Bratz Fanz

Actress Constance Hsu is known best as Jade's mom in Bratz: The Movie! The lovely and talented actress spoke with Lady Yuna about playing a parent of a Bratz, her on and off screen relationship with Janel Parrish (Jade) and why she thinks the Bratz dolls are so popular.

        It's a Bratz Fanz celebrity exclusive you won't see anywhere else!

 Lady Yuna:  How did you get the part of Jade's Mom?


Constance: I got the audition from my agent, and went in and read for the role as well as did a little improv based on the character.  From what I heard, one of the writers saw my improvisation on tape, and liked what she saw, and I got a call soon after.

Lady Yuna:  Do you feel a lot of pressure playing a parent of a Bratz?

Constance: Actually  a little bit!  At first, I was just excited about working on this film, but then I find out that  my niece loves the dolls and that so many of her friends do too that I felt a little pressure of playing a mother of one on the big screen. I hope that I make her proud!

Lady Yuna:  How would you describe your characters relationship with her daughter?

Constance: I think it's a relationship a lot of parents and children can relate to.  Though I'm strict and expect the best and most of my daughter, it's because I love her so much and want the best for her.  Sometimes my love for her can become overbearing, and I lose sight on what makes her so special.  It's always hard to watch your little girl grow up, but in the end, we have such a strong mutual respect & love for each other, that she always makes me extremely proud.

 Lady Yuna:  What was a typical day of filming like?

Constance: Long.  But I have to say that however long the actors have to be on set, the crew has to be there much longer.  They're there early, setting up, and they're there  late, closing down after a long day's shoot. So, I definitely bow down to their resilience.  As for us, usually, we arrive early  in the morning to the location, go to wardrobe for costumes, and hair & makeup, which they make you look so much more awake than you really are.   Since we usually shoot the film scenes out of order, we would go in and "run through the scene " a few times for the director and crew, and after they finish setting up, we'll go in and shoot the scene, from all different angles.  Since we shot at a real high school, it was fun watching all the real students rushing from class to class, and I had a hard time differentiating the real students from the extras "playing students."

Lady Yuna:  What did you do to prepare yourself for the role?

Constance: With this role, it was actually very easy for me to prepare for.  Since my mother was similar to Jade's mom, down to the accent,  I can really relate to Jade.  Also, as an adult, I see what my mother was trying do for me, and how much she's sacrificed to give me opportunities in my life.  I looked at our own relationship, and at my own relationship with my daughter, who's only two, and how I would do anything for her, and used that for this role.   Everything else just came into play very naturally.

Lady Yuna: How was your relationship with Janel Parrish (who plays Jade) off screen?

Constance: Great!  She's really a sweet person and fun actress to work with.   I enjoyed being her "mom" and even taught her a few words in Chinese.  Even after the director yelled, "Cut!", she would continue to call me mom, and we had fun improvising between takes. 

Lady Yuna: Why do you think Bratz dolls are so popular among girls?

Constance: I think it's because girls' tastes today are much more diverse and they embrace their own originality, and the dolls express that.  There are so many different characters and with different styles, that I think girls find them more refreshing and hip.  Also, maybe it's just to me, but the dolls seem really strong, confident  and saavy, which is very different from the dolls of my youth.

Lady Yuna:  How did you get into acting?

Constance: I started out by studying dance, from ballet to hip hop, so, when I started performing in musical theater, I just fell in love with acting.   I  moved to New York, and studied acting professionally and did the theatre circuit there. After a few years, I decided to move to Los Angeles, and have been a working actor here ever since.

Lady Yuna:  What's your favorite role that you've played?

Constance: That's a hard one.  I've always learned something special from every role I do, and each role is so special, so to pick one is very difficult.  I will say that playing Jade's mom was definitely one of the best experiences I had.  I love doing comedy and making people laugh, so hopefully , you'll be giggling and chuckling throughout the movie, especially at my parts! (wink wink*)

Lady Yuna:  What do you like to do in your spare time?

Constance: What spare time?... just kidding!  I love dancing, especially hip hop, and hanging out with my friends.  I love to travel and reading a good book is always a little luxury I love to do every day.    And of course, I love going to the movies ;)

Lady Yuna: Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me! It has been an honor!

Constance: Thanks for the great questions!  Hope you'll enjoy the movie!

              My many thanks to the beautiful Constance for this exclusive

          interview! Be sure to visit her official website: http://www.constancehsu.com/