(upbeat music)
- Hi everyone, thanks so much for joining us
in the studio today where I'm so happy
to be sitting down today with Sierra Capri.
Hello. - Hi.
- So you're the star of On My Block, on Netflix.
So on the show, you're the main character
and this is your first acting gig ever, right?
- Yeah, it is. (laughs)
- And is it also true
that you did not formally study acting?
- I didn't, no.
- Okay, where did that come from?
You were in college whenever you decided to go for it?
- Yeah, I mean it was something I was always interested in,
since I was little but I promised my parents
I'd get my degree first before pursuing acting.
But I was still doing it on the side, and being an extra
and submitting myself for projects.
And yeah, actually, one of the movies
I was an extra for called Hidden Figures,
it's where I met a woman
who she also did self tapes and helped with,
like, she did self tape coaching so I reached out to her.
And when I found On My Block,
she's the one that helped me with it
and I sent it off and--
- Wow, and then, so you mentioned Hidden Figures,
you were an extra on the movie?
- Yeah, I was.
- How long did you work on it?
And what was that experience like for you?
- It was actually really fun.
The director, Tim, was amazing,
he was really sweet to everyone.
And Taraji P. Henson, she was great.
It was so funny 'cause when she first saw me,
she was like you look like you're a little girl,
should you even be here? (laughs)
- [Natalie] Oh no.
- But she was like you are so cute
and so everyone was really nice
and I made a lot of good friends
and they're all happy for me and I still reach out to them
and yeah.
- Ooh to Taraji or your friends?
- No, no, no.
- Oh, your friends. - Yeah.
- I was like wow, that's casual.
- Yeah, the other core women,
African-American women that were in there.
- Oh, that great. So what was that moment like that you knew
that you were going to be on set with these women?
- It was still pretty much how it would be today.
I was just happy to even be around them
or be in the same room with them
because Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer,
they're amazing and they're doing wonderful things.
So, it was great, I had a lot of fun.
- And so then like you said, you met someone who helped you
with the self tapes for the audition for On My Block, right?
So after you do a self tape,
did you then go in for an in-person audition?
And what was that process like for you?
- Yeah, it was like after I submitted a self tape,
I think about two weeks after that a producer reached out
and was like we want to fly you out for a cam read
and we think that you're really good.
So that's where I met the rest of the cast members
and it's funny 'cause there was two people
going up for each role.
So there was another girl that was also there
to audition for the role, Monse and she was like ...
As soon as I saw her and how different we were,
I was like oh I didn't get this.
I have a test on Monday, this was a great experience.
Like I didn't--
- Oh no.
- Yeah, I didn't--
- How were you different?
- It was just like, she was gorgeous.
- It's like physical, well.
- No, I mean like.
- [Natalie] Give yourself a little credit.
- No, it was like I could tell that she had been in this
for a while and she was seasoned
and I'm coming off the street.
And I was like oh yeah,
I don't really know if I'm going to be able to get this.
But yeah--
- Oh, well sometimes it seems like
maybe that's what their looking for so obviously worked out.
And then what was your reaction when you got the role?
- Oh, I was so excited.
Me and my mom, we were jumping up and down
and so was my grandmother actually.
- [Natalie] Aww. - We were all just so excited.
- Let's start talking a little bit
about your character in the show and everything.
Monse, I really love her.
I definitely can relate to her in a lot of ways
and I feel like there's a lot of girls out there who can.
She's very cerebral, logical.
A lot of times, she's the voice of reason.
You know like the other guys are kind of characters
and they're sort of jokesters and you know.
But Monse is sort of on the other end of the spectrum.
She's the balance to them.
Can you relate to her at all?
Do you identify with her as a character?
- In some aspects, yes.
Definitely, the fact that she's the backbone of the group.
I call her the mom a little bit
because she just wants all of her friends to be okay
and she wants them to be safe
and she wants to keep the Core Four together.
So, sometimes she'll put them before herself
and go to the furthest lengths to try to help them.
So, I can relate to her in that aspect.
- And what were you like in high school?
- In high school, I wasn't hot-headed
like her in high school.
I was very shy and I was like the cheerleader.
She's more of a tomboy but I was on the cheerleading squad
and dance team and then--
- Wow, was it fun to get to play someone
that's kind of on the other end
from where you were in high school?
- Yeah, it was.
It was a lot of fun
because she is very strong and very independent
and she's not afraid to stand alone when she has to.
- How many episodes did you get to read before hand?
I always wonder with Netflix.
Do they have all of the episodes upfront
that you get to sort of see the arc of your character
or how was that for you as an actor?
- We can, we are able.
We do get all the scripts ahead of time
but collectively we all decided
that we weren't going to do that.
We were just going to see what happens as it comes
and it kind of helped us.
- You and the other actors, you decided you didn't want.
That's really interesting.
- Yeah.
- So, you were offered the,
I guess you were offered the scripts
and you were like no, I just want to see where this goes.
- Because we would have a table read each week
but we'd already be filming
while we were doing the table read still.
So, sometimes we know what was about to happen
and other times we'd be like okay let's just wait
until to the table read to see.
Like we wouldn't, yeah.
- That's so cool, I really like that.
It's a good way to keep you on your toes
and keep things interesting for you.
And I don't know, kind of learn the surprises as they come.
- Yeah. - So that's cool.
Who of the other actors would you say
is most like their character?
Because I have some theories but--
- What's your theory?
- I feel like Ruby and Jamal
are very much like their characters.
(laughter)
But maybe I'm way off base and I have no idea.
- No, it's not too far-fetched.
No, um, oh my God.
Brett who plays Jamal, he is hilarious.
He is hysterical in real life.
So, to me he is definitely the closest to his character.
But, I agree with you, Jason is second.
- You could just tell that.
I mean you all look like you're having so much fun
but for some reason I had a feeling that those two.
I was like they really.
- Yeah. - They're like--
- Pretty much, I love them.
- And with them being so funny, you get to ...
I love the scenes with all four of you.
Well, I guess five if you include the character Olivia
and then also the character Jasmine will come in
and she is a whole other force to be reckoned with.
- She's amazing. - So good.
What are those scenes like for you though?
Some of the just single lines
that you guys have will crack me up
and I can't imagine having to keep a straight face.
Do you have that problem?
- Absolutely, because like I said,
Jasmine, Jessica, she's amazing
and a lot of the time she would ad-lib or improv
so some of the things that she would say,
it would be so hard for all of us
to keep it together 'cause--
- Even when she comes into a room it's like.
- Yeah, she's great and so is Brett.
They both, they're really good at comedy.
And we're all a family
and so we all really truly get along on and off set.
So, it never feels like work.
- Well, that's so lucky.
I'm wondering if you had a favorite scene
or a favorite episode as a whole.
That either to film or to watch,
I don't know if you went and watched the show back,
if that's weird but.
- Probably Episode Four, the Halloween episode.
That was a lot of fun to shoot.
- [Natalie] Oh yeah!
- Yeah, that was really fun.
That and Episode Ten.
- The Halloween one, I remember you guys.
Ceaser was dressed in a toga outfit, right?
- And I was supposed to be a lifeguard
but I looked like I was part of Red Cross.
That was that. - How about on the other end?
Was there a challenging scene for you?
- One of the most challenging scenes
was probably Episode Six where I do.
Basically the entire episode is with me
and the woman who could possibly be my mother
who is played by Lisa and she is amazing to work with
and it was a lot of fun.
I liked seeing how far I could push myself.
Yeah, it was fun.
- So, it was a kind of emotional scene.
I mean, you know, like always it's kind of funny.
In half the scene you like sneak through.
- Right, yeah,.
- But it was always quite emotional--
- Yeah, it was.
- Whenever you leave her house.
And then you delete the account on Facebook.
So I'm assuming that will maybe circle back around
in season Two.
- Maybe.
- [Natalie] Okay, okay. - Maybe.
(laughter)
- So, I guess on that note,
what can you tell us about Season Two?
- I like to call it a glow-up.
I feel like in season one,
everyone was still establishing their characters
then in season two you really get to see
who they are as individuals and get to learn why they are
the way they are and moreso who they are
as opposed to what you might think you know.
A lot of questions will be answered, I will say that.
- Okay, great because I mean that cliffhanger
from season one is kind of a beast.
It's a lot, I was not expecting it.
I mean, no, it was everything was going well.
I guess I should have expected it or something like that.
Okay, well we will look out for season two
and you can watch it on Netflix.
It's called On My Block.
Thank you so much for being here.
- Thank you.
- It was really nice talking to you.
- It's great to be here.
- And yeah, thank you for watching.