Lexi Underwood has always been a superstar but now, everyone just knows it! Last month the popular streaming service Hulu premiered their hit show, Little Fires Everywhere, which is an adaptation of the novel by Celeste Ng, starring Underwood and a host of A-list faces. In the show, Underwood portrays Pearl Warren, the 15-year-old daughter of Mia, portrayed by Kerri Washington.
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Recently, the talented young star sat down with Bossip to dish on working with Kerry Washington, the challenges of being a young actress, and more. Check out an excerpt from her interview below. And if you are not already following her, don’t forget to join her thousands of followers on Instagram.
BOSSIP: Congratulations! “Little Fires Everywhere” is such an acclaimed series already, how has the feedback been for you?
Lexi Underwood: It’s been crazy. I knew it was going to be something – that I hoped people would like – just on set and reading the scripts. As an actor I felt really humbled to be part of this project. It’s a fantastic feeling when all your hard work, everybody’s hard work, there was so much that was put into this project so the fact that people love it just really makes my heart happy.
BOSSIP: Do you pay attention to the people who are upset because the show isn’t exactly like the book?
Lexi Underwood: I don’t think any project has all good reviews. Also I try not to focus on that. When people have critiques I try to respect them. If that’s how they feel, that’s how they feel. I can’t get mad at people who don’t like the show or if someone is mad that a tv adaptation was made from a book.
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BOSSIP: Part of the drama of the series is how realistic it is. You’re 16 and Pearl is around the same age, how has it been having to portray that teenage turbulence? With the dynamic between her and her mom and also dealing with her sexuality, there’s obviously a lot of tension. Trip is pulling Pearl in one direction and Moody is pulling her in another. That’s drama right there.
Lexi Underwood: It is, it’s a lot of drama. It was so fun playing Pearl. She’s 15 in the show, it’s a difficult age. What’s so beautiful about all the teenage characters is they are all going through something. They’re all in a way struggling with identity issues and struggling to see where they fit in. Which I think is part of what is so timely about the show is that, even though it’s set in the 90’s, I feel like any kid can look at one of these characters and relate to them in some way. That’s the first thing.
Even though we were kids on set, we never felt as though we couldn’t speak up and we couldn’t bring our ideas to the table and if something felt not authentic to our character, we never felt as if we couldn’t step in and say, ‘This doesn’t feel right.’ We could always come and say ‘Hey this doesn’t feel right, can we try this again?” Even if we felt a line needed to be rewritten, Liz Tigelaar was on it. She would send over scripts and she would be like, ‘What do you guys think? Does this feel true to your character?’ Something that Miss Kerry would say a lot was ‘Be your character’s keeper’ so that you are being true to your character, if this is something that you feel your character wouldn’t do, then don’t do it.
To read the remainder of Underwood’s interview, click here. But, before you go…if you are going to be a new Lexi Underwood fan, here are five quick facts, from a recent interview that she did with The Grio, that you must know.
- She is an awe of her costars.
- She doesn’t watch much T.V.
- She wants to play Aalyiah.
- She’s a content creator.
- She knows her roots.
We have a feeling that this is just the beginning of amazing things to come for this young rising star and we cannot wait to continue to watch her star continue to rise!
