Tatum couldn’t agree more. “I love Amanda to death. She is just the most adorable thing you can imagine. It was so much fun being on the set with her; she was just hysterical—whether she was a girl or a guy.”
Duke asks Viola—that is to say Sebastian—to help him get a date with Olivia, which is the last thing Viola wants to do. She needn’t worry. The more Sebastian—that is to say Viola—talks to Olivia about Duke, the more Olivia finds herself falling for Sebastian, who she thinks is the first “guy” to whom she can truly relate. If she only knew…
Laura Ramsey, who stars as Olivia, attests, “Sebastian and Olivia have this connection, so Olivia is falling in love with Sebastian, but really it’s Viola disguised as her brother…and I have to say, Amanda was good looking as a guy. I could see how Olivia could be attracted to her, I mean him.”
Leslie notes, “The role of Olivia was another key part of the casting because she’s the other side of the romantic triangle. You have to believe that Duke would be obsessed with this girl, and that she could fall in love with Viola as a boy. Laura Ramsey was perfect because she is obviously beautiful and she and Amanda had real chemistry. We also wanted somebody petite next to Amanda, which helped Amanda play a boy so convincingly.”
The real Sebastian is played by James Kirk, who says his character and Viola have more in common than their birthday. “Viola and Sebastian are opposites in many ways, but they both share the same passion for the things they want. They are going to follow their dreams no matter what it takes. For Viola, it’s soccer. For Sebastian, it’s his music, so he is determined to go to London to fulfill his dreams.”
Viola is equally determined to play soccer, so when her own school, Cornwall High, cuts the girls’ soccer team and the guys’ soccer coach refuses to allow the girls to try out for his team, Viola hatches a plan to enroll in her brother’s place at Illyria Prep and win a place on their soccer team in time to help Illyria beat their arch rival: Cornwall. For Viola, it’s a matter of pride...and perhaps a little revenge against her now ex-boyfriend, Justin, who is Cornwall’s goalie.
Robert Hoffman, who plays the role of Justin, explains, “Justin told Viola that she was better than half the guys on his team, but when she tries to confront him about that in front of his teammates, Justin isn’t cool about that. He betrays her and denies ever having said it, which really upsets her. Justin says, ‘Girls can’t play against guys,’ but really he knows Viola is good, and he doesn’t want a girl showing him up.”
To transform herself into her twin, Viola seeks out the help of her best friend Paul, who happens to be a hair stylist at a high-end salon. “Paul is Viola’s go-to guy,” says Jonathan Sadowski, who plays Paul. “He’s the one she goes to for help and advice, but this is a first for them.”
Sadowski adds that the scenes in which Paul is trying out different looks to turn Viola into Sebastian were tremendous fun to shoot. “If you know Amanda, she’s such a girlie girl, so it was fun watching that transformation. It was just hysterical. I can’t say enough about what a good sport Amanda was, and working with Andy was great, too. He gave us a lot of liberty on the set, so you never knew what was going to happen next. I can’t wait to see the outtake reel.”
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