And out of nowhere, it all starts in Chicago, Chicago,
and I'm dying because I was like, oh, my God.
- Was that embarrassing or exciting? - Both!
This week, we're sitting down with the star of Victorious,
Daniella Monet on Throw Back with Nickelodeon.
I'm your host, Anthony Padilla,
and you know our guest today as Trina Vega on Victorious,
Tootie in the Fairly Odd movies and my personal favorite,
Bertha in Fred 2: Night of the living Fred.
Daniella Monet is here, Daniella, you ready to throwback?
I'm ready to throwback, throw it back.
- Let's do it, cheers. - Cheers!
- Cheers! - Yay!
Bring it on, bring it on.
Should I bring out the deepest questions and skip all the surface level ones?
I'm an open book, so you just dive right in.
Before you booked Victorious,
you were actually acting for a number of years.
What is your earliest showbiz memory?
I did a lot of Barbie commercials growing up.
- What? - Yeah.
- I probably saw those. - Yeah, you did.
You would think they'd be so much fun to do, they were not that fun.
You weren't even allowed to touch the doll.
We had to keep our hands behind our back
and they would have these hand models that had really small, pretty hands
with nail polish and the whole things,
and they were trained to be able to touch the dolls
and they would have these pins in them
so that the Barbies would move just so, and you would just be the one
that's reacting to playing.
So I became a really good reactor.
This is so fun playing with these things
I can't touch that I really want to play with.
And the hairs on the Barbie were more important than your own, it was a lot.
but fun times.
- Do you remember your first audition? - I do, actually.
So it was for a Heinz commercial.
I had to know martial arts.
- How old were you? - I was like five.
- You had to know martial arts? - Yeah.
My mom and I put together an outfit
from a neighbor or something who was actually in karate and borrowed it.
And I walked in there
and they had you do all these different martial arts moves.
Never did it a day in my life.
You're like, yeah I totally know martial arts, so you're learning there on set?
This is where Trina was born because I ended up booking that commercial
from pure just- - I have no idea where that came from,
I just funneled my martial arts intuitive skills
into the Heinz commercial.
You booked your first commercial that you ever auditioned for?
Yeah, one of them, yeah, yeah.
I was really annoying as a kid, I don't think people could say no to me.
I'd probably start crying.
They maybe only said yes because they didn't want you to cry.
Yeah, because even when we would wrap, I would cry.
- Why, 'cause you're so sad it was over? - I didn't want it to ever end.
What was your audition process like for Victorious specifically?
Oh, my gosh, it was so memorable.
So what I didn't know when I auditioned that I think is so interesting now
is that everyone who auditioned for any of the different roles
on Victorious had the same sides.
So you're all reading the same role?
Yeah, it was just like, I don't know, like a weird character name
- that doesn't really exist in the show. - Character named human.
Yeah, human number one.
We all kind of had to go through
the same like vigorous highs and lows in character.
So it was one of those things where it's like,
it's probably similar to auditioning for a soap opera.
they want to see you cry, they want to see you improv,
- they want to see you fall, laugh. - What's your range?
Yeah, and then sing, which that in itself was--
- You had to sing in your audition? - Yeah.
What was your reaction like when you first found out
that you actually booked the gig?
Oh, my gosh, it was a process, let me tell you,
because it took almost six months to really hear anything back.
So I had sort of already written it off,
and then we I got the news and I was so excited
because like you said, I had acted prior to Nickelodeon
and I really wanted to be on Nickelodeon.
I always came from network TV, like CBS, ABC,
and I was always the only kid on the show,
the only kid in the school room,
nothing about it was fun and colorful like I wanted it to be in my head.
So I rallied for Nickelodeon, I was like,
please send me out on anything Nickelodeon,
this is my childhood dream, please.
So did this feel different than all your other acting gigs
- because you were a fan of this network? - For sure.
And I wanted it so bad.
I wanted to grow up in that kid world,
I wanted kids to grow up with me,
it was just all very cool when it all happened.
What did your friends at school think
or were you going to public school at the time?
No, I actually home schooled for high school
because I was on another show prior to that
and I just didn't have the time for school.
I feel like a lot of kids think that.
Oh God, right?
But I still did it and I was still a pretty good student,
I just wanted more time to do everything that I wanted to be doing.
So I found a way to finagle it all.
I wanted so badly for everyone to like--
I still wanted to be involved in that world,
so I even made some of my neighbors promise me to take me to a dance
because I knew I wouldn't have that experience,
and they never did.
Oh, I thought it was gonna go into a very happy ending.
Yeah, no, never.
So I did miss out on a lot of high school experiences.
- Never been to a high school dance? - No, but I've done it on TV.
Exactly the same!
So things like that, but they were cool, everyone was really supportive.
When you get recognized by your fans, what do they usually say?
Oh, my gosh, it just happened last weekend, I went to Coachella,
and out of nowhere in this place that has all these different tunnels,
and it's like echoey, they all start singing, Chicago, Chicago.
And I'm dying because I was like, oh my God.
- Was it embarrassing or exciting? - Both! It was both.
'Cause I thought for sure I'm the idiot at Coachella
with these cameras and like, I'm pregnant,
so I was like, I'm pregnant at Coachella, what is this moment?
And people just start singing, like, oh, okay, I feel like I belong.
Is that embarrassing at all?
No, I think it's so cool,
like that scene, that episode- -
Such a standout moment.
When Kim Kardashian named her kid Chicago,
things happened.
- I didn't even put that together. - Oh, It was like a moment.
I would have never thought that resonated the way it did,
but here we are.
♪ Chicago ♪
♪ It's a city that's exciting It's a city that's inviting ♪
♪ it's a city for a woman just like me ♪
♪ There's a lake they call Lake Michigan I think I'm really fitting in ♪
♪ The city is my perfect cup of tea ♪
♪ Chicago ♪
It resonated with me too, I don't know if it was because
you were purposely acting like you couldn't act or what?
Yeah, I don't know what I was doing.
It was just, things were happening.
Is that hard to act like you don't know how to act?
No, it's so much fun,
I used to think, and obviously Lucille Ball is on another level,
but I'm like, if I could emulate any degree
of her comedic timing and her physical comedy,
like that is the goal.
I just want to be that person who doesn't care
and has like so much fun with it.
And that's one thing that I think I did do,
I was still a girl and had to go through hair and makeup and all that,
but I did not care, I just owned it all
and was like, throw pie in my face,
let me fall down the stairs, I loved it.
There's so many moments that stand out, like "crutches!".
I was just living my best life, I don't know,
things were just funneling through me at the time,
I can't really explain it.
Not even on crutches!
You recently had sort of a mini reunion
when you're on Ariana Grande's Thank you, Next music video.
- What was that like? - So much fun.
Yes, she is a rock star, that girl works her butt off,
and I'm so impressed with her, she's been through so much
and it was so cool to be able to like, I don't know,
like kind of work alongside her, it was, yeah, fun, fun times.
Did you ever switch back into the same energy you guys had on set
when you guys used to work together back in the day?
Yeah, it's just such a different dynamic because like I said,
I'm just so impressed with her.
She's so good at being the artist that she is,
but she's also just as good being a part of the production,
which I respect so much because I've seen her,
you know when she did Victorious,
I want to say it was her first on camera thing,
so she came straight from Broadway.
and she learned a lot and she excelled so quickly.
And I think her now, she's just everything,
she's got it all handled and I'm so happy for her.
So that experience was cool.
Must be incredible seeing your friend
just blow up to this crazy mega superstar globally.
Yeah, it's a lot, it's a lot.
It's a lot, I don't mind people like recognizing me,
but I don't want to be famous, and when you see someone
who you worked alongside for so long
have all this fame and popularity,
it's almost like I have to remind myself sometimes
because I'm like, oh my gosh, that's right.
Like when I say Ari or if I'm referring to her,
this is like a major star.
It means something else to other people.
Totally, totally.
But I call her my little nugget, she's still my little nugget,
you know?
All right, so I've got a few names for you that I'm going to say,
and I'd like to hear your first thoughts.
- Oh. - You know, you know.
Victoria Justice.
- Modelly. - Modelly?
Yeah, she's just got this model body, she always looked so cute,
she was like a doll.
She was always like, oops I'm accidentally perfect.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, very put together, for sure, yep.
Liz Gillies.
She's like my bestie.
Yeah, I just love Liz, her and I, she's just so sarcastic and fun
and I just love her.
Drake Bell.
Oh my gosh, I just think of like... high end.
- High end? - He is so high end.
He would be wearing a Gucci white t shirt.
- Whoa. - Yeah.
I'm like, a white T- shirt.
He's like oops, this cost $7,000.
One hundred percent, I was always like,
I can't be in your presence, Drake, like you're so fancy!
Jason Alexander.
Oh, my gosh, love him.
- Yeah. - Yeah, well,
he played my dad on my first show.
He's also in Fairly Odd movies, right?
Yeah, I made a little phone call.
Oh, did you help him get that role?
Yeah, well they were talking about it in the car one day
and they were like, it'd be so fun to have Jason Alexander
come play one of the fairies, and I was like,
you guys know I worked with him? And they're like, really?
We would love to have him, I said, let me call him.
You flashed his number in your phone.
We were in the car going from one scene to another
at some location, I just called him and I was like,
hey, Dad, I have a favor!
How much of Trina do you think exists in Daniella?
Ooh you know, it's funny when I'm not in front of the camera,
- I'm super blah. - Blah?
- A little bit. - You describe yourself as a blah person?
- I'm a bit of a blah person. - I don't think so.
- I think I'm a lot more reserved. - I saw you off camera.
Yeah but that's still me, this princess mode is what I call it
when I show up to work, I'm like, this my element,
I have so much fun with it. But when I go home, I'm super chill.
Like, I cook, I hang out my dogs, I'm very meh, normal.
I think Trina came from, you know, a piece of me that's like
wants to be more of that nature, like that over-the-top personality.
But in reality, I'm just more chill, and people are like,
oh, you're so different than your character, I'm like,
that's how characters work.
It's called acting.
How have you seen your relationship with your audience changed
since social media has become such a big part of everyone's life?
Yeah, it's changed a lot, because like I said before,
a lot of people thought that I was more like my Trina character.
And through social media, I've been able to share so much about,
you know, who I really am and what I'm interested in.
So people are getting to know the real you more?
Yeah, yeah and I'm very,
I try to be like super candid and transparent.
- And you're you're vlogging more? - A little bit, yeah.
I mean, I story a lot, do you?
- I do occasionally, I try to. - Okay.
But it's difficult, I feel like it's hard to constantly
feel like you're interesting enough to share that on camera.
- I actually daily vlogged. - Really?
Yeah, I did daily vlogged for two years with an ex,
I was giving him my all, I was trying to be entertaining,
every day we got to be fun.
I even recorded my proposal--
- I mean ex. - Ex, yeah.
Ex, but you know, I feel like
the people watching felt like they knew everything about us.
And they felt they understood my life and who I was,
but I realized that I was kind of performing in a certain way,
trying to get content out every day,
and people actually didn't understand anything.
Do you feel like there's any of that in what you do?
Do you feel like people don't quite understand you like they think they do?
Yeah, totally, I think the vlogging that I've done
is a little bit more of a heightened version of myself,
and obviously when I edit those,
I pull out what I think is more interesting or likable,
but when I story on the gram,
I don't edit anything I say, I will rant,
I will-- obviously there's nothing really you can do about
what you're seeing, there's not really-- I mean, there's nothing to hide.
So I think those are really my true moments,
and I honestly use that for myself sometimes
because like I said, I'm very introverted.
You know, I have a lot of friends but I'm not like someone
who vents to a lot of people or is super close with any one friend.
And I really feel like my little story is like me sharing my life
and working through things as I go.
Do you feel like you connect with your audience when you do that?
They're kind of like the friends in your life at that moment?
It's so weird, I'm such a millennial.
Is there a line that you draw where you're like,
I'm not going to share this part of my life?
Or is everything just kind of up for grabs?
Yeah, there's definitely a line that I draw,
but there's certain things where I am probably
a little more transparent than most people just because
there's things I want to talk about, and I'm like, this could help someone,
you know, this could make an impact.
And if you don't want to talk about it,
then maybe I have to be that person because I don't care
- and I want to share. - Yeah.
So I've learned to erase and redraw the line here and there.
Alright Daniella, one last throwback that's actually a look ahead.
So you recently announced that you're gonna be a mother?
Yeah, it's exciting, it's so exciting.
Yeah, what are you most excited about?
Oh, gosh, I have wanted to be a mom since I was a child.
I wanted six kids growing up.
And I had their ages, their names, everything.
You kind of had your whole life planned?
I didn't have anything else planned, I thought I could just have six kids.
I was like, there's really nothing else I need, right?
That's what happens when you're an adult, you just have kids.
You have kids, it's just me and the kids.
But turns out you have to have a partner,
it's like a thing. You don't have to.
You have to be financially stable and all that.
But no, I'm really excited, we're really excited.
- Congratulations. - Thank you, thank you.
If your child ends up wanting to follow the same career path as you,
is there any advice you'd give your child?
You know, I feel like, and I don't mean to like
too but own horn, but I'm about to toot my own horn.
You're like, I was super famous and you can't be!
No, no, no, no, I just felt like I--
And I still really do check in with myself,
I really strive to have a good balance between work and life
and personal stuff, that to me is so important.
I've seen a lot of people, not even seen a lot of people,
you see it on TV, you just see it in the press,
like people kind of like go off the rails a little bit,
I just don't want my kid to do anything
that's gonna compromise their integrity and who they are,
and just be a kind person, that's my biggest thing.
I just want them to do something they love and be a kind person.
And if something's gonna totally affect that,
I want to be very mindful of it from the beginning,
you know, you've got to have your head on straight
to be able to like have a consistent career
and not be super affected by it in a negative way.
How did you keep from being affected in a negative way yourself?
I think I knew that you could be affected by it in a negative way,
and that to me, just being conscious of that
and knowing that it was my responsibility
to still care about my hobbies
and the things that I loved and my family.
Things like that that kept me balanced and real.
You shouldn't bank on just one piece of your life to complete you.
Right, because then you attach your self-worth
to that one thing and not just--
And that's acting, if you imagine acting's like this,
you have so many highs and so many lows,
you're constantly having to put yourself out there,
and there's a lot of rejection, so to have other things that
you know make you valuable is so important.
So for my kid, I just want them to know all the different facets of it
and know what they're getting themselves into, and try everything,
I want them to, you know, do sports, do karate,
do the things that, you know,
anything to make yourself feel like you've got other things going for you.
So you're going to encourage them
to just try a little bit of everything they're interested in
and not focus all their energy on just one thing?
- Yeah, I think that that's healthy. - I think that's great advice.
Okay.
- You didn't sound sure. - That's such a mom thing to say.
You're preparing to be a mother.
No, that's great advice.
Alright Danielle, thank you so much, that was great.
- I appreciate you coming out. - Thanks for having me.
Of course, and thank you so much for watching,
we'll see you next time on Throw Back.
Your character, you just give it all, like in Victorious,
I felt like, every time you're on screen like, who is she?
- It's a lot, I know. - No, It's amazing, I love it.
Okay, good, I'm glad you feel that way.
- I feel like it's mixed reviews. - Really? No, it's amazing.
No, in a good way, yeah. I mean, some people are like,
oh, I just love that you are so mean and I'm like, thank you!
I feel like you shouldn't say that out loud.
I love you that you were mean is what you get?
Yeah, I literally just got that yesterday.
I'm like, I don't know if I love that,
but if that works for you...
Thank you so much for watching.
Be sure to subscribe for more Throwback
and let us know who you'd like to see next on the show.
We'll see you next time.