BB Exclusive: Leila Jolene Talks her Netflix Show, Seven and Me
BeautifulBallad had the amazing opportunity to sit down with Leila Jolene and talk about her Netflix show, Seven and Me. Leila plays Snow, a little girl who discovers that she is the modern day descendant of Snow White when seven dwarfs arrive at her suburban home to serve as her guardian’s.
In our interview, we talked about her character, what it was like auditioning for the show, her favorite Holiday traditions and so much more. You can read the interview below.
What drew you to wanting to be a part of Seven And Me? : “When I read the script for the first time I just loved the character of Snow and I thought her relationship with Camilla as frenemies was hilarious. I really adored Snow’s personality because it is similar to mine. And the fact that she was a living fairytale is just perfect! Because I always wanted to be a character in a fairytale type scenario, so pretending that there were imaginary characters in the room with me was fascinating. The script, from the very beginning, was witty and fun. This was one of my favorite auditions.”
Can you describe the audition process for the role of Snow? “Well for this project I travelled to New York for all the auditions. At the very first audition, I waited in this long hallway with many, many other girls. When I was called into the room, I auditioned first reading with the casting director and then they paired me up with another girl, who ironically was the future Camilla. We had the best time together.
For the next few auditions it was basically the same process, except there was less and less people each time. At the last audition they had me read with the casting director and interact with stuffed animals aka the dwarves. After I was offered the role of Snow, I read my role for the last audition with the other characters auditioning. At this time, the director was there and even asked me who I liked the best and why. It was really thoughtful that they included me in the process.”
You can read the full interview under the jump. Seven and Me is currently available to stream on Netflix! Make sure to give it a watch.
Photo source: Status PR
How are you similar to Snow? “We actually have very similar personalities. I have a very energetic, joyful, outgoing personality and I love baking, singing and dancing just as Snow does.”
This show is a mix of 3D animation and live action, what was it like to film your scenes that required the 3D animation? “Filming scenes with the animated dwarfs are some of the hardest to shoot especially when there are a lot of people in the room and the dwarves are all present. Because before shooting, we are given an eye-line for the dwarfs and where there movements are, but we all have to look in the same exact place at the same exact time. It’s really fun to work with animated characters but sometimes its super complicated especially because they all have really different personalities.”
What was your favorite part of filming the series? “The whole experience was just incredible. Just by being there, I learned and experienced so much. My favorite thing about being on this particular set was that I got to use my imagination so much with the dwarfs, and after a while, whenever I would interact with them, they became almost real to me.”
Do you have a favorite episode from the first season? “The Marvelous Exchange is by far my favorite episode and I think one of my favorites to film. It’s when my mom and I exchange bodies for a day and where I get to be Blanche and she gets to be Snow.”
The holiday season is upon us, do you have anything special you like to do during the holidays? “I love going ice skating outside during winter and driving around looking at everyone’s Christmas lights during Christmas, and drinking warm cider when its freezing outside. And my favorite is going sledding outside with my brothers.”
We know the Nutcracker was one of the influences behind getting you into acting, is there a character in the ballet you would have loved to play? “The Sugar plum fairy.”
Do you have a favorite scene from the ballet? “The dance of the sugar plum fairy is my favorite part of the whole ballet because she basically glides across the floor and looks so elegant and majestic. And the very ending when she does all of her pirouettes is my favorite part. It’s amazing how she is able to do the entire dance effortlessly.”
What do you have coming up that you would love your fans to know about? “I am working on a few projects currently, and I can’t give any details yet. But I will keep everyone updated on my Instagram: @leilajolene”