Melrose's Katie Cassidy & Ashlee Simpson-Wentz
Two Cast Members of Melrose Place Talk about the Show
Sep 2, 2009
Both Katie Cassidy and Ashlee Simpson-Wentz come from famous families. Katie is the daughter of David Cassidy and Ashlee is the sister of Jessica Simpson. These two young women are now part of the new Melrose Place which is a modernized version of the old 1990s TV series. Ashlee is playing Violet Foster and Katie plays Ella Simms.
At the recent Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour, the two women spoke about their lives, their characters, and the show.
Ashlee Simpson-Wentz Plays Violet Foster
“For me,” Ashlee said, “it's fun to play the innocent side, but the really innocent girl is probably not so innocent. She's got a dark side.”
Simpson-Wentz is originally from Dallas, Texas but now resides in Los Angeles. “I definitely remember moving to L.A., and I didn't have cool style or anything like that. I'm definitely learning that. But I wouldn't say that I am like [my character] Violet.”
Katie Cassidy Plays Ella Simms
As for the Melrose location, people in Southern California know it as a trendy place for shopping with some great places to eat. “I think it's definitely a fun, cool area to go to,” Cassidy commented. “When I was growing up, I actually had never been to the city until I was 17 or 18. So it was almost like moving from Dallas or whatever because I actually had never seen Sunset Boulevard. But I grew up in the San Fernando Valley. I just didn't actually go there. But yeah, it's great. I think we can all agree that Melrose is a really cool, hip place to be. Good shopping.”
In the original Melrose Place, Heather Locklear played the role of the manipulative woman. Cassidy was asked if she had spoken with Locklear to get any tips about playing the nasty Melrose vixen.“No, I haven't spoken to Heather, but she is a wonderful actress and I think she's great.”
About her new bi-sexual character, Cassidy commented, “My character is definitely exploring her sexuality. I have no idea what's to come, but I'm sure it's going to be crazy and fun.” She is definitely looking forward to the challenges of the character.
Cassidy said she had never watched the original series and did not want to watch the episodes until she had crafted her character of Ella. “I think partially for me it was [because] when I had gotten the role I hadn't seen it and I didn't want anything to affect the character that I had created, or my performance. And now I think that I have a very good idea of who Ella is. I can go back and actually look at it without it having any sort of effect on it.”
Katie said her father is “thrilled and excited” that she is starring in Melrose Place.
Melrose Place airs Tuesday nights on The CW.
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