Avantika and Bebe Wood bring the characters of Karen and Gretchen to life in Mean Girls. The movie serves as a new twist on the beloved classic and is currently playing in theaters.
New student Cady Heron (Angourie Rice) is welcomed into the top of the social food chain by the elite group of popular girls called “The Plastics,” ruled by the conniving queen bee Regina George (Reneé Rapp) and her minions Gretchen (Bebe Wood) and Karen (Avantika). However, when Cady makes the major misstep of falling for Regina’s ex-boyfriend Aaron Samuels (Christopher Briney), she finds herself prey in Regina’s crosshairs. As Cady sets to take down the group’s apex predator with the help of her outcast friends Janis (Auliʻi Cravalho) and Damian (Jaquel Spivey), she must learn how to stay true to herself while navigating the most cutthroat jungle of all: high school.
“I really love the sort of nuanced, emotional side of Gretchen that’s explored in the new film via music, but also just in general,” Wood shared, reflecting on the experience. “I think that that was really cool to explore.”
Avantika then expressed, “For me, I think honestly, one word is it just was like, challenged me and I really do love doing things that scare me. And so, I think being in this environment with such incredibly talented people and just like, I mean, it was really an honor to work alongside them and learn from them. I think there was a lot of growth involved in this whole experience that I’m really grateful for.”
I asked the duo about what their big musical moments would be in real life and how their understanding of the characters changed after portraying them.
Watch my interview below:
