Chasing Life has taken fans on a whirlwind journey this summer!
From an unexpected and tragic death to Natalie’s disappearance after George, the girls’ uncle, revealed the real reason behind Thomas Carver’s death, the family (and fans!) has been through quite a lot…and there’s still more to come!
With only three episodes left of the season, CelebSecrets4U chatted with Haley Ramm, who plays Brenna Carver on the show, to get the scoop on last week’s episode and what we can expect from the family and Brenna in the remaining episodes.
“That’s definitely where we’re at about the manuscript,” said Ramm. “Now Natalie knows all of this information and none of us know what she’s going to do with it. Is she going to be nice about it or is she going to try to get some money or sell the book? So yeah, I think that’s the biggest concern right now about the manuscript. They did go through a lot. That’s huge information finding out what happened to their father.”
In our interview, the actress also teases a romantic future for Brenna and Finn, tells us why her favorite charity is so close to her heart and gives us some fashion and beauty tips. She also shares a secret behind the death of Scott Michael Foster’s character, Leo Hendrie — make sure to check out the full interview below!
In tonight’s episode, April meets with a literary who gives her advice she is reluctant to accept until she meets a young friend at Camp Hendrie who helps puts things into perspective. Meanwhile, Brenna opens up about her feelings regarding her father.
Chasing Life airs Monday, September 14th at 9PM ET/PT on ABC Family.
Check out some clips from tonight’s episode below.
CS4U: Brenna has been dealing with a lot on Chasing Life recently. She had to change schools, leave film club, make new friends and she’s still trying to make the best of it. What has it been like channeling a character who’s going through so much change?
Haley Ramm: “It’s been easy in the way that I think being in your teens is so similar to being in your 20s (laughs). I didn’t really realize that until recently, but there’s a lot of change still. Friends are changing, work stuff changes, everything’s changing. I feel like every day with adult life I’m like ‘what the heck? Did that really just happen? Of course it happened because this is adult life’ (laughs). I feel like high school is the same way so yea it’s fun getting to play someone who’s figuring themselves out because I feel like I’m doing the same.”
CS4U: There was obviously a connection with Brenna and Finn before the two even met. The doctors had found a match for Brenna’s bone marrow. Fans assume Finn was the one who received it. Can you tell us anything about that or can you at least talk about their relationship which seems to be progressing to a more romantic one?
Haley Ramm: “Yeah exactly. No, you’re on the right track. It’s definitely headed toward something romantic and it’s so sweet. We have so many sweet scenes that I’m so excited about. There’s a school dance coming up in the next couple episodes. I think we’ll start to talk about it on Monday night’s episode. The scenes were just super sweet and romantic and super innocent. I don’t know. The Greer relationship was really fun and I think people really enjoyed it, but this is something completely different so I think that the writers did a really good job just creating a whole new type of relationship.”
CS4U: As a fan of the show, I was completely devastated when Leo died. What was it like finding out that Scott would no longer be on the show and what do you have to say to the fans who still wish that he was on it?
Haley Ramm: “I mean Scott is such a great actor and we loved having him on the show. This is something that I think a lot of people don’t know, but he stayed for a lot longer than he was originally supposed to. I think he was supposed to die in an episode way earlier and then their love story progressed and everyone loved it, and I think, I don’t know, I don’t want to speak for any of the writers, but I think they were just like ‘whoa, we can’t kill him now’ (laughs). Everyone loves him so much and he became such a wonderful character and then Blood and Oil came along and we had to lose him. I think the way they did it was really good. Shocking, definitely. Even myself, I knew what was going to happen and the first time I watched it I was a bawling mess as if I didn’t know what was going to happen (laughs). It was really sad. I think to all the people who are saying they are not going to watch any more, first of all, I don’t believe you (laughs). It gets really great. We have so many other characters on the show that are going to progress and huge things are going to happen in the next three episodes. We only have three episodes left so a lot is going to happen.”
CS4U: You guys all seem to have a great time on and off set. What is it like working with this cast?
Haley Ramm: “It’s just super fun all the time. It’s really great people and it is nice everyone is so close off of set. I think that that really helps when we’re doing scenes where we’re supposed to love each other (laughs). It’s fun. Definitely. I’ve heard horror stories about casts and I’m glad that it’s not like that.”
CS4U: You’ve partnered with AARDA (American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association) as a celebrity ambassador and have been reaching out to fans for donations for the first LA Autoimmune Disease Walk in November. What does this charity mean to you?
Haley Ramm: “I’m super excited about this. It means everything to me. My mom started getting diagnosed with autoimmune diseases about four years ago and it’ll change your life completely. I’ve met some patients with autoimmune diseases because of it and the biggest thing that I’ve noticed, and I say this a lot, but I think it’s a good thing to point out because it says a lot about how many research dollars they really need and how silent these diseases are, but a lot of the patients just are so in awe that somebody is talking about this. A lot of the comments that I get on Instagram are people with immune diseases and they’re really tough, hard diseases. They put the rest of your life on hold and they’re chronic. These people are so strong and such an inspiration and seeing my mom be such a fighter through it all is really inspiring, but yea, we want to bring research dollars and awareness. I think that’s one of the biggest things because so many people don’t know what autoimmune disease is and how common it is, and it can be hereditary so that’s important for me to raise awareness because I don’t know if I’ll be in that position one day.”
CS4U: Besides filming for Chasing Life, do you have any other projects coming up?
Haley Ramm: “We just finished shooting, so I’ve been auditioning a lot and that’s super fun. I actually, I missed that. I know that sounds weird but just like the anxiety of going in and then you get it and everything’s calm and you’re there (laughs). That and the walk I’ve been working on. It’s a lot of work. But yea, I guess we’ll see what happens. Definitely busy so that’s fun.”
CS4U: We love your sense of style both on and off the show. Can you give our readers some fashion or beauty tips that you have?
Haley Ramm: “I’ve really always been into vintage clothing whether it is vintage or it looks vintage. I’m super into the 60s and 70s right now. I love that that’s coming back. Fashion tips? Don’t let your bra strap show (laughs).”
CS4U: Since we are CelebSecrets4U, can you tell us a secret about yourself that your fans may not know?
Haley Ramm: “A secret about myself? Um, that’s kind of hard (laughs). I am not athletic (laughs) at all and I really want to be so I’m going to start working on that (laughs). I don’t know. Honestly, I don’t really have any secrets. I’m a really honest person, and if something’s going on in my life, I’ll talk about it. I think honesty is the best policy, and I appreciate other people’s honesty so I think it’s a really beautiful thing.”
(If you would like to participate in the LA Autoimmune Disease Walk or donate to Ramm’s page, please click here for more details.)
Photo: Craig Sjodin/ABC FAMILY