#TBT: Troian Bellisario For FLAUNT
The first time I was ever published, I was working as an assistant at FLAUNT Magazine and had to interview one of the stars of the smash hit Pretty Little Liars. I’d never seen the TV drama about a teenage clique and the mysterious disappearance (murder?) of their queen bee. I had to do my research. When I did, I found that Bellisario’s Type-A character was not that far off from myself—and the same went for Bellisario.
I remember conducting the interview via phone while sitting at the counter of a diner near the 134 freeway in Burbank. I don’t remember why. I remember walking to the diner, but I don’t remember from where. Location tells me my car dealership. Perhaps I was getting its annual check-up?
I remember using Google to remind myself how to record phone calls (which hadn’t helped me with my unsurprisingly unpublished interview with Australian musician Flume, whose strong accent proved too much for me to decode later). And I remember struggling to hear her over the din of dishes, florescent lights, and my own nerves.
But the thing I bring up whenever anyone mentions that show now is how we clicked. How nice she was, how much we had in common, and how she was (dare I say it?) down to earth. Ugh.