Lindsay Hollister is the BEST!!!!!

Here are some links to articles about Lindsay:

http://www.etonline.com/celebrity/a9304.htm

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"One to Watch - Our Favorite Soap Dish" - by Ceslie J. Armstrong

(The article is not online, so I took the liberty of posting the text here. I hope I'm not violating any copyrights or anything.)

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Name: Lindsay Hollister
Profession: actress

Breakout role: Christine, an overweight student on Fox's hit TV show, Boston Public. Mistreated by the other students until she proved herself a winner on the school's wrestling team, Christine ultimately dies of heart failure. "I found out that this was Lindsay's first job, and after the first take we did together I was so blown away by her performance I said, 'Honey, welcome to the rest of your life,'" said Chi McBride, who plays principal Steven Harper on Boston Public.

How art imitates life: "Every day, from second through ninth grade, the kids made me feel ashamed of myself because of my size," remembers Hollister. "But when I got to high school and stepped onstage for the first time, the kids started to respect me because I really shined. And then I knew what I was going to do with my life."

Where to see her: On the NBC soap Days of Our Lives and in featured appearances on Lifetime's Strong Medicine and Any Day Now.

Inspirations: Kathy Bates and Camryn Manheim. "They've carved out a path for women. And I feel like I am going to carve it out a little deeper."

http://www.modemag.com

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New York Daily News - 4 May 2001:

"Heavy Message - 'Days' teen to face weight taunts" - by Carolyn Hinsey

http://www.nydailynews.com/2001-05-04/New_York_Now/Television/a-109779.asp

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This Week Online (Pickerington, Ohio) - 24-31 January 2001:

"PHS graduate shines brightly in Hollywood for 'Boston Public'" - By Mark A. Claffey

http://www.thisweeknews.com/1.24-1.31/pik/piknews4.html

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The Miami (OH) Student Online - 2 February 1999:

"Thespians win 'prestigious' awards" - by Andrea Might:

http://www.mustudent.muohio.edu/1999/020299/thespians.html

http://newsinfo.muohio.edu/news_display.cfm?mu_un_id=217

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Suburban News Publications - Pickerington, Ohio - 17 January 2001:

"Hollister getting noticed as character actress in Hollywood" - by Shannon Mast

(The article is no longer online, so I took the liberty of posting the text here. I hope I'm not violating any copyrights or anything.)

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The Pickerington Local School District has another reason to boast besides its recent perfect report card from the state.

Lindsay Hollister, a graduate of Pickerington High School, appeared in the television show Boston Public, which airs on Mondays from 8 to 9 p.m. on Fox.

Hollister auditioned for a guest role on the new, David E. Kelley-produced series and was asked to play Christine Banks, a teen-age wrestler.

Lindsay Hollister, a Pickerington High School graduate, is making her way in Hollywood with one appearance on the Fox series Boston Public under her belt and one more coming up Feb. 5.

Hollister learned that the show's producers are bringing the character back for the Feb. 5 episode and is waiting to receive word about further guest star spots.


High school years

During her years at PHS, Hollister was an active participant in the PHS Drama Department.

"Mrs. Lawson is great," Hollister said, referring to Margaret Lawson, head of the drama department. "She gave me a chance to perform on stage and started it all."


Character actress

Hollister appeared in many high school productions, including Rumors, Bye Bye Birdie, Sound of Music, Steel Magnolias and Anything Goes.

"I remember after her first stage appearance she came to me and said, 'This what I want to do with the rest of my life,'" Lawson said. "She was just trembling with excitement.

"I suggested she really work on being a good character actress, because that's where her strengths are. She's good at playing the acidic but lovable curmudgeon."

After high school, Hollister attended Miami University in Oxford and received a bachelor of fine arts degree in theatre performance.


Off to L.A.

The August after receiving her degree, Hollister took off for Los Angeles.

"A lot of people ask me why I didn't go into theater and move to New York," Hollister said. "I can't dance or sing -- my strengths are all in acting -- so I always knew I wanted to try to get into film and television, even before college.

"And I'm a character actress; there aren't a lot of theater parts for someone my age as a character actress."

While many of her peers skip the college education in favor of making it in LA immediately, Hollister is glad she opted to wait.

"I wanted to be trained and get a college education before I made the move to LA," she said. "I really got to hone my skills throughout my college career."


Mother's perspective

Hollister's mother, Janice Plank, is glad her daughter chose higher education, too.

"It's really hard to convince theater people that they need to get the degree," Plank said. "They feel like they're wasting their time, but Lindsay has an edge over many of those others because of her training.

"She moved out (to LA) as prepared as she could have been."


Getting noticed

Once she'd made the move to LA, the next step was getting noticed.

"A lot of people move out here and think they're going to get discovered just walking down the street," Hollister said. "That's just not the way it works, at least not usually. It requires a lot of work on your part."

With help from her parents, Hollister was able to survive with only a part-time job, leaving her time to work on getting her face onto agents' desks.

"I didn't think any (agency) would take me without any TV or film experience, but I sent out material to 25 agents," she said. "Then, I just kept doing it periodically to let them know that I was still here."

Hollister's persistence paid off and she received responses from two agencies.

"I got lucky," she said. "They believed I would be marketable and talented enough to find work."

Hollister signed with the Stevens Group, an agency based near Hollywood, but didn't book anything through them until Boston Public.

"To get hired, you almost have to be a member of the Screen Actors Guild because producers get fined if they hire non-union members," Hollister said.

"Most of them can't afford to pay the fines, and since it's pretty much impossible to become a member of SAG without any kind of major film or TV credit, it's often a lose-lose situation."

Luckily, Hollister said, David E. Kelley's decision to hire her allowed her to apply for SAG membership.

"I'm so lucky," she said. "Guest starring roles are getting to be few and far between, and lately they're going to bigger-name stars, so I was very fortunate that I was exactly what they wanted, both physically and acting-wise."


Christine Banks

Hollister's character, Christine, is a wrestler and, consequently, has several scenes where she is actually wrestling.

Hollister attended several wrestling practices, learned the techniques and performed her own stunts in both episodes.

Having finished the two episodes of Boston Public, Hollister's future with the show is still unknown.

"I'm currently on hold for a third guest appearance," Hollister said. "I hope I get to go back. David E. Kelley is good at bringing back people and characters that he likes, and he definitely likes this character.

"The second episode I did, the script was more in-depth than the first.

"I'd love to keep going back again and again, but we'll have to wait and see," she said. "That's the thing about this business -- there are no guarantees."


Uncertain future

While she is enjoying her work on Boston Public, Hollister does not harbor any false hopes about what it means for her future.

"Doing guest star work on a primetime show that's getting good ratings will definitely open doors for me, but it won't shoot me into superstardom," Hollister said.

"It all just depends. I could do this and be great and then not work for six months, you just don't know."

In addition to her appearances on Boston Public, Hollister also has appeared in two short films and has had a feature part in an independent film since moving to Los Angeles.

http://www.snponline.com

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