Interview CosmoGirl

You're reading it here first. The tenth season of Degrassi will blow you away. Things are kicking off with a two-hour movie called The Heat Is On tonight at 9pm on TeenNick. But wait, for six straight weeks, Degrassi will be on Monday through Thursday at 9pm ET! To get the scoop, Cosmogirl caught up Charlotte Arnold who plays the always perfect and always entertaining Holly J. Sinclair. Charlotte filled us in on the events that will rock Holly's senior year, her thoughts on Degrassi alum Drake and the shake-ups in her own love life!

Cosmogirl: Tell us about the 10th season of Degrassi and what's going to happen with Holly J. Sinclair!

Charlotte Arnold: Last fall, we shot this TV movie that's going to launch season ten. It's called The Heat is On and it takes Holly J. to New York with her boyfriend Declan, her best friend Jane, and Declan's sister Fiona. In New York, she gets the chance to live her dream for a summer. She's got the perfect guy, and he's got a lot of money, so she's staying in a really nice penthouse. Then she's got this internship at an MTV-sort of studios thing. We shot in Times Square which was unreal.

CG: What happened?

CA: Shooting in Times Square was a completely "pinch me" moment. It was crazy. Crazy. There's one scene in the movie where I'm walking into the building, and I bump into Jay Manuel from America's Next Top Model. But when we were shooting, there were like 50 people lining the street and shouting things out to me like, ‘Bright lights, big city! Keep your head up high, girl!' It was so funny. I was getting little words of encouragement as I walked [in the scene].

CG: What happens when Holly J gets back from New York?

CA: It's a rude awakening because her family is going through some tough financial problems. So, having lived this lavish summer and coming back and having to really get back into work mode, and she has to move, and all that kind of stuff's happening.  Holly was also formerly the school president, and now Sav is giving her a run for her money in that election. So things aren't working out the way she planned. She had this perfect grade 12 planned out and now she has to reevaluate where she's going. 

CG: Are you anything like Holly J?

CA: I'm completely disorganized, late frequently, and much more laid back than Holly J. But just getting to play the mean character, it's really nice to play someone who's not like yourself even though she's not really that mean anymore. As an actor you get to live vicariously through the character that you're playing, so I try to pick up good habits from Holly J. 

CG: What is the cast of Degrassi like - especially with so many cast members coming and going each season?

CA: Degrassi has always been a really close family, and the show's been on for 30 years in Canada. This is the 30th year.  Mr. Simpson has been on since pretty much the very beginning. He played a kid, and now he's producing and directing and still plays a character on the show. It's a whole tight-knit family.

CG: What does everyone think when people like Drake start on Degrassi and end up becoming so successful?

CA: It's funny, because I started the show in season seven, and that was near the end of Drake's run. Our characters were in different grades, so we had a little bit of interaction, but I wasn't shooting with him on a regular basis.  At that time, he was launching his music and was on his Blackberry all the time, telling us different people that he had spoken to or met.  All of us were like, ‘Wow! This is getting really serious.' Then pretty much out of nowhere, he really blew up! Everybody on the cast loves his music, and everyone's really excited.  We saw him recently at the Much Music Awards and we were all like, ‘Does he remember us?' But he came over and said hi, so that was really nice. 

CG: Are you in school now?

CA: I've actually just finished my third year of university at Ryerson in Toronto, and I was taking journalism. I really love making TV, so I think I want to stay involved with that. But, the great thing is I get a lot of, ‘What do you want to be?' Everyone does, when you're growing up.  My mother has always told me to just ‘Take your time, enjoy yourself, don't worry about it, and you'll figure it out in the end.' I think it's nice to have someone like that in my life.

CG: Between Degrassi and school - do you have any time to date?

CA: I dated a guy for the past 3 and a half years, and we just are taking it easy now. I'm almost 21, and just where I'm at in my life, I'm just looking forward to being a bit more independent and dating around. 

CG: Were you high school sweethearts?

CA: I hated the idea of a high school sweetheart. Growing up, oh my God, it just made me sick. I wanted to have a range of cool boyfriends. I wanted to travel around and date these interesting men. Then it just happened.  You fall in love. Don't hold me to this, but we'll probably end up together down the line. We're really honest with each other and I just honestly feel like right now I'd rather try things out on my own.

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