In honor of "The Secret Life of the American Teenager's" 100th episode (which aired last night on ABC Family), we caught up with actress Francia Raisa, who plays the sexy and scandalous teenager Adrian Lee on the hit ABC Family Show.
The half-Honduran, half-Mexican actress dished exclusively to The Huffington Post about the show's important milestone, told us why she thinks her character is bipolar, and explained how it feels to be nominated for her very first Teen Choice Award for her work on the show!
First of all, congratulations on your Teen Choice nomination!
Thanks! Yeah, I got that and an Imagen Award nomination. It was for Female Scene Stealer.
Of course! You steal every scene you’re in! Is this your first Teen Choice nomination?
Yeah. Usually the show is nominated and I’m part of the cast, so I count that, but this is the first nomination for me alone, for teen choice. It’s pretty exciting. I’m just happy to be nominated!
Over the last two seasons, your character Adrian has become more of a lead on the show. Have you enjoyed that?
I mean, I never saw her that way. I didn’t even realize that until you just said it, but I guess so. I mean, I think my character has always just kind of stood out, because she’s a bad girl on the show. But I guess I've gotten a little more screen time the last two seasons—I had a huge storyline, so I enjoyed the fact that they challenged me and trusted me with that storyline. Because its such a powerful experience that you have to go through.
Are you referring to the storyline about Adrian losing the baby?
Losing the baby, yeah. That was…hard.
"Secret Life" recently aired an episode where several characters experimented with their sexuality - including your character. Was that a fun episode to shoot?
It was…interesting. {Laughs}. When {"Secret Life" Executive Producer} Brenda Hampton first approached me about it, she sent me an email and she was like 'you know this idea was brought about, I just want to know if you're comfortable with it.' And when I first heard it, I was like 'hell yeah, that would be fun! me and Megan {Park} kissing? Of course!' And then when it came time to do it, Me and Megan were in front of each other and we couldn't stop laughing, we were freaking out! We were like, 'how are we going to do this?! OMG, I have to kiss you! We're friends!' If it was a stranger, I think it would've been easier. But because I know her so well, we got a little nervous. So many people were watching and giggling. But we pulled it together and after the first take, we were like, 'oh, that's not so bad.'
But it makes sense for Adrian to initiate that, because she's the most sexually liberated character on the show….
Yeah, she's very dominant. And yeah, she's very free and open, and she heard that song "I Kissed A Girl," and got curious.
The E! show "The Soup" pokes fun at "Secret Life" often. Have you ever seen those clips?
Yeah, I've caught up on a few of them. I have it to Tivo because they talk about "Secret Life" so much. The last one I saw was when I was undressing myself in a scene and I think he said, 'I'm telling you what's going on in the show, because once you watch this clip, you will have absolutely no idea what's going on.' So I tweeted him and said, 'you're welcome!' I think it's hilarious. I love it when they make fun of me. I make fun of myself.
Having hit this milestone of 100 episodes, how do you think Adrian has changed or grown throughout the show’s run?
I think she’s bi-polar {Laughs}. It's like the first season she was this vindictive, depressed character that hated everyone, and slept with everyone’s boyfriend, and then she got pregnant and she changed into this sweet, innocent, young loving mother. And all of a sudden she lost her baby and now she's back to this vindictive little bi***. She goes back and forth. It just depends on how she wakes up everyday. She has definitely always had a goal to be a businesswoman or a lawyer and be successful. But as far as her love life, she's all over the place.
Is there any chance Adrian will reunite with Ricky?
I have no idea! They give me the script and I'm even in shock about what's going on. I just read my scenes for tomorrow and I was like, 'wait, what happened? It just does an automatic u-turn. So if they do I’ll be just as shocked as you are.
So, do you have a preference between Ricky or Ben?
I went to the producers and I was like, 'look, Ricky and Ben are fine, but I think Adrian needs someone new - she needs someone exotic to move on with. And now I have a new boyfriend...the guy that plays Omar.
It has been five years since you started working on "Secret Life." How long do you plan to stay with the show?
I’ll stay as long as they have me. I mean, I really enjoy the show. I love being on set. My cast is amazing. I couldn't have asked for a better cast and we've all grown very close. So I think it'll just be hard not being on it. I love it.
You can vote for Francia at the Teen Choice Awards by clicking here.
CHECK OUT FRANCIA RAISA'S BEST MOMENTS ON "THE SECRET LIFE OF THE AMERICAN TEENAGER"
