Rachel Shenton has made the move from Hollyoaks to Hollywood this year after landing the ongoing role of Lily Summers on US TV show Switched at Birth. The actress made a number of appearances in the popular dramas third season this year and has since been signed up for season four, which is currently being filmed in Los Angeles. How would you sum up your post-Hollyoaks career? Im still quite overwhelmed. Im so excited and I feel very lucky, as to be working in LA is a bit of a dream come true for any actor. I definitely have to have a few pinch myself moments as Im driving to work in Hollywood! Its so brilliant to be involved with such a great show. Did you ever expect to land work in the US so quickly? I hoped I would as every actor does, but I suppose not so quickly, no. This role happened at the end of last year, so Ive been splitting my time between America and England since - which is lovely. Fans of Switched at Birth will know that the show features multiple deaf and hard-of-hearing characters. Did your experience with sign language help you to land the part? Well not directly, because unfortunately sign language isnt universal so British Sign Language and American Sign Language are very different! I havent actually signed that much in the show apart from in one or two small scenes. I think my background and understanding of deafness helps me relate to that aspect of the show. For the uninitiated, how would you describe Switched at Birth? The show has received a lot of critical acclaim because of the social issues it addresses. Its centred around two characters Daphne and Bay, played by Katie Leclerc and Vanessa Marano, who have been switched at birth and brought up by the wrong families. My character Lily is a student teacher who is having a relationship with Toby, played by the lovely Lucas Gabriel. We know that youve just started filming season four. Did you always know you were coming back for more episodes? No, I didnt! I suppose I was optimistic because of the way that season three was left, as I guess it was open for me to return. So that was great but you just never know until you get the call. I was very excited when I got it confirmed. How are viewers responding to your character? Well, I think - I hope! Lily was introduced quite slowly in season three, so this season will see more of her. Ive also had various comments on my British accent, which is nice! Its funny because some people think Im pretending to be a Brit! I had one tweet saying, God thats such a weird British accent, thinking that Im American trying to be British! Whats coming up for Lily? I cant give too much away at the moment, but I can say that season four has an unexpected start and Im involved in that. There are some nice twists and turns that are going to happen in Lilys relationship with Toby. Im very excited about this season. Are you hoping this role could open the door to other US work? Of course - I feel very lucky to be working, but I suppose when youre in a job its natural to hope that more work will come along afterwards - and I definitely want that. Moving over to LA and starting on a new project must be a huge transition. How well you have you settled in? It is a big transition and its scary at first. I first came out to LA in October of last year, but moved here properly in April. Im very close to my friends and family, so being away from them and on a different timezone is the hardest part, but I have to say Im feeling quite settled now. The sun shines all the time here, which really helps! I also couldnt have asked for a better cast to work with. Everyone has been so accommodating and helpful. My flat mate is brilliant too and now a good friend. Would you also like to work more in the UK? Absolutely. My ideal would be to hop both sides of the Atlantic to work as Im sure every actor would. I love what Britain does and the fantastic dramas that we create, so yes absolutely. Do you stay in touch with the Hollyoaks cast? I do. I stay in touch with a lot of the cast - Jess Fox, Jen Metcalfe and Nikki Sanderson and probably more that Ive missed out. Its a cliché but it really is like a family at Hollyoaks. You definitely left the viewers wanting more where Mitzeee was concerned! Was it a conscious decision to leave on a high? I always wanted that, but you never really know what youre going to get when you make the decision to leave. Its then left in the hands of the very capable writers, so I would have taken and trusted whatever I was given. Luckily, when I received the exit storyline, I was happy that Mitzeee got to go out on a high and I thought it was very fitting for the character. I thought there needed to be an ending like that, after such a turbulent journey over the last year. I felt that thered been so many tears and traumas, so the happy ending was perfect. Lots of people wanted Mitzeee to return to save Maxine during her domestic abuse storyline! Was it nice to still be on peoples minds? Thats always brilliant and I still get some really nice tweets about Mitzeee even now. Its a lovely compliment, because Ive been gone from the show for quite a while now. Im also so proud of Nikki because she did such an awesome job on the Maxine and Patrick storyline. I know that she won an Inside Soap Award and shes doing very well. The story was a difficult one to tackle, but shes done it justice. Were you pleased when you saw Hollyoaks win Best Soap at the Soap Awards this year? Yes! I was so excited about that. I was in America when the awards took place and I saw the results on Twitter. I just couldnt believe it, so I sent a text to Jess saying, Is it true? Have we actually won? Its quite funny that I said we like I was still involved! (Laughs.) I think everyone likes to support the underdog and I feel like Hollyoaks have been the definite underdog for years, so its much deserved. They work just as hard as everyone else so Im very proud of that. We know that youre also currently supporting a new campaign called Listen Up!, organised by the National Deaf Childrens Society. What can you tell us about that? Its a campaign that works to improve deaf childrens audiology services. This is something that I always will champion and support. Were urging audiology services to step up at the moment. Reports show that a third of audiology services are failing deaf children right now - thats a huge statistic and its just not good enough. Inequality within the deaf and hard of hearing community is something I feel really passionate about and always will do. Ive been involved with it since I was 14 and its a labour of love. Sometimes I feel like the battle feels tough but its definitely something that Im not stopping. Switched at Birth airs on ABC Family in the US and is also available to view on Netflix. More information about the Listen Up! campaign can be found on the National Deaf Childrens Society website.
Posted on: Mon, 03 Nov 2014 00:52:01 +0000
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