.

But I don't have the guts to just launch myself into Hollywood and take a wild stab at it. So I was like, okay, I'll do entertainment law. This way at least I'm still in the industry. But it's in a much more structured environment. And the summer before I was starting law school, my friend who was with an extras agency was like, they're shooting a movie like 15 minutes outside of town. And they asked if we would bring friends.

100 bucks a day pretend you're at a party and I was like okay and I went and the writer Eric Lindsay asked me to audition for a role he saw me at lunch and asked me to audition and I got it

And then they wrote me into the next one and I made great friends, met my boyfriend and my best friend who lives in our guest house. Like, and they just snowballed. It's so, it's so insane. Like I got so lucky. Yeah. So you met Robbie before you even moved to LA. That's crazy. We had to kiss in the movie. That's how we met. What? Love it. First kiss. Not really. Actually, this is quite a fun story that he's going to hate that I'm telling. Um,

When we first were on set, I hadn't been through makeup, but my hair was up in curlers. And I was finding his trailer because they just told me, if you're comfortable, we'd like to have you kissing this guy. And I was like, okay. So I see him and I was like, hey, I'm Natalia. We're going to have to smooch. What's your name? What's going on? Tell me your story. And he was just like, okay. And I was just like, oh, got nothing. And then cut to 45 minutes later when I'm all done and my hair's down and I come out of the trailer like this and he just goes...

And I'm like, that's better. That's the reaction you were hoping for the first time. Yeah, right? Like something. I guess I didn't look that great. I mean, looking at myself, I wouldn't have been very excited. I'm sure you looked good. With the curlers and the, yeah, anyway. But my family has always been, yes, very supportive. That's good. Nervous, though, of course, because they're just letting me up and move to L.A. Yeah. What was their reaction when you told them that you were going to be moving to L.A.?

They wanted me to make sure that I could defer my acceptance and that I still had my LSAT score. And that was sort of the timeframe that we had discussed giving me was my acceptance to law school was good for two years and my LSAT score was good for four. Okay. So if I couldn't make a living within the confines of this time or that time, then I would go back and then I could at least say I tried. Yeah.

So I remember they had a conference call with my manager and they were asking all the questions and my mom didn't mean it to sound this way, but it comes out. She goes, I get that she can act and all, but do you really think she's pretty enough to be an actress?

What? I was like, Mom, I can hear you. If nobody thinks I'm pretty, you need to. You're my mother. I think you're pretty. She's like, that's what I meant. That's what I meant. That's what I meant. No, but it was really sweet. No, they've been nothing but supportive. She's my biggest fan. Yeah. There are a few things that I hope my dad never watches, like Don John. But...

I mean, that was a pretty successful movie. It was, but it was less me as an actor in that movie, more my ass. Yes. We will talk about that in a little bit. So moving to LA from Canada, was that difficult for you at all? You obviously didn't know many people out here, right? Well, I knew Robbie. Yeah. Because we had started dating and then...

the friends that I had met on beta house, the first movie, the movie that we met on and then my manager. And so I had like a small family, which is still the same people that I love and cherish here today. Um, and I, I'm, I don't really need a lot of, a lot of people to feel, to feel like I belong somewhere that I, that I'm comfortable. Um, so I just sort of, I feel like

looking at it in hindsight, it's like, I just like held my breath and jumped, you know? And I'm so grateful that I did because that was really risky. Yeah. Do you, do you think that it was, um, cause so many people say you can't put like a timeframe on starting your career. Do you think that that was helpful or a hindrance? Like having that, okay. Two years. Um, it, I feel like it does. It didn't matter. You know, it wasn't, it, it,

You can't give that as your restriction because when I first moved out here, I got very lucky and within a couple of months booked that small role on Greek and then...

kept booking small roles on great things. And I thought, I was like, oh, this is so easy. I don't understand why everybody isn't doing this. And then it went for like a two and a half, three year stretch where I, you know, I was a series regular on a Cartoon Network show that shot in Toronto. So I got to do that. But after that, it was like, I couldn't book a plane ticket. You know, I was second choice. I tested almost 15 times one year. I think my agent told me she counted and

I worked as hard as I could and I was doing the best job that I could and I knew that I couldn't do any better than that, but it was just never my time. I mean, if that makes sense. Like, it was never... They weren't picking, like, they weren't picking me. It wasn't fair. How do you stay positive during all of that then? Oh, I for sure wasn't. I was, you know, I couldn't understand because I'm very...

A plus B equals C. If I work really hard and I get great LSAT scores, I will be this. And if I graduate top of my class, I'll get whatever. But with this, you can work as hard as you can and be the most talented person and never, ever book a job. Or you could not be able to act your way out of a box and be making $20 million a year. Yeah. And not that I think I'm super duper talented. I just think that...

You know, I got extremely lucky being where I was when I auditioned for the show. And I'm so grateful now for all of those movies and shows that I didn't book because I don't know, but I can't imagine that I would enjoy it or have it mean as much or feel as much.

I don't know what the right word is, but you feel grateful for it. I'm so grateful for it. And it's so, it's such a good show, I think. And you know, with take me out of being in it, I still think I love parenthood. One of my favorite shows. I feel like it sort of feels like that a little bit. Yeah, I can see that. So I think it's one of those things where in Hollywood, there are some people who are the overnight successes, but their success doesn't last that long because they aren't a

Yeah, they've never had to.

Yeah.

I wake up and giggle sometimes. I have goosebumps just remembering that I even booked this, that I got the call, you know? It's not real life. It doesn't. I feel like somebody is going to jump out and be like, just kidding. This was all a giant joke. You can go home now. Yeah. So let's talk about... This was your first recurring role, Secret Girlfriend. Our producer, Stephen M. Back, loved the show. How did you book this job? I originally...

Well, I auditioned for it. And then I screen tested to play the lead. But I think they had already shot the pilot with Sarah. And so they ended up keeping her and being like, well, will you play her lesbian best friend? And I was like, yeah, sure. It was actually a lot of fun. The people, we... It just felt like I was...

hanging out with a bunch of like college buddies the whole time and the cast was hilarious and I'm was so nervous I'm not funny so I just literally just sat there being a bitchy lesbian the whole time which I enjoyed it was a lot of fun to do but um just being around this many funny people I'm just like god I need to work on being funny

Was it weird having that? Because the camera perspective was from someone else's. Yeah, talking at a lens. Yeah, that was weird. That was really weird. And I think one of the audition scenes was like a sexy scene. And so I'm like going into the camera and I was like, this feels really weird.

But I guess you get used to it after a while. It is strange, though, because normally on set, if I'm doing a scene and then I'm just like, and I looked into lens, we have to cut because you absolutely can never use that. Yeah. It's like, I'm off. Did you find yourself after doing that role that you were accidentally looking into the camera because you were used to it? No, my character never really talked to the lead. Okay. She was sort of the accessory. Yeah. That's good. So what do you consider your first big break? Yeah.

Do you consider it to be Chasing Life? Do you consider it to be all the way back to Beta House? No, no. Chasing Life, I think, is going to be my biggest... To date. ...launch pad if I end up launching anywhere. But I feel like the biggest role for me was Maggie in Unnatural History. It was my first lead role in a series. It was me and two other boys and...

It was like Indiana Jones meets Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys. It was a really fun show, and it taught me about the business. I had no idea what I was doing, and it got me comfortable in front of the camera. That really helped me realize this is how it's done, and this is how you do it. Because you're guest starring, you're doing a couple of days here, a couple of days there. You don't really get to dig into a character and create something that you can showcase because you're given so little time.

material to do that with. So I think a natural history is definitely the most important role for me as an actor evolving. Yeah. But Chasing Life, I think for sure is like the biggest deal. Yeah. And not just because it's right now. I feel like this is still, even if only two people had watched it when it premiered. Yeah.

I am still just so proud of being a part of making this show exist because it means so much to so many people. The fan mail and the letters and the stories that I'm getting are just... I feel so bad that I can't do more than just give them this show. Well, you've done, since the show started, you've done a lot with cancer charities. Why is that important for you? Well, because they look at me as...

you know, their voice to April, which is, you know, in turn. And at first I was like, oh my gosh, I just realized now, like people are looking at me and like, that's, that's the face of cancer among young adults right now. Yeah. And when you're auditioning for things, it's not even in your, your mind. And you're just like, I, this is a huge responsibility. And I feel like these people are so strong that they, they don't know how,

how much cooler they are than I am. You know what I mean? Like these people deserve the attention way more than I do. And because I get to go home at night and turn the cancer off and they don't, they can't go on hiatus from cancer. I feel like this is the absolute very least I could be doing for them is, is going in to see them at hospitals or doing charity events or anything. I feel like

You know, I should have been doing this before the show, but I was ignorant. Yeah. So you said that you've gotten a lot of, like, fan mail or, you know, people writing in saying that, telling you their stories. Has that been overwhelming at all or is it welcome? How do you feel when you hear? It's all of those things. You know, I can't always read all of them, but I...

So it'll be weeks. But I do respond to every single story. Yeah. Every single person that reaches out to me. Like, I left my messages on Facebook, the private messages available. Yeah. So that people that don't want to publicly...

the world what's going on with them. Still, if they want to share it with me, they're welcome to. And I appreciate the honesty that some of these people have are putting into, you know, their, their own personal experiences with the illness and not even just people with cancer. It's, it's the, the people who had to support somebody with that or had to go through it with them or, or any, any, any struggle at all. It doesn't even have to be like a health issue. Yeah. I just feel like April's character is just so strong and it's all about just getting through it.

while doing the best you can with the rest of your life. And I feel like that's just so many people are relating to it. Yeah. One of the reasons why I love Chasing Life is because even though April has cancer, it's not just a cancer TV show. Like she's dealing with so many other things in her life. She seems like a real person. And I know that you've said you put a lot of yourself into the character. Do you find that that's easier or harder since, you know, it's you? Yeah.

It's easier to do. Like, I'm not working so hard because I'm just believing the situation that's happening to me. But it's harder because I'm like, well, here I am. I hope you don't hate it, you know? It seems like it would be vulnerable. You feel super naked because you're like, I'm, you're seeing my reactions to this world as, you know, Italia. Yeah.

playing April but really like she was written as a very real girl and I just happened to be lucky enough to be you know similar so much so that I booked it but yeah that was the scariest part is because I sort of

It's all there. And I was so scared when it was going to premiere that people were just going to be like, oh, we can't stand that girl. I don't think that's been the reaction. Not yet. No, I'm so grateful. I still, I'm telling you, think that one day they're going to be like, and joke is over. She can move back home now. Well, I feel like there are times when fans get mad at April for some of the things that she's doing, but I don't think that's getting mad at you for it. No, no, no. Yeah. And the funny thing about that is the most angry that they've been was when

Or how April was taking too long to tell her mom and her family. And that was really frustrating a lot of fans. And so at first I was like, oh no, we're doing something wrong. We did it wrong. We did it wrong. And then I get these private messages of their stories being like, thank you. Because I didn't tell them for three months. I still haven't told them. Thank you for showing people how hard it is. So that when it happens, they understand. Like goosebumps. I'm telling you these stories that I get are incredible. And so that made me feel like, okay.

If this part of April's story is giving a voice to six people, then it... Even one person. We did our jobs. We did our jobs. And that matters the most. Yeah. Going back to the audition process for Chasing Life, was it the normal, you know, you go in, you go for a callback, you go for... Okay. I went in and pre-read and then went to producers. Okay.

When I went for my producer call back, I was such an idiot. I was getting my green card. So I had to go and get like blood work done and shots. And I'm terrible with needles. Okay. And so I get out of the doctor's office and faint.

And I'm like totally green. Stop. Yeah. And my boyfriend was like, are you okay? Like stops and gets me orange juice. He's like, you maybe should reschedule this audition. And I just was like, I can't. I don't want to risk losing it. I need to go in. I need – like I love this role and I need to not screw this up. Yeah. And I went in just like total checked out and awful and like the gauze still there. And I did it and I left –

Being like, I screwed it up. Like, I couldn't do the best that I could because I feel so terrible. Called my manager being like, can we ask if I can go in again when I'm feeling better? And he's like, oh, you're testing. And I was like, are you sure? Yeah. But yeah, I remember, I don't even remember the audition because I was so nauseous. Yeah.

Who was the first person you told when you found out that you booked Chasing Life? Well, it was called the Terminals. Terminalis. Terminalis. The McDonald's person that was serving me my Big Macs. I got the phone call and I was like, hello? And my agent goes, so you're on the phone with all of my team? And I was just like, oh God, it's either going to be we're sorry, but or you did it. And I'm just like,

I freeze and the people in line are like, lady, please just take your Big Macs and go. And I'm like, and they tell me and I just start screaming and running around and crying and laughing. I'm running around McDonald's in the Burbank Town Center Mall, like in and out of the patio, just running in circles. And my best friend's trying to videotape it all. I think the video still exists somewhere. And I'm just like a maniac. So I run, I go straight to my manager's, grab my Big Macs. So I had two Big Macs and a glass of champagne.

to celebrate. It was phenomenal. So yeah, the first person that I think actually heard it was the cashew nut.

So one of the reasons why I think you're awesome is because half the time that we've been talking, I feel like you've been talking about Big Macs. You've been talking about Domino's. You've been talking about so much food. I eat like a nine-year-old boy. Oh, I do too. Mac and cheese. Yeah. Ice cream for breakfast. That's my... I like pasta for breakfast. Is that weird? Okay. Or like a burger for breakfast. Like I will have McDonald's for breakfast. Although this year, my New Year's resolution was no McDonald's.

Because it would be the point that I would eat like five or six Big Macs a week. Really? Yeah. Like at our table reads, they would have – everybody would eat catering and I would have Big Macs. And I eat two or three in a sitting. Yeah. And for my birthday set catered with McDonald's. Like there was just – there was a huge sign that said, it's Italia's birthday, eat a Big Mac. That's awesome. Yeah. Did they put a candle in the Big Mac? No. Actually, wait. Maybe they didn't. No, they all started – I was in the kitchen of the Carver house doing a scene and all of a sudden, all of our crew start coming in and they're all eating Big Macs. And I'm like, what?

How do you guys all have... What's happening? And they go, you should probably go check out Crafty. And I was like...

Oh, my God. And we had four Big Macs. I've never felt more disgusting. Oh, my gosh. But it was so good. Four? How do you fit it in there? I mean, over the course of a couple of hours. But I took them home. I reheated them the next day. Like, microwave Big Macs, just as good. That's awesome. I'm not proud. I mean, I'm sort of proud of it. But I love bad food. So have you been sticking to the New Year's resolution of no McDonald's? You have? Really? I have, yeah. I have not had McDonald's this year. That's seven months in.

They all try and break me. Really? And that new thing, the buy one, get one free after 9 p.m., I was like, come on, really? Yeah. Now? Yeah. It's going to be tough when Monopoly rolls around. Do you get the cards? Oh, yeah. Have you ever won anything? Like a free small fry or something. But I won my car in a game show, so I don't think that I deserve to win any. Which game show? Let's Make a Deal with Wayne Brady. Did you dress up? Yes. What did you dress up as? I was like a big fried egg with like a pot on my head.

oh my gosh when was that it was before i booked this and during that lull and we were a bunch of friends we went to see a movie and you know the people outside they're like here sign up for tickets to a game show and i was like yes i want to go to a game show that's really cool and they're like you know no guarantees you're going to be picked but here's tickets for the audience and i'm like this is so fun so i took this same best friend that was with me at mcdonald's yeah during my breakdown um

And she was bacon and I was eggs. And they picked me and I won a car. That's awesome. Yeah, it's insane. What kind of car? I won a Ford Fiesta. Okay. But I upgraded it to the C-Max Hybrid. Okay. Which I just now traded for an Escape. Okay. That's awesome.

A really cool story. It's pretty rad, right? Yeah. I know. My agents at first were like, what were you thinking going on with the game show, you idiot? I was like, well, I used my first name. Is that okay? And they were like, this is going to ruin your career. And I was like, no, it won't. Look at all these people. Jon Hamm, Aaron Paul, most people we've won.

All you have to say is Jon Hamm was a contestant at, what was it, a dating show? Yeah, so was Lady Gaga. You know, it's all, it's fine. It's fine. I'm not, I mean, yeah. I mean, I'm sure it'll come back to haunt me. I'm not that worried about it. Um, so, uh...

On the complete other acting spectrum from April on Chasing Life, you're in this new movie called The Remaining, which comes out this fall. Tell us a little bit about that. It's a really cool idea that you would think should have been done by now, but is not. It's the story about the end of the world, the rapture, and what happens after. And we're a group of friends trying to survive, basically. But the

Yeah.

Yeah. We'll see. So how was booking that role? When did you guys film that? March of last year. Okay. So it was after we did the pilot of Chasing Life and we were waiting for it to be picked up. Okay. How filming it or booking it, I auditioned in front of the...

And it was a crazy long scene, like monologue of me just bawling. And for some reason I was able to do it well in the room, which is usually really hard in a casting office because you're just like sitting there in front of a thing and you don't have the time to like, anyway, it worked out. I went home and got the call to visit my family in Toronto and got the call that I booked it and came back. And we went to Wilmington, North Carolina, which I think is the most charming place and shot there for like two months. Cool. Yeah.

That sounds awesome. And you said it premieres September... September 5th in theaters. September 5th. Okay. I do want to talk about Don John for a little bit. You did have, even though it was a smaller role, a very memorable role. I hope so. I'm sweating. Opposite.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt. That was his directorial debut as well. So how do you think that he did balancing both of those things? He was amazing. Yeah. Even on set, you would think that he would be super stressed and spastic. He was the nicest, most considerate, and genuinely good guy. I was like, there's no ego. He just always wants the best for everybody involved and making sure you're comfortable. I mean, it was a delicate...

So that was a whole other thing. But he was just... And so open to, like, improv. Like, I wasn't supposed to have any line. I think I say one thing. But, you know, and just, like, letting it all sort of organically become what it was. And then the way he edited it and it all just looked so... It was perfect. I mean, I'm so impressed by that man. He's just... Can you just turn down the talent on every front? It would be really nice. It's making us all look bad. I mean, he does so much now. I know. He's got hit record. He's got...

So many projects. He's insane. Crazy. It's almost annoying. Do you have any aspirations to do stuff behind the camera? No. No, I have way too many control issues for that. Okay. I would be a terrible director. Maybe producing. Okay. Because I feel like I could maybe give a few good ideas about things here and there, but I don't, I think as a director, I mean, I see how they try so hard to communicate with people to get what they want out of them, and some people just don't.

It just don't get it. It doesn't click. It's communication wires get crossed or whatever reason, and I would just be like, I would be just crying and throwing a huge hissy fit right now. So I'm just going to go back to... Crafty notes. Do you think you're a perfectionist? Absolutely. Yeah. Total type A. So does that affect when you watch yourself back?

Like, do you? I cried when I saw the pilot for the first time thinking that I was terrible and I was cheesy and that nobody was going to like it. And I had, they made a mistake casting me. I couldn't carry a show. I bawled and bawled and bawled to the point where I had to be like dragged out of the screen. They're like, I can't like this about the show. I was like, it's not the show. It's me. What were they thinking? And they were just like, okay, honey.

No more wine. Go to bed. You'll be fine. But then, you know, the more I watched it, the more I was able to appreciate it. But even now I watch things and I'm like, oh, God, no. Cringe. Don't make that face. That looks awful. Or whatever reason. I mean, I don't think I'll ever be comfortable watching it and appreciating. There are moments that I'm proud of, but they're usually things that I never meant to do. I can always tell when I planned to do something and that's when I don't like it. Yeah. Just have to live in the moment. Which is...

The toughest thing. Exactly. Let go. So I know you already know what happens to April. You don't... Really? I thought you filmed this... Oh, you meant like in the end. No, for the rest of the season. Oh, okay. For the rest of the season. Oh, yes, I do. We're hoping for a second season pickup, obviously. Crossing all of our fingers and toes. But where would you like to see April's character go after, you know, this season ends?

I can't tell you how it ends is so intense. It just, door is wide open. Okay. I can't tell you anything, but I would like to see April relax. Yeah. You know, I would like to see what April like on vacation is like when she's not worried about work or her health or her family. If it's just like April and Beth chilling. Yeah. And she doesn't worry so much and feel like she has to take care of everybody. I'd like to see what that's like. Yeah. Yeah.

What about April's love life? A lot of people are shipping her with Leo. Uh-huh. On paper, I've said this before, on paper, I read the scripts and I'm always team Leo. Yeah. Like that episode in last, or the line in last night's episode where he goes, you're going to love me. When I read that, I was like, oh, I love you. But then I see the episodes, I'm like, oh, but Richie is so damn charming. Yeah. And just, like, you got to love him. And so I'm like, I know it's more of like an adult network show, but can she have both? Yeah.

A love triangle, but you don't have to pick. Exactly. Best of both worlds. That works. Totally works. So...

We will see, hopefully, who she chooses or leans towards the rest of the season, maybe. Okay. Okay. A lot of people are kind of equating Chasing Life to The Fault in Our Stars since they came out around the same time. Do you see the similarities there? Absolutely. Oh, yeah. The Fault in Our Stars, a lot of the things that we explore over the course of our season, they do in that film. We got to screen it.

Yeah. Yeah.

what they're doing in Chasing Life. And so, I think it was great. The performances were amazing. I was like, oh, she's way better at pretending to have cancer than I am. But,

Yeah, I thought it was really... I mean, I cried like crazy. And then you leave it and you're like, I hate that movie. Why did we go to this? It's terrible. My boyfriend was... It's just disaster. I was like, wow. Can't, yeah. But it was so well done. Yeah. I had read the book too and I cried during the book a million times. Yeah. I tried to buy it and my friends were like, you are not doing this for fun. That's what you do all day at work. Yeah. We're going to step away. No, I read the book and then it prompted me to start reading Emperor of All Maladies, which is like the book about cancer and...

How's that? It's long. It is long. I'm like maybe two chapters into it, but yeah, it's long. But what research did you do, if any, to do this role? Um,

Initially, my instinct was to become a cancer expert. But I've been so lucky that I've never had a personal experience with it. And I'm one of so few people, which is tragic. But I was like, okay, I need to learn everything there is to know and talk to as many people as I can and doctors and patients and survivors and people who've lost people. I need to know everything. The OCD kicking in. But then after...

I was like making lists of what I needed to, to look up. I was like, well, April doesn't know all of this. You know, she's probably knows as much as the, the average person who doesn't have an extremely close experience with it. And so I, I didn't want to anticipate what was going to happen to her in my performance before she knew it was going to happen. So I decided to learn with her and I just made sure, you know, when the writers are incredible and we have a great team of, of,

and doctors and patients and friends that are making sure that everything we do, they'll be like, well, that's actually impossible. That would never happen. Or actually, this is more likely to be the reaction. And the liberating thing, too, is that

There's no one way that somebody goes through and deals with cancer. You know, it's everybody goes through things differently, which is why the audience will sometimes get angry or be thankful for different things. So I feel like I sort of got off easy by just doing what I think I would do because at least one thing that I do, somebody should be able to relate to, I hope. Yeah.

Cool. So where does Chasing Life, where can people see it? Oh, it is on ABC Family. Tuesdays at 9, 8 central. Cool. We have some fun questions. I like this. For you. I like this. I know you're pretty busy when you're filming, but when you do get some free time, I saw one of the most recent things that you did that I'm very jealous about. You swam with sharks. I did. It was so cool. There was four whale sharks. Black tip sharks, reef sharks everywhere.

Stingrays. Like this big. Huge. Huge. Yeah. And terrifying. Just terrifying. And I'm absolutely... Open water is my worst nightmare. Yeah. Because I don't know what's around me. I'm not in control of the environment. So it just doesn't happen. Like I've tried to snorkel in like way steep water in Miami or in Dominican Republic and a cloud came over and made it dark and I fully freaked out. Like full shaking, heart attack, panic. Yeah.

Anyway, so we were just visiting the aquarium and I saw swim in the aquarium for, you know, X amount of dollars. And I was like, let's do it. And my boyfriend just laughed right in my face. He's like, okay. And I was like, no, I want to do it. And like before I could even think, I was like, credit card down. It's happening. We're doing it tomorrow. And he was like, are you sure? You think you're actually going to be able to do this? And I was like, I don't care. I'm doing it. I don't know what came over me. Yeah. But so we get in and I blacked out.

from the point where we're sitting on the edge to when we jump in. Yeah. So they, like, jump in, turn over, and just hold on so you can see and just, like, we'll get ourselves acclimated and then we'll start moving in the group. And so I just, I have no, I don't remember getting in the water. And so Robbie was telling me that I was just, like, he's never seen me shaking so hard. And then we got the video and you just see everybody's, like, calming, like, ooh, cool fish. And you just see me going. Ha ha ha.

It's so tragic. But it was so cool. They bumped by us, the whale sharks, and they're just so massive and beautiful and effortless that I ended up enjoying it a lot. I mean, I did get a little...

little scared but they were like if it comes close to you don't touch it just like spread your arms and like sort of float in a starfish and they wouldn't even be close to me to be like the whole video like this side of the aquarium probably the most unattractive video um but it was it was really cool yeah it was super cool would you do it again probably not what else is on your bucket list then oh that's a good one i would like to sail on the titanic 2.0

Okay. Is that weird? It's a little weird. Yeah. Especially if you hate open water. This is all open water stuff. I'm so, like, uncomfortably fascinated with the Titanic. I have an entire room in my house dedicated to, like, I have replicas of the blankets from the cabins and the jewelry boxes and I have a big old art piece when you walk into my house that's a

an old authentic advertisement but it's carved wood for the Titanic and you know I've got books and I saw the movie 14 times in theaters way before the movie I was just always so fascinated by it to the point and I know this sounds insane I probably shouldn't even say this but too late now I if given the opportunity to go on it even knowing it was going to sink I would still go

That's so weird, right? That's insane. That's really weird. Yeah. What? It is weird. I know. I know. I know. I don't even believe it. I know how weird it is and ridiculous. Yeah. But I think that that's how badly I want to experience it. We went to the Vegas...

And they recreated some of the rooms. And when I walked into the staircase, the, in the, the, yeah, the grand staircase, my boyfriend was like, you're going to need a minute before you turn this corner. And I was like, what? And I turned the corner and just start bawling. And like, the woman was like, ma'am, are you okay? My, my dad was like, oh, geez, this is so embarrassing. This is, are you really, can you, can you please keep it together? And I was like, there's just, you feel, and I, and they're just like, what?

happening with this woman? Do you want a picture? So there's a picture of me with my back turned to my boyfriend and I'm just like this on the grand staircase. And I've gone to the exhibit four times. I went to the one in Toronto. Anyway, yeah. Crazy into Titanic. You sound like you have a lot of good blackmail pictures from the Sharks to the Titanic experience. Oh yeah. There's a lot of things that, but you know, at the same time, like, I mean, they make fun of me. I do. I make fun of myself all the time. So that's it for Bucket List? Mm-hmm.

I mean, and then all, like, the obvious stuff. Like, I want to be mom. Oh, yeah. I want to do all that stuff. I do... I would love to travel. I haven't done very much of that. Yeah. I have no interest in, like, going to space. Okay. It's just something I'm like, eh, it's cool. Yeah. But I don't... That's not something I'm going to, like, actively pursue. I would like to go see the Titanic at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. Okay. But the whole having to be in water thing. Yeah. Not okay. Yeah. Yeah, I think that that...

I want to say that I'll get into a cage and swim with a great white shark. In the ocean? Yeah. I want to say in a cage. I might want to do that one day, maybe. I have a couple of friends that just did it. It looks terrifying, but I want to do it. That's what I mean. I almost booked this one movie about sharks. Yeah. And my manager called me when it was down to meet another girl and was like, do we think if you book this, you'll be able to shoot it? I was like, that's a question. I'm not entirely confident I could. Okay.

That's hilarious. Yeah. So when you do get free time, what else do you like to do? I love having my friends over. Yeah. We have a beautiful house with backyard with a pool and a games room. And like I said, our best friend lives in our guest house and we just...

play board games and have fun and barbecue and heads up. Heads up. I was playing heads up last night. It was so much fun. It's ridiculous. And when it videotapes you and watching those back are just priceless because one of the deck of cards is the dance moves and it is like, I can't even hold it up. I'm laughing. It's so funny. I was playing with my brother a couple of days ago in Toronto. We stayed up till two o'clock in the morning, sitting in the kitchen, playing heads up. It was

I have all the videos saved. You want to talk blackmail? The adult version is the worst blackmail. It's disgusting but hilarious. I've never actually watched a video. We only did charades in the dancing one. Yeah. I had one, though, and I had to do escalator, and it cut off my legs in the video before it actually looked. I was like, I nailed that.

God, that's so well. You should act in a movie on an escalator, but have the escalator actually be broken. Actually, because of the show. On the show, when you see my character go up the stairs from the kitchen. Yeah. So that goes to nothing. And when she's coming up the stairs. Yeah. That's just flat. So I have to go and like be like, bye, mom.

And then I'm just like, I can't do this without laughing, guys. I can't take this seriously. This is a joke. That's awesome. You see some outtakes of that. I hope they release the gag reel. It'll be so good. How often do you break character? Because it's a funny show, too. I'm not funny. Everybody else is funny. I'm just in the situation.

What do you mean break character? Like, ruin takes? It's usually because my stomach is grumbling. You need a big bag? Always. Always. Don't talk dirty to me. Or like a hot dog. A good old, like, small, big bun, bad for you hot dog. What was I saying? Oh, yeah. We screw up all the time. Like, Steven Weber is one of the most dry-humored, intelligent, and witty people in the world.

And so doing scenes with him is near impossible. And when you screw up, it's like immediately followed by a curse word from all of us. One of our gag reels they put together for the wrap party was just like a series of everybody just swearing because you screw up and your immediate thing is blank, sorry. Scott Michael Foster, again, such a dork that it's impossible to not laugh around him all the time. And I'm like, why do our scenes always have to be so serious? Everybody on the show, Richie is a super duper prankster.

which is, makes it also very difficult. Um, and yeah, we just, we, we have so much fun too, that even like the directors will, they'll do something like, um, that's not an appropriate story. Um, next question. Um, well, this is my favorite question. Do you ever Google yourself all the time? Really? Oh yeah. For what? I just Google my name to be like, wonder if there are any more terrible pictures of my face on a carpet. But like I saw one yesterday and I,

I Instagrammed it. I was making like the most ridiculous face. I saw that because Byron Purvis. So I know him. He's the only one that's ever remembered me from the very beginning when I was nothing, no jobs on my resume. He was always like, Italia, hi. And I was like, what? Hi. Do you want to like go out for dinner?

I met him originally at JDRF charity and he was wearing a game controller t-shirt. So we did like this Snapchat of like doing the game controller. I actually feel like he was wearing that yesterday. I'm not kidding. He only has three shirts. No, I'm kidding. No, and like we'd run into each other like Ralphs. And I was like, this is the nicest guy ever. He's so sweet. And I met him when I was like going through an open house. And I was like, you're everywhere. This is so weird. You just like are everywhere.

Our paths were meant to cross. Anyway, yeah, he sent me that photo and was like, should we release this? And I was like, I will. He's a very nice photographer because a lot of them are very like... Yeah. But there are some that they'll post pictures and I'm like, one eye is going this way, this one's closed. And I'm like, I don't even know what face my mouth is making or what expression. And I'm just like, really? Nobody was like, maybe we'll keep that one off the internet. But you have to sort of release all hope of maintaining...

at this point, especially because on the show it gets to a point where you can't imagine yourself looking any worse. And so you're just like, you can't. You just, you can't care anymore. Well, you said at one point you had to lose weight to, like, while April was going through. I didn't have to. They actually didn't. They asked me not to. Okay. But...

I felt I wanted to feel that week and I wanted, I mean, I'm not a super methody actor, but for this, for this moment, I just wanted to do the people suffering through this nightmare as much justice as I could. Yeah. And so I did. And I was very hungry. Um, so what are some of your favorite TV shows on television? Other than chasing life, parenthood, parenthood, parenthood, the top, top one, um, suits, um,

Haunt and Catch Fire, but I'm not caught up. What is that other one? Oh, The Last Ship. Oh, yeah. So cool. And a couple of my friends are on it, so I'm biased. Arrow, Steven, obviously, and now The Flash for Robbie. Yeah.

Yeah. I mean, I don't actually binge watch everything, you know, I'm so, I'm so bad at, I never have the time to, I don't think I've watched anything live in like three years. Yeah. You said after this interview, you're going to go home and binge watch TV. Yes. I think that's what I'm going to be doing. That works. Um, so you and Robbie seem very supportive of each other's careers. Do you think that? I hope he fails. Yeah.

You're like, he's allergic. He's allergic to unemployment. Yes. I was like, when his show got canceled, I felt bad for him for five whole minutes because then he immediately booked two movies that night. Two movies. I was like, seriously? Like, congratulations, but come on. Just turn it down. Yeah. Yeah, and before he even finished those, he's on the flash and you're just like, I can't. Can you come home at any point? Hi, like, I'd like to see you.

You guys have been lucky, though, because I feel like your career trajectories have kind of been on the same point. Yeah, it's been awesome. Yeah. Because I can imagine one of us not being so lucky and the strain it might put on, you know, the relationship. But we've never been jealous of one another or anything like that. And we've been together for so long that we're just like...

He's my best friend, so I want what's best for him outside of that. And he does the same. And just the fact that it's been happening together is just really cool. Yeah, that's awesome. So moving forward, what do you hope to accomplish in both your career and your life? I would like to continue telling stories that I'm as proud of telling as Chasing Life. They don't all have to be so real and so dramatic. I just want to be proud of everything I do.

Going forward. Not that I've been proud of everything I've done. I'm always grateful for everything. Yeah. Yeah, I would really like to do that. What was the other part of that? Just career and life. Yeah. So career-wise, that's what I'd like to do. In life, I would like to live more like my character does in the sense that... I mean, I think I've done it since I've started filming so much and it's just not making...

Kate Hudson.

Would be really, she, she nails it all. She goes from like horror to rom-com to musical and comedy. Like she's, she's got it all. And she's just so always. So she's got like sparkle to her. If that makes sense. Like you, I just, you're so interested in watching her all the time. Um, Natalie Portman would be another one because she, she takes such risks with her choices. And I'm again, very calculated risk taker. Um, but yeah,

Yeah, those two. And I mean, obviously, like, Julia Roberts and the obvious answers. But I feel like Kate Hudson right now is my free card. Cool. Your free card. So I have to ask, how many times have you been asked if you're related to Christina Ricci? A lot of times. Yeah. And I am not. Yeah. Have you ever lied about it? No, I have not. Okay. Okay.

I mean, that would be rude. I once in high school told people that I was related to Josh Kelly. I tried to trick him as a joke. Oh. Yeah. It worked. Because, yeah, half brothers, but no one knew their names. It worked. So you could do it if you tried. I feel like I would get nothing out of it, though. Yeah, probably not.

They'd be like, all right. Yeah. Cool. Forgotten cousin. She's cooler than you and way more famous. And I'd be like, well, I'm glad we had this chat. I feel really good about myself now. Do you get told that you look like other actresses? Oh, yeah. Yeah. I get Shiri Appleby a lot. I get Rose Byrne a ton. Probably the most of anybody. Nina Dobrev. Yeah. I get basically they're all in the same brunette family. Yeah. Victoria Justice. Yeah.

I don't get so much. I feel like Nina's in between Victoria and I. But, yeah, I once, I do, I think it was a Kids' Choice Awards, and they're like, Selena! Selena! I turn around, and they're like, Victoria? And I was like, Nina? And I was like, no, it's nobody. Just leave me alone. I'm nobody. And the disappointment on their faces, they were just like, oh, she's no one. And I was like, right back down to size. Thanks, guys. Have you ever had any awkward red carpet moments?

Oh, I'm sure I have. Nothing too embarrassing, though? No, I've never, like, fallen or anything, but I've had moments where I've been asked questions and I completely just blank on, like, even where I am. They're like, so what are you here? What brings you out to this event today? And I literally had to be like...

I look at the back and be like, oh yeah, this one. And it's just been like a, you know, you get so nervous sometimes that even after this, I bet you I will get in the car with my publicist and be like, did I make any sense? I blacked out. And I was just, just words. So that's, that's probably the most embarrassing thing ever is when I see videos, when I Google myself and just go, oh my God, do you ever shut up? Can you just stop talking?

That's awesome. So, last question. We have our shameless plug section. So, tell us where people can watch Chasing Life again, the remaining, follow you on Twitter, all that stuff. Oh, boy. Okay.

I'm on Twitter at Italia Ricci. Same with Instagram. I've got the Facebook fan page if you want to get to me privately. That was really... That's not what I meant at all. If you want a private message, I try... I read them all. I try and get back to as many as I can. My show is Chasing Life. It's on ABC Family Tuesdays at 9, 8 Central. The remaining will be hitting theaters. Sony Affirm Film in theaters September 5th. So excited. Um...

I'm a Scorpio. I like long walks on the beach. Pina coladas. Sure. I mean, who doesn't? Yeah. Anyway, thank you so much. This is awesome. Thank you so much for coming in. We are so excited to see the rest of Chasing Life and your career. I'm sure it's going to skyrocket after this. Not after this interview, but after all this stuff. This is it. Here I come, Hollywood. Congratulations. You can follow all of us here at AfterBuzzTV on Twitter. You can follow me at Katherine Kelly. Make sure to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes.

Check us out on YouTube. Comment, like the video. And again, thank you for coming in. That was super impressive what you just did right there. Oh, thanks. It's word vomit at this point. We'll just wrap up the interview like that. Thank you again for coming in. From executive producers Maria Menounos, Kevin Undergaro, Phil Svitek, and the entire AfterBuzz TV staff, we would like to thank you for listening to the AfterBuzz TV Network.

To watch or listen to other After Shows and post comments or questions, be sure to visit AfterBuzzTV.com. I'm Sir Richard Wentworth, and this has been a presentation of After Buzz TV. Buzz you later. The views expressed herein are those of the host only and do not necessarily reflect the views of After Buzz TV or its owners or principals.