Exciting news for fans of The Fosters! We recently had the chance to chat with star Cierra Ramirez about the current season of the new ABC Family series.
Cierra was so nice and we had a great time talking with her about the show. It’s one of our new favorites.
We chat about her character Mariana, the cast being nominated for the Teen Choice Awards, who she’d love to work with some day, and what’s next for her on the show and off!
Pop City Life: How will the relationship with Mariana’s mother continue to evolve this season?
Cierra: I would definitely say that Mariana’s secrets will definitely come up and haunt her. She still has to go through what happened in all the betrayal and the lies and the secrets and it’s all going to come back and she’s going to have to deal with it. So, it’s not the last that you will see of her.
Pop City Life: Are there any other projects that you’re working on during the upcoming break?
Cierra: At the moment, I am not. I am in Houston, Texas right now visiting with friends and family, so I’m busy with that. But I still am auditioning so if anything comes my way that would definitely change.
Pop City Life: Who has influenced you as an actress and who you would love to work with someday?
Cierra: That’s a good question. I would definitely have to say Angelina Jolie, which is something I know everyone says. But I just love her so much as an actress and as a human being. I just love everything she does. I respect all of her work. There’s not one project that she’s ever done that I’ve never been a fan of. I think she’s just so passionate and I would love to follow in her footsteps one day.
Cierra was so nice and we had a great time talking with her about the show. It’s one of our new favorites.
We chat about her character Mariana, the cast being nominated for the Teen Choice Awards, who she’d love to work with some day, and what’s next for her on the show and off!
Pop City Life: How will the relationship with Mariana’s mother continue to evolve this season?
Cierra: I would definitely say that Mariana’s secrets will definitely come up and haunt her. She still has to go through what happened in all the betrayal and the lies and the secrets and it’s all going to come back and she’s going to have to deal with it. So, it’s not the last that you will see of her.
Pop City Life: Are there any other projects that you’re working on during the upcoming break?
Cierra: At the moment, I am not. I am in Houston, Texas right now visiting with friends and family, so I’m busy with that. But I still am auditioning so if anything comes my way that would definitely change.
Pop City Life: Who has influenced you as an actress and who you would love to work with someday?
Cierra: That’s a good question. I would definitely have to say Angelina Jolie, which is something I know everyone says. But I just love her so much as an actress and as a human being. I just love everything she does. I respect all of her work. There’s not one project that she’s ever done that I’ve never been a fan of. I think she’s just so passionate and I would love to follow in her footsteps one day.
Q) Do you think a show like this can make people change their minds on the topic of same sex marriage?
Cierra: I definitely do think that it could, it’s about time a show like this has been on the air. There’s never been anything like it and it’s about time. It has perfect timing with everything that’s going on in the world and with Prop 8 and stuff like that. I think it can help people become a little bit more open to the idea of it, to same sex marriage and the idea that families being raised in certain households like that do turn out all right.
Q) What was your reaction to this story and the characters that were in it?
Cierra: I’m a sucker for mom and daughter stories. I love being able to relate to that and being in other people’s shoes. But I just was so drawn to the writing. I thought it was so real. Like I said before, it’s time that a show like this has been aired. I just fell in love with the script, every single one of the characters.
I think they’re all amazing and people can really identify with their cleverness and their wittiness and I just think it’s great.
Q) Were you able to pick your character?
Cierra: No, I wasn’t able to choose. My auditioning process was actually very strange. I literally auditioned for the show the day I found out that the series I was on, The Secret Life of the American Teenager, was not getting picked up for another season.
I put myself on tape. They were testing for the role of Mariana and I didn’t think I’d make it in time, but I later found out that I did get the role. So, it was really fast, but it was such a blessing to just hop on from one project to another.
Q) Could you talk a little bit about your character in your words for people that may have not yet watched The Fosters?
Cierra: Mariana is a 15-year-old girl. She’s very optimistic and with that comes a lot of curiosity, especially coming from a fostering background. She’s very curious in finding out about her background, where she comes from. So, she gets in contact with her birth mom and goes behind her parents’ back so she gets herself into a lot of the trouble and a lot of betrayal, a lot of secrets.
Q) What quality do you love about her?
Cierra: I love her wittiness. That’s one thing. I’m not very witty, so I can kind of live vicariously through her. She has very good comebacks. Whereas I would just kind of take it and put a smile on my face. But she’s very witty and very fashionable and even though she does get herself into a lot of trouble, she does have a very good heart. So, I really love that about her.
Q) How is being on The Secret Life of the American Teenager different from The Fosters?
Cierra: It’s very different in the sense that when I got on Secret Life it was already in its fifth season, so I was the newcomer with all of these people who had been bonding for four years and they were family, not only cast mates. So, it was a change, but everyone was so welcoming and so warm that I wouldn’t have really known any difference.
But, it was actually really fun to go through the whole pilot experience with the cast of The Fosters. So, we’ve gone from the get-go and it’s really been fun. It’s been a blast.
Cierra: I definitely do think that it could, it’s about time a show like this has been on the air. There’s never been anything like it and it’s about time. It has perfect timing with everything that’s going on in the world and with Prop 8 and stuff like that. I think it can help people become a little bit more open to the idea of it, to same sex marriage and the idea that families being raised in certain households like that do turn out all right.
Q) What was your reaction to this story and the characters that were in it?
Cierra: I’m a sucker for mom and daughter stories. I love being able to relate to that and being in other people’s shoes. But I just was so drawn to the writing. I thought it was so real. Like I said before, it’s time that a show like this has been aired. I just fell in love with the script, every single one of the characters.
I think they’re all amazing and people can really identify with their cleverness and their wittiness and I just think it’s great.
Q) Were you able to pick your character?
Cierra: No, I wasn’t able to choose. My auditioning process was actually very strange. I literally auditioned for the show the day I found out that the series I was on, The Secret Life of the American Teenager, was not getting picked up for another season.
I put myself on tape. They were testing for the role of Mariana and I didn’t think I’d make it in time, but I later found out that I did get the role. So, it was really fast, but it was such a blessing to just hop on from one project to another.
Q) Could you talk a little bit about your character in your words for people that may have not yet watched The Fosters?
Cierra: Mariana is a 15-year-old girl. She’s very optimistic and with that comes a lot of curiosity, especially coming from a fostering background. She’s very curious in finding out about her background, where she comes from. So, she gets in contact with her birth mom and goes behind her parents’ back so she gets herself into a lot of the trouble and a lot of betrayal, a lot of secrets.
Q) What quality do you love about her?
Cierra: I love her wittiness. That’s one thing. I’m not very witty, so I can kind of live vicariously through her. She has very good comebacks. Whereas I would just kind of take it and put a smile on my face. But she’s very witty and very fashionable and even though she does get herself into a lot of trouble, she does have a very good heart. So, I really love that about her.
Q) How is being on The Secret Life of the American Teenager different from The Fosters?
Cierra: It’s very different in the sense that when I got on Secret Life it was already in its fifth season, so I was the newcomer with all of these people who had been bonding for four years and they were family, not only cast mates. So, it was a change, but everyone was so welcoming and so warm that I wouldn’t have really known any difference.
But, it was actually really fun to go through the whole pilot experience with the cast of The Fosters. So, we’ve gone from the get-go and it’s really been fun. It’s been a blast.
Q)Is her relationship with Jesus going to continue to improve or are there going to be more roadblocks for them?
Cierra: I think so, because she has kind of accepted the fact that he is dating her best friend and she’s going to have to deal with it, whether she likes it or not. She can’t let go of the few people that she loves. So, I definitely think that their relationship will get better.
Q) How does it make you and your cast members feel that The Fosters has been nominated for a Teen Choice Award in the category of Best TV Breakout Show?
Cierra: We actually all found out together. The producers told us and we were all on set. We were freaking out, I mean, literally. It still hasn’t even really hit me. But I’m, along with the audience, I’m there voting. I’m voting every day. I’m very excited and I can’t wait to see what the outcome is. I’m just really excited no matter what. And the fact that it was nominated four episodes into it is such a blessing.
Cierra: I think so, because she has kind of accepted the fact that he is dating her best friend and she’s going to have to deal with it, whether she likes it or not. She can’t let go of the few people that she loves. So, I definitely think that their relationship will get better.
Q) How does it make you and your cast members feel that The Fosters has been nominated for a Teen Choice Award in the category of Best TV Breakout Show?
Cierra: We actually all found out together. The producers told us and we were all on set. We were freaking out, I mean, literally. It still hasn’t even really hit me. But I’m, along with the audience, I’m there voting. I’m voting every day. I’m very excited and I can’t wait to see what the outcome is. I’m just really excited no matter what. And the fact that it was nominated four episodes into it is such a blessing.
Q) Does anyone on the cast plan on going to the Teen Choice Awards?
Cierra: I think everyone is. We’re all excited. Definitely.
Q) Which episode is your favorite?
Cierra: I would definitely have to be a little biased and say the Quinceanera. Mainly because who wouldn’t love being dressed up for a whole week like that. I never actually had a Quinceanera, so I got to experience one through Mariana and it’s televised, so I mean it’s the best of both worlds. So, it was a really fun episode and the dance scene was probably my favorite. We had to rehearse for that, so that was really fun.
Q) Are there any really funny behind-the-scenes moments on set?
Cierra: There has definitely been some funny moments. I think it would have to do a lot with phones on set, because we’re all so very tech savvy. We’re always on our phones, every single one of the cast members. So, it’s really funny when a certain cast member’s phone will go off in the middle of a scene while we’re filming because that happens a lot.
It’s really bad, but it happens a lot to me. I’m very well known for hiding my phone in really weird places. I can hide it in a refrigerator during a scene or under that bed. It’s pretty bad, but at the end of the day we can all laugh at it.
You can catch Cierra on The Fosters, airing Mondays on ABC Family.
THIS INTERVIEW IS CREDITED TO POP CITY LIFE!
Cierra: I think everyone is. We’re all excited. Definitely.
Q) Which episode is your favorite?
Cierra: I would definitely have to be a little biased and say the Quinceanera. Mainly because who wouldn’t love being dressed up for a whole week like that. I never actually had a Quinceanera, so I got to experience one through Mariana and it’s televised, so I mean it’s the best of both worlds. So, it was a really fun episode and the dance scene was probably my favorite. We had to rehearse for that, so that was really fun.
Q) Are there any really funny behind-the-scenes moments on set?
Cierra: There has definitely been some funny moments. I think it would have to do a lot with phones on set, because we’re all so very tech savvy. We’re always on our phones, every single one of the cast members. So, it’s really funny when a certain cast member’s phone will go off in the middle of a scene while we’re filming because that happens a lot.
It’s really bad, but it happens a lot to me. I’m very well known for hiding my phone in really weird places. I can hide it in a refrigerator during a scene or under that bed. It’s pretty bad, but at the end of the day we can all laugh at it.
You can catch Cierra on The Fosters, airing Mondays on ABC Family.
THIS INTERVIEW IS CREDITED TO POP CITY LIFE!