What’s next on One Tree Hill?
We decided to ask
Bethany J. Galeotti
Easy tone, cheerful voice, very willing. This is, in short, the impression I got when I talked with Bethany Joy Lenz (Galeotti is the name she took after marrying Michael Galeotti in 2005), the actress that portrays beautiful Haley on One Tree Hill. A 20 minutes phone chat between Italy and US (New York) where the actress was spending a break from filming One Tree Hill. During the chat, she talked to me about the character she portrays, the show and her personal projects. And she made me promise to send her a copy of TFM with her interview…
- Bethany, at first your character Haley was sort of a nerd, but many episodes and seasons after, she has become a cheerleader and even one of the most popular girls in school. What do you think about this change?
I think that to go through different stages where kids try to understand who they are, what’s their identity, is characteristic of teenagers. So it’s not surprising that also Haley has gone through different moments. It’s part of growing up.
- I happened to see an issue of Maxim and I saw your co-stars on the cover. Why weren’t you there? And why did you get marry?
Let’s say that this kind of pictures is not what I am, is not my style. Besides, the fact I’m married changes things a lot. I respect my husband very much and in some way I consider my body “his property”.
- What about the relationship between Haley and Nathan? It reminds me a lot of the classic story of the good girl that falls in love with the bad guy and tries her best to save him from himself…
I agree on the fact it’s a little bit of cliché, but it’s indeed true that many women are still fascinated by the idea of redeeming a bad guy. Unfortunately they don’t understand that after the guy is “redeemed”, a big part of his charm will go away…Anyway, to answer your question, at the beginning there was sort of that situation even though episode after episode Nathan seems more and more dominated by Haley. Honestly I hope he can find again a little bit of his pride. That’s the quality every woman would like to see in her man.
- I know your husband is Italian, so I can’t help but asking you if you speak a little bit of our language and if you have ever been in Italy?
Unfortunately I’ve never been in Italy even though I would love to go there. About my Italian, well, the only thing I know is “Mi dispiace ma non è accettabile per me” (sorry but it’s not acceptable for me). I know it’s weird but it’s the only thing that is remained in my mind. I really tried to learn some Italian, but it’s difficult because I never have the chance to speak it.
- The O.C. has been cancelled, One Tree Hill and Veronica Mars’s future is not decided yet. Things don’t look good for teen dramas in Hollywood in this moment. What’s your opinion?
In the latest years there have been lots of new and very interesting shows (Desperate Housewives, Lost, Heroes, Dr. House) that have made the TV world much more competitive. It’s gonna be interesting to see how many of our audience will stay with us and how many will move to new shows…that said, I don’t really have an opinion on the decline of teen dramas. I know that our fans love the drama and they like very much the fact our show takes place in a small town, which makes it easy for the viewers to identify with the characters. About One Tree Hill’s future, I hope for more irony and comedy, maybe something like Desperate.
- Tell me about yourself and your love for music. In S2 we saw you sing and one of your songs was also in the show’s soundtrack. Do you think in future you’ll be a singer?
Music is one of my big passions and I’ve always been singing since high school and I just finished recording an album.Now I’m searching for a major that can produce and sell the CD. Anyway, the music I like to listen to and play is different, much less pop, than the music you can hear on the show. Right now I’m writing a musical and maybe sooner or later it will be in Broadway!
- Last question: what’s in store for Bethany?
Right now there’s surely One Tree Hill. Nobody knows about the future. I confess I would like to work in Europe in some international movie, I think it could be a very interesting experience. If not that, I will spend my time travelling and writing my musical.
