Hayley Orrantia Dishes On Christmas Is Canceled And The Goldbergs

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Here's why she had to be in The Goldbergs

I have to talk to you about "The Goldbergs," while I have you, as well.

Of course.

What was it that initially drew you to it?

It's lame that it's the same answer, but I swear to you, the writing of the show was my favorite thing. Because I knew, just based upon the kind of comedy that it was in the pilot when I read it, that it was the exact kind of comedy that I admire and I would love to do. So it was that, tied in with one of the producers and the director of the pilot is Seth Gordon, who directed "Horrible Bosses," which is one of my favorite comedy franchises ever.

And then, of course, Wendi McLendon-Covey was signed on to play Beverly, and being a huge fan of "Bridesmaids," I just — I knew that it was a perfect tie-in of all the kind of comedies that I love because of all these people involved. And the writing was great. So I just, you know, threw my hat in the ring, and thankfully it panned out. [Laughs] Because there were a lot of people kind of doing that as well, and so I was glad that it worked out the way that it did.

Hayley Orrantia shares how she put her own spin on Erica

The show is based off Adam Goldberg's real family, but your character, Erica, is technically the only character who isn't based off of a real person. I mean, she's based off of his older brother, Eric, but in a female form.

Right.

So how did you prepare to become her?

I had a sit-down meeting with Adam F. Goldberg, the creator of the show, about his family, of course. And, you know, he was awesome about giving insight on where he was coming from with the show, kind of telling me tidbits here and there about his family and his life story. And so he was able to give me elements of, kind of, who Eric was. But at the same time, because he didn't grow up with an older sister, he was open about the fact that he didn't necessarily have a ton of storylines at the top of Season 1 that were authentic to him because he didn't grow up with the sister. And so that sort of gave me a little bit of leverage to do what I wanted with it.

And funny enough, I mentioned in that meeting, like, "Hey! I'm a singer-songwriter. If there's ever a chance for me to put a song in the credits." Same thing where I love making music. "So if there's a way I can tie it in with this other love of mine, I would love to, you know, do that." And that's when this new element of Erica kind of started, and Erica became this musical character where she first performed at the talent show in Season 1. And that became a part of who the character was that isn't necessarily something that Eric, his brother, does at all. So in a way, I think it was kind of nice that I was kind of the only character that wasn't fully based on a specific person in his life. I mean, like, every element. So it gave me this sort of leverage to have fun with it and make it whoever I wanted.

The best part about starring on The Goldbergs

You've been on "The Goldbergs" for almost a decade now. Do you have a favorite moment that sticks out in your mind from working on the show?

That's so tough because we're actually filming our 200th episode this week.

Wow!

I know, which is wild, because I was doing the math, and I'm pretty sure that's four years straight of being on set [Laughs], we've been doing this, which is nuts. So it makes it very hard to pick out one moment. But I would say one that always comes to mind, and it wasn't necessarily the actual filming of a scene, but during an episode where we were paying homage to "Dirty Dancing," there was a scene in the gymnasium where it's like the school dance. And in between filming the actual scene, I was sitting off on the side, on the bleachers with all of the — I call them "the kids," even though we're all grown adults at this point.

But like, the JTP, Sam Lerner, Troy [Gentile], Sean [Giambrone], all the kids of the show, were just hanging out, talking, laughing, playing card games. And to me, that's one of my favorite memories, just because I had such a blast with these people. They're some of my favorite people in the whole world. And just getting to work alongside them and bond in the way that we have is so special to me. So that's probably my favorite memory.

For being on a show for that long, you have to grow close. I mean, you see these people every day.

Yeah. Totally. I mean, we have become like family, as cliché as that is to say, but it's not just the cast. There's a lot of the crew that have been there since day one, and I mean, they're just a part of my day at this point. So it's going to be really hard whenever that horrible day comes that we're not working together anymore, that I'm going to need some form of therapy. [Laughs] Because these people are my every day, which I think, you know, it ends up sort of playing into the show. I feel like people resonate with it because they can see that we have a great time while we're working.

We'll get to see Erica get married on The Goldbergs

Are we going to see Erica's wedding this season?

You will. We actually just shot part of it. So we're filming it still, but I'm very excited for people to see it. There's a lot. I don't want to give anything away. But, of course, it's the typical Beverly Goldberg envisioning how she sees it rather than how everyone else sees it that's the big conflict of the episode. But it's going to make for, I think, a really hilarious episode because there are elements that I don't think anyone will see coming.

I saw the episode where you were trying on '80s wedding dresses, and I just think it's going to be so much fun.

I know. I'm really stoked for people to see it.

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