I went to Indiana University for college for a couple of years, where I double majored in dance and journalism, and after my sophomore year there, I went to the San Francisco Ballet school for the summer, but then they offered me a scholarship to stay for the year.
Amanda Schull
I was an apprentice at the San Francisco Ballet, and a casting director came to one of our rehearsals to scout talent for 'Center Stage.' I landed the role of Jodie.
I think that's it's really important to have good friends. Nowadays, you can text 24 hours a day and be in constant contact, but every once in a while, it's nice to just get out with your girlfriends and have fun.
I love to work. I know that sounds ridiculous to say because all people love to work, but I love the homework that goes into acting. I love figuring out different ways of playing a scene. I love the energy of being on set. I love not getting enough sleep because I have to wake up early in the morning.
If it isn't necessary I would rather not subject my skin to too much, so if I don't have anything special to do for the day, I try not to wear any make up.
I grew up in Honolulu.
As a dancer, I know couples that have stayed married but separated to dance on different continents. Dance in general, but ballet in particular, is such a finite career. You can't do it later in life, and it's something that I think a dancer has to have some selfishness to fulfill.
The worst beauty advice that I have ever taken has been from people who have told me that sunscreen isn't necessary. Not true!
You don't want to burn any bridges, but you also want to make sure you leave your character bridges wide open and you're never seen as one particular thing, or that's who you'll be, unfortunately, for the rest of your career.
What a person feels within themselves and about themselves radiates from them. Trust me, I have worked with people - both men and women - who are not what most would consider conventionally attractive, but who exude such a magnetism about them that people are compelled to watch them on stage or screen.
I enjoyed acting growing up; I did musical theater. I had a secret desire to be a television and movie actress, but it wasn't something I admitted to myself that I wanted to do, I guess.
I'm a really good cook. I bake a lot. I cook dinner most nights. I cook everything from Italian food to Mexican food. But if I'm going to some place and it's a potluck, I'm always the one to bring dessert!
As people grow and evolve, we still are the experiences that we had in our childhood, but they shape us in different ways.
Jen Murray, my stunt person, is totally comfortable getting thrown into a cabinet and onto the ground or getting hit by a car. I, on the other hand, am not. Nor would it look great on film, so she does it.
I would never mess around with braids and curls and everything.
In order to dance professionally, you have to start at a young age. No matter what, your muscle structure and your bones have to be groomed from a very young age. Nobody wakes up at 17 and decides to become a ballet dancer.
When 'Center Stage' first came out, I had some little girls on an airplane who didn't want to actually talk to me but wanted to talk about me at the top of their lungs. And they took pictures of me while I was sleep. And you know what's the worst part? I get really, really airsick.
I have had women in their 70s coming up to me saying, 'I can't get enough of '12 Monkeys' - I love it. I can't wait for the next episode.' That's not the demographic that you expect to be watching sci-fi shows.
Acting is fascinating to me. I love unlocking the mysteries with characters and finding out what would be the most intriguing aspect of that character to exist in. Figuring out a person and getting to be a different person every day, hey - that's pretty lucky. I don't have to wake up and be Amanda if I don't feel like it. You know, that's fun.
In high school ethics, they went around and asked what everyone thought their classmates were qualified to do. For me, everyone said actress. But to me it was very much 'if it happens, it happens.'
I wouldn't necessarily consider myself the typical sci-fi genre fan. I do have a lot of sci-fi shows that I enjoy, but I wouldn't call it my favorite genre of all.
There's always going to be somebody that you consider maybe more beautiful. But nine times out of ten here in L.A., that beauty isn't home grown. It's usually manufactured. It sort of encourages me to work more within myself because I think that's not what appeals to me. Plastic and tons of makeup.
I think people don't often realize how much goes into being a male dancer. It's athletic and it's hard. It's not just men wearing tights, or wanting to be around women.
A lot of professional dancers become professional when they turn 15 or 16 years old, when they're still children. So you've trained every single waking moment up until that point for a career that could maybe only last 10 years, maybe longer if your body holds up, if your injuries are kept at bay.
Every dancer has injuries, and your injury could happen that season that you were getting that one part that you've wanted to do your whole career. So you have to appreciate every single moment until it happens.
I take ballet class as often as possible - up to 5 times a week - and try to go to the gym on the days that I don't take class. I also do a floor barre/Pilates mat class almost everyday.
Acting for screen is very different from acting on stage, and then obviously when you dance... everything is a physical embodiment. But the discipline is the same approach. You have to take both things seriously; nothing well-crafted is by mistake.
Hollywood is something else. It's such an exaggerated idea. The concept of what 'beautiful' really is is ludicrous.
It's hard with ballet because your aesthetic really is important. It's different from acting and from film. Nobody wants to watch somebody who is sickly thin. And it's interesting because I have danced with people who are ill, have eating disorders, and a light goes off within them.
I think it would be fair to say that most female dancers have dealt with, whether it's an extreme, or minor complex in eating disorders. So the first thing I would say to girls who are feeling that way is you're not alone. You're far from alone. You're the majority. There's absolutely nothing wrong with what you're feeling.
I take a lot of notes. Maybe it's a product of me taking so many notes, but I have a pretty good memory for episodes, and some of the other actors will ask me questions about things, so I have this sense of responsibility that I have to be the one to remember some of the details.
I have this ridiculous chip on my shoulder, having been a dancer, that I feel like I really ought to be able to do everything myself - but there are some things I very clearly cannot.
I always tell other actors that work begets work. You never know where your next job is going to lead you, down the road.
Science fiction is one of the smartest genres around because you have to have so much forethought.
Ballet is a finite art - your body won't let you do it forever, so I wanted to do it while I could.
I've been lucky in that all my roles have been unique and interesting.
If I could say what my dream role to dance was that I didn't get to do, if I had to choose one, it would be Giselle in 'Giselle.'
I'm always ballet ready.
I did not realise just how passionate sci-fi fans are about their material.
There is this idea of a perfect dance body - which I don't have. I'm lucky that I'm not the exact opposite of the ideal, but I don't have amazing feet, perfect hyperextension, or really flexible legs.
I don't know who these people are who think they can just move to L.A. and get a job the next day - that does not happen.
It's a very insular world, ballet. I feel if I had stayed much longer, it would've consumed me. I performed six days a week and rehearsed 10-plus hours a day. And you only see the people that you work with.
I came down to Los Angeles without knowing anyone. I had my dog, and that was it.
I think that, like any kind of career, there are many different people involved in the ballet world.
After I finished 'Center Stage,' I went back to San Francisco, and I danced for seven seasons with the San Francisco Ballet.
