Interview: Makenzie Vega – UPtv Movie Tomboy

This Sunday UPtv will air the new movie Tomboy, which stars The Good Wife alum Makenzie Vega (who Hallmark Channel viewers will recognize from the Kelly Rutherford/Cameron Mathison movie Love, Of Course) in the lead role.

Tomboy focuses on Tori, who has always been one of the guys. But since her recent attempt to become more lady-like, she suddenly finds herself torn between a man who’s fallen for her new femininity and a friend who loves her for the tomboy she’s always been.

The cast includes Tom Maden (Scream: The Series and the Hallmark Channel movie Love in the Sun), Greg Perrow (Those Who Kill), Sal Stowers (Days of Our Lives), Greg Grunberg (Alias) and Denise Richards (Love Actually and The World Is Not Enough).

NiceGirlsTV had the opportunity to interview Makenzie about her latest movie and much more:

Please tell us a little about your new UPtv movie Tomboy?

Our film, Tomboy, follows a young woman through a HUGE life transformation. We meet Tory Gunderson, a tomboy in every way, at a time that can really only be seen as uncomfortable complacency. She knows what she is good at, she is sure of herself, she has INCREDIBLE family and friends around her… the perfect job… but she can’t help but feel like she will never amount to anything substantial “romantically.” It’s at that time that a wildly unfamiliar opportunity presents itself to her that looks and feels like it just might be her ticket in to a top spot for a fairytale romance, but as life often proves to us, things certainly don’t go as planned.

What drew you to the role of Tory in this movie?

I’ve been a tomboy for as long as I can remember – playing in the mud, being the only girl on all-boy sports teams. So the title kind of stole my heart before I even turned the first page on the script. I also really love a good “transformation story.” Who doesn’t?

You starred alongside Julianna Margulies in The Good Wife in over 100 episodes. Can you tell us a little about what that experience was like?

My goodness, The Good Wife started when I was about…15. I was living in LA at the time, and when I booked the role I certainly didn’t expect that it was going to be a 7 year journey. It’s an interesting thing to look back at and realize that I genuinely grew up on that set around the same original cast and crew. They were there for it all! I’d bring in my little “young love” heartbreak stories, and everyone would always give me life advice while we were getting ready in the hair and makeup room. They really were my family.

Being on a set like that, as well as being around such incredibly well-rounded, and talented individuals really feels like something that was more of a gift to me, if anything. I remember looking at the professionalism, strength, and grace of which Jules delivered every time she walked on that set. She also set such a beautiful example of the fact that you can have a baby, star in a leading television show, and still be an incredible mother.

Any funny behind the scenes stories about your time filming Tomboy and/or The Good Wife that you can share with our readers?

Jumping back to stories on the set of Tomboy. There was one funny one that I can’t help but chuckle at every time I think of it. Basically, the film is a true transformation story, which means there are A LOT of makeup changes throughout the day because we don’t film in chronological order. Because of this, the makeup artist, Jamie, would give me tons of “skin rehab regimens” so my face wouldn’t spontaneously combust with breakouts from everything we were putting it through. One of them was that I had to wear a hydrating face mask for 30 minutes, every morning before work. Well, because we started at the crack of dawn, I would have to wear these masks on my drive in to work…while driving. So imagine going 70 on the freeway and looking over and seeing a masked woman driving beside you. I would always get a ton of laughs on the road and that was fine, until one day it happened to be the police who pulled up next to me. And on came the lights as they pulled behind me! I was mortified, not because I was being pulled over, but because I was embarrassed about having to have a conversation with the cops wearing a dripping, cut-out “beauty care” face mask, and having to talk out of that little mouth hole. I got off without a ticket. Not sure if they thought I looked liked a suspicious masked robber or they just wanted a laugh. They sent me off with a “Just make sure the eyes holes stay lined up with your eyes.”

Is there one project you would love to work on someday?

I have this deep, deep desire to work on an extended music video, with an artist that wants to convey a broader message, incorporating really emotional acting. I’ve always had such a huge love for music so it feels natural to want to combine that with what I also love, acting.

Did you always know you wanted to be an actor?

I kind of grew up acting. It was a hobby, just like soccer was to me. School came first, always. But as I grew older I started to appreciate the immense amount of value that this industry added to me as a malleable individual. The people who came into my life, because of acting, and all of the funny personalities I would meet while working, really confirmed to me that this was a safe place where I could flourish creatively as well as emotionally.

NOTE: Makenzie is the younger sister of Hallmark alum, former Spy Kids franchise star and Dancing With the Stars alum Alexa PenaVega.

What is your favorite hobby or pastime?

I have too many favorite hobbies to name just one but top of the list things generally involve nature for me – hiking and camping with family and friends, being on the water sailing, horseback riding, singing, cooking, drawing and obviously acting

Do you support a charity or organization that you would like people to know about?

I am involved with an organization out of Australia called Activated Probiotics that is helping to educate the public on preventative medicine, with condition-specific probiotics. It’s some pretty incredible stuff, with fascinating research and clinical trials. So many diseases start in our stomach, so it’s important to help people understand that it is possible to prevent these diseases from even existing by looking into changing the microbiome in our bellies.

RELATED: Interview: Brant Daugherty – Vision of Love

Here is a trailer for Tomboy:

[Photo Credit: UPtv]

Tomboy premieres on UPtv tomorrow, Sunday, March 8 at 7 PM (ET).