Christel Khalil Interview (pg. 2)

Courtesy of CBS

Sindy: You've been acting since you were quite young. Is it difficult to remain grounded in the industry?
Christel Khalil: If you don't have the right kind of people around you, then it could be because in acting everyone caters to you and they almost treat you like you're not a human being. So I think it's easy for some people to get a big head and think that they're more important than everyone else. But if you have people around you who keep you grounded and you keep things in perspective, then I don't see why you would end up like that.

Sindy:Do you feel pressure to look a certain way? How do you deal with that?
Christel Khalil: You know, I've never had that problem. I know a lot of people who do. I'm very comfortable with who I am and what I look like. I don't really feel that kind of pressure.

Sindy: Do you find that your multi-racial background affects the type of roles you get?
Christel Khalil: Oh yeah! There are a lot of parts I haven't got because they couldn't define my look. "Oh, you're not black enough, you're not Hispanic enough." If it's a role within a family, I wouldn't get it because I didn't look enough like the rest of the family. It definitely has affected my career, but not in a good way.

Sindy: Who is the coolest person you've worked with to date?
Christel Khalil: I'd probably have to say Kristoff St. John, who plays my dad on the show, because he's such a nice person and such a genuine, sweet person. He's always happy, all the time. I don't know how he does it. It's so easy to work with him because he just brings so much to the scenes.

Sindy: Who would you like to work with in the future?
Christel Khalil: Meryl Streep, definitely. I think she's an amazing actress - one of the best of our time. I would love to work with her and see how she prepares and how she works.

Sindy: Where do you see yourself in, say, five years?
Christel Khalil: I'd love to have a movie career. I think every actor would. Or just to be on a hit TV show or something like that. Just getting really good parts where I can do a lot with them.

Sindy: What advice would you give to other kids who want to get into acting?
Christel Khalil: To not give up, and if it's something that you really want to do then try your hardest and work really hard at it. Always be prepared. In this industry, you deal with so much rejection that it's hard to not take it personally, so just try to be confident and sure of who you are.

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