The second episode of MTV’s much-discussed teen drama Skins focused on lesbian Tea (Sofia Black D’Elia) and her own struggles with revealing her sexuality to her tight-knit family. D’Elia, a 19-year old New Jersey native who had previously only acted professionally in a brief stint on the soap All My Children, said she based Tea on one of her high school pals. “Tea for me actually was very similar to one of my friends growing up in high school,” says D’Elia. “I kind of used her as my sounding board.” EW talked to the actress more about last night’s emotional episode as well as the controversy surrounding the rookie series.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Were you familiar with the British version of the show?
SOFIA BLACK D’ELIA: Yeah, I was a huge fan of the original. While I was auditioning I had just finished season 3. Big “generation two” fan.
What was the audition process like for Skins?
I was part of the first batch of agency set up auditions. I wasn’t through the open call. But it was still the same kind of feel: a very large group of neurotic teenagers trying to impress a casting agency and stand out. I had auditioned for [the character of] Michelle because Tea hadn’t been written yet. Towards the end of the audition process, I got a call saying “You didn’t get Michelle” and I was devastated for ten seconds but they said, “They want you to audition for Tea.” The audition process was definitely long and grueling.
Describe Tea in your own words.
I would say Tea on the surface is [a] very confident, tough, hang-with-the-boys kind of chick. At first glance, she’s kind of unrelatable because I don’t know many teenagers that have that air of confidence and her bravado. But underneath it all she’s just as unsure as the rest of us. You go home with her and you see that her family truly cares about her and that’s kind of a rarity on Skins. At the same time, because of their backgrounds and beliefs and what not, she has this undeniable fear of showing her true colors. She can be as free as she wants with her friends but as soon as she goes home she has to shut down. I think her biggest fear is that she’ll disappoint the people who care about her the most which is her dad.
Last night, Tea hooked up both with Betty and with Tony. Why do you think she’s drawn to Tony?
Tony is one of the few people that can keep her on her toes. Betty is this character that seemingly is great for Tea because she’s a girl and somewhat interested but then Tea still finds herself bored. I think the Tony/Tea relationship works both ways because I think Tony kinda feels the same way about Michelle. For all intents and purposes, she’s perfect for him: she’s gorgeous, she’s the hottest girl in school and makes Tony feel cool. But at the end of the day, he’s still bored. That’s kind of why I think [Tea and Tony are] attracted to each other because this one relationship, as impossible as it is for so many reasons, is the only relationship in both of their lives that feels new and exciting and interesting.
You had some pretty racy scenes in last night’s episode. Were those awkward to film?
Yeah absolutely. What’s interesting is that in the aftermath of filming the show, what people latch onto are the racy scenes. But for us while filming, we never latched onto them because they were just another day. The crew never made it feel like we had anything to worry about. We walked on set and no matter what we were doing, no matter if it was an emotional scene with my grandmother or a sex scene with a girl, I felt the same way: how am I going to get my emotion out in this scene. I’m more worried about my acting abilities than my nerves about being undressed in front of a crew. We got really really lucky with the people that surrounded us on this show. They were supportive and trusting and an extended family for the cast. So those scenes were for us just another day. I know that now they seem like much more than that, which is kind of unfortunate for us because they’re not what we’re most proud of and what we feel the heart of the show is. Hopefully, over time, people will let go of the worry of the raciness of the show and the scandal because it’s much deeper.
You brought up the controversy surrounding the show’s sexual content. What’s your take on that?
It is a little bit more than I was hoping for only because I was hoping that once the show came out people would see that it’s much more than the sex and the drugs — because it is. I think certain parents will have a harder time stomaching it. At the same time, I can only say that I’m so proud of what we’ve done collectively. Everyone involved in this show cares so deeply about the heart behind it and the work we’ve put in. For me, I’m excited for people to see what else there is to Skins and I think they’re in store for a shock because right now all they think it is is underage kids doing sex scenes and that’s maybe 2 minutes out of a 45 minute episode that involves heartbreak and really honest performances and truthful story lines. For right now, as a cast, it’s a hard stage to be in to have people judging something we care so deeply about. I’m much more concerned with the opinions of the teenagers of America than the parents, because that’s who we were trying to reach.
Read more:
‘Skins’ creator on controversy: ‘Skins is in fact rather old fashioned’
‘Skins’ loses three more advertisers
‘Skins’: MTV releases racy new teaser, GM places show on ‘do not buy’ list
MTV’s new teen hit ‘Skins’: Could it be flirting with child pornography?
MTV’s ‘Skins’ reveals strong start
…cue the incessantly homophobic, uncultured, naive and irresponsible remarks from Americans ignorant of the own world they live in…
I really hope parents actually sit down and watch this show instead of judging and pretending like a good part of this is real. A perfect opportunity to show teens how life can be and learn from it. Unlike gossip girl or 90210 showing gorgeous people doing stupid things, this shows real teens in messed up situations and showing that it’s not glamorous, You’re not going to wake up in the morning with a pretty face and done up hair and supportive parents there to talk to. Before you judge and ignore it, actually watch it. It’s the first real show on tv. Ignorance isn’t always bliss parents!
I think this sofia girl sounds like a pill. Very pretentious. And this is coming from a teenager.
I agree to an extent. My mother was definitely one of those people who thought it was a terrible, destructive show but I sat her down and asked her to watch it (the Tea episode) and when it was over she still didn’t like the show but she did say “It wasn’t nearly as bad as I thought it would be.”
Sofia Black-D’Elia seems to be one of the few members of any of the Skns casts that can give a very insightful, very honest interview, and I think the viewers are the better for it. She’s definitely the cast stand-out at this point, and I’m hoping that she has a career long after this show vanishes, because the talent she shows is phenomenal.
If only the show were actually good.
“‘Skins’ star Sofia Black D’Elia says “I’m much more concerned with the opinions of the teenagers of America than the parents.” Interesting. That’s what drug pushers and pedophiles say too.
Somehow I doubt you’ve met either.
Okay, I don’t like US Skins, but that is a ridiculous statement. This is a 19 year old actress who cares more about how her peers think of her performance than adults and you compare her to some of the worst types of predators?
wow what an eloquent actress. i think i might watch the episode just because of her.
It is a very good series never seen the uk version but i know i wont like it as much as this one. My family dont think it is a bad show they say if people dont like dont watch .i like it so i watch it.
The UK version is so much better. The US rips off most UK shows and ruins them – this is no exception.
this is smut so is jersey shores
She’s sounds very smart and I get what she’s saying; but if the show is about so much more than the drugs and sex, then why does MTV use only those scenes to promote the show?
To get people to watch.
That’s pretty much MTV’s wheelhouse: name me a show on that network that isn’t soaked in booze or misery?
I’ve always said I’d love to see MTV do a “dry” show. I’m not a teetotaler, but there are plenty of people who manage to have messed up lives without the assistance of drugs and alcohol
“‘Skins’ star Sofia Black D’Elia says “I’m much more concerned with the opinions of the teenagers of America than the parents.”
And there you have one of the largest problems with all forms of media today. They are children. Get that? Children. What an ill-advised thing for this likely 20-something woman to say. What a poor, poor role model she is no matter what the show depicts.
Maxx, if you read the article a little more closely you might have picked up on the fact that Sofia is nineteen. And listen, I’m a teen with real thougts, real opinions, and real desires. I find it insanely offensive that you would call all tenagers children. It’s true that some teens are more immature than others, but most teens can handle a show like Skins without mimicking the behavior. I appluad Skins and its stars for trying to help teenagers with all the issues they face.
Teenagers cave in to peer pressure all the time. All they do is mimick other people’s behavior whether it’s from TV or peers. Why do you think teenagers are the ones who do the dumbest things all the time? It’s because teenagers are stupid.
Don’t even almost pretend that someone would watch this show for anything other than the smut.
Oh, god. I hope you are a troll, miss. And if you really are part of the PTC you might want to think about spending your time actually judging things, instead of writing in the comments section of EW.
I haven’t laughed so hard in years. What a joke this little person is.
I can’t believe people like Jenny exist in the western world. How sad.
They should have Elle Fanning, Dakota’s little sister on the show. She could play a prostitute or a girl at the bar and I could play this guy that buys her a beer. Just some ideas I’m throwing out there. I wish SKINS stood for something other than joint papers cause I really want to see some more skin. This show is tame…
No means no, Ben.
this girl can act! and dance….how hottttt was her dance scenes last night and I am glad a show has the guts to show that alot of times sexuality is not set but is fluid for many folks….
What a fake @ss name.