A gender-bender for teenagers

Television star Amanda Bynes plays the 'Man' in new comedy

At the age of 19, Amanda Bynes has credits many young actresses would envy: joining the Nickelodeon All That ensemble by 10, fronting her own variety show at 12 titled The Amanda Show, and, more recently, co-starring in the WB sitcom What I Like About You with Jennie Garth.
And now she's starring in Andy Fickman's She's the Man, a new comedy feature inspired by William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. For the updated gender-bending story, Bynes plays Viola, a soccer star whose all-girl team is dropped at Cornwall Prep. When she's refused a position on the boys' squad, she decides to pose temporarily as her twin brother, Sebastian, at his new boarding school, Illyria Prep, for a chance to keep playing the game she loves. Viola struggles with a masculine persona and somehow gets caught in a love triangle between Duke Orsino (Channing Tatum) and Olivia (Laura Ramsey), while fretting over how to shower in Illyria's open-space stalls.
Tandem talked to Amanda Bynes about She's the Man.

How comfortable were you as a guy?
"Not bad. I was very involved in the styling of him because they wanted to know how I felt as a guy, how I would've done it. I was involved in making the right choices. But everyone wanted me to look as cute as possible, but there were so many things going against me. But it was fun. It was a great experience."

What was your first impression when you first saw yourself in the mirror dressed in drag?
"I went, 'wow, I'm kind of a weird-looking dude, real creepy dude.' And I thought I wasn't doing so bad as a girl, because no matter how I look as a girl it will always be better than how I look as a dude. Honestly."

What about soccer?
"I wasn't that comfortable with it at the beginning, but I got more comfortable the more I did it. I hadn't played soccer before doing this movie so it's something that I learned so now I feel that it's something that I feel semi-comfortable with. The guys we were playing with were amazing. We had a lot of fun."

Does playing a guy give you any insight into understanding guys?
"No. I wish I could give you something that would help the ladies. No. I think you should just be yourself and have fun and just be yourself. And just don't try to be a man, 'cause that doesn't work. The film is proof of that."

What piece of clothing most did it for you?
"I think it was the pants because I'd wear them low-slung. That was weird, and only guys could get away with it. So walking around like that really put me in that character. Personally, I think it looks stupid."

Did you know who British soccer player Vinnie Jones was before doing the film?
"No, not really. We were told that when we started soccer training. We were all a little scared of him. One of my good friends is a soccer nutcase who has this poster of him on the wall, and I know he's starred in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. They told me he's done all those movies, and is known as a killer who carries a knife. I know it's not true. So meeting him was tense but he's got this big Cheshire cat type of smile, so that was nice. Even though I was terrified of him he was a big softie in a lot of ways and really ready to help. He mentored a few of us with advice."

What's happening with your show What I Like About You?
"I don't know. I don't think it's coming back. You can't control life and things happen. Everything will work out. I don't know if it's coming back now that the station is merging with another and they're dropping a lot of the shows."

So this film has brought your career to a crossroads.
"Yeah. I've worked for 10 years just in TV and a few movies [What a Girl Wants, Big Fat Liar]. But for now I would like to continue with films, just challenging myself and doing unique films. I feel there's so much that I haven't done yet. I'm just excited about the future."

Because of your television background, you're easy to typecast. Is that a concern?
"I think you do the best with what's offered to you. I just go by the scripts, and it's really hard to find a script that you really love. As you grow up and as you have your life experiences, you see what your agent sends you and it depends what you respond to. There's stuff that you really want and then there's stuff that you want to create. There are different things and you really have to figure out what you want to do and you either go out and find it, or sit tight until something good comes along, or do stuff until something becomes available. I like to do some things but I'm not quite in that arena yet to demand certain parts. Surely and slowly you pick things that are more of who you are right now."

You're the same age as several hot media stars right now, but you're not hounded the way they are. You know I'm referring to Lindsay Lohan.
"Everybody seems to be fascinated by that, somehow. I think that's because we're the same age, but if we were adults I don't think anybody would pair us together because we are in no way alike. Because we're the same age people always associate me with her and we're totally different people. I've been working since I was 10 and I've never been like the rest of them. Every time I say I'm a different person. It is a choice, and I can't knock anyone else. I'm not in the media because I'm not like them, there's nothing going on in my life. I'm not friends with them, and I'm not going to the same clubs they're going to. It's not my thing."

Have you always been hands on in regards to your career, unlike say Lohan?
"Definitely. I don't endorse anything but I definitely always made my own decisions. I've always been close to my parents but they've always let me be myself and they let me be in control of my life. They're very supportive of me doing my own thing. So yeah, I'm CEO of Amanda Bynes Inc."

You've been doing this since you were 10. Did you ever want a break?
"I would like to travel the world, but that will come in time, perhaps with a fiancé. But I'm only 19, so you never know. But I travel when I'm working so that's a perk. The greatest thing is to stay at really great hotels. I don't understand why people can be so rude, like so many stars I hear about. I hope I never get like that. If I do, I hope my parents will slap me back to the way I am."

She's the Man is currently playing in local cinemas.

Publication Date: 2006-04-02
Story Location: http://tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=6116