Constance Marie rose to fame as Angie Lopez on George Lopez. More recently, our readers will recognize her for her role as Regina Vasquez on ABC Family’s hit drama series Switched at Birth. The ground breaking series is one of the most successful series for the network. It became a huge hit among viewers while simultaneously raising awareness for the deaf community.
We recently had the chance to chat with Constance about the new season of Switched at Birth and what fans can expect in the new season.
Check out our interview with Constance Marie here:
Pop City Life: Congrats on Switched at Birth receiving three Teen Choice Award nominations this year.
Constance Marie: Yay, I’m so excited. I want everybody to vote for our young talent, because they deserve it. They’re actually using their celebrity for good, and I think that needs to be rewarded.
Pop City Life: Is there anyone you’d love to work with some day?
Constance: Of course, Meryl Streep; that would be number one. I would be willing to play anything in any scene, even a shrub, with Meryl Streep. I mean there’s nobody better, if you ask me. She’s wonderful.
Pop City Life: Are there any other additional struggles for Regina this season?
Constance: One of the struggles that she has is dealing with the rehab—that’s huge, and when and if she and Angelo ever are to get together. That is a huge one and that is an amazing push me/pull you relationship; and the dynamic between Gilles Marini and myself is truly, truly wonderful.
Plus she also had to deal with the baggage of this new baby that he has and how far involved, is she going to help raise that new baby? Is she going to be instamom to an out of relationship situation that Angelo, a one night stand that he had? That is a huge dynamic and also the resentment and the relationship of Bay, that’s something we’ve never really explored and that she has to handle with kid gloves.
It’s now with Daphne, Daphne has always been the one that I championed and I stuck by. Now Daphne is threatened by Bay living with me and me getting to know Bay, and so you get to see a side of Daphne you’re not used to seeing.
Q: Could you talk about how your relationship with Bay will develop in the second half of the season?
Constance: That’s one of the great things that happens right when the show premieres is Regina comes out rehab and realizes that how things were before are not going to work for somebody who is in rehab. She ends up living — or residing for a short while anyway– at Angelo’s house, and somehow the way that [Executive Producer] Lizzy Weiss wonderfully works it out, they end up living there also; and so the entire Vasquez/Kennish family, but the Kennish being Bay this time, get to know each other and live together in the Vasquez house.
Q: Can you talk about if we’ll be getting to see you sign at all this season now that your hands are a little bit better?
Constance: Well, the thing about that is they’re still not what they were and every once in a while I try it out and the problem that this kind of injury, it just flares up and you use your arms so much in life just normally besides the sign language, so I think it’s going to be a bit longer. I keep asking with my doctor and the problem is he’ll say we don’t know yet until it goes away because it just has flare-ups; and you can’t stop the flare-ups without stopping the activity that’s making it flare up, and in this case being the sign language, so unfortunately not yet. I’m hopeful. I’m very hopeful. I’m a very strong woman and I just hope that it’ll come back soon.
Q: I hear that when Regina comes out of rehab, she’s actually coming out a little bit early. Is that really a good idea or will we see her alcoholism continue to play out, or is she good now for a while?
Constance: I think what happens is Regina realizes how much her rehab stay has sort of added to the disconnect between Daphne and her. She realizes that she’s missed so much time with the girls as it is that her coming out early to honor a tradition that she and Daphne had ends up being a mistake; and she has to remove herself again. That’s why she ends up at the Sorrento house, Angelo’s house, for a while because she just made a mistake and it was too soon. But she is clearly on the path of trying to stay sober, so will do anything including moving in with Angelo if that’s what it takes to stay sober to get space from the Kennishes.
I swear I’m envious of my character’s life. She has so many beautiful men everywhere. Actually, yes, that storyline as of yet that I know doesn’t pan out. We focus more on Regina’s rehab. One of the things that are great this season is before it was all about Daphne and everybody getting to know Daphne and the struggles that Bay and Daphne had together, but this is really a chance for Bay and Regina to connect and to explore that relationship, which was really not touched on in the first season at all.
The dynamic of that and we include Angelo into that and all of us living together is really and truly an amazing, amazing dynamic that gets to be explored. Also the thing is Ty is back; Blair Redford is back on the show by popular demand. They get to explore those relationships, that relationship and him and his PTSD and coming back from war. It’s really, really amazing how dynamic the show is even still.
Q: There’s a rumor a “what if” episode coming up this season.
Constance: It was amazing because Regina, my character, traditionally throughout the show has carried a lot of the blame and a lot of the residual effect of everybody blaming her that she didn’t tell about the switch, which is interesting as Lizzy Weiss told me that my character knew from the pilot; and at first I was conflicted by that.
Then I realized that I, probably, Constance, would not tell either because your child is four years old and you’re not going to give away a child that truly believed that you are the mother. In this episode, the what if episode that’s airing in July, it’s so exciting because my character does tell. It has a crazy butterfly effect that changes everybody.
There are physical changes, emotional changes with the daughters, you won’t even recognize them, and John and Kathryn’s relationship is different. My character’s life is completely, completely different and it’s just riveting. When I read the script I cried like three times and it was just so moving. I think everybody is going to really be intrigued by this what if episode and just how far it stretches the effect.
Q: Could you tell our readers a little bit of a behind the scenes moment or something fun that would give them and idea of what it’s like to be on the set at Switched at Birth?
Constance: People would be just crazily surprised at how funny D.W. Moffett is, and you see him as this intense dad and how silly he is and how funny he is. I think people would be also surprised to see how silly Lea Thompson is. She is just hilarious. When she gets really tired, she channels her inner Ethel Merman and it’s hilarious.
We want to thank Constance for taking the time to answer some questions for us. She was so sweet! We really appreciate it!
If you haven’t already, be sure to follow Constance on Twitter.
Switched at Birth returns with the Summer premiere Monday, June 10th on ABC Family.
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