The Trades - Interview: Beth Ulrich: Moving In and Moving Up

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ARTICLE

Interview: Beth Ulrich: Moving In and Moving Up
by R.J. Carter
Published: January 20, 2006

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· Review: Apartment 12

Maybe you've seen her as Mark Ruffalo's love interest in "Apartment 12". Or maybe you've caught her in a B-movie on late night cable. Or maybe you've missed her either way -- but that's a situation that's going to change as soon as Hollywood catches wind of this up-and-coming ingenue.

I had the opportunity to have a conversation with the lovely Miss Ulrich, and just to prove it, here's what we talked about.

Eat your hearts out.

Why acting? I mean, what drove you to leave the Midwest for the bright lights of Hollywood? And were they what you expected when you got there?

Why acting, indeed! I took an acting class when I was 17, and I've been bitten with the bug ever since. Plus, I found right away that I was rather skillful at it. I love how it feels. And my mom says I've been performing my whole life, and nothing was keeping me in Colorado Springs, so it was off to LA at 21. I didn't really have any expectations -- I just knew that the riots had just gone down. I remember the drive like it was yesterday -- very freeing.

You've been acting professionally now for about ten years now (if IMDb can be trusted). Just how difficult is it to get into a picture -- and what do you do to survive in between them?

Actually over 13 years. it's not too difficult. Getting the audition in the first place -- that's what you wait for. In between, it's sucky jobs waitressing; I've delivered pizza, painted houses -- same as everybody else. Bartended, babysat...

The characters you've portrayed are just about as opposite as can be. How much are you like Lori (from "Apartment 12")? Like Spider (from "Fugitive Rage")?

I'm like Lori in the fact that I usually stick to my guns. I'm like Spider in that we try to stay out of jail, but aren't always successful. "Walkin' the tightrope," as Mr. Stevie Ray Vaughn says.

Obviously "Apartment 12" is far more mainstream than "Fugitive Rage" or "Black Widow Escort". Was there any difference experienced from your side of the camera, as far as having (and I'm just guessing here) a bigger budget and a recognized name leading the cast, as opposed to working in the B-films?

It was a small budget, actually, and I think everyone did very well with what we had to work with. Plus, Mark (Ruffalo) wasn't a name yet -- but I knew he was goin' places! The acting was fun with him.

Not that there's anything wrong with the B-films (he said, doing his best Jerry Seinfeld impression) -- Bruce Campbell has become an icon in them, as has Shannon Tweed (each for differing reasons). But are they something you enjoy doing, or are they more of a stepping stone to other projects?

I enjoy every character. It's all an adventure, really.

Where can we see you again soon?

I'm soon to be in a spoof-horror movie. We start filming any minute now, in Los Angeles. Hopefully it will be out at the end of the year, give or take. It's called "Naked Women in a Haunted House". (You do the math.) And, of course, you can see me in "Apartment 12" which will be released February 7th on DVD at Blockbuster and other video chains -- Netflix, Barnes & Noble, etc.

That last movie begs another question. I once had the opportunity to talk with an exotic dancer, and I asked her what it was like that first time getting nude in front of an audience. She said it frightened her more than childbirth. I'm wondering -- is that trepidation magnified knowing that the the nudity is being saved on film, to be relived and replayed on screens all over the country?

It's only brief and, no, it doesn't bother me. Puh-lease, it's only flesh, for God's sake. The French and others laugh at us because we're so uptight. Well, I'm not, and I try not to take everything so damn seriously. Plus, this is a tongue-in-cheek movie, so... "when in Rome!" If it bothered me, I wouldn't have agreed to the role. Plus, the good Lord endowed me with nice ones, so who am I to conceal them? Anything for art!

Well, I may have passed over "Naked Women in a Haunted House" before, but now I think I have a good reason to place a reservation for it on my Amazon watch list! Thanks, Beth, and here's to great success!