TVGuide.com: What was it like joining an established show?
Shantel VanSanten: I came in so nervous because I had actually never watched an episode so I was really overwhelmed. In Episode 1, we shot a big cake fight scene, and… I was like, “This is going to be great.” I love working with Joy [Galeotti], she’s incredible and really understanding if I don’t know a certain storyline, or if I don’t know what happened in her life previously.

TVGuide.com: Are David and Taylor really together?
VanSanten: They’re together. We have a huge dinner that they cook for us in [Monday's] episode, and there’s a lot of underlying issues that come out between Haley and Taylor, and myself and Taylor. It comes to a head and ends in a pool. Quinn knows she’s made mistakes in her past, and I know a lot of people resent [her] for the way that she’s handled the whole thing. It’s hard because we picked up at the very end when she was separated from [David], when they completely fell out of love with each other. She didn’t just jump into bed with Clay; they really leaned on each other when they were going through a hard time and ended up falling in love.

TVGuide.com: Do you think Quinn and Clay have a shot at lasting?
VanSanten: There are going to be a few road bumps coming up. We both know what’s happened prior to each other… [and] having that bond and that friendship is something that is really important. It didn’t start out like, “Hey we hooked up we should be in a relationship.” It was like, “Hey we’re friends and it grew into something.” So I’m hoping it does [last}. He's my best friend forever, and it's awesome working with him.

TVGuide.com: So what else is ahead for the James sisters?
VanSanten: We're reuniting some parts of the family — our mom and some of our brothers and sisters — we didn't necessarily know we had before. We have a really big family. My mom [played by Bess Armstrong] comes in town for a big visit, and Taylor obviously comes back. So there’s a lot of family stuff going on. I came in and added one layer to seeing a different side to who Haley is, and the way we interact as sisters. With Taylor coming in, that’s a horse of a different color. Sometimes you have family that you have to love because they’re family, but you don’t always have to like the decisions that they make.

TVGuide.com: Which James sister are you most like in real life?
VanSanten: I’m a lot like Quinn. She has such a young spirit, but I think her soul at the very core [is] older. I completely relate to the fact that she’s an artist — that unpredictable life, making yourself vulnerable.

TVGuide.com: What can you tell me about the ’80s episode coming up?
VanSanten: The episode takes place in a big benefit dance that Haley and I are doing for our high school. We all got the script, and instantly I’m like, “I’m crimping my hair.” It was a blast and … in episodes like, that you get away from the drama a bit more and you can play something totally different. It was a lot of makeup and a lot of hair, though. After five days I was like, “OK I’m totally over this. There’s no way I could’ve done a whole period of my life like this.”

TVGuide.com: What’s been the most fun about being on One Tree Hill?
VanSanten: I love working with Jackson [Brundage]. Those are the days I live for because he has so much life and energy and never stops going. [Also] the days we shoot on the beach. The beach is like an hour away from the real town, and it’s usually me and Bux [Buckley] out there. It’s absolutely gorgeous.

TVGuide.com: Tell me about Something Wicked, the movie you shot with Brittany Murphy before her death.
VanSanten: Brit passing which was pretty devastating for everybody. She was there for a few weeks shooting — she plays my sister-in-law. She had the most infectious personality and it was really great to work with her. I was completely shocked when I found out that she passed away. I don’t know what will happen to the movie, [but] I hope for her sake it comes out because I feel like as actresses, parts of our soul are always left on screen. Any piece that people can see of her and her life and her soul would be amazing.

TVGuide

I spoke to Shantel about how she got prepared for the role, her sisterly bond with Bethany Joy Galeotti, and whether Quinn will hop straight into bed with Clay now that she’s left her husband.

- As Robert Buckley revealed in my interview with him, he and Shantel got together before filming to sit through some One Tree Hill DVDs to try and understand where they were at with the show.

- For Shantel, the job was a bit harder since she’s coming in as Haley’s big sister Quinn, so she needed to catch up on everything with the family, from Taylor’s storyline to their parents.

- Shantel believes her job is made a lot easier by Bethany Joy Galeotti, because the two struck up an instant friendship and hang out off screen, going to dinner or the movies or borrowing each others’ clothes, just like real sisters.

- FAN QUESTION: MiaDOOL_Fan4eva from Twitter wanted to know what is was like pushing Jackson Brundage’s face into the cake during the season premiere. Shantel said: “It was a blast. We ended up all having to go shower afterward, and throughout the day were finding icing in each others’ ears and noses and on different parts of our bodies.”

- Fans hoping that Quinn will rush into a relationship with Clay after leaving her husband might be in for a bit of disappointment. “We’re going to explore [the David] story. It’s not as simple as being married to somebody for years and all of the sudden just leaving them.”

- While Quinn will inevitably interact with Clay and possibly have some fun flirting, Shantel believes Quinn’s storyline is more about her character dealing with the break-up of her marriage and not about moving onto the next relationship. “Quinn’s trying to be noble and really trying to sort out her life. She’s not the kind of person who all of the sudden forgets that she’s married and jumps in bed with somebody.”

BuddyTV

As a former model (and contestant on the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Model Search reality show), Shantel is certainly comfortable in front of the camera—peep our August/September Hot Complex shoot if you need proof. But Shantel is equally at ease answering questions, which is why we had no problem getting her to open up for The Complex 7. Read on to discover her favorite rap album, comfort food, and the female crush we have in common…

#1: WHAT’S THE NUMBER ONE DEAL-BREAKER FOR A POTENTIAL BOYFRIEND?

Shantel says: If they can’t make me laugh. You have to be goofy and spontaneous and funny, and if you’re not, it’s not gonna work. I’m such a goofball. I’m always doing something silly. Someone who doesn’t take themselves seriously. I just don’t think you should take life so seriously.

#2: WHAT TYPE OF FOOTWEAR WOULD MAKE YOU COMPLETELY DISMISS A MAN AS A POTENTIAL HOOK-UP?

Shantel says: Like penny loafers. The maroon ones. There are some that are kind of cool but there are some that are total grandpa. Either that or the tourist sneaker, they’re white and high-top. Penny loafers aren’t as bad as the all-white total touristy-looking sneakers. The Reeboks…the old ones. The orthopedic-looking ones, thick rubbery soles. [Grimaces.]

#3: WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE COMFORT FOOD OR HANGOVER REMEDY?

Shantel says: Cheeseburger and fries. There’s a few different places. I love Fatburger. There’s a place on Santa Monica called Herb’s Burgers are something. A small shack. They’re amazing from there. If I know I wanna go all out and be a big fattie, I have a cheeseburger and fries.

#4: WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE RAP ALBUM?

Shantel says: Oh, God. I used to roll around in my car in high school listening to 50 Cent and it was the shit to me. In an old beat-up Lexus—I mean old. Probably 50 Cent, his first album [Ed.—Get Rich Or Die Tryin', not Power of the Dollar]. The one he collaborated with Eminem. I still work out to it.

#5: WHAT’S THE MOST EFFECTIVE APHRODISIAC FOR YOU?

Shantel says: I kind of like Asian-infusion type stuff. I have a really eclectic… all my girlfriends are from Louisiana, we cook gumbo and chili, and I love stir-fry. I just love food. I work out a lot so I can eat whatever I want. I love steaks… I love food.

#6: WHO’S A CHILDHOOD CRUSH YOU CAN’T BELIEVE YOU HAD?

Shantel says: Jonathan Taylor Thomas. I used to have the Teen Bop posters. One side was Andrew Keegan and one side was JTT. I think I’m gonna go with JTT. Devin Sawa was in there…Hhe was the one who was Casper.

#7: WHO’S YOUR WOMAN CRUSH?

Shantel says: Marisa Miller. You don’t understand. Every magazine I have—every Maxim, every SI.
I met her before when I did the SI show. She has a real genuine quality about her. She’s striking. I like people who are real and seem to be real people.

Complex

What’s the weirdest thing about being in a 3-D flick?
Shantel VanSanten: The way that they shoot it, they have two cameras with the right eye and one with the left and they converge and it comes out in one image. It’s actually over a million dollars for each camera. That part of it was really cool, but the sex scene I had was a little bit weird.

Yeah, most of the sex we have is a little bit weird too. What’s the 3-D version like?
Shantel VanSanten: I just wanted to know what it looks like. I think my ass in 3-D would be really interesting. [Laughs.] I did a movie in Russia with Mischa Barton, and that had a love scene in it too.

Ah, yes, the scene with Mischa. We’re looking forward to that one.
Shantel VanSanten:We spent about five months shooting, and one day they were like, “OK, now we’re gonna shoot a sex scene in a rotating bed!” It was more of a scene about love than softcore porn. Love is love in my mind; we’ve all experimented, and it’s no big deal.

Mischa’s a little more experienced with that, though—she kissed Olivia Wilde on The O.C. Did you feel any pressure to be a better kisser?
Shantel VanSanten: No, I know I am, it’s all good. [Laughs.] Just kidding! They actually made fun of Mischa ’cause she’s had a lot of lesbian scenes. They said she’d better be good—it was her second one, and only my first.

So when you’re not kissing girls, what type of dudes do you like?
Shantel VanSanten: I like people who are spontaneous and super goofy because I’m probably the goofiest person ever, like a 4-year-old in a 24-year-old girl’s body. I’m definitely immature. Guys are always telling me I’m like a guy because we’re always talking about sex or penises.
If the guys you hang out with are always talking about penises, then my competition isn’t as stiff as I thought. Wait, I mean…

Complex

On what should have been a fun-filled day at the races, Nick O’Bannon (Bobby Campo) has a horrific premonition in which a bizarre sequence of events causes multiple race cars to crash, sending flaming debris into the stands, brutally killing his friends and causing the upper deck of the stands to collapse on him. Nick then panics, persuading his girlfriend, Lori (Shantel VanSanten), and their friends, Janet (Haley Webb) and Hunt (Nick Zano), to leave mere seconds before his frightening vision becomes a terrible reality.

Thinking they’ve cheated death, the group believes they’ve been given a second chance, until Nick’s premonitions continue and the crash survivors begin to die, one by one. Nick soon realizes that he must figure out how to escape death before it’s too late.

At the film’s press day, Bobby Campo and Shantel VanSanten told IESB what it’s like to be faced with death, while making a movie.

Q: Have you started noticing things in your own life that might kill you, since doing this film?

Shantel: For sure. On set, especially when you’re shooting and thinking about death every day, you stop and think, “Okay, if the back of the truck fell and hit that, then that would shoot up to the power line, and I’d be electrocuted and die.”

Bobby: You can’t help it. You worry about it literally 24/7 on set, so I had to just stop when I was off the set.

Q: This film has a sense of humor to it. Is it more fun to do that type of horror film?

Bobby: I think it was definitely more fun than any movie I’ve done so far, just with David being involved. David is a hoot on set. You never know what you’re going to have every day, so it’s fun.

Shantel: It’s not a typical horror movie. It’s not a zombie movie. It’s not being chased after with a mask and a knife. It’s about death. It’s something that’s intangible. You can’t figure it out. There are no rules.

Bobby: There are slasher moments, but it’s not a guy in a mask. It’s something that could be in the corner of the room. It could be anywhere, so you don’t really know what to expect, and that creates quite a level of uncertainly because it’s not just one person that you need to avoid. Almost everything can kill you, in some way.

The appeal of these movies are the everyday situations. After the second movie, I couldn’t drive behind an 18-wheeler. A tire fell off, right after that, and almost hit my car, so it’s real. Those moments happen, and that’s the thing that’s great about it. It takes something that can really happen to you and it plays on that fear, which makes it more exciting. It’s not something that’s a fantasy, like a stalking killer with a knife. This could happen to anybody, at any moment.

Q: Did you feel pressure to up the ante with the kills on this film?

Shantel: Besides the fact that it’s the fourth one in the franchise and it is supposed to be the last one, you do have to make sure that the deaths are better and bigger than anything else, and exceed everyone’s expectations because these are the kinds of movies where you go home and start thinking, “Oh, that would be awesome, if they killed somebody in that way, or if they would do a death like that.” There are so many possibilities.

When I was on set, I asked (producer) Craig Perry, “How do you come up with some really sick stuff like this?” I guess he does tons of research and finds these sick, gory ways that people truly have died. They probably give them a little bit more entertainment value, but he finds things that have actually happened to people. So, it plays on normal fears that we all have, with death being the culprit for it all.

Q: How was it to work in 3-D?

Bobby: It’s a bit forgiving. These cameras were so bad-ass. Nothing like this has ever been used before. James Cameron spent decades developing these things for Avatar, and we got to be the guinea pig. For us, the big difference was blocking. There wasn’t a lot of it, but you do have to be precise on everything. We had to create slightly unnatural blocking arrangements because it would be more theatrical. You had to create a three-shot. You wouldn’t just want to shoot with two people. You want to create a depth of field, which is the great thing about this movie. It’s not like the 3-D in the past, where it’s a painted background and you have certain elements coming out. Everything comes out.

Shantel: As the audience member, you’re a participant in the movie. You’re always a participant in all of it.

Bobby: You can’t just spectate in this movie. The technology literally draws you into the film.

Q: Don’t you work with two cameras?

Bobby: There are two cameras, but there’s a prism. One camera is on top, and they’re perpendicular to one another, through a prism, so one records the right eye, and one records the left eye.

Shantel: And there’s just one lens.

Q: Which was your favorite scene to do?

Bobby: There are so many favorites of mine. The racetrack was fun to do because I was so in my own head. I got to experience all this stuff, and everyone else was experiencing something different. And, the escalator was a blast to film with Shantel. She was so tense.

Shantel: That was a major thing. People think of getting their shoelace stuck in an escalator, all the time. There was a little girl in India that it really did happen to, which really brought that into perspective. For me, that was the most intense scene. There was one day, when we were shooting it, that I lost it. You’re in these scenes, where you think, “I’m never going to truly understand what this feels like,” because it just doesn’t happen with these rare circumstances. You wonder, “How would I feel? What would I do? What would I think?”

Then, you get on that escalator in the middle of a mall, you’re three stories high, Bobby was holding my hand and, as safe as I felt, because David Ellis has been a stuntman forever, there is still a part of you that is this raw adrenalin. You think, “What was the last thing I said to my mom?,” or “My God, what if my dad never sees me get married?” There were these crazy thoughts, that I never envisioned would come to my mind. You have your own mortality in check.

Q: Did you have any injuries with all of these things going on?

Shantel: Safety was always first, but injuries are gonna happen. I have pictures of me lifting up my shirt because I would have these crazy devices that had pads on them. I had severe bruising. My legs swelled because of the escalator stuff. Doing your own stunts, you feel like a bad-ass and it’s amazing, but at the end of the day, even with the safety meetings and precautions, it’s a little scary doing some of the stunts.

Bobby: David Ellis has been doing stunt work for 30 years. He knows what he’s doing. They also created an environment that is 90% practically filmed, so there were going to be safety issues within that, but these guys also check, double-check and triple-check everything. My stunt guy would then check it again, to make sure the rig was safe and whatever I was gonna do was okay, so I would know how to do it, and I could follow or watch him. I got to do everything, but I was directed, in that way.

Q: Bobby, what was the scariest thing for you to film?

Bobby: We were doing the racetrack, and when I was watching, it didn’t really look as drastic as when I did it, but I fell down four or five different bleachers, and I was really doing that. You can’t really see it on film, but it got nuts. I landed on top of Andy, who played the gear-head. That’s what I was supposed to do, but it was intense when I was doing it. I thought I’d tweak an ankle, or something.

Q: Since they don’t explain why your character has these visions, did you make up your own reason?

Bobby: I really played into the fact that he doesn’t know why this is happening. I wasn’t going to try to come up with my own reasoning. It wasn’t about, “I don’t know why this is happening,” but rather, “How am I going to get through this? How can I win? How can we piece these different things together that we do know, and make this understandable to us?” That was the way that I went about it. It was, “I don’t know what’s happening, but I’m not gonna lose.”

Q: What did you do to break the tension on set? Who was the jokester?

Bobby: David Ellis.

Shantel: He was the jokester and prankster. He was always doing something goofy. For the scene in the car wash, they put insoles into my shoes and had to put elastic over my feet to make sure they stayed on when I was running through. I actually slipped and fell, and they used that take. He put soap on the bottom of my insoles, so that when we were in there and all this water was rushing at us, suds and bubbles were coming out of my shoes. I’d be crying and look down, and be like, “What in the world is coming out of my shoe?” He was always doing something like that, to lighten the mood on set.

Bobby: Nick, Haley and I flew to the set together. Shantel flew in later. For me, it was nerve-wracking because I’d never been on this big of a set before and I was a little intimidated by it. So, I went in to meet David and he said, “Hey, guys, look at how many Red Vines I can stuff in my mouth!” And, he had a wall of 5-hour energy shots that was six fee high. I was like, “Yeah, this is gonna be a bit more fun than I expected.”

Q: Shantel, have you seen any of the other Final Destination movies?

Shantel: I hadn’t seen them, previously. When I got to the set, Craig Perry, who has been part of the franchise from the beginning, was like “You have to see the other ones, just to understand what the audience expects and what the whole franchise is about.” So, I watched them and I grew to understand what the nature of the beast was. It was really good to do because we wanted to make this the best one. Even though there are better stunts and more killings, you still want to elevate the performance, in every one that you see.

Q: Are you a horror film fan at all?

Shantel: I don’t like horror films at all. They’re so hard for me to watch. Even when I saw this for the first time, there were still parts of it where I had to look down, like the pedicure scene. I couldn’t watch that. I get pedicures, all the time. The escalator scene was really hard for me to watch. When we did the ADR, I vomited the first time I saw it with the sound effects.

It’s different than the horror movies I grew up on, with people running around killing each other. There was a person in a mask, or there were zombies. This is something where you wonder, “Is this something that could really happen?” It plays with your brain, in that way, unlike any other movie.

Bobby: I saw the first film 10 years ago, as a little pup. It’s a great concept because you take something that everybody does and make your worst fears come true. You’re just flying on so many emotions, and there are so many places you can go with it. And, now that we’re doing it in 3-D, you’re living it. You’re in it with us. It’s weird. It’s almost easier to watch zombie movies because it’s fantasy. This one is so real.

Q: Is this good as a date movie?

Shantel: Yeah!

Bobby: Absolutely.

Shantel: You can bring your girl in closer.

Bobby: It’s so interactive, and it’s so much fun. It’s a thrill ride, like going on a roller coaster. It’s got an amusement park feel. It’s a great date movie.

Shantel: You will get a huge adrenalin rush, and then you leave. I’m in the movie and I couldn’t stop talking about it. It’s interactive, with your emotions and your senses.

Q: What’s coming up next for both of you?

Shantel: I’m going to be a new series regular on One Tree Hill. I’ve been filming in North Carolina. It comes back on The CW on September 14th. I play Quinn, who is Haley’s (Bethany Joy Galeotti) sister.

Bobby: I just got done doing Law & Order: SVU, which was such an awesome set to be on. There is so much time and experience put into that. It’s been on for 11 years. And then, I’ve got some meetings coming up with Screen Gems, so I’ll see where that goes next.

Q: Shantel, don’t you also have a film called Something Wicked?

Shantel: Yeah. I finished that in Oregon, before I went to do One Tree Hill. It’ll probably be out next year. It’s more of a psychological drama, and Brittany Murphy is in it. There are aspects of it that are scary, but there’s nothing gory, by any means. And, I have another film that comes out at the end of the year, called You and I.

Q: Are you worried that this is opening the same day as Halloween 2, which is another horror film?

Bobby: We don’t know too much about that, but we had fun with this.

Shantel: This is in 3-D, and the other film is not, so we win.

Bobby: This film is fun and it’s in 3-D. It’s historical because some of this stuff has never been used before. There are so many things in our favor. I wish them the best, but at the same time, we stand by our product.

THE FINAL DESTINATION opens this Friday, August 28th

IESB

She’s starring in Warner Brothers’ The Final Destination opening this Friday, and on the CW’s One Tree Hill this fall. She was discovered at the mall in a story that is pure Hollywood fable, but in spite of all this early success, Shantel emanates a genuine kindness and humility that immediately wins you over. Looks like all those Hail Marys didn’t go to waste.

Chosen as this week’s Girl2Watch, Shantel will be featured in a series or articles, fun facts and social media tweets through this week for subscribers of Girl2Watch.com.

In this BackStage “Actor2Watch” exclusive, Shantel shares her thoughts on acting and getting roles.

Back Stage: What was your first break as an actor?

Shantel VanSanten: My first break was a movie on the USA Network around Christmas time called Three Wiseguys and I had like 6 lines in it.

BS: How did you get your SAG card?

SVS: Geez what did I do? I did a Clean & Clear commercial. I did a series of them. I used to be the Clean & Clear girl!

BS: How did you make the transition from model to actress?

SVS: I signed with the Page Parks Modeling Agency, and within like a month I had booked my first job, and I was working just doing like catalog stuff. And it’s kind of what opened the door for me into the acting world too because they were so supportive about it. They were the ones who put me in acting classes and I was like, “I don’t know. I’ve always done theater, but I don’t know how I feel about acting.” And they really pushed for me.

This is completely what my passion is, but I never understood I could make it into a career. They’re the people that opened up a lot of the doors and I guess who founded me. I’m really grateful for them because if I hadn’t have been for like their influence and pushing me and opening doors and showing me opportunities, I don’t know if I’d be here.

BS: Is there anything that you wish you could tell someone who is just starting out in acting?

SVS: Just believe in yourself, honestly. Because that’s all that it takes. If you believe in yourself somebody will find you that believes in you just as much, if not more.

Backstage

“What’s funny is I’m always given these horror movies and they come across my way and I don’t ever watch them,” VanSanten said. “I feel like sometimes maybe that’s why, because I really am freaked out by them. I tried to look at when they’d do the prosthetics or cuts and blood and dangling flesh from me. I tried to look at it as okay, this is their job so tell me how you do it. More like a technical way. Then I would think it was cool but I don’t do well with gory films at all.”

When it came time to shoot a sequence on a mall escalator, the world of the film overcame VanSanten. “For me, it’s not something you can really look forward to and it’s not something that I found myself trying to figure out how to prepare. It’s a circumstance that not a lot of people, you think about but not a lot of people ever go through in their lifetime hopefully. So I’m sitting there asking myself like how would I react? What would I do? What would I be thinking? As much as I could preplan or think about it, we got into the scene one day and he goes to hold onto my hand, I put my head down and just lost it. We were actually shooting in a mall that was abandoned in New Orleans and we’re three stories up. Even though I’m in a harness, there’s so much that the movie teaches you that can go wrong that you’re just like oh my God. You think about your own mortality and your own life, and you’re like, ‘What if my dad never sees me get married? What if I die right now?’ You’re faced with that so much, it felt like you sometimes didn’t need to prepare because that pure adrenaline and the actual circumstances you were in when you were shooting were enough. It was pretty brutal. Even when I watched it, there was so much emotion for me in that scene.”

Webb embraced her dangerous scenes. Her character finds herself stuck in a car during a car wash malfunction that floods her vehicle. “Well, that was three days of shooting and I was underwater for about 12 or 14 hours a day,” Webb said. “At one point, I filmed for about 12 hours that day in the car while it was filling up. Then we had to get another shot when I was dry. So I had to go change my clothes, get my hair back straight. Naturally it’s kind of curly, and then go back in the water at like 11 o’clock at night or something. But it was really intense. There’s a part where I’m hitting the window and I actually in real life broke the actual window of the car. So I was badass on set for like two days, got a couple claps from the crew, I’m not going to lie. They were just like, ‘Nice work.’ It was fun. It was really scary, really intense but that’s what I loved about it.”

Since it’s The Final Destination, that’s not all. She’s also got her head stuck in the sunroof. “I could feel it. It was not quite tight but I’m kind of a masochist and I wanted it to be as real as possible, so I was like, ‘No, you know.’ They were like, ‘Haley, we don’t…’ I was like, ‘You f*ckin’ do it. Just make it a little bit tighter.’ So it was pretty tight but I could definitely move my head and get out of it. It is crazy though, the amount of energy you exert just struggling in water, I did not expect that. At a certain point, the water’s up to my chest and I was exerting so much energy that my body, I was like oh, physically I can’t do this anymore.”

The Final Destination opens to theaters on August 28th.

CanMag.com

While the boys pitched a bromance for their characters, I talked with Mark and the girls about season 7, including what it’s like on set without Hilarie Burton and Chad Michael Murray.

Austin is pretty. Please tell me Brooke is going to be happy this season.
Sophia Bush: Brooke has been unhappy for so long, she deserves a little joy in her life.

And Julian (Nichols) is going to make that happen?
S.B.: Well, there are issues for everybody. One of the things that we have to deal with in our relationship is the distance and, you know, you’re in your late 20s and, is this it or is it not? They’re very real questions that everybody asks themselves at that age point, but it’s really fun and there is a lot of love between [Brooke and Julian]. It’s very cool.

Will Sam (Ashley Rickards) be back as Brooke’s foster kid?
S.B.: I don’t believe so.

So, is Brooke still longing for a child?
S.B.: That doesn’t go away. That doesn’t go away at all. Brooke is very maternal with everyone in her life and she wants that, she wants a family.

You guys have been working on this next season for a while now. Is it weird not having Hilarie and Chad around after six years with them?
S.B.: You know, it’s different, but it doesn’t feel strange. Actually, it feels pretty amazing to go to work every day and we’re so lucky to have these new cast members and everybody else is still around. You know, it’s Rob and Shantel and Austin and we still have Lisa [Goldstein (Millicent)] and Antwon [Tanner (Skills)] and Allison [Munn (Lauren)] and Lee Norris (Mouth) and Jackson [Brundage (Jamie)] is obviously still there, Jana Kramer is working with us for a while and she’s amazing, so many wonderful people. So it doesn’t feel empty whatsoever. It’s a full house and everybody’s laughing on set all day and the energy is really incredible.

And Daphne Zuniga’s back as your mother, Victoria. Will she be around regularly?
S.B.: I don’t know what her schedule is, I know she’s also working on “Melrose Place,” so we sort of have to work around both shows, but she’s a big fixture in Brooke’s life.

I’m assuming we’ll see more of a sympathetic side to Victoria this year?
S.B.: We’ll see! I mean, she’s always going to be Victoria. But the closeness has been established between us and that’s a really fun thing to play. We’re buddies but she’s still kind of a bitch!
Mark Schwahn: I also think she can be a bitch more now, because we’ve seen her be kind. You know, we’ve seen that she has a heart. We know that she’s protective of Brooke. So now when she’s bitchy, it’s like, yeah but she can also be sweet.

It’s nice that Brooke has family. How much will Julian figure into that? Will he be in every ep?
M.S.: Yeah. I think last season we got into a bad habit of giving every couple a beginning, middle and an end. But this year is more like season one where there may be a character in an episode for just one scene, but they’re servicing something that’s going to advance over the serialized nature of the show. So, yeah, so far, Austin’s been in every episode and I can’t imagine that won’t continue.

And how about Shantel VanSanten as Haley’s sister?
M.S.: Yeah. Where is Shantel? Shantel, talk to Korbi about your character.

Do you and Haley like each other or are you sisters who cat fight and steal each other’s clothes?
Shantel VanSanten: Well, we steal each other’s clothes in real life. Joy [Galeotti (Haley)] came into the make up trailer one day and was like, I like your shirt (my real life shirt). So she says, Can I wear it on the episode? I’m like, Sure. So I took it off and let her have it.
M.S.: What she’s not telling you is, then that shirt goes into the wardrobe trailer never to return! She went home in her bra. And Joy’s like, Thanks!

Awesome.
S.V.: But yes, I play [Haley]’s older sister. I’m a photographer. And I think we both have that artistic side. Her being a singer, we have that same mentality in common and I think we’ve always been close for that reason. But I got married when I was younger, so I have a whole other relationship and whole other life. I come back to Tree Hill just like a lot of people go home to kind of figure life out. And I think that [Haley] becomes my best friend, the person that I would call about everything.

Nice.
S.V.: Yeah, I think that it’s fun to bring [Haley]’s sister in, because you end up seeing a different side of Haley. You know what I mean? You’ll see different things you maybe wouldn’t have seen before because her sister’s around and there’s that sister bond and you tell each other secrets and expose things you wouldn’t have otherwise.

Me and my own sister are so close and Joy talked to me about it, she wanted to know what my relationship with her was like and we discussed little ticks that sisters have and it’s really been awesome. She’s awesome to work with.

So, does your character come to town solo, even though you’re spoken for?
S.V.: I come for Jamie’s birthday. But I think when you’re in your 20s, you go through stuff. Is my life going in the right direction? Am I doing the right thing? Is this what I want for the rest of my life, with everything, [you question] your job, your love life. So I think maybe she comes to town trying to figure some things out and through her relationship with her sister and everybody else in Tree Hill, hopefully she’ll find the answers.

Who else in Tree Hill will she be close with?
S.V.: I get to collaborate with Sophia’s character Brooke, because she has a clothing line. There are a lot of relationships that she gets to come back to and be a part of that world.

Might she have a love interest even though she’s married?
M.S.: I’ve never endorsed that. But, having said that, if issues arise in her marriage, then that is interesting to me. If someone is genuinely not happy in their marriage, when is it okay to start looking elsewhere? I don’t know if that’s necessarily the road we’ll go down with Shantel’s character, Quinn, but as a storyline and as drama for the show, I think that’s interesting.

Do you feel like Chad and Hilarie leaving may sort of be a blessing in disguise as far as storylines go, since you now have all these new people to write for?
M.S.: I think we had a wonderful six years together, but I think that when you’re heading into episode 130, anytime you can find new adrenaline and new energy, it is a good thing for the show. I have to tell you that the writers room is invigorated and excited to tell stories about new characters. And when they see the talent that we’ve put in these new roles, everybody is inspired.

This show has reinvented itself several times. And we’ve always been a show that’s seemingly been on life support. But our fans have been brave enough to be objective about the reinvention. And I hope that they will be again. I’ve been up front about saying that I don’t know if they will be. I don’t know if, for our fan base, it will always be about that core group of characters. Maybe it will be. But I feel like once you watch the first couple episodes, if the active stories that are moving forward are compelling, then you’re not asking questions about who’s not there. You’re asking questions about what’s happening to who is there.

And speaking of, I have to ask you about Nathan and Haley. I feel like this year may be one of turmoil for those two.
M.S.: [Laughs] You know, when we started the show, we were coming on the heels of “Dawson’s Creek.” They were shooting their finale when we were shooting our pilot, so when people saw our first episode, they were sure that Haley and Lucas would be together, because Dawson and Joey had [a similar dynamic]. But we had always designed it as Nathan and Haley. In my mind, Nathan and Haley have always been a cornerstone of the show. The fan base is so faithful and so important to ["One Tree Hill"]. But at the same time, they’re either unhappy that there’s disorder in Nathan and Haley’s relationship or they’re unhappy that it’s calm. There’s never a time when they’re all happy with what’s happening with those two. Either Haley doesn’t have a big enough storyline or there’s too much drama or, when there’s a cease fire, it’s like they have nothing to do. But it’s okay because, in my mind, over the length of the show, it’s been the best relationship. Nathan and Haley are so human to me. And it’s inspiring because they go through a lot of stuff. And they don’t always have the answers. Sometimes they get really beaten up. But at the end of the day, they find their way. They find a nobility and a grace that we all should hope for in our relationships. That’s what I like about them and I think we’ll see more of that this year.

They will face new challenges though. Because Nathan has now achieved his dream.
M.S.: Yes, that’s what it is. I mean, I don’t sit down and say, it’s time to punk them again, it’s time to mess them up just because. I think “challenges” is the right word because relationships are a challenge. Nobody’s on autopilot, we’re not robots. And, yes, with Nathan’s success, what is his life like now? And what are the entanglements that celebrity brings to his world? What does it mean to his son now that he’s in the public eye? What did he used to do and who did he used to be to them? There’s now a spotlight on Nathan, so he can’t necessarily be that same [person].

We have a lot of celebrities on our show now. Brooke is a celebrity of sorts. Nathan is a celebrity of sorts. Haley, too, as a recording artist. Julian’s a producer. We have a lot of characters in the spotlight and what’s interesting to me is, are the rules the same for those people?

And what about the rules for Mr. Dan Scott. I know he’ll be back. How’s he doing?
M.S.: We are [picking things up] fourteen months later and we find that Dan has never been better. And part of his journey is, how can that be? And it’s very compelling. He seems to be in the best place of his life, he’s inspirational, he’s trying to help people. And we’re trying to figure out if it’s for real or if it’s a lie. How has this happened?

I’m hearing Dan may have a storyline with Rachel (Danneel Harris)?
M.S.: Yeah, everybody’s talking about it. Danneel (Rachel) is definitely coming back. I always felt like she would come back. You know, the way she left town, she was having trouble with drugs, she was a little bit of a thief, she was falling short of the person she should be, so I always planned on having her return. I just didn’t know when and how. But I think we came up with something that is surprising and yet relevant to our world.

Have you been keeping up with the spoilers online?
M.S.: I haven’t. But somebody told me they heard she was pregnant. That’s not true.

That’s not true?
M.S.: No.

You’re going on record, debunking the rumor?
M.S.: Should I?

Yes!
S.B.: You should just say, does she look pregnant?
M.S.: I will say that it is untrue.

So, she’s not having Dan’s baby?
M.S.: [Laughs] No!! No.

That’s one of the rumors online.
S.B.: Is it really?!
M.S.: You know, I wish I would’ve thought of that!

Zap2It

A guy is sitting on his sofa when he hears a knock at the door. He opens the door and sees a snail on the porch. He picks up the snail and throws it as far as he can. Three years later, there’s a knock at the door. He opens it and sees the same snail. The snail says, “What the hell was that all about?”

About the Jokester: Shantel VanSanten’s career began in 2005, when she was cast in NBC’s Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Model Search. In one of the more perverse miscarriages of justice in reality-television history, she was eliminated in week one. Vindication is coming four years later, now that the 24-year-old Texan is starring in two films. The first is The Final Destination, out this month. We haven’t seen it yet, but she sums it up for us this way: “That’s my ass in a 3-D sex scene. Oh, God!” Later this year, she stars in You and I, a film about two teenagers — Mischa Barton (you) and VanSanten (I) — who fall in love in Russia. Sadly, that one’s in 2-D.

Esquire