Tall Girl 2 releases on Netflix on February 11, 2022. The film features returning stars Ava Michelle, Griffin Gluck, Sabrina Carpenter, Anjelika Washington, Luke Eisner, Angela Kinsey, and Steve Zahn. Newcomer Jan Luis Castellanos also makes a splash as a new love interest for Jodi.
“After her inspiring speech at the homecoming dance, Jodi (Ava Michelle) is no longer just the ‘tall girl’ – she’s popular, confident, has a boyfriend, and just booked the lead role in this year’s school musical,” says the official synopsis. “But as the pressure of her newfound popularity intensifies, so do her insecurities, and new relationships are formed while old ones are tested. As the world she built starts to crumble around her, Jodi realizes that standing tall was only just the beginning.”
ComingSoon Editor-in-Chief Tyler Treese spoke with Tall Girl 2 stars Ava Michelle and Anjelika Washington about the Netflix film, their friendship, and its portrayal of anxiety.
Tyler Treese: Ava, singing and performing scenes from Bye Bye Birdie in this film, you got to show a lot of range here. How exciting was it to tap into your dance background and show this other side of yourself?
Ava Michelle: It was honestly like the biggest dream come true because I grew up dancing first and that was my first love. And being able to just combine singing, dancing, and acting into one project was so surreal. I mean, I’d go from set to dance rehearsals, and just to be able to show off all of those art forms at the same time was amazing.
Anjelika, you have one of the most interesting storylines here. Your parents are really kind of pushing back about your passion for design and there’s this whole theme of parents pressuring their children to go in certain directions. Can you speak about that theme and how you relate it to your character?
Anjelika Washington: I think oftentimes, we feel very pressured to do exactly what, if not our families, but what society thinks we’re supposed to do. I definitely dropped out of college, and in my house, it’s not acceptable. Like, you’re gonna go to college. It’s not an option. Telling my parents “I want to drop out of college so I can go to L.A. and be an actress” is very unreal and not normal to them. But I think once I believed in it for myself, it showed them that, okay, maybe she actually can do this and now nobody complains. So it’s a great time. So I just think you gotta bet on yourself.
Ava, the first film was very much about self-acceptance and in this film, Jody’s dealing with a lot of anxiety. That’s something a lot of people can relate to, but not everybody has anxiety attacks. So what went into your portrayal of making sure it was done realistically and tastefully?
Michelle: I think that was honestly one of the biggest weights when reading the script as an actor of just wanting to, like you said, portray that in the best way possible. But I can definitely relate to Jody in a way of anxiety. I haven’t had panic attacks, but I feel like we all have had that moment where it all just feels like it’s crashing down on us. But I had a couple of friends and different people that, if they experience them, we talked about them, and I really realized that they’re so different for everyone in every situation.
I think that that’s also important to understand is that not every single one looks the same. I mean, there’s even a difference in between the two anxiety attacks that happen in the film. Because the first one she’s having an anxiety attack, but she’s also terrified about what’s going on. So there’s a whole other level that’s going on with that. So, it was researching it, but also giving myself the freedom to just put myself in her shoes and explore that
Anjelika, since this is your second go-around with Tall Girl, can you speak to how your real-life, friendship and chemistry with Ava really has helped bolster your onscreen portrayal as besties?
Washington: Honestly what you’re watching in the film isn’t too far off from our regular life. [laughs] It is the easiest role I have had, because working with Ava is so freeing and I feel so safe with her because I know she loves me in real life. So she’s gonna love me as Freeda as well. So it allows us the privilege, as actors, to just take more chances, try new things, do whatever, and we just be bounce off each other. If I mess up, she catches me, it’s great. And I think that that really shows on screen as well.
Michelle: I agree.
Ava, I loved how the film kind of explored your relationship with Dunkleman, and you go through a real rough patch and you see so many different sides of the characters. Can you speak to just fleshing out that relationship?
Michelle: Obviously it’s really exciting being in your first relationship, but I think there are also so many different challenges and dynamics that come with it. I think you see something that happens a lot to teenagers of trying to make this relationship work and trying to portray something of a perfect relationship and be there for each other and not totally communicate what you’re going through yourself. So I think that a lot of the things that happen in this film is just a miscommunication and kind of an avoidance of how they’re actually feeling, which I think we can all kind of learn from, but it is something that we do in real life as well.
