Post by Valerie on Feb 20, 2006 20:18:53 GMT -5
From nbc.com/passions
Kyrie Maezumi recently debuted on “Passions” as Maya, the mysterious ex-girlfriend of Noah Bennett. While Maya is secretive and enigmatic, Kyrie is conversely quite open and friendly. Her co-star Dylan Fergus (Noah) was enlisted to conduct Kyrie’s introductory interview to give fans the inside scoop on this beautiful newcomer. Drop in on their conversation to learn more about her unusual upbringing and her passion outside of “Passions.”
Dylan: Hi, Kyrie.
Kyrie: (Giggles) Hi, Dylan.
Dylan: (Jokes) This is working out great already! Let’s start with some basics. What’s your favorite color?
Kyrie: Sunset.
Dylan: What were you doing before you got “Passions?”
Kyrie: I was playing my music, writing my music, and working in a restaurant waiting tables. And also working for a jewelry designer. Oh, and traveling.
Dylan: Where did you go when you traveled?
Kyrie: Europe.
Dylan: Nice.
Kyrie: I was actually in Spain when I got a message that I had a callback for “Passions” in three days. So I traveled all the way back and I got here about six hours before my callback.
Dylan: Wait, wait. So you had a “Passions” audition and then you flew to Spain? And then you heard you got the callback and flew all the way back?
Kyrie: I bought my ticket before I even knew I had this audition. So I had to go. I told them I would come back if I got the callback!
Dylan: Am I allowed to say I wouldn’t have come back from Spain? (Laughs)
Kyrie: Well, I had already been there for three and a half weeks, so it was cool.
Dylan: How do you like “Passions” so far? What was your first day like?
Kyrie: It’s been awesome. My first day was really mellow. I creeped through a hedge outside Tabitha’s house and then went home. (Laughs)
Dylan: So who is the weirdest person you’ve met so far on the show?
Kyrie: What?!
Dylan: How about the craziest? (Kyrie laughs) Okay, who is the most influential person you’ve met so far?
Kyrie: Maria (O’Brien, “Passions” Acting Coach). She’s the coolest. She made me feel the most comfortable. She’s a lot like me.
Dylan: (Nods) She gets all the credit for whatever I do. So where did you grow up?
Kyrie: Los Angeles. I grew up in a Zen center that my father started. He came from Japan when he was 26 to teach Buddhism. My mom was studying world religions, and they met there. So I lived in the Zen center. A full-on commune. There are about 200 people there, walking around in their black robes. There were a lot of other families there, too. I was raised all macrobiotic and homeopathic. I shared a room with my brother and sister. So yeah, it was an existential kind of upbringing.
Dylan: So your background is Japanese...
Kyrie: And Russian and British.
Dylan: So are you nervous about your first airdate?
Kyrie: Yeah, because my grandma’s gonna watch it. I tried to explain to her there’s gonna be love scenes and a pretend shower scene. She’s very proper, and she’s going to be mortified. She doesn’t even like it when I hold hands with my boyfriends in public. She’s going to be just horrified. And then she told all her friends in her bridge club to watch!
Dylan: Didn’t we have a scene where you sat on my lap in just a T-shirt as I was shirtless?
Kyrie: (Laughs) Yeah. And then we kissed.
Dylan: Yeah. Exactly. Hope my girlfriend doesn’t read this. What has been the biggest challenge since you came to “Passions”?
Kyrie: Just believing that it’s really happening. That I’m here working as an actress. I had been struggling, and I was completely resigned to living the life of a starving artist. I was used to working really hard and putting my blood, sweat and tears into my art – and not getting much back! Now to have this happening... being able to go to the dentist if I need to!
Dylan: Let’s talk about Maya. Is Maya a good girl or bad girl?
Kyrie: I think she’s a very sensitive person, but she’s involved with some shady people. I think she really loves Noah, but made a lot of mistakes. I don’t think she’s a typical villain. She’s more complicated and has more textures than that. I think she really wants to be a good person. She does play a little as a villain because she’s Fancy’s nemesis. But I don’t think she’s necessarily bad.
Dylan: What is the one thing that after searching and googling and researching, that your fans would not be able to find out about you?
Kyrie: (Pauses to think) That I’m allergic to animals and I’m actually afraid of dogs.
Dylan: You’re afraid of dogs? Wow. How do you feel about monkeys?
Kyrie: (Laughs) Monkeys are cute. I’ve never seen them out of a cage though.
Dylan: Precious was an orangutan, right? She was before our time. Anyway, tell us about your interests outside of the show. Like your band.
Kyrie: I have two bands. One’s a jazz band. I write the music for it. It’s very soothing, really jazzy. The other band is more indie rock. I play the electric guitar and sing. We all write together.
Dylan: After a big day of work, what do you do to relax or unwind?
Kyrie: I play music. No matter how tired I am, I have to play music because it puts me in a different zone and it’s like a form of therapy. It’s where I put all of my feelings and all of my experiences. If I’m in a sad mood, I’ll play a sad song and it helps sort of weed it out. If I’m happy, I just play a happy song and rejoice in being alive.
