We’re all alright! Callie Haverda, Ashley Aufderheide and the rest of That ’90s Show‘s cast had pretty huge shoes to fill as a follow-up to the iconic That ’70s Show. On top of that, the young cast worked alongside the original castmembers. From Debra Jo Rupp and Kurtwood Smith returning as series regulars, to Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher reprising their roles as Jackie and Kelso for a small cameo, the pressure was on! However, Callie and Ashley told J-14 exclusively that the original cast was nothing but “supportive” and “inspiring” to have on set, and also gave them some advice!
Callie Haverda, Ashley Aufderheide on Working With the Original Cast
Callie, who plays Eric Forman (played by Topher Grace) and Donna Pinciotti’s (Laura Prepon) daughter Leia, exclusively told J-14 the actress was “definitely nervous” to meet her “parents” and the rest of the ’70s original cast. However, she said that everything immediately felt “natural” after meeting one another.
“It just felt very natural and, for them, natural as well,” she shared. “They’re great on and off the set, and I think they were all super supportive. I mean, they all experienced the same things that I’m going through, so we definitely related on that point. And Topher and I talked about that,” the 90s Show star revealed. “I wasn’t intimidated, I wasn’t scared by the end because I felt very comfortable with them.”
Ashley, who plays Leia’s next door neighbor and best friend Gwen, shared similar sentiments towards the original cast, adding that they were impressive to watch while working.
“They are all so talented and just immediately know how to say the line, know the delivery,” she gushed. “I mean, this is one of my first comedy projects, so it’s still figuring out the timing and things like that.”
The Netflix actress explained that the OG cast was always “so on,” which “prepared” and “motivated” the younger cast.
“And if we had a question, we could always ask one of them. They were really, really talented. I mean spectacular, really. I love them.”
That ’70s Show’s Cast’s Advice to That ’90s Show’s Actors
The one piece of advice that the That ’70s Show cast members drilled into the newer cast was: “Be yourself.”
Ashley revealed that the legacy cast often advised the cast to “stay true to who you are,” adding that if people disliked her or her character, at least she was being “authentic.”
“I feel like in the business, I mean no matter if it’s a comedy or drama or whatever, it’s really easy for other people to influence who you are,” Ashley explained. “And for myself, I always want to stay really authentic to who I am.”
Ashley shared that her character of Gwen was even finetuned to reflect her own personality better, so the advice from the original cast was especially meaningful. “So I was like, ‘Okay, I just need to be myself and be who I am. And hopefully, that’ll work out.'”
On top of that, Callie recalled a time when the kids were sitting at lunch with Debra Jo and Topher, as the younger cast started talking about which of their characters was most like That ’70s Show characters.
“They were like, ‘You don’t even want to think about that, because people are going to be saying the same thing and that doesn’t even matter. You’re not the 70s Show characters. [You’re your] own characters and everyone will hopefully fall in love with [your] characters,” she explained. “And it felt really good to hear them say that, that we have the capability to make people love the show because of us, not because of the old show. And they were just very supportive.”
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