The Real O’Neals Cast Interviews #TheRealONeals #ABCTVEvent

The Real O’Neals Cast Interviews

If you’re not watching The Real O’Neals, you’re truly missing out, and tonight there’s an all new episode called “The Real Retreat”.  We had the opportunity to screen this episode while attending the #CaptainAmericaEvent last month and I can’t wait to see it over again.  Check out this trailer of tonight’s episode.

When Jimmy is unexpectedly named Faith Leader for the weekend at the Catholic Youth Retreat, a jealous Kenny decides to take on his older brother’s role as ring leader of the bad kids. Home alone without the kids, Pat invites a new lady friend over, and Eileen can’t help but enlist Jodi to spy on them, with surprising results.

After watching the screening we had the opportunity to sit with a few of the stars from the show.  Included in the interviews were Noah Galvin, Jay R. Ferguson, Matt Shively, and Mary Hollis Inboden.  I couldn’t wait to chat with the cast, especially Mary who plays Aunt Jodi on the show.  We learned that when the show was originally created she wasn’t a part of the family.

When Mary Hollis Inboden first auditioned for the show, the role was for a next door neighbor with a 15 year old son.  I can’t imagine how the show would be without her character, so I’m glad they decided to switch gears and add her to the family.

In the beginning, my character was a woman named Maureen who lived next door. I was not a family member. When I auditioned for this,I was a next-door neighbor with a fifteen year old son who’d gotten a girl pregnant. That was the original role. And then I came in, and I guess I just knocked it right out of the park.  So they said, let’s, let’s change this up and make her part of the family and so Aunt Jodi was created.  My mom always said that in times of tragedy you might not know what to say but just being there is important if you ever had a friend pass away or any trauma I feel like the O’Neals are going through this traumatic event, and the family’s kind of imploding a little bit.

And so Aunt Jodi is, uh, the one who’s there, but actually can’t keep her mouth shut, [LAUGHS]. She’s constantly trying to help, and I just think that that’s so much fun. I love that.

Mary said when she auditioned, it seemed like all the other women who auditioned before her were so funny, at least that’s what it sounded like from the hallway.  When she got in the room with the goal of having a good time and not being nervous.  She recalled the room being easy going and fifteen minutes after her audition she called her back for a screen test.

When we talked to Noah and Jay we asked them about their favorite episode of the show that has aired to date.  Mines is easily ‘The Real Grandma’.  I just loved that episode.  The guys both had their own personal favorites as well.

I don’t know, I like aspects of all of them, I have like a little favorite moment in each of the episodes, the grandma episodes, the grandma episode is one of my favorites I think.  There was a period in which we were filming, where me and Martha had been segregated from the rest of the family because we were filming these five episodes that were just me and Martha storylines and then there was finally a time where like all of us just got to be in one place at one time and be together. And that’s when we’ve had the most fun. – Noah Gavin

I think my favorite is the, the Real F Word, the one where Kenny outs himself at school, that’s been my favorite, just because these guys kill it so great in that episode.  Martha’s in that storyline and it is so-so but their stuff is just fantastic, and they all hit home runs.  I laugh out loud at multiple times in that episode, every time I see it.  And then it, you know I have just little moments. – Jay R. Ferguson

Noah was so adorable and we were curious about how he connected with his character Kenny.

Well a lot of people ask of like similarities between me and Kenny.  I like that he’s more book smart, and I’m a little more street smart.  He’s like a little naïve.  I’d say he’s like a true middle child he has like aspects of both his siblings.  He has like Jimmy’s naiveté without being a downright idiot, he has Shannon’s like book smarts without being manipulative like she is.  You know?

Shows continue to address social issues all the time, and we asked about what other issues they plan to attack in future episodes of the show.

Noah  : Maybe like our prom episode, like bringing a same sex date to prom is something that Kenny will go through in our finale.

Jay : Yeah I mean one of the other things that I love about our show so much is that, yes of course there’s a topical element that, that is somewhat different. But really at its core it’s a family, and it’s a family that is going through the same things that all families go through.

Noah : Yeah that is the beauty of our show that it sort of a coming of age story for like each and every character. My character is dealing with adolescence, he just happens to be gay, it’s a nice normalizing factor of the show.

Be sure to tune in tonight at 8:30 EDT, and live tweet with the cast, during the interviews they opened up about watching the show together and live tweeting with fans.  Noah likes to pre-schedule his tweets because he finds it easier to interact with fans and watch without having to write his reactions to the episode.  Follow the hashtag #TheRealONeals on Twitter during the east coast and west coast airing of the show.

The Real O’Neals airs Tuesdays at 8:30/7:30c on ABC!

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