Chatting THE MIDDLE with Kristin Cavallari

THE MIDDLE is on a hot streak lately – most weeks, it’s my number one comedy.  Tonight’s episode promises to be no different, as Axl’s band preps for a video shoot, and the mission for a hot blond leads them directly to their biology teacher Ms Devereaux.  The hot bio teacher in question?  Kristin Cavallari from MTV’s LAGUNA BEACH and THE HILLS.  I spent some time chatting with Kristin about tonight’s episode, about her efforts to help children who don’t get the care and education they need, and what else she has going on in he busy schedule.

THE MIDDLE is one of my favorite shows on TV – is it something you had been watching?  How did you get involved?
Yeah, I definitely had been watching it, and I had a meeting at ABC with all of the executives, and then it came up that I watch the show, and the casting director I had met about a year ago for a different pilot, so he knew what I was capable of doing, so between the executives and the casting director, they came up with this role for me, so I was really excited.

Talk a little bit about the role and what was can expect tonight.
Well, I play Ms Devereaux, who is Axl’s biology teacher.  Axl is in a band, and they want to make a music video and they need a hot girl for it. So they think that they’ll ask their biology teacher, but when they approach me, my character does not like music videos and she thinks that it puts women in a bad light, so the boys go about it in a different way.  They try to film me during class on their flip phones and stuff without me knowing, so it’s pretty funny.

I think Axl and his friends are some of the funniest people on TV.  Their lack of knowledge about women blows my mind.
Oh I agree!

Why do you think people should tune in?
I think a lot of people have heard of THE MIDDLE, but it definitely takes watching it for just a few minutes to get hooked.  When I first started, I wasn’t too sure about it, but now I watch it every week.  I think Axl, I think the kids are some of the funniest parts of the show. Axl in particular, and he’s featured in this episode a lot.  He and his friends are just hilarious.  It’s definitely a show for all ages.

Are you looking to do more comedy or are you looking to do more drama?
I think that comedy is a lot of fun.  I do think that drama would also be great.  Comedy is more fun, drama is more based around psychology and getting to know you, and the study of people and stuff.  But actually, right now, I’m really focusing on producing reality shows.  That’s kind of where my main focus is.

Are there things in the pipe line that you can talk about, or just ideas that are forming?
There is one show in particular.  I just signed on with a big production company and we’re waiting for a big press release so I can’t say too much about that.

Well we’ll look forward to that when it comes out, and I know that you’re also involved in various humanitarian projects.  Talk to me about “One Kid One World.”  For people who aren’t too sure what that is, tell us a bit about it!
One Kid One World is a charity that helps rebuild schools. I’m going to Kenya in March, actually, which I’m so excited about.  I went to El Salvador last year.  What we do is, they don’t have anything.  In Kenya, what we’re doing, I donated money to bring in solar power.  And so I went to Inglewood, to a 4th grade class, and we were writing pen pal letters to the kids back and forth.  What we’re going to do is bring over back packs for the kids filled with all of the school supplies that they need; pencil and paper is a huge deal to them.  We’re doing that in March.  When I went to El Salvador last year, they didn’t even have running water.  So we got running water for them, rebuilt the entire school, we brought in school supplies and paid for the teachers’ salaries.  I love it because when kids aren’t in school, that’s when they get in trouble, and if they don’t have an education, there’s only so much they can do.  I think it’s important for kids to get an education.  We take it for granted in America.  That’s just what we do; we don’t know any different.  In these other places, it’s a luxury for these kids to go to school.  These little kids in 4th grade are walking miles, barefoot, on these dirt roads, just to go to school.  It opens your eyes and puts everything in perspective.

What else do you have coming up?
The show that I’m producing, I’ll be on an episode or two; we’ll hopefully be shooting in the next couple months.  I also designed a shoe for this shoe company ShoeDazzle, and that will come out in May.  A huge portion of the proceeds are going to One Kid One World.

Do you have a chance to watch TV in your downtime?
Yeah, I do!  Lately, I’ve been watching a lot more TV than I have in the past few years!  I was just out of town, and I just got home and was catching up on CALIFORNICATION.  That’s one of my favorite shows.  And I watch THE MIDDLE and MODERN FAMILY.  I love THE SOUP and all of those trashy shows.