Jeanmarie Simpson: Hi, Cassidy! It’s so great to catch up with you. I haven’t had any quality time with you since we filmed A Single Woman in 2006. You and I played the same character.

Cassidy Lehrman: Yes, it has been a while! I’m so glad we’re finally getting a chance to catch up. Being a part of that film was such an amazing experience.  Actually, one of the things I remember most was watching you getting made up.  It was so cool to see the “Hollywood Magic” at work and how they got you to age or get younger by using that tape thing on your cheeks.  But also, going to the premiere was a pretty meaningful experience for me.  It was so wonderful seeing everyone again after so much time had passed and being reunited with the A Single Woman family. Then seeing the finished project — I was simply amazed at how incredible and how unique it was.  It went beyond what I had imagined. I loved it, and I was so proud. Also, thank you for your wonderful performance throughout the movie. In shooting it, I knew you and I were playing the same role, but not until I saw it all together could I really appreciate my role as Jeanette Rankin.  At the filming, I was just being the 10- and 14-year-old girl, but seeing what that girl became and did, I got to experience my role in a much deeper way. And I have to add, wow, when it was over and we all went into the theater lobby for our “after-premiere party,” I had no idea that Joni Mitchell was going to be there!  What a wonderful surprise. I got to meet her, and she was so sweet to me. She said she loved my performance. My parents took my picture with her, and my dad told me later that his eyes were tearing up behind the camera, from seeing me arm-in-arm with a person who had been such an icon in his life.

JS: I admit that one of the most delicious guilty pleasures in my life is watching your show, Entourage. How does it feel to be a “normal” character amid such prurience and downright ethical criminality that runs rampant in the actions of the major characters on that show? As Ari’s daughter, you are so lovely and innocent — so inexplicably sane amid the cacophony. How do you approach such outrageously funny scenes with full awareness that you are the ultimate “straight man”? How does that work for you?

CL: It is such honor to be working on that show. Talk about something feeling like family! Every time I go back to work at Entourage, it’s like coming home.  I feel so loved by the cast and crew.  They are all such wonderful people.  You probably don’t know that I got that part after being in LA for just three months.  My dad and I were here while my mother and sister waited for us to come back to Colorado after pilot season.  I had gone on a handful of auditions and we were feeling a bit discouraged since I wasn’t getting anything.  Then I got that part. It was the “Bat Mitzvah” episode, and I was the bat mitzvah girl! Things moved so fast.  In just one weekend, my dad taught me the Hebrew I needed to sing in a particular scene.  When he drove me to the set that first day, I was so nervous.  As soon as I was out of hair and makeup (quite an experience in itself), someone put a microphone on me and walked my dad and me right to where they wanted to shoot my first scene.  The woman led me to this huge stuffed chair in a beautiful living room (in Ozzie and Harriet’s old house).  The moment I sat down in that chair and looked up and saw about a gazillion people with spotlights and lenses and colored tape and ladders and walkie talkies, something changed in me.  All my nervousness just emptied out of me and I felt totally centered, as if this was what I was waiting for; this was what I was born for.  This was my first time on a set and my first time ever being “on camera.” There are many funny things about shooting that episode, and many funny things about doing all the episodes, especially given that Jeremy [Piven] ad libs so much and he is so funny doing that, so it’s a difficult task just to keep from laughing.  But one funny thing is that I had never seen Entourage when I shot that first episode.  My family didn’t have HBO. In fact, we hardly watched TV in Colorado, so my dad told someone in production that we had never seen the show and asked if we might borrow a video of one of the episodes so we could see what the show is about.  Well, the episode they loaned us was pretty fun — not over my head — and I liked watching Adrian [Grenier]. But then, all of a sudden, there’s this totally graphic love-making scene!  Not what I expected!  So I definitely got a quick overview of what the show is like. But soon, my whole family and I became big fans. We love the show.  The characters are so quirky and endearing, and in real life, they’re amazing people.  They’re so incredibly sweet to me.  I’d love to spend more time with them. I never want to leave. When they say I’m wrapped, I always try to stay a little bit longer and my dad has to almost drag me away. Another funny thing: when I first started the show (four years ago), at the table reads, we would all sit around and read our lines together, but everyone back then used to get so nervous when they had to swear in front of me. They would keep looking over to my dad to make sure it was okay. They all were so caring and careful around me that way — it was incredibly sweet.  My dad and I had to convince them that it really was okay. I also want to share how amazing it is to work with such incredibly talented actors. Aren’t they great to watch?!

JS: I loved the scene last season when you counseled your dad. It was great fun watching you do that much on screen, but also great fun watching Ari respond to your warmth and sanity. Can you talk about playing that scene, how it came together and what it was like to step into such a different mode with your character?

CL: Yes, I was thrilled to have that scene!  I had been wanting so much for Sarah to be taken more seriously, to be shown as growing up, growing into becoming more of herself, and for her to have significance and substance.  And yes, I loved the way her dad responded to her -– that look of almost surprise on his face when, as he puts it, he sees his “little girl is growing up.” It’s always so much fun to play opposite Jeremy.  Sometimes he’s real loose and playful between takes, and sometimes he’s pretty serious and focused on his character.  I like and respect both modes.  In that scene, he was pretty much both.  I really value working with him. He keeps me on my toes, both with his hilarious improvised lines, which really bring the scene to life, and with his focus and commitment.  I’d really, really like to get more scenes like that and let my character grow, as well as have the relationship between my character and her dad grow. I think it’s so great to see the softer side of Ari. I get a lot of feedback that this whole sidetrack of Ari’s family is greatly appreciated by fans who are totally into Vince and the boys and what they do.  It’s sort of like the fans get so much of Ari being the shark that seeing him with his family makes him more real, less of a stereotype, and I love contributing to that balance. That scene shows the potential for Sarah to be that grounding, sane influence with sincerity and insight.  Perrey Reeves, by the way –- the woman who plays my mother, “Mrs. Ari” — is a sweetheart.  In real life, she’s got grounding, sanity, sincerity and a heart that is wonderful.  I just love her.

JS: Can you tell us anything about Sarah’s appearances this season?

CL: Well, not much I can tell yet.  I’ve been in three episodes so far, and I don’t know if I’ll be in more than that or not. All I can really tell you is there are a lot of great twists with the boys, and it’s going to be a very exciting season!

JS: You are lucky, in my view, in that you look younger than you actually are.  I think a lot of Entourage viewers would be surprised to learn that you’re in college, although you probably have a few years of teenage characters ahead of you. What kinds of roles do you hope to play as you leave your teenage years behind and begin your career as a grown woman?

CL: Well, fortunately or not, I think that playing women’s roles is still many years away. Although I’m 17, most people say I look more like I’m 14, so I think I still have a couple more tween years in me, let alone teen years. When I was 12, I told my parents that I’ve decided what I want to do with the rest of my life, that I want to be an actress, and that I have to do it now because if I wait any longer, it’ll be too late and I’ll be too old. I’ve learned a couple things about age since then, and I’m extremely grateful for my youthful look and for having such an early start in this business. I do want to make acting my life’s career, and looking ahead, I want to work in shows and films that inspire audiences with their quality. I want to work on projects that people speak highly of. I really want to strive for depth.  But don’t get me wrong — I love light humor too. For instance, one of my favorite shows is That ’70s Show.  As light as it is, I think the writing works really well, and I laugh so hard watching it. I also love Boston Legal.  Now there’s the sort of show I’d love to have a significant role on in my future. I like to watch and act in both comedy and drama, and I love when they mix, just like in Boston Legal. I’d like to add that one of the fun things about being an actor/actress is you get to do things that most people only dream of. You can try on lives like they are clothes. Like the makeup — not many people can say they’ve spent three hours a day putting on a beard to look like Gandalf, but I sadly can.  Playing Jeanette Rankin was a rich experience that way for me.  I love “period” work like that.  In the case of A Single Woman, I got to wear the clothing of a girl living in the Midwest in the 1880s.  That, along with the set design being an old farmhouse, was real fun, and I felt the depth of the situation — the Indians being slaughtered by the soldiers.  It was a really good experience for me to put on that character and experience her feelings in that situation.

JS: What are your goals as an actor?

CL: If it was up to me, I would be working all the time. The thing about us actors is we want to act. There’s nothing like being on a set — it doesn’t matter what it is, it just feels so right. I would love to be working as a regular on a TV show that I can really get behind — something that I’m proud to be doing (like Entourage) and to be on something as unique as Pushing Daisies. I would also love to be doing movies with people I really admire and look up to.

JS: What are you working on now?

CL: Well, right now, I’m working on getting myself prepared both for life in general and for what could happen as we go from having a strike looming over the business to having that possibility removed. I can’t wait to see what comes from it and where I go next. But in terms of what I’m working on now, there’s my life -– I’m in my first semester at Santa Monica College studying film history, voice and, outside of SMC, taking an improv class with Brian McCulley, who I’ve worked with on and off for four years.  He’s absolutely great!  So is his class.  I’m also writing.  I’ve been writing as long as I could put words on paper, and I’m slowly working on some material for a screenplay.  When I was 10 or 11, I became the youngest (by about 35 years younger) writer for my town newspaper.  I wrote an article and they gave me a regular column.  I wrote about local arts and culture. I kept that up until about a year ago, after my column had grown from a quarter-page to two pages (by that point, it was me sharing my experiences in “the business”).  I’ve also been writing poetry and short stories for a long time.  I love to write.  Besides that, I’m also going to the DMV this week to get my drivers’ license!  But in terms of acting, I’m hoping I get called in for more episodes of Entourage and that really good opportunities start coming in for me to move into a lead role as a series regular on something great. Keep your fingers crossed!

JS: What’s next for you?

CL: Another thing I’m doing that I look forward to continuing with is Krav Maga. It’s this really cool training in contact combat.  Some people mistakenly refer to it as a martial art, but it’s more “organic” than a martial art.  It’s a self-defense training, but what you’re taught is how to get the job done without worrying about the form, the grace, the beauty and all that stuff that defines a martial art. I just started but I’m going three times a week.  I come home black and blue, but I love it. When I think about what’s next for me, I think about my immediate future as well as my long-term career. I’m young, and what I want as a career I want both now and for my whole life. I’m in it for the long haul, and I want to do what I can to build inside of me the resources I’ll need to get me where I want to go. It definitely helps to have an amazing support system behind me! My parents are always there for me and help keep me on track 100% of the way. The more I’m in Hollywood, the more I appreciate my family’s eccentricity.  We’ve done crazy things like traveling around the country in a small RV for a year and a half, home-schooling, living in a small town in Colorado with no traffic lights and no fast food, and seeking out incredible experiences.  Back in Paonia, our town in Colorado, I not only wrote for the newspaper but had a music show for kids on KVNF, the NPR radio station that covered the western half of the state.  My sister is an incredible artist, photographer, and writer — she just finished her first year at SUNY and is getting ready to go India to volunteer at an orphanage there.  My dad teaches emotional intelligence skills and is a communication consultant.  He used to run big holistic education centers on the east coast.  And, coincidentally, my mother and he worked at the same places and even lived at the same places and had the same friends — but all at different times until they finally caught up with each other in their early 30s.  They’ve got amazing stories to tell. Coming from the mindset I’ve gotten from them, I know that whatever happens in my life, it will be an adventure. I’m very optimistic about the future and I look forward to seeing where my path takes me. And, hopefully, you and I will work together again!  I love this work and, as much as I love and need to be in nature, I love this town.  All in all, I want to work, I want to inspire, and I want to work some more.