The moment we have all been waiting for is here… Stef and Lena’s big wedding on The Fosters!
In the episode titled “I Do,” Stef and Lena try to maintain calm when their parents descend on the Foster house for a very special celebration. Lena’s dad, Stewart (played by Stephen Collins), has agreed to officiate the ceremony while her mother Dana (Lorraine Toussaint) and Stef’s colorful, talkative mom Sharon (Annie Potts), attempt to keep things civil while disagreeing on floral arrangements. Sharon tries to strong-arm Frank (Sam McMurray) into attending. Stef avoids telling Lena she plans to return to work as soon as she is cleared. Meanwhile, when Callie’s case against Liam (Brandon Jones) boils down to her word against his, she must decide whether or not to lie in order to get some justice out of the situation. Callie and Jude get some news they’ve been hoping for, but Callie makes an emotional slip that could destroy any chance they finally have at happiness.
CelebSecrets4U caught up with Cierra Ramirez, who plays Mariana Foster on the series, to find out all the behind-the-scenes details on the season 1 finale. Cierra also reveals that the entire cast will be attending the 2013 Teen Choice Awards next weekend in Los Angeles! Take a read at the full Q&A below…
How will the relationship with Mariana’s mother continue to evolve this season?
C. Ramirez: “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.”
Do you think a show like this can make people change their minds on the topic of same sex marriage?
C. Ramirez: “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.”
Could you talk a little bit about your character in your words for people that may have not yet watched The Fosters?
C. Ramirez: “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.”
What quality do you love about her?
C. Ramirez: “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.”
How is being on The Secret Life of the American Teenager different from The Fosters?
C. Ramirez: “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.”
Is her relationship with Jesus going to continue to improve or are there going to be more roadblocks for them?
C. Ramirez: “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.”
How do you define family?
C. Ramirez: “This show, in particular, definitely goes along with the ABC Family slogan, “A New Kind of Family”. And that’s definitely what I think it is. But family for me is someone, or it could be anyone; you don’t have to be related to them, just like in the show, but it’s someone or a group of people that will accept you no matter what, through thick and thin and will always be there for you and love you unconditionally.”
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?
C. Ramirez: “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.”
Does anyone on the cast plan on going to the Teen Choice Awards?
C. Ramirez: “I think everyone is. We’re all excited. Definitely.”
Could you talk a little bit about what it’s like working with Maia Mitchell, Jake T. Austin and the rest of the cast?
C. Ramirez: “They are just so amazing. They’re actually my reason to wake up every morning. It’s such a blessing to come to work with such amazing and talented people. I can’t stress that enough. It makes work fun. It’s not work. It’s constant laughter whenever we’re filming, on and off screen, so it’s just an amazing group of people and I’m so blessed to know them and work with them every day.”
Which episode is your favorite?
C. Ramirez: “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.”
Are there any really funny behind-the-scenes moments on set?
C. Ramirez: “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.”
How was it on set when you guys were shooting the last episode of the season?
C. Ramirez: “The last episode of the season probably had to be one of my most favorite filming processes. It was very giddy. The whole set, everyone just kind of felt like it was the last week of school in a way. It kind of was. It was very fun and you’ll just have to see, it’s a very extravagant, very big episode. So, that alone, it was just so fun to film and everyone was just having a blast. I miss them already, though.”
Make sure to tune in to The Fosters SEASON 1 FINALE on MONDAY, AUGUST 5th at 9PM ET/PT only on ABC Family!
