Cruel Summer's Lexi Underwood on Working with Viola Davis & Kerry Washington

Hey all, it's Lexi Underwood, and I'm here with Young Hollywood and I'm about to play the picture game.

If you were watching this season as a fan, Yeah. And you were Isabella starring in it. Okay. Who would you think did it? Because those are the best questions to ask people that are in the show, outside of the show.

Oh my gosh. I had so many different theories and it changed every time we got a new script. Our theories were all over the place. I thought originally off the bat, I was thinking Megan, and then I was like, that is so predictable, and then I even questioned myself. And then I was like, that, I feel like is too predictable. Um, there were times where I questioned Lily. I questioned Jeff, because I just feel like the show's like so big on like, you cannot trust anybody. Anybody. But a big one that I had was, um, his dad. Yeah. I think that his, his, I would think personally, that somebody in his family maybe had some sort of involvement in it. Or Debbie, as well. Um, because I think that that's kind of like an answer that like throws you completely off the course of who you think would do it.

Yeah. And it changed with, did it ever change? Like, yeah.

Yeah, I mean, we didn't even know who actually did it until

You're supposed to know.

the week, actually the week of. And it was only like people, I mean now we all know, we were able to talk amongst ourselves, but it was only people that were in the final scenes that received those pages. So then the entire like, some crew, they didn't know if they didn't need to be on set. They were like, you don't need to be on set for this. A lot of cast, if they weren't a part of it, they didn't know. So we all just kinda like had to bite our tongue and like, see who would like be the first one to crack and tell us.

That's fun. Did you, have you seen any of it yet?

I've seen the first seven episodes and actually, um, Jessica, she like did like a little mini screening for Sadie and I at her house. So we got to see like the first episode. Oh my gosh. Yeah, the first episode. And then we got to see the last episode. Yeah. So, it's cool. I'm really excited for people to see it. It, the show throws you like through a lot of different loops.

Oh, yes, literally just the trailer, you're like, But season one did the same thing. And so we're like keeping that, that spirit alive of constantly keeping you confused and And that's what keeps people like watching anyways and that getting blown up on TikTok, like social media takes it out of control. Like who did it? Yeah. So I'm excited with what they're doing. See the theories. I'm definitely excited to see.

No, those are the, that's the best part. Especially because you know what happens. I just get to like watch it from my phone, sit back and laugh, and like throw people off their trail. They're like, once hating on Isabella, you're like, don't worry. Don't worry.

Exactly. No, like, trust her, you can trust her. You can though, you can. Okay, ready for the next one?

Mhm.

Okay. Not Cruel Summer. Okay. You have acted with her before in a project. Got it. She's a legend. Oh. She's great. Okay. Um, So you could guess like a million people here.

I know I'm like, there's so many incredible people. Um,

So we know that it's, so it's a she. Yeah. Did they play my mom? You can't. I could guess it. I can bring it away. It I mean that's still she's a legend. She's an icon. She's a legend. Is it Kerry or Viola? It might be the second one. Viola. Is it Viola? So is it

Yeah. Me. Ah. It is. Yes. Oh, she looks so good in that white suit.

Yeah. No, she definitely does. But you've worked with her, you've worked with Kerry, Kerry Washington, like I told you, I love Little Fires Everywhere. Right. But working with women like this at like this capacity, is that, what have they taught you? Like, have they taught you anything? Did you bring it into Cruel Summer? Do you bring it into acting in general?

Absolutely. I mean, I feel like I've just been so blessed and fortunate to work with so many incredible women. Um, I've learned so much from them, but I think that one of the biggest things that I've learned from them is, um, just giving yourself the permission to number one take up space, um, and to be your character's keeper. I think often times as women, especially when we step on set, it's really easy for us to feel timid or to feel as though like if we speak up, then we're being a diva, or to like, kind of like be, you know, I don't know, just be cautious when it comes to speaking up for yourself and advocating for yourself. But one of the biggest things that all those women taught me was that it's okay to speak up and it's okay to take up space, um, as an artist and as a person. Um, and then also just what it means to be the helm, like the lead of a project. They are Kerry, Reese, Viola, all of them. They've been incredible like first and seconds on the call sheet. And so when it was my time to, you know, take on that role, I was really deliberate. You know, you want to make sure that you set a good energy, a good tone for the day. Like it would be 5:00 AM and all of those women would come in with like the brightest smile on their faces and making sure that everyone felt seen and heard. And so I wanted to make sure that when I had my own show, that I did the same thing. Um, so yeah, there's like just so many like life lessons that I learned from them that I'll like take with me throughout the entire rest of my career.

Yeah. And to like, work with women like that, and they're just as cool behind the scenes as like, you like hear about them in press and like the news and stuff, like, you're literally with them like all the time. Exactly. And like see them work and like work with them, like that's unreal.

Yeah. Kerry and, um, Viola especially, like they, I considered them to be my idols. I remember that when I was younger, like I had a journal where I would like study different artists, um, that I really admired, um, that I wanted to like take bits and pieces when it came to like creating my own characters. And to, I studied both of them. And so to be able to like now talk to them and be around them and receive advice. I know. I have like actual video proof that like we know each other. Um, but yeah, it's it's really cool and quite surreal.

Did you like Scandal? Did you watch Scandal?

Yes. My mom was obsessed with Scandal. Oh my gosh. The best show ever. So good. Yeah. So good. And How to Get Away with Murder, like everything that Shonda does. Oh my gosh. So obsessed with that one too. So good.

And you're now in the genre of like the crime and who got it?

I know. I'm like really, it was really new and exciting.

On your way.

I know. It was really cool to dabble into like that mystery. Oh my gosh. Especially don't look. I'm sorry. I'm gonna be showing you all these things. We'll mix it up, we'll mix it up. Okay. This one you don't know. Okay. This was an Instagram story that Cruel Summer posted. Okay. On their Instagram. It's now a highlight. All right. And it was something where it's like, add yours. Oh my god. Okay. All right. I know what you're talking. It's the, um, the Y2K trend. Yes. Yes. And it's, is it me with the butterfly, the butterfly clips? Or is it Is it me? Or is it somebody else?

You're in it.

I'm in it. Yeah. Oh, so then it's the three of us and we're like sitting down, right? And I have like on the green dress. Yeah. Yeah. You got it. Yes it is. I love that picture. You guys look so good in it. You gotta give me another candid picture. What's your favorite Y2K trend?

I, I joined the trend and I did, or like the tag, and I did the butterfly clips, but I would also like to add low rise jeans because I just wear them in my everyday life. And all the trends are coming back now, so it's like. Oh my god, everything's back. Everything's back. Even like the music style. Like it's hard not to love like all the Y2K trends. So. Yeah.

Okay. Next one. You're crushing it.

Thank you.

Let's see here. Okay, this one I love. Well, you saw it. You look really good. Oh, this was your Certified Lover Girl caption.

Oh, thank you. Thank you. You look great in red. That was, I did like a little Galentine's sip and paint with my friends.

Love the braid.

We had applesauce. Thank you. We had applesauce. And we made, um, we were painting. Like, just whatever.

When was this in relation to when you were done filming Cruel Summer? Was it before or after?

Two months before.

Two months before. But did you know you had the part?

No. I was, gosh, my audition stories, I was like just thrown into it, honestly.

Did you film it? Did you film it in Canada?

Vancouver.

Oh, you did. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. So you were off to Canada.

I was off to Canada. I had no idea I was gonna be off to Canada in that picture.

How many, how many days did you have before you had to fly out? Like when you got, when you had it. Yeah.

One day.

Oh my god. You literally just said, like, and then immediately took off after.

Yeah. I had a, I remember I was at Disney, I was at Disneyland, no, Disney World, and we were in Florida. I was with my mom, and I was flying back and, um, they just like sent me the scripts and they were like, hey, read these. And I had already auditioned for Megan.

Oh, you auditioned for Megan?

I auditioned for Megan. Didn't get it. And then, um, they things happened, life happened, and the project came back around, and they were like, quick, read these scripts. Do you want Isabella? And I talked to them and I was like, yeah, sure, like I'll get on a plane. And yeah, I packed up for to live like for six months in Vancouver. Oh my gosh. Bye to all my friends. And I was like, I'll be back. See you. See you. But I loved it.

Are you glad you ended up as Isabella instead of Megan?

Yeah. Honestly, I think that Sadie did such a great job as Megan, and Isabella was such like a different character for me to play. So it was really fun to be able to like, dabble into her world. It was kind of a challenge as an actor, though. So it was really fun.

You were meant to be in Cruel Summer.

Thank you.

Some some way or the other. Universe knew what it was doing. Okay. Ready for this one?

Yeah.

Okay. This is related to season one. Okay. Not your season. Okay. I have it. Yep. It's a person from season one. All right. Okay. It's a female. Did she, okay, was she in the basement or outside of the basement?

She might've been in it. Oh, okay. So, Kate. Or then out of it. I'm gonna ask really a long time ago. Oh, Jeanette. I mean, Jeanette, she could like was in the basement for a sec.

Did you watch season one?

Yeah, I did. Okay. Okay. Let's see. But before, like when it first came out.

Yeah. I watched it when all the episodes dropped on Hulu.

Okay. Yeah, same. Um, it was good. I just binged it. I binged it like one day. It was so good. Yeah. It was really good. Um, but yeah, Kate, is it Kate?

It's Olivia Holt.

Okay. Well, I'm saying Kate, like as in the character. But yeah, Olivia Holt. Okay, yeah. I honestly just forgot who her character she plays. But I did watch. I swear to god I did watch it. Listen, it came out in 2021. It's been life has happened.

Yeah. But do you like, okay, so like a lot of comments are about how season one is completely different from season two. What's your opinion about it?

Um, honestly, after talking to show runners especially, like I get why it ended the way that it did. Um, I really love personally, it, this happened for Little Fires Everywhere. I love when like a story ends and you kind of, it's up to the audience to kinda interpret or do what they will with the ending. And I think that honestly, they did a great job of ending the show. Um, you ended the story and at the end of the day, I think people are like, oh, you could've gone this route, you could've gone this route. But Jeanette said that she didn't see her in the basement. And she didn't, she heard her. And the only person that knows that she heard her is Jeanette. So if Jeanette got away with it, do you really think that she's gonna let anybody else know that she actually is guilty? Like, I don't realistically, because even as a fan, I was like, what's really going on? But after they explained it to me, I was like, that does that does make sense if you like think about it from a writer's perspective. But I think that they did a great job with tying it up and I think that we do a good job of tying up this story this season too.

Yeah. Okay. So, you guys tied it up.

We tied it up. We tied it up. Our next season. I mean, I mean, maybe there's gonna be a cliffhanger, like maybe, maybe that. We'll find out, we'll find out. But I think that even just the cliffhanger itself is satisfying, because now you get to come up with your own idea of like, how Jeanette went off and lived. And maybe there's like a little Easter egg or two in season two that let's you know what the girls are up to from season one.

Oh my gosh. That's exciting. Yeah. Okay. We're gonna do one more. All right. Let's see which one we should make you do for one more. Make it hard. Okay. So, I'm gonna give you no hints. Okay. Oh, wait. Oh, you really want to make it hard? No, I'll give you a hint. Okay. It is one of your co-stars.

One of my co-stars. Cruel Summer. Cruel Summer. Season two. Okay. Is it Sadie?

Yeah. Oh, what is Sadie doing in this picture? Okay, is this a picture on her feed?

Yes. And you might have commented on it. I might have commented on it. But I can't tell you the comment. You're not in it. You're not in it, though. I'm looking. I'm trying to

You hyped her up.

I'm like thinking about all the different, like Sadie pictures. What has Sadie posted? I feel like I comment on every, like every thing that Sadie posts. Me too. Yeah. Um, She was wearing orange, Is this, was that our press day? Oh. The O. I remember the selfie with like the headphones. Um, she's wearing orange. Is this, was that our press day? When I'm like, cuz I know I'm like in the back of one by accident.

No, you're not in it. Okay. There's it's a white wall. I think there's really no background.

Oh. Oh. This is from um, this is from we just went to an event to, is it the L event? She's like in a peach or

Yeah. Yes. You killed it. You got it. Okay. All right. You got it. Eventually you got it. Yeah. So she's in her peach little dress. Yes. You commented and hyped her up. We were together that night. As girlfriends would do. Right. so cute. Okay. What was your favorite memory with her from set? Oh my gosh. Is there a specific memory that you have?

I'm like all of them. But the cat, cuz we were all so close, honestly, like we spent

Did you know each other though prior to?

Actually, Sadie and I did, because oddly enough, Sadie and I, we both started off at the same agency. So I was like, when she, she was doing K. C. Undercover, and I like tested for it as well, like to play like one of her friends and stuff. So we met each other then. And we were so excited of the fact like we were finally able to work together. I've known Leilani Parks. She's in Little Fires Everywhere with me. So we knew each other before then. But like we all just like, we went to concerts together. We went to a Kendrick Lamar concert together, all of us as a cast. But I would say maybe when we went to Whistler, we did like a nice little like cast bonding ski trip. Okay. For the weekend, and that was just really fun to be.

Now you guys were getting let off to go ski.

I know. Like they let us. I was like, are we breaking guidelines? Like, please don't break an ankle, don't break a bone. I was like, that's the thing. Like you can get hurt skiing.

They really put trust in your ability.

I, listen, I didn't ski. I just stood there and I watched like a proud mom cuz I'm a scaredy cat in general.

Right. Exactly. It's like Regina George's mom with the camera. You're doing amazing.

Yes, yes. So that was your, the ski trip was the favorite memory. Yeah, I would definitely say. And then like there's nothing like being on set, like right in a pool, like at 4:00 AM, and it's like freezing in Canada, having to like pretend that you're at like a pool party and it's like super hot at night. Um, that really bonds people together. So like all those moments where we're really crazy and stuff. We were delirious and so it was like, we're genuinely having fun together. And that bonds people.

And are you guys, so have you seen them in LA lately?

Oh yeah. I just saw Sadie a couple of days ago. Like I was, she just threw a party at her house. Like, we're all just there. Okay. So you have been fun. Yeah. We all like see each other a lot and then we're all obviously gonna see each other. Yeah. Tomorrow. And I'm seeing her literally after this.

Okay. Yeah. You have more press after this.

Yeah. We have more press after this.

Okay. So you get to meet up. See you then. Okay. Well, we love Cruel Summer.

Thank you.

Everyone's gonna love it.

I hope so. And these were the ones that you, that were left over. Let me see. Would you have guessed Olivia right away based on the hint? Do you like her?

Yeah. Liv is so great. Um, love you so much. We still know, I mean we used to like all be like, I feel like kids, like especially when we're all like kid actors, like in like the same spaces and stuff.

Well, didn't, did you not go to High School Musical premiere?

No. But

You were at the Prom Pack premiere when I was at the Prom Pack premiere.

Yeah, I was at the Prom Pack premiere. With my. No, there's so many. There's so many characters. There's so many. You're all. Yeah. But I saw Liv at a Conan Gray concert recently. And then I maybe would've guessed this. Definitely would've guessed him. Definitely. Yeah. You got Sadie right away. Yeah. Yeah. I would've definitely guessed her. But

Oh. This was such a fun game, though. Did you have fun?

It made me think. I did have fun with this.

Okay, great. Time Square one was personally my favorite. I love this. It's so cute.

It's, listen, I can't even be, but I have no clue what I'm gonna do when I like see it in person.

You're just gonna freak out. You're probably gonna cry. Yeah. You're gonna be the best. I love it. Well, congratulations. You're the best. You're the best. This was such a lovely conversation. Thank you guys so much for watching. I had an absolute blast playing the picture game. Make sure that you watch Cruel Summer on Freeform and Hulu the next day.