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I'm actress Sara Rue from the new TV show "Impastor." AMA!
EDIT 2: Thank you so much for stopping by! All the questions were really great, even the pervy ones. This is really fun, I wanna do it again sometime. For more Impastor info, follow @impastortv or me @sararueforreal!! What nice fans I have - how lucky am I?!
EDIT: I'm here - let's get started!
Hi Reddit!
I'm actress Sara Rue. You might know me from TV shows like "Less Than Perfect," "Popular," and "The Big Bang Theory" and movies like "Can't Hardly Wait," "Dorfman in Love" and more. I have a new TV show called "Impastor" with Michael Rosenbaum from "Smallville" that premieres next Wednesday, July 15th on TV Land! I hope you guys check it out. You can preview the pilot for free on iTunes and Hulu right now! http://www.hulu.com/watch/811643
Proof: https://twitter.com/SARARUEFORREAL/status/618126702145863680
IAmA mod /u/courtiebabe420 is here helping me get started.
Sara_Rue25 karma
Of course, I'll be honest about it. There is a lot of pressure. I try really hard not to let it get to me, and concentrate more on health than anything else at this point. Most importantly, I want to set an example for my daughter of a strong, healthy, capable woman more than I want to stay thin for Hollywood.
eelings7 karma
Sara, when you were first filming Popular, did you think it would attract such a cult following?
Sara_Rue9 karma
That's a cool question! No, I don't think we even were aware of the possibility of cult status on the WB because everything was so fresh and new. So it just seemed like oh, this was going to be a teen show that teens watch and hopefully like. It was sort of pre-social media, so having a cult following was more rare then. The fact that people are still coming up to me. Even teens are coming up to me now and saying "I loved Popular!" and I'm like "you're 13, how did you even see it?" and they're like "Duh, DVDs."
It is amazing how much the show spoke to people, but I think it gave a voice to certain kinds of kids that had speaking up for themselves at the time.
Sara_Rue16 karma
Watching Terry Crews do this big, long, hilarious monologue as the president. To be honest, I can't even remember if it made it in the movie or not. It was so hilarious, he is such a funny guy. I loved working with him.
Mortis20007 karma
Hi Sarah, you always seem to play really happy and bubbly characters on screen, how much of that is simply your own personality rather than acting?
Sara_Rue12 karma
Look you guys. There was a masturbation episode. It was my favorite. I'm not gonna lie to you. I'm not gonna sugar coat it. It was awesome.
Peter_Venkman_15 karma
So, what's it like being and actress? Is it what you hoped it would be? How do you like your new coworkers?
Sara_Rue9 karma
I hate them.
Just kidding! The truth is, to answer the question "What's it like to be an actor" is kind of hard because I'm lucky enough to never have had to be anything else. But, I think I'm pretty lucky and I feel very very grateful to have gotten to work as much as I have for as long as I have. It's a crazy life but I love it.
The cast is stellar. I have fallen in love with them. We shot up in Vancouver so we were our only friends and it was just a really great group of people to spend a few months in a rainy city with.
Sara_Rue6 karma
Hmmm, what resort should I say in hopes that they'll send me on a free trip? Kidding, kidding (not really), kidding.
Sadly, we don't take many vacations. Our family is spread out all over the country, so we spend most of our time visiting family.
BUT my dream vacation would be a free trip to Hawaii where I get free things and free drinks.
TheXanaduEmpress4 karma
Your husband and daughter came with you to Vancouver when you were filming 'Impastor'. Sweet :) Did they enjoy the experience?
Sara_Rue2 karma
They did. It was definitely a challenge for our family. She's two and the transition was a little rough in the beginning. But he is such a great dad and was so amazing with her when I had to work all the time, so I think they had a really great experience. The road trip up brought all of us closer together. Also, the cast was really great to Talulah. They made her feel included whenever she came to set, and I think she really liked visiting with them and getting to know them.
Redtruck14 karma
Hello Mrs. Rue, Thanks for doing the AMA, always good to see people I like doing the reddit tour. Just watched the pilot episode of Impastor, and I really liked it. How is it different then any other show you have been on?? Good or Bad.
Sara_Rue9 karma
So glad you watched it and liked! Impastor is not only different than any other show I've been on, but I think it's different from any show that's been on TV. We are making a dark, weird, funny comedy but it has a lot of heart and also has taken on the gargantuan challenge of having a procedural element to it. Every week will end in a cliffhanger. So I guess, to answer your question, it's a totally new format, and I'm really excited to be a part of it. I hope you keep watching!
Sara_Rue8 karma
That's a really good question. I know Rosenbaum would want me to say him, but I'm not going to. My buddy Will Sasso is pretty f-ing funny. Also, Ike Barinholtz is pretty great.
Eannsu3 karma
I find you to be a real inspiration. I've had weight issues my whole life. Do you have any advice?
Sara_Rue8 karma
The best advice I have is to love yourself fully the way you are, and if after truly loving yourself, you then want to make a change, it'll be a lot easier.
Eannsu2 karma
What's the craziest, funniest thing that has happened in the set of Impastor?
Sara_Rue6 karma
Michael Rosenbaum wrote a little theme song for Impastor, which we performed for the crew. I think we have it on video somewhere, maybe we'll upload it after this AMA :)
Redtruck12 karma
Came back to ask another question and I am gonna ask and hope to not sound like a weirdo. What made you decide to do the topless scenes in For Christ's Sake??
Sara_Rue18 karma
You don't sound like a weirdo. Maybe a pit of a perv ;)
I thought the script was hilarious. My friend was the producer, and I had a lot of input, and I felt like it was appropriate for the role. She was a porn star and my boobs are fantastic.
KhyleDeen1 karma
Loved you on Rules Of Engagement & The Big Bang Theory, who's your inspiration for getting into acting?
Sara_Rue5 karma
I started acting when I was a little girl. My parents were in the theater, and I grew up watching incredible performers and wanting to be a part of the magic. So no one person necessarily, it was just a feeling backstage.
pavelqsorokin1 karma
Hello^ Sara) I sow only your Less then perfect and BBT rules and I love them. I made your portrait a year ago. That`s no too good but i hope... you like it? http://separationend.narod.ru/Sara_Rue_small.jpg
pavelqsorokin2 karma
how about this one - here http://pbs.twimg.com/media/CJQNaFKUAAAoeU7.jpg P.S. damn blocking anyway - many people in Russia still remember Claudia ) Thanks for fun!
Eannsu1 karma
I loved Popular and felt very familiar with your character.
What was it like to play her?
Sara_Rue5 karma
I never went to high school in real life, because I was acting, so I was set-schooled. So playing Carmen was like going to high school for me, for better or worse. She took a lot of shit, but ultimately, I feel like she was an empowering character, so it was a really good experience.
Eannsu1 karma
Do you have any pranks planned for Michael Rosenbaum for when you go back to film season two of Impastor?
Sara_Rue3 karma
Nothing specifically planned yet. But I'm really looking forward to doing something that upsets him. I don't know what it's going to be. I'm taking suggestions!
MikeSouthernsun1 karma
Hi Sara. This is my first time on Reddit, and so I hope I'm doing this correctly. By the way, I thought you were wonderful as Dr. Stephanie on the three episodes on THE BIG BANG THEORY. My question about IMPASTOR is how many shows have you already taped, and is the program taped on location somewhere or is it in a studio. Thank you and can't wait to see the show.
Sara_Rue3 karma
Thanks! We are done filming for the season. We shot the entire thing up in Vancouver, Canada. (I love Vancouver. There is a casino in the city center and the dollar is strong).
Eannsu1 karma
Are you and the other cast of Impastor going to live tweet during the episodes?
Eannsu1 karma
Is it the same working with Michael Rosenbaum on Impastor as it was working with him on Zoey, Duncan, Jack and jane?
Sara_Rue8 karma
No, he's a producer on Impastor, so he has more power to wield.
Joking! I really adore Michael. We're both grown ups now, so it is different. We have a much more mature relationship (she says as she recalls him pulling down his pants and farting on her set chair, and her chewing up multiple tootsie rolls and spitting them on his chair to look like poo).
Sara_Rue5 karma
I don't know, but Dora from Impastor is way up on the list. Although I loved playing Claude Casey on Less Than Perfect for 4 years.
thistlemitten1 karma
When you were younger and you dreamed of acting professionally, you must have had ideas about what it would be like. Can you describe something from recent experience that is just as you imagined and something that is completely different?
Sara_Rue7 karma
This is such a typical answer, but I always - even now, after acting for almost 30 years - expect it to be glamorous than it is. I'm always like, "Oh right, it's gross here, and we all look terrible, and it's 4 in the morning, and no one is at their best for those early calls."
But something that is just like I imagined is the feeling of total satisfaction and accomplishment when you shoot a scene and you feel really good about your work. It's the greatest feeling, and it's why I still do it. Being able to make someone feel anything - laugh, cry, anything - is really satisfying.
Eannsu1 karma
Are you all going to do the periscope thing again after the premiere like you did a few weeks ago?
Sara_Rue5 karma
Rosenbaum is OBSESSED with periscope. If you follow him, he's on it all the time now. So I'm guessing the next time we all get together to watch, we'll be doing something on there.
Sara_Rue7 karma
No, no I don't. I AM however, going to my first convention EVER on Thursday with Michael. He and I will be doing a panel at Comic-Con in San Diego. I hope people come down and ask some cool questions about Impastor. And I hope Michael lets me have a word in edgewise ;)
Sara_Rue5 karma
So fun! Jim Parsons has become a very good friend of mine. I feel really lucky to have been a part of a little piece of TV history. That show is so huge, and all the people in the cast were really wonderful to work with. I've been working a little bit on Chuck Lorre's new show Mom, and that's equally as exciting. Especially getting to work with those ladies has been a blast.
knobbyknees1 karma
Hi Sara! I was such a huge fan of Popular (and still re-watch my box sets) so much that I actually put a notation in my calendar that you were doing this AMA :)
My questions:
I was gutted when Popular wasn't renewed for the third season. What do you think Carmen would have been up to if the show had continued?
Are you still friendly with the other actors/actresses from Popular?
What was your favorite Carmen story arc?
Sara_Rue3 karma
So glad the show spoke to you. We were all very bummed when it wasn't picked up for a third season, and very shocked. I remember that day we found it it was canceled, I went over to Leslie Grossman's house (who played Mary Cherry), and we both kind of sat and stared at the wall.
I don't know what Carmen would have been up to. I really hope she would have been happy in whatever place she found herself.
Sara_Rue5 karma
Maybe. But not to save face, but maybe if she felt it meant saving the church and the rest of the congregation from falling apart. I personally would love for Dora to be in on the secret somehow. Would be super fun to play.
Eannsu1 karma
I think I'm the only who really remembers Zoey,Duncan Jack and jane, fanwise. What was your favorite thing in that show?
samoa_j1 karma
Hi Sara! I was a big fan of Less Than Perfect when I was younger(you were 15 year old me's tv crush) and have enjoyed your appearances on Big Bang Theory and Rules of Engagement. My question is how was working with Will Sasso? I remember an episode where he fainted and face planted into a table and it just looked so real and was hilarious.
Sara_Rue6 karma
Working with Will was incredibly awesome. He had multiple running bits that every day would make me laugh. He and I are quite close. He read a beer pong haiku at my wedding.
Eannsu1 karma
Do you think Michael Rosenbaum is planning any pranks for you and your chair for when you all go back to film season two of Impastor?
Sara_Rue5 karma
Rosenbaum is not much of a planner. I'm sure I'll have to endure something gross and dumb. We did have so much fun season one, even though I had to put up with his antics, I really hope we get a chance to do it again.
veraliis1 karma
Since I've had a mega crush on you since Gypsy 83, what about your personal life matched with your character of that movie versus how you think now?
Sara_Rue6 karma
I've always felt like there was a little bit of goth in me ever since I shot that film. I don't know about anything matching up in my personal life, but I will tell you that on the way to do this Reddit AMA, I thought I saw the club where we shot the Night of a Thousand Stevies sequence, and it made me super happy.
signuptopostthis1 karma
I didn't know who you were. So, I googled you and now I can't stop looking at you.
Also, what's your favorite kind of pizza?
Sara_Rue3 karma
Thanks I think? I'll eat the crap out of a cheeseless vegetarian pizza any day of the week. :)
uplawyered9130 karma
Hi Sara! Thanks for being here today!
How did you get started with Can't Hardly Wait, and did you get any say in your part in that movie? Did you have to take lessons or anything on "baa-ing" for it?
Sara_Rue4 karma
Yes, I've had extensive baa-ing lessons over the years. It's a skill you have to keep fine-tuning, so I keep having to go back to baa-ing lessons over the year to make sure I'm still on my game.
They actually wrote that part for me, which was super cool of them. I had auditioned for a different role, and they didn't feel like I was right for that role, but they had liked what I did. So they called me and told me that the writers had written a small scene for me and asked me to do it. Such an honor, and who knew people would still be baa-ing in my face 15 years later!
Sara_Rue3 karma
I try to eat mostly plant-based so I don't eat ice cream. But mama can dig into some raspberry sorbet.
vedder440 karma
What 5 things would you do (physically) if you were the opposite gender for a day?
kilohero-2 karma
I'm quite sheltered and am unfamiliar with your work. What are the top three works of yours that you would recommend?
Alysiat2817 karma
Hi Sara! Do you still feel immense pressure to stay thin in Hollywood in order to get the parts you want or has that pressure subsided some since you have made a name for yourself?
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