Dreama Walker stars as the popular and devious Harper Grace in ”Seven Deadly Sins”. She reveals why she loves playing a mean girl, and how she remembers her own high school experience.

Harper Grace is the ultimate “rich girl, queen bee” character. Can you relate to her story? How did you prepare for the role?

I had a great time playing her. Those kinds of characters are so much fun to play because they get to be likable, but also there is a lot of texture and there are a lot of dynamic things in their personalities. There are things that she does and you think, That was so mean, that was so horrible. I can’t stand her. And then she does something else and you think, I really like her.

So mean girls have more fun? Do you prefer to play the mean girl?

I honestly think that they do. It’s fun to whip out the wild side and whip out the comedy and be a little mean and be a little edgy and be a little bratty.

Can you tell us what it was like behind the scenes on the “Seven Deadly Sins” set?

It was really, really fun. It was great to work with a whole new batch of actors. We were all around the same age, and we all had the same sense of humor. There would be times when it would get distracting and we would all start making each other laugh or giggle, and we would have to just go back to normal and do the scene, so that was hard.
I really got along well with Emma Lahana, who plays Beth. Our characters pretty much never get along. We never reconcile. We really never have a moment when we get to be friends, so it was hard to convey that on screen and make it look like we really didn’t like each other.
It was definitely fun doing the scene on ecstasy, where I have to speak to the whole auditorium. That was really intense, and it was really fun because I got to improv at the end. I am basically supposed to wander offstage, and there were a couple of takes when I actually fell offstage! But I made it work, and I was like, Oh, well she’s on drugs. It makes sense for her to fall and not even really know that she fell. Everyone started laughing, and then I kind of started falling on purpose. It was fun.

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We’ve seen you play the popular high school girl in the movie and on "Gossip Girl," but what were you like in high school? Were you a “Harper Grace”?

No, no, not at all. I don’t think I got that much attention at all. I had a good group of friends. I think we were very, very nice. We didn’t really go around being mean to people. I have to say, I think we were pretty uneventful. We didn’t really do anything that crazy or that wild. I think I am just going to have to say I just existed in high school, and that’s about it.

We’re taking a poll on the “Seven Deadly Sins” website, and I’ll ask you the same question: Would you want to relive your high school days, or are you happy to leave it all in the past?

I think I am totally happy to leave it all in the past. Not that it was horrible at all. It was perfectly average, normal, fine. It’s like that John Mayer song — if you completely peak in high school, then everything else just goes down from there, but I think life definitely got better for me after high school.

Do you think the teens in Grace, Texas are a realistic depiction of teens today, or are their lives overly dramatized?

It’s somewhat realistic. There’s a lot of stuff that goes on, and a lot of bad decisions, people driving too fast, doing drugs. So I think some of it is real. Kids try to grow up too fast everywhere and anywhere. I sound like such an old woman right now, but it’s true. Kids are always trying to behave like they’re much older. I thought I was so cool, and I thought I was so grown-up, but I had no idea about life or anything. Maybe I don’t now. I’ll probably look back on this interview and think I had no idea what I was talking about!

You moved to New York after high school to follow your dream. Do you have any advice for aspiring actors or musicians?

Absolutely. The best advice anyone ever gave me was to be consistent and persistent. There’s nothing more important than really going after something wholeheartedly. It’s almost like survival of the fittest. You have to keep going. And you can’t stop trying, because when you stop trying it’s definitely not going to happen. You cannot give up.

Do you consider yourself a New Yorker?

No, I don’t think so. I love New York. I love New York a lot, but I’ve only been here for six years, and according to “Sex and the City,” you’re supposed to be here for 10 years [to be considered a New Yorker]. I think I’ll always be a Florida girl inside and out. Actually, not outside, because I’m not tan and I don’t wear flip-flops normally. Other than that, I’m definitely a Florida girl!

What have you been up to since filming? What’s new in your life?

I just did a movie in New Jersey, an independent film called “Chlorine.” It was very cool and very fun, and hopefully it should be out sometime this summer or next fall. I did a guest spot on “Mercy.” I just found out that I am going to be in this movie called “Vampirifica” that’s an indie being shot here in New York in July that I’m super, super excited to be a part of.
Normally, summers are a little slower. I actually found out about this [“Seven Deadly Sins”] last summer. I was in Europe for nine weeks and I found out that I was going to do the Lifetime movie and I was so, so excited, because I’d never been to Canada before, and also it’s great when you’ve been on vacation for nine weeks to know that when you come back you have a job. That was definitely a plus.


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