TV

Interview with Mandy Musgrave

After three seasons of portraying Ashley Davies, South of Nowhere’s resident wild child and lesbian trust fund baby, 22-year-old actor Mandy Musgrave is bidding farewell to the complicated half of Spashley with a new film (16 to Life), an internet series (Dan’s Detour of Life) and with any luck, some more Girltrash!

Like her SON love interest and real-life friend, Gabrielle Christian, Musgrave is now re-entering the world of auditions and television guest spots. Unlike Christian – who called Musgrave’s character, Ashley, “needy” in her recent interview – Mandy has different ideas about her character and what might have happened, had the series continued.

Musgrave talked to AfterEllen recently to defend her alter ego, dish about an as-yet-to-be-posted Girltrash sex scene with Christian, and make some wildly unsubstantiated claims about how girls kiss. AfterEllen: So, I hear you’re a little insulted that your friend Gaby Christian called your character, Ashley “needy” in her interview here. Mandy Musgrave: I am! I know Gaby thought we would have broken up again, and that Ashley would become needy and clingy, but I don’t know. I thought, “Wait a minute!” AE: Well, here’s your chance to defend Ashley’s reputation. MM: Well, OK. Ashley was getting a little clingy. [In the finale] she creeps into Spencer’s house, finds the college acceptance letter from Worthington on the refrigerator, and doesn’t say anything. That’s a bit much, Ashley – a little creepy! But I think they would have worked it out. I think that Ashley would have shaped up.

AE: The creepy thing is lesbians being portrayed as needy or clingy. Because that never happens, right? MM: [laughs] That’s the worst thing to be called; psycho or clingy! I would never want to be called that. In the script, Gaby had to say to me that I was “clingy.” I thought, “Ugh!” But it was really funny.

AE: Gaby talked about the end of the season and how she was disappointed as an actor. What are your thoughts about the ending? MM: As an actor, you have to always be realistic, especially when it comes to a series. You never know how long they’re going to last and you’re lucky if it goes past the first season.

So, I feel really lucky to have done the three seasons that we did. It was nice to work with the same people for that long.

It’s heartbreaking, though, because you do become really close with your cast members, and even with the characters. You get so used to playing the same character on a daily basis – and then to have to back out into the acting world, and the auditioning world – it’s hard to start from scratch again.

AE: What did you think when you heard you were canceled? MM: You know, I kind of felt it beforehand. I remember saying: “Why don’t we have a cliff-hanger? In the past, we’ve had such good cliffhangers. No one’s going to want to come back.”

And they were like, “Well, the network didn’t want as much of a cliff-hanger.” In my head, I thought, “Why wouldn’t they want as much of a cliff-hang – oh.”

So, I was kind of prepared. They’re so afraid of telling the cast, like we can’t handle it. I mean, I can understand to an extent. We get very attached and [producers worry] we’ll feel like the rest of the work doesn’t matter – we’ll want to look for other work, instead of showing up to set.

It just felt like we were lost and out of the loop. I felt like we had a right to know. But while we were there, the time was wonderful. It’s sad how it all ended, but while it was going on, it was great.

AE: Did you share your suspicions with the rest of the cast? MM: Yeah, I did. And they felt the same thing. And some of us tried to tell ourselves, and each other: “Maybe they just want something different. You never know.”

Maeve Quinlan [who plays Spencer’s mother, Paula] was prepared to go out, no matter what. She had said something like: “Well, where is Paula in the scripts? The kids are going off to college. Or the kids are moving in together. Mom’s not going to be there.”

So, it was going to be sad, no matter what. I think it’s great that we all went together, because I don’t want to do the series without [the parents] Maeve and Rob [Moran]. They’re amazing. AE: Are you happy with the series finale? MM: I am happy with it. I think it was a very safe way to end it and I thought it was very sweet. Spencer and Ashley went through so much and they were all realistic situations. And I like that.

AE: I asked Gaby, and now I’ll ask you. What would have happened in a theoretical Season 4? MM: Maybe Spencer would have talked Ashley into going to college? Ashley’s gone through a lot of changes. And Spencer helped her to better herself the whole way because Spencer truly loved her and cared enough to give her the right advice.

So, I think she probably would have gone to college with Spencer. But maybe to the community college next door or something? [laughs] You know? Maybe not the university.

AE: Too bad you’ll never get a chance to pitch that. MM: I know. I pitched one [idea] actually and it went. It was Season 2, the one where the best friend from Ohio comes into town.

AE: That was you? MM: Yeah, I pitched that idea, although they certainly took a different twist on it. Tom Lynch was so great about asking Gaby and me what we thought before the seasons were written. They would take us into a room before the season started, we’d pitch ideas, and that was one of them.

I mean, my original idea was that the girl would come in, and Ashley would get very jealous of her close friendship with Spencer. Instead, [the script had] the girl freaking out about the lesbian relationship, which was more realistic and interesting. But it was nice that someone listened and took that into consideration. AE: When you first booked the role of Ashley, were you concerned about having to kiss another girl or who that girl was going to be? MM: No, never, although [kissing scenes] were so new to me. When I found out about the role, I was so excited because it was going to be a challenge, and I’m always up for challenges.

And when they said I was going to have to kiss a girl, I just wasn’t worried. I remember my first [on-screen] kiss was with a guy. And this show, South of Nowhere, was going to work: I wasn’t going to have to worry about falling for the person, or them falling for me, or worrying about a guy being a bad kisser, you know? Girls usually all kiss the same.

AE: Excuse me? Stop right there. I have to challenge that statement. MM: You challenge me?

AE: Yes! MM:A lot of girls kiss the same! I mean, I’ve only kissed one girl, really, but…

AE: Exactly! But keep talking. I want to hear this. MM:Girls know that it needs to be soft. I’m sure you’ve kissed more girls than I have, so maybe… I don’t know! I’ve been with guys a lot of time, and they’re too rough. Or, it’s like: “Where are you going with that? You’re pecking like a bird! You know what I mean?”

AE: If you’re trying to say that girls kiss better than guys, fine. But all girls do not kiss the same. Some are OK, some very good. Some are world-class kissers. MM: I’m just speaking in general. I don’t know. I’ve never had that experience. With guys, it’s very common for guys to be gross. It’s either too sloppy, too hard, it’s really, really bad. That’s the first thing: If someone kisses badly, I say: “Nope. Thanks. Bye.”

AE: Well, that’s universal. But, for you, as an actor in a kissing scene, it’s a good test. Bad kissers, bad breath; you have to make it all look hot. MM: I know. If I back away from the camera, and if the lighting hits my mouth, you can sometimes see the whole ring of slobber.

AE: Delightful. What about when your co-star had garlic for lunch? MM: Gaby and I, we’d sometimes have wars about it. We’d eat Doritos or onion rings before, just to joke around with each other, to see who would get it worst.

AE: Who won that war? MM: Probably Gaby.

AE: What’s the worst thing she ate before a kissing scene? MM: Some garlic thing. We had a kissing scene [in Episode 211, “Love, Child and Videotape”] where we’re feeding each other Chinese food before we kissed. Then again, I think we both won that one because we were feeding this stuff to each other that was freezing cold and didn’t taste very good because it had way too much onion and garlic in it.

You’ll see us laugh in the clip because we’re trying to make the other one eat it, so we won’t have to. It looks cute and romantic in the scene, but really, we were like: “No, you’re eating it. This is so gross.”

AE: I asked Gaby about the status of Girltrash. She said she didn’t know what was going on with it. MM: Angela Robinson and her partner are funding it all on their own. And it’s a slow process, as far as making time for it. They had to finish shooting The L Word in Canada and they’re shooting other stuff. So when they have time, I hope they’ll edit the rest of the stuff [already shot] and put more money into it and get it out.

The last time I ran into Angela at Power Up, people were talking about it. And she said she was definitely still working on it.

AE: Of course it takes money, but I’d love to see longer episodes. Each one is so damn short. MM: I know. But I think she wants to entice and I can understand that.

AE: Sure. MM: But, if you don’t have anyone else funding you, and you’re doing that on your own, well, I admire that. But you do want so much more, especially because she has these badass chicks doing all these roles.

She’s got an incredible cast. I mean, Jordana Brewster and Gabrielle Christian? Excuse me?

AE: Well, it would be great if it starts up again, because you can keep working with Gaby. MM: Yeah, that was nice. It was really funny. We had to actually do a tequila shot before our make-out, throw-her-down-on-the-table scene.

AE: Throw her, what now? MM:We all did a tequila shot before, just so we could breeze through it. Because we were like, “OK, God, stop. No, I never did this.”

AE: You taped a Girltrash! sex scene where you had to throw Gaby down and rough her up? MM: It hasn’t posted yet. It’s been frozen for months. Until they start editing and getting to it again, it won’t be seen. AE: Maybe there is no episode and that was for her personal collection. MM: Oh my God! Well, even if she did that, I want that footage because that was some really good work that happened there.

AE: I bet. MM: It was amazing. Amazing.

AE: Put that on your reel. MM: I know, I would! I’ll be like, “Look, I don’t mind getting down and dirty on a shop table.”

AE: I had another question, but I’ve lost my train of thought. MM: [laughs]

AE: OK, I’m back. Tell me about your upcoming film, 16 to Life. MM: It’s a cute film. It’s about two girls and one woman who are living different love lives. It’s about how you interpret different love lives. We all work in a little ice cream parlor shop in Iowa.

We had to make it look like it Spring, but it was winter and it was very cold. It was awful to shoot. I’ve never bonded with a cast so fast, that was great. But I had to be away from home for a month and I hated that.

AE: What’s your character like? MM: Her name is Darby. She’s sexy, slutty-ish. Weird. Like what else is new? [laughs] I have no idea. The three women all have the same uniform, but Darcy hikes hers up two extra feet and wears a push-up bar and weird makeup. [She] talks about how she’s going to lose her virginity one night. She loses her virginity to a guy she met in the drive-up window. It’s just very bizarre.

AE: Theresa Russell is also in the film. MM: She’s great. She’s incredible.

AE: Have you seen her in Black Widow with Debra Winger? MM: No, but everyone talks about that.

AE: Go watch it. It’s a good one. MM: I’m sure.

AE: In her interview, Gaby let the cat out of the bag and mentioned that you’re engaged to Matt Cohen. MM: Yeah, I said to him,”Oh my God. Gaby blew that!” And he said, “What are you going to do? We’ve been engaged for over a year now.” AE: It seems that many fans knew already anyway. MM: Well, that’s because everyone close to us knew. I told the network. And then, about nine or 10 months ago, a podcast for The N’s website went sour. They said, “Well, Mandy was talking about dating Matt Cohen.”

And it was such a big deal I had announced that I was dating him. Meanwhile, I was already engaged to him at that point. They wished that I had said something mean about him. They actually said, “By the time this airs in three weeks, I’m sure the relationship will be over.”

AE: Your own network said that to you? MM: Yes. Isn’t that wrong? And I said, “Look. We’ve been together way longer than that.” We’d been engaged for three months at that point, so three weeks was nothing. It was such a bizarre situation. They ended up taking [the podcast] down. And they had all the wrong people apologizing to me.

Matt always felt cheated. People get the wrong impression from him. And it ticks me off because he’s a very sensitive, beautiful person. And he’s gorgeous. It ticks me off how good-looking he is because I have to wake up to that. It’s never a problem to wake up to that, but I have to wake up to myself.

AE: You’re both pretty. MM: Thank you.

AE: As you know, sometimes people confuse characters with the actors playing them. They see Matt as Aiden, the guy who’s coming between Ashley and Spencer. MM: I know. And I’m not for the Ashley-Aiden thing. I think that they were great friends, but they didn’t work as a couple. I knew that Spencer and Ashley – the Spashley couple – is way better.

AE: Yes, it is. Or was. So, what’s next for you? MM: I just did a little guest spot on Eli Stone. And I was up for a series on ABC Family. I had it, and I lost it. It sucks. But, I was going to play a 15-year-old, so it was kind of far-fetched anyway, considering I’m 22 now. AE: Well, you’re small, but you don’t sound like a young girl. What’s with the raspy, smoker’s voice? MM: I know! I have a weird voice. I came out here and people started asking if I was a smoker. I get that a lot.

AE: You have a twin sister. Does she sound like you? MM: No, not at all. I mean, I thought we did, but she doesn’t get any [comments] on her voice. I remember when I was a kid, my parents thought there was something wrong with my voice but they thought I was going to grow out of it. And then, later, they were like, “Nope, she never did.”

AE: Oh well. Now it can be your trademark. MM: Yeah. Once I get over the hump of looking like I’m at that puberty-looking age, it’ll help.

AE: Be careful what you wish for. You might end up sounding like Harvey Fierstein when you’re 40. MM: Oh God!

The South of Nowhere finale airs Friday, Dec. 12 on The N. Read our interview with Gabrielle Christian, and catch up on the show with our SON recaps.

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