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Michelle Trachtenberg - "Mercy & Gossip Girl" Tv Series - Iesb.net Interview

Webmaster — 2009-09-11T10:08:20Z

Mercy is the new NBC drama about the nurses at Mercy Hospital. The show will follow Veronica Callahan (Taylor Schilling), just back from a tour in Iraq, Sonia Jimenez (Jaime Lee Kirchner) and Chloe Payne (Michelle Trachtenberg), as they navigate the daily traumas and social landmines of life and love, both inside the hospital and out in the real world.

Playing the naive newcomer, Michelle Trachtenberg will also be seen reprising the role of Georgina Sparks on the CW television series Gossip Girl. She recently spoke to IESB about dividing her time between the two roles, which film on opposite coasts.

Q : What's the importance of having a serious show about nurses ?

Michelle : I, myself, was in the hospital recently. As I was walking down the streets of New York, I got a bee sting in my neck, and the very first person to hold my hand was this male nurse, and he was so extraordinary. He had this awesome tattoo of a unicorn, and he was just like, "Honey, you're going to be okay." The unicorn was very distracting from the bee sting. It was kind of fantastic, I'm not going to lie. But, he was so lovely and so nice, and the doctor was really cool, too. I said, "I'm going to be a nurse," and he got so excited that there was someone that was following their dream. I was like, "Well, I'm going to be a fake nurse, but I'm still going to be a nurse." He did the IV and made sure I was okay, and handed me my ice pack and said that it wasn't cold enough anymore.

The best thing, for me, about Mercy, is that it's real people. We're not sugar-coating things. We're not glossing over the lives of these people. People will die. We will make mistakes. It's an honor to be these women. That's the simplest way to say it. There's a lot of nurse stuff going on. These women are great. They are the backbone and heart of the medical field, and I think that audiences are interested in real-life people. They don't want to sugar-coat things.

Q : Did you stay in touch with the cool unicorn guy ?

Michelle : I asked for his number and he was like, "Honey, I'm taken," so that was a little bit of a disappointment, but my boyfriend was real happy. No, I didn't stay in touch, but I hope that he reads this and is like, "I'm the dude with the unicorn," because he made an impression.

Q : How do you like filming in New York for Gossip Girl and L.A. for Mercy ?

Michelle : I'm from New York. I get to live in both places, so that's nice.

Q : How will you deal with juggling two shows ?

Michelle : I can't even begin to guess what the writers have in store. Mercy is definitely something that will take a lot of time and will be spear-headed, so there will be a little bit of a combination of everything.

Q : You're not leaving Gossip Girl then ?

Michelle : Well, we're filming Gossip Girl right now.

Q : Did Mercy moving to the Fall change anything about the timeline of your roles ?

Michelle : We definitely had a set schedule for Gossip Girl. The great news is that, even if Georgina isn't in as many episodes as one would think, you can't kill her. She kinda can't die, ever. So, she'll always be in and out.

Q : What's the difference of working on that set, compared to this set ?

Michelle : It's definitely the shoes. We go from Christian Louboutin's to nurse clogs, which are technically more comfortable. I guess the biggest difference is that there aren't as many young kids. I can't imagine that with Mercy we're going to have hundreds and hundreds of screaming girls lined up, running after all the boys. But, there might be a few older ladies running after James Tupper, which is still fantastic.

They're two completely different experiences. I love my Gossip Girl family. We are all good friends and love each other. But, I'm excited to start a new family. Family is family. You never leave them.

Q : What can you say about what will happen with Georgina this next season ?

Michelle : Well, in the season finale, you did see that Georgina does request Blair Waldorf for her roommate, and Georgina always gets what she wants, so there you go. As far as a love interest goes, she is making out with all the boys. No. You'll have to see.

Q : With your two shows, one character is very sweet and the other is a schemer. Do you have a preference ?

Michelle : Not necessarily. I think it's very important, as an actress, to never peg yourself in a particular hole. You look at Meryl Streep and the woman is just so extraordinary and such a chameleon. Nicole Kidman, Julianne Moore and all of these women are constantly changing themselves. Halle Berry always talked about how they didn't want her for Monster's Ball, and how she was like, "Screw you guys. I'm gonna show you."

I think it's very important for an actress to switch it up. Whereas Georgina is very malicious, Chloe isn't. And, for me, as an actress, it's fun to go back and forth. It's a little bit of a split personality.

Q : What would Georgina Sparks, think of the girls on Mercy ?

Michelle : Georgina is probably going to need these ladies in her life, eventually, when she's rushed to the emergency room, so she had better like them a whole lot. I play Chloe Payne on Mercy and, much like her last name, pain is in her job, but she hopes that it's not a big part of her job. She is the new person in the hospital. She's fresh out of school. Her whole goal in life is to help and save people, and that's how she approaches every patient that she gets. She looks to her fellow nurses to support her and accept her, in a hospital that very much needs as much help as it can get.

Q : Nine years ago, you were the naive little kid on Buffy, and now you're playing the naive kid again. Is that a blessing or a curse ?

Michelle : I've been drinking from the fountain of youth, so my face remains the same. Actually, one of our very first days of shooting, Gail Berman, who I have known for almost 10 years now, from Buffy, said that if we put a split screen of my face from the first episode of Buffy up next to the Mercy pilot, it's the same. I might have just gotten paler. I don't go out in the sun.

I think there's a huge difference between the two characters, in the sense that Chloe is an adult. She's not a child, by any means. She went through nursing school. She has her master's degree. She has all of the credentials. She is a nurse and an adult, in every sense of those words. For me, I'm not shy or quiet. It's interesting for me to play someone who is such the opposite from myself because it's more challenging to keep that realistic.

I also think that so many young women in the world are scared of the circumstances that they're in and are very insecure about different experiences that they may have, and I love being that character for women to say, "Yes, Chloe is scared." She's worried that she is literally going to kill someone, but there's optimism there. She can do it. So, I don't think of her as a child, or as annoying or whiney. I think she's just open to the world and looking to her colleagues to steer her. She has such great respect and admiration because they know what they're doing. So, between the three of us and the different personalities that we have, we're going to cater to every single woman watching the show, or that's what we hope.

Q : What is A Couple of Dicks, and who do you play in that ?

Michelle : A Couple of Dicks is pretty awesome. I just enjoy saying the title. It's got Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan, and I play Bruce Willis' daughter. It was very interesting because I play a bride, for the first time, which was a little bit intimidating. It's not so much the dress, as standing at the altar and putting on the veil. The very first scene that I had to film, I was in this amazing Monique Lhuillier gown that was spectacular. We were standing on the altar, we called action, and the skies opened up in a torrential downpour. So, I don't know if I should take that as a sign to hold off on getting married for many years.

Q : What about Young Americans ?

Michelle : There are a bunch of movies that will be coming along. We filmed them a long time ago, so I'm not sure what the release dates will be. In Young Americans, it's really just a cameo for me. It was just a completely different thing than you've ever seen with me. I played a goth girl.

Q : Being so pale, how do you protect your skin ? Do you have any beauty tips ?

Michelle : I work a lot and I don't go out in the daylight. I'm not a big fan of daylight. I love my facialist, Kate Somerville. And, it's all make-up.

Q : How do you stay fit and deal with stress ?

Michelle : I'm the last person to ask about dealing with stress. I'm always the biggest stress ball. But, I don't stop moving and I never let my Blackberry leave my hand, so I'm getting a lot of thumb exercise. It's great.

Q : Have there been any embarrassing moments or pranks on either set ?

Michelle : I am a walking klutz, so I'm inevitably going to fall on my face. And, I encourage people to laugh because it's pretty funny when people fall. When I was in high school, I had so many embarrassing moments and the kids were so cruel and torturous to me that I just decided to laugh at myself first, so the embarrassment went out the window. I don't care anymore. Laugh at me. I'm probably laughing at myself first.

Q : What advice would you give a young person who had an embarrassing moment ?

Michelle : Probably just that laughter is the best thing. It's not about seeking revenge on that person. It's not letting them get away with it and not letting them get their high off of seeing you miserable. Laugh with them.

Q : What's the most ridiculous rumor you've heard about yourself ?

Michelle : I think I've been pregnant, a few times. That was fun for my mom. She was like, "What ?!" There have been some crazy things about people that I've dated in the past, or that I've been engaged.

Q : Do you feel that Hollywood is like Gossip Girl, in a way ?

Michelle : I think life is like high school. I don't necessarily know that it pertains to Gossip Girl because that is obviously an extreme fabrication of the most glorious life. But, I do think that life, in general, is definitely like high school and you never get out of it. You just have to stay strong.

Q : What's your favorite neighborhood in New York ? What is your favorite place to go to eat ?

Michelle : I'm a downtown girl. I would love to give you restaurants, but then you'd know about them and we couldn't go there anymore. Leighton Meester and I like to go to hole-in-the-walls that no one would ever expect us to go to, and no one cares that we're in there. We do that often.

Q : Is it easier in New York ? Do people not pay as much attention to you ?

Michelle : I think it's much harder in New York. There are paparazzi on bicycles, which is a new thing. You can't really speed away in your car. Especially with Gossip Girl being such a New York-based show, it's harder. I tried my hand at going to Bed, Bath & Beyond the other day, which I love, and that was a little bit of a catastrophe. I caused a little bit of a scene. That would be the only time that I'm a little shy.

Q : Have you ever had a red carpet don't moment ?

Michelle : Yeah. I think I did a head-to-toe leopard ensemble once, when I was 10. I think animal print should be taken in moderation. A shoe or a scarf is fine.

Q : Who are some of your favorite designers ?

Michelle : I love Rag & Bone. They're pretty fantastic. Marc Jacobs has been a friend of mine for years, and I adore him. I like Chloe. I like a lot of younger designers. I'm actually designing a bag for charity with Monica Botkier. 100% of the proceeds will be going to Oxfam.

Q : What do you do to instantly feel sexy ?

Michelle : Show off my decolletage.

MERCY premieres on NBC on September 23rd

Michelle Trachtenberg - "Mercy" Tv Series - Younghollywood.com Video Interview

Webmaster — 2009-07-04T10:30:28Z

Michelle Trachtenberg - "Mercy" Tv Series - Ign.com Interview

Webmaster — 2009-06-24T11:18:02Z

Mercy for Michelle Trachtenberg

Buffy's kid sister no more, the actress talks to IGN about her new TV series.

US, June 23, 2009 - I recently sat down with Michelle Trachtenberg, an actress whose impressive list of credits go back to her childhood and through her teen years, including her stint on Buffy the Vampire Slayer as Buffy's little sister Dawn Summers. Trachtenberg, who also currently has a recurring role on Gossip Girl, will be seen next year on NBC's new medical drama Mercy, which takes a look at the goings on at a hospital through the eyes of the nurses.

The 23-year old Trachtenberg — who plays a teenager on Gossip Girl, but has played older roles in the past — told me why Mercy is a nice, relatable change of pace for her.

IGN TV : Can you talk about your character on Mercy ?

Michelle Trachtenberg : No !

IGN : [Laughs] Oh, alright… I'll leave then…

Trachtenberg : [Laughs] I know, you weren't expecting that one ! Yes, I play a nurse, Chloe Payne. The show centers around the lives of three nurses and Chloe is the fresh fish in the water. She's new, she's fresh out of school and everything that she experiences in the show is her first time experience, whether it be good or traumatic. So that's always going to be interesting, as she battles through the different obstacles that come when you're a nurse.

IGN : What's the tone of the show ? Is it pretty dramatic or is there comedy involved too ?

Trachtenberg : I think there's both. Some would argue it's kind of like a black comedy. It's not overt in its comedy, but I think, as it is in real life, sometimes in dramatic moments you have to find a reason to life, because otherwise, it's hard to get through anything. So I think a lot of people will appreciate that and relate to that.

IGN : A lot of actors have said their bane can be medical jargon. Did they throw anything at you in the pilot that made you go, "What ?!"

Trachtenberg : Yeah, I've had a few words I've had to have the medical experts spell out for me phonetically. I guess, probably for me, [the difficult thing] is feeding catheters and playing with needles, because I'm pretty scared of needles. So it has been an interesting experience.

IGN : This is a bit more of an adult role than some of the others we've seen you in. Is it nice to make that transition, somewhat literally it seems, since the character is also making that transition ?

Trachtenberg : Right. Well, I think I'd like to say it's less to classify it as an adult role and more of a to-age role, because I am essentially playing to [my own] age. I think she is maybe a year or so on the other side of my own age. I have played more adult roles in the past and as I'm growing up and maturing in Hollywood, it's nice to have that be more of a same level situation. But I also do have the luxuiry of going back l and forth, so that's nice.

IGN : What's your character's relationship like with the other nurses ?

Trachtenberg : I think a hospital is a very close knit community and the newbie is always going to be speculated about and starred at under a magnifying glass. So there's a little bit of that, but I think the three women will definitely continue to forge a friendship and each one will bring new, fun elements to their relationship.

Michelle Trachtenberg talks about her High School experience

Webmaster — 2009-04-21T18:27:01Z

LOS ANGELES — Once through high school was enough for Michelle Trachtenberg.

"I had a rough experience," says the 23-year-old, best recognized from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Gossip Girl and currently co-starring in 17 Again.

"Kids were super-cruel to me. And all the boys made fun of me and no one asked me out. (But) whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger. When you're going through high school as a teenager, kids are horribly cruel. Even if you're the most popular kid, there's going to be somebody throwing stones at you. You really just have to think it's going to get better and words are just that."

In 17 Again, which debuted at No. 1 this weekend, Trachtenberg plays the daughter of Matthew Perry (who is magically transformed into his teenage self portrayed by Zac Efron).

Off-screen, though, she says she "loves getting older. Men get sexier with age. Women are more mature and it takes awhile for men to catch up ... I wouldn't want to go back to being younger. Everything has shaped me to be who I am today."

As for all those guys who didn't ask her out ?

"Ha ! Look at me now ... I have boobs."

Michelle Trachtenberg - "Against The Current" Movie - Latimes.com Video Interview

Webmaster — 2009-01-19T09:54:32Z

Michelle Trachtenberg - "House" Tv Series - Peter Blake Thecrimson.com Interview

Webmaster — 2006-12-04T12:07:38Z

Questions with Peter Blake

The man behind Fox medical drama “House” dishes on how he went from Harvard to consulting-and then Hollywood

...

10. FM : Michelle Trachtenberg starred in that episode. Were you involved in the casting process ? If so, are you familiar with her work in “Ice Princess” ?

PB : We saw clips of it when we cast her. I knew who she was, but I had never seen her work or “Ice Princess”. She's actually really cool. She's a friend of mine.

...

Michelle Trachtenberg - Mean Magazine September 2006 - She's a dark girl !

Webmaster — 2006-08-30T12:22:38Z

From Mean Magazine :
"Even though I am very opinionated and I laugh and love to have fun, I do connect with dark material. It's very therapeutic. I tend to think of myself as a pretty happy person. But you've got to vent somewhere." - Interviews / Best News

Michelle Trachtenberg - Her boyfriend is on the People's Hot Bachelors list

Webmaster — 2006-07-16T09:14:52Z

Shawn Ashmore, one of People's Hottest Bachelors

Canadian actor Shawn Ashmore made the cut as one of People's Hot Bachelors this year - but the magazine misspelled his name.

“What are you going to do ? There are several versions of the name and they chose one, apparently,” Ashmore told canada.com at Sunday's MMVAs. “So, what are you going to do ?”

People featured the 26-year-old X-Men star in its annual list of Hot Bachelors, raving about his “intense clear eyes set off by a cool exterior.”

So what does longtime girlfriend, actress Michelle Trachtenberg, think of Ashmore's place as one of the hottest eligible men ?

“Technically, I'm not married so I guess I'm a bachelor,” said Ashmore. “But I know where my heart lies, and so does she, so it's all good.”

Michelle Trachtenberg - About Slef Confidence - Miami Herald Interview

Webmaster — 2006-01-19T21:38:30Z

Positive attitude key to self-confidence

Michelle Trachtenberg, actress

AD : How does someone develop a self-confidence that seems invincible ?

MT : There are no real tricks. Ever since I was little, my mom always taught me to believe in myself. So anytime that I get too depressed or sad or think I can't handle something, I stop and think, ''No, I know that I can accomplish this.'' If you go in with a positive attitude then you are more likely to succeed in the end. I don't psych myself up. It is all about being calm and trying to get into a Zen place.

I am usually crazed right before I give an award or presenting or something. I just think that breathing is a very important thing. Basically, I have been doing this for so long that now it is like second nature. You just have to be comfortable with it being a part of you and not think about it too much. And accept the fact that you are going to be a bit nervous in life sometimes and just have a good technique for handling it.

I wear a necklace that my mom gave me that says ''Believe.'' That is just a little reminder. And I try to de-stress, you know, do yoga and things like that.

Michelle Trachtenberg - 'Mysterious Skin' Movie - Ign.com Interview

Webmaster — 2005-06-06T19:44:53Z

Interview : Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Brady Corbet and Michelle Trachtenberg. FilmForce talks to the three stars of the new Gregg Araki flick, Mysterious Skin.

June 03, 2005 - Gregg Araki movies are not for everyone. As a director, he's daring and unconventional, unafraid to show the world as he sees it. His latest film, Mysterious Skin, may actually be one of his most accessible works to date. Based on the original novel of the same name by Scott Heim, Skin is unrated and without apology. For those willing to submit and be ready for the unexpected, the film is also a rewarding journey.

The story is set in the small town of Hutchinson, Kansas. Neil McCormick (Joseph Gordon Levitt) and Brian Lackey (Brady Corbet) both grew up in the town and are now 18. They lead radically different lives, but share a connection they don't yet realize. Neil is confident, brash, good looking and reckless. He discovered his homosexuality at a young age, and has played it to his utmost advantage, hustling older men in the nearby park at every opportunity. Neil's mother (Elisabeth Shue) is relatively promiscuous herself and aloof to her son's dark life. Neil's best friends are Wendy (Michelle Trachtenberg), who has long been his confidant, and Eric (Jeff Licon). Brian, in sharp contrast to Neal, is still much like a small boy. His mother watches over him like a hawk and he doesn't really mind the attention. Brian is a bookworm and a sci-fi fanatic obsessed with the idea that he was abducted by aliens as a young boy. At eight years old, he lost five hours from his life, which is when he believes the abduction took place. As he struggles to find answers for this missing time, he ultimately connects to the name of Neil McCormick. He believes he might have the answer to the mystery he's been trying to solve for ten years.

FilmForce recently sat down with the films three stars, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Brady Corbet and Michelle Trachtenberg to talk about the controversial project.
Tartan Films

Gordon-Levitt (right) and Michelle Trachtenberg in Mysterious Skin

"I was really looking to do something good, which sounds obvious," says Gordon-Levitt. "But there's a lot of stuff that's not made with the goal of being good. It's made with the goal of making money or doing what other people tell you to do. When I first read the script, I just said, 'My God, whoever wrote this really cares, loves and believes in what they're writing.' And it's so rare... It is a really different role for me, and I'll always be really grateful to Gregg for believing that I could do a role like this. I've played the nice kid, and the smart one or funny one and even the angry one, but Gregg was the first one to call me sexy, and I'll always be really grateful for that. But what I think is really special about this character, he is sexy on the outside, but there's underneath that he's really having a lot of problems. A lot of movies show a sexy character, someone's who's attractive on the outside and they never really go beneath that. You're just expected to sit there and be attracted to this attractive character and feel inferior sitting there in your seat. This movie is not about that. It's about where did his callous front come from and what are the consequences of it. Where will it end up ?"

"It was pretty clear from the book," Corbet adds. "[From] the script and from Gregg, minutes after saying 'Hello' I realized that this was a guy who cared about his story, cared about his character and was going to treat them with a delicate touch and with respect and care."

"I loved the script," Trachtenberg gushes. "I had been looking at independent scripts for a long time. I had been offered some really cool roles, but just nothing that I ever connected with. And then Mysterious Skin came along and I was actually filming in Prague, a big studio movie. I thought, well, this is such a sweet way to sort of slide into the world. It's very shocking but it just read so well and it felt so beautiful just on the page, so I thought, 'Well, this must be some great effort,' so I immediately wanted to do it. So I just thought, 'Why the hell not ?'

Gordon-Levitt's work in the film is easily the best of his career. Beyond mere acting chops, the role also required a complete submission and trust in Araki's direction during some extremely intense sexual scenes. "To me the sex scenes in this movie, they're not sex scenes. They're sexy. But sex scenes to me are 'Well, we have our two lead actors, and we want to see them naked. So we bring in the soft lighting and the slow motion and the music, and we'll have a sex scene.' That has nothing to do with anything. Whereas these scenes that have a strong sexuality are the story. That's where the story gets told. They're based in emotion. They further the plot. It could be dialogue, but it's physicality and sexuality instead. I didn't have any qualms about that at all. It's just a really interesting and exciting way to tell a story."

As Wendy, Trachtenberg plays the anchor to Neil's character, the one person in the world he fully trusts. Trachtenberg discusses this relationship : "Neil and Wendy are very, very close. She's the only one that knows all of his secrets. She is really just his cornerstone, his rock. She's everything to him and that is very special to me. It was sort of just miraculous kismet that Joe and I just got along so famously. Actually everyone, I mean, the first group of interviews this morning when we first saw each other, it's like genuine, 'Hey, how are you ?' We're all running over to leap and hug and everything. It's really hard to find that on a set where every single person just likes seeing the other every day."

When you work on a film like this, it's not for the money. Corbet says that he hopes the film will affect people. "We just hope they'd be moved... I think in any fashion or any way that a human being can be moved : enraged, upset, glowing, inspired, whatever it is. I think that's the reason we make film. I think that's the reason all people make film."

For those who may have watched Gordon-Levitt on 3rd Rock From the Sun, Skin will certainly come as a shock. "The movie's out in New York, so people have come up to me on the street already having seen it. It is such a different thing. They'll look me in the eye and tell me what they think and feel about the movie. People don't look me in the eye and tell me what they think and feel about 3rd Rock from the Sun. Not that there's anything wrong with a casual and fun television show. I'm really proud of 3rd Rock from the Sun." But I don't think it's really dearly important to anybody that watches it the same way that Mysterious Skin is. I know how dear and important so many movies are to me. So I'm really proud to be part of something that can stay with something like that."
Tartan Films

Gordon-Levitt (left) and Corbet in Skin

Trachtenberg has had her share of kid-friendly roles herself, but she just laughs at those responses. "In Sundance we were doing a Q & A and someone asked, 'Well, you know this is a departure from 3rd Rock and Harriet the Spy, huh ?' It was just like, 'Well yeah.' For me Harriet the Spy was ten years ago, for Joe I think 3rd Rock was probably around the same time, maybe a little less, by like a year or something. I think because we've all been acting for so long, we each have a respect of the material and the project and there's a professionalism there so we all knew we had 20 days or, like, I don't know, 21 or something days to shoot the movie and we all had to be on our game constantly every second because you never know what could happen. We didn't have the luxury of having, you know, a bunch of takes because we couldn't afford the film, so I think just the fact that all four of us had so much experience beforehand really helped the movie."

"The only thing I want to do is stuff with people who care about what they're doing," says Gordon-Levitt. "A lot of people, most people who are working, they do it for money. And I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that. It so happens that I made a lot of money already, so I don't have to worry that much about it. I wouldn't fault anybody for doing it for the money, but it doesn't interest me right now."

"I think it is one of the most compassionate films that I have seen in a really long time," Corbet adds. "I think that there's something so special about both sides of an equation being represented : yin and yang, sweet and sour, good or evil or whatever. You can't have one without the other. Everything co-exists. They need each other. Brian and Neil, they need each other. They're the key to each other's salvation. For this to be one of the films in some time to explore that is something that I think is probably the most unique thing about the film. It's not something that I'd seen recently or maybe ever. At least not like this. It's special stuff."