Kirsten Prout is just getting started. Born in Vancouver, B.C. in 1990, Kirsten has already made her mark in both film and television. Getting her big break starring alongside Jennifer Garner in the superhero film Elektra, Kirsten proceeded to secure the role of Amanda Bloom in the ABC Family drama Kyle XY, whose first season garnered universal praise from critics and viewers alike. With Kyle XY’s second season just getting started, Kirsten stopped by to discuss her career and what it’s like to work on Kyle XY.
Below you will find both the written transcript and the full mp3 audio of the interview.
Can you tell us a little bit about how you started acting? I know you got into the business at a very young age. What made you make that leap into the business?
I actually dreamed about it for a very long time and it was sort of a childish aspiration at first, but as I grew older it became a reality that I could actually do that as a career. It started to become an absolute passion for me and because my mom didn’t want to get me in the industry, it made me push a little harder, so finally she gave into me and she brought me to my first audition. And to be honest with you, it went terribly. But I kept at it, and soon I was, you know, accustomed to the whole process and it just came to me, it was so natural for me and then I started booking jobs and I haven’t looked back at it sense something. I’ve enjoyed so much and it’s such an amazing career.
Being a younger actor, is it hard juggle just being a kid and then also working in this huge industry?
It is, it is. It’s very difficult. When I was younger it kind of stood out more, you know. I’m senior grade now and, you know, people have jobs as in they have that sort of mentality that when I was younger no one understood it. I wasn’t just skipping school, I was leaving to do a job and they would be like “Oh you know, like…”—yeah, I got a really hard time for just being different. And I think it made me a stronger person because the more challenges one faces in life, the greater opportunity there is to grow.
You’re from Vancouver so that must be an advantage, I’m sure you come to Hollywood sometimes, but getting to work near home must be really nice, right?
Yeah, I just actually got my own car and it’s a nice feeling to be able to come home to my family which is really important to me and being in Vancouver; I love the city so much and I’ve grown up here. Because being surrounded by so many things, we’ve got the mountains, we’ve got the forest, we got the ocean, it’s a nice thing for me because I can sort of stay outside, and keep fit and that sort of thing.
Your first big role was in Elektra. How was that, being on a huge budget movie. What’s that experience like working with a star like Jennifer Garner?
Well, when I first got the news, I remember it so clearly. I was sitting in my living room and my mom kind of had this shocked look on her face because my agent just phoned in and said I booked it, so she told me at first and I was like, I just went nuts. I went absolutely ballistic, like I could not believe that I had been picked. I was just this little girl from Vancouver and walked into the audition room just hoping to impress the casting director, that’s the way I sort of approached big auditions like, you know what, if you’re not a name, maybe the higher ups won’t see you but it’s just a matter of being called in again. So I was so excited to go on to the big movie that I totally didn’t expect to get. And it was the best experience of my life. And it was training. Like, physically, I was so in shape, I kept it up, and just mentally having that experience on a feature film with seasoned actors and celebrities. Jennifer Garner, you know, I was able to get so much advice from her and we just had a fun time as well. And it was nice to see that beautiful set, that fun side of the film industry, and I’ve been—knock on wood—relatively lucky with production because sometimes you can get a bad apple but we’ve definitely—I’ve definitely worked on quite remarkable sets.
Moving to Kyle XY, can you tell us how you ended up on the show? How you got the role of Amanda?
I had actually—when I had finished Elektra I was sort of thinking to myself, I wanna move to feature films. And I was reading all these feature films scripts and there was really nothing jumping out at me. And I read the Kyle XY pilot script and I was like “Wow this is an amazing movie!” And my mom was like, “It’s a TV show.” And I could not believe it because the whole writing was so similar to a feature film. I mean, the character was so developed and it wasn’t a storyline that I didn’t care about. It was something that really—just really brought up a lot of emotions for me and I went to the audition and I told them I loved the script so much and I just sort of did the audition and put my whole heart and soul to it. I guess they appreciated it.
When you first read that pilot script did you think it had the potential to be a long running series?
Yeah, definitely. I mean the characters…I think a successful series has to make the viewer care about the character. That’s something that Kyle XY does very, very well. They’ve just written those characters in a fashion that is so lovable and so relatable that it’s just wonderful. You can see where the show is gonna go and you can just trace how the characters are gonna develop. It’s very exciting for me.
The first season was only ten episodes long. This season there’s been 23 episodes ordered. What’s the difference working on a second season with more episodes compared to doing that first one?
Well I remember last season, we were at episode ten, and everyone was so tired because we just had this whole thing in our heads that ten was the end. But this season, we’re kind of working on episode ten and we’re like “Woo! We’re not even started yet!” And it’s been great because you can just have more closure in a way, it’s hard to end a season because you’re kinda like a viewer in a way that you want to see your character progress and you wanna sort of live that out and it’s something that is really very exciting.
The second season just started airing. Can you tell us what fans can expect for the rest of the season?
The second season is, you know…the first season was filled with plot development and… character development. We just had a lot of focus on establishing things. Second season we actually get to explore those characters, and a lot of different secrets will be revealed, a lot of mystery, a lot of problems because of the complication of those mysteries. And it’s a very, very exciting season. A lot of action, but also a lot of drama which is what I like. The balance of the two.
You said earlier that you wanted to do film but then you got Kyle XY. You seem to be enjoying the TV industry, where do you see your career going after Kyle XY?
I sort of like to look at it as just a progression from one thing to another, but hopefully I would love to sort of—because I’ve been working in film…the film and TV are so much different. Just so much different. And film is my first love. Definitely is my first love. So I think that working on this TV show, I mean it’s an amazing experience and a chance for me to just cultivate who I am as an actor. Then I’ll be able to move into film steadily, hopefully.
Can you tell us about any upcoming projects you have outside of Kyle XY?
Well, there is one project but I hate mentioning it cause there’s so many complications around it. I have a film that I was going to do but because of Kyle XY went and for the extra episodes that it did, all of a sudden we were on the hiatus for that movie, so I’m not really sure if it’s gonna happen but it has a very beautiful script and I’d like to see it happen.
(Interview Conducted by Oscar Dahl)
(Image Courtesy of ABC Family)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
