Sitcom star Hayley Orrantia has gone by the name Erica Goldberg for nearly nine years.
(She’s even taking a step out of the ’80s, too.)
All about Hayley Orrantia’s new Christmas movie
Your new Christmas movie looks like so much fun.
What made you want to be a part of “Christmas Is Canceled”?
Well, I got the script, and honestly, the writing just really did it for me.
So her goal is to venture to break them up before the holidays are over.
And so that’s not really a situation you really want to see yourself in.
[Laughs] And I just thought it was such a hilarious concept.
And the writing was just so good, so I was really drawn to it for that.
I didn’t realize it was based on a real story.
And I think that that’s why it’s so well done.
What was it like to act out these heated scenes with her?
She’s just so lovely of a person.
She’s fun, sweet.
But, you know, we trusted each other in the scenes, and we sort of dove in.
We actually really like each other."
[Laughs] But it was great to get to work with her.
I feel like as much as I want to say, “Oh, it’s completely different.
I really challenged myself.”
I think that there is a lot of elements of me in both Erica and Emma.
But it was just a very different experience overall filming the TV show.
We’ve really found a rhythm, nine years in, of scheduling and, logistically, just shooting.
And I’m really excited, or happy, with how it all came out.
Have you gotten to see it yet and hear your song in the movie?
I have not gotten to see the whole movie yet, which is killing me.
But I’m very excited.
So you wrote it from the character’s point of view?
Is that what inspired it?
And of course, it being around the holidays, I wanted it to have holiday elements.
[Laughs] And so I don’t really listen to a lot of Christmas music.
And so I wanted this song to kind of be similar to those that I really love.
And that, sort of, was the direction that I went with this one.
In a way, it’s relatable all year long.
And so just something that I felt like could I don’t know.
What was it that initially drew you to it?
And the writing was great.
So I just, you know, threw my hat in the ring, and thankfully it panned out.
I mean, she’s based off of his older brother, Eric, but in a female form.
So how did you prepare to become her?
And so he was able to give me elements of, kind of, who Eric was.
And so that sort of gave me a little bit of leverage to do what I wanted with it.
And funny enough, I mentioned in that meeting, like, “Hey!
I’m a singer-songwriter.
If there’s ever a chance for me to put a song in the credits.”
Same thing where I love making music.
I mean, like, every element.
So it gave me this sort of leverage to have fun with it and make it whoever I wanted.
Do you have a favorite moment that sticks out in your mind from working on the show?
That’s so tough because we’re actually filming our 200th episode this week.
So it makes it very hard to pick out one moment.
They’re some of my favorite people in the whole world.
So that’s probably my favorite memory.
For being on a show for that long, you have to grow close.
I mean, you see these people every day.
We actually just shot part of it.
So we’re filming it still, but I’m very excited for people to see it.
There’s a lot.
I don’t want to give anything away.
I’m really stoked for people to see it.
How did you get involved with that?
Yeah, so my dad has been renovating and flipping houses for as long as I can remember.
Like, I think before I was even born.
And he mostly did it back in his hometown in Montana.
It was always something that he’s done.
And it’s because his father and grandfather did the same.
Whether they’re working in the entertainment industry or not, the town is just taking off.
It looks like it’s going to be something that we’ll get to see on TV, too.
When are we going to be able to see your house-flipping series “Legacy Builds”?
So right now we’re sort of reworking what exactly that’s going to look like.
What’s next for Hayley Orrantia?
You’re doing interior design right now, you’re acting, and you’re also singing.
What does the future look like for you?
So in 2022, that is the main focus.
But I’m also really excited to challenge myself in trying to do projects behind the camera.
You have a lot going on right now.
I give a shot to stay busy and challenge myself as much as possible.
New episodes of “The Goldbergs” air every week on ABC.
