Buzznet Interview The Cast of MTV Skins: Camille Cresencia-Mills AKA Daisy
You’ve probably seen the billboards, the commercials, and the bus benches. The UK’s hit teen soap opera Skins is on Monday nights at 10 on MTV, with an American cast, a few new characters, and the good old gritty teen drama we know and love from the original series. Much like it did overseas, the series will tackle those darker topics, like dysfunctional families, mental illness, sexual identity, sex, substance abuse, and death.
And while the sex and language have been toned down quite a bit for 10pm basic cable, this isn’t Gossip Girl, kids. These are regular kids: kids from working class families, kids you can relate to more than the Blairs Waldorfs and Chuck Basses of the world – kids with real teen problems. Sure, the storylines can be tough to stomach at times, but so can being a teenager.
Buzznet got the chance to sit down with Camille Cresencia-Mills who plays Daisy on Skins for a quick interview:
Buzznet: Hi Camille, how are you?
Camille Cresencia-Mills: Good, how are you? BN: Good! You play essentially the mother figure of the group, an overachiever who still clearly likes to have fun. Is this character similar to your personality in real life? CC: Well I think that I definitely feel very protective over my friends, like I feel like I’m kind of the mother of the group too and Daisy really, really cares about her friends, and she’s really passionate about trumpet and when I have a project I get really into it, kind of like Daisy does. BN: So would you say that Daisy is the character who is most like you out of all the Skins characters? CC: I think that since all the character really have a complex, sometimes when I’m reading the script I can see that when other characters say something I think that’s how I feel too. But I think that Daisy is definitely the one that I connect to the most. BN: Which character would you say is the least like you in terms of personality?
CC: I think I’m probably the least like Michelle.
BN: A few of you have acting experience and you’re studying drama in school. What’s it like working with some of those who are having their first acting experience? CC: I think it’s amazing because even though I have training and stuff from before there’s nothing like filming a whole scene of a show and I feel even though I had training it felt like it was my first time doing it because it’s just so different. Theater compared to being on set is just so different and I love seeing the people who don’t have any acting experience, like Jesse, completely shine. You know he’s completely in his element even though he’s never done it before. So it’s amazing seeing him come into his own on set. BN: What would you say the best part is being involved with an MTV show? Has there been any cool perks? Seeing a cool show, meeting cool people? CC: We’ve definitely gotten to do a lot of cool things that we never would have been able to. We got to go to the VMA’s last year and that was very exciting. We get to meet a whole bunch of cool people, the whole cast from other shows. We meet the Jersey Shore, My Life as Liz, RJ Berger. We got to meet a whole bunch of cool people and it’s amazing because it’s like one big huge family. I really like being with MTV. They’re so nice to us. BN: Ron told us that the whole cast of the Jersey Shore was really cool and down to Earth. What was your experience with them? CC: I love them! They’re all really, really nice. For people who think the show is like a scripted reality kind of thing, once you meet them you know it’s definitely not because that’s exactly how they are in real life. They’re all really outgoing and it’s just really nice to get to meet them, to know that’s exactly who they are.
BN: Do you have any funny stories from the beginning of filming or just from all you guys living together? Funny kind of getting to know the cast stories or something hilarious that happened during filming?
CC: Hmm, there are so many things, over one whole season! Definitely getting to know each other was so much fun! I feel like when we filmed the pilot we were all like best friends and when we came back to film the first season, we’re like family now. I know Rachel and I got a kitten together and all being together is so much fun. And that’s the hardest thing about not filming now is that we’re all apart.
BN: So since you are studying drama, is there an actor out there whose career that you really admire and you’d like to emulate in the future?
CC: I love Rachel McAdams. I love Natalie Portman obviously. Helena Bonham Carter. I really respect them all because they play different roles all the time and you can tell they’re in it for the acting and not for the fame or any other reason. You can tell that they are really passionate about their career and I think if I get into acting that’s the kind of person I would like to be. Like definitely just focusing on my career and not really about the perks or the money or whatever else.
BN: Have you been following the Oscar race at all? Are there any favorites or predictions about who is going to take some Oscars home?
CC: I don’t know! There are so many good movies this year. The Kings Speech, I haven’t seen yet. But I saw him on Ellen and I love him! I really hope he wins. I really have a crush on him!
BN: As young adults, music is a big part of our lives. Are there any bands in particular that you’re really into these days?
CC: Well I love Eminem, Biggie, Dre, Nicki Minaj. Nicki Minaj’s new album I think is really amazing. But I also like kind of old stuff like the Beatles, Zepplin, the Doors. My music taste is kind of all over the place.
BN: That’s great! Having a diverse music taste is wonderful. And I agree, the Nicki Minaj album is really good!
CC: Yeah! Also, an album that’s a mix. It’s called 500 Days of Weezy. I think everyone should listen to it. It’s the soundtrack of 500 Days of Summer mixed with Lil Wayne songs. It’s amazing.
BN: I don’t know if you have time for this, but what was the last concert you went to?
CC: Oh my gosh, I don’t even remember! I think it was a long time ago but I think I went to a Justin Timberlake concert. Before I went to the concert, I kind of just went with my friends, I wasn’t like a huge fan of Justin Timberlake before. But he can really, really put on a show! I really respect him for that because even though I wasn’t like really familiar with his music, he like blew it out of the water.
BN: Awesome, very cool Camille. You were lovely and I love the show. So thank you so much for your time. Have a great day!
CC: Thank you, you too!
RELATED:
Skins Cast Interview Part Three
