Blaine Morris was born with the perfect stage name and the talent to match. She grew up in Secaucus and attended Hudson County’s High Tech High School because they have a “good musical theater program,” she said, “and it was cool that you could have a major in high school.”
Her path to an acting career was all mapped out. She was one of only seven women accepted to Elon University in North Carolina to pursue a BFA in musical theater. To make the cut she had to dance, sing, and present a monologue.
“I learned to zone out.” – Blaine Morris
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“I said I would do it, and once a week I read a script and gave feedback,” Morris said.
Three from the group of 20 were asked to come in two or three times a week to work with the writers. Morris, 18, was then asked to audition for the show by creator and head writer Bryan Elsley. “They got to know me,” Morris said. “They created this part, and they wanted me to send them videos of me singing and acting.”
Within weeks she’d landed the part of Betty Nardone, a lesbian whose onscreen lover is actor Sofia Black D’Elia, who plays the part of cheerleader Tea Marvelli. Black D’Elia is 19. The pair were already friends , both having attended Broadway Bound performing arts school in Lyndhurst.
“Skins” is an unusual series, employing a fleet of young, sometimes unknown writers and actors. It is based on a British show of the same name, written by a father and son team.
Since the show’s U.S. premiere in January, it has already stirred controversy. The Parents Television Council is asking the Justice Department to investigate whether it constitutes child pornography. Taco Bell reportedly withdrew sponsorship because the show “is not a fit for our brand.”
Under the Skins
“In the last episode we had sex within the first five minutes,” Morris said last week. “When Tea found out I had a boyfriend, she didn’t want a relationship.”
Turns out Betty didn’t really want a boyfriend.
“I kissed Tea in the cafeteria,” Morris said. “That was my coming out pretty much.”
What’s it like for teens to do sex scenes on camera?
“For sex scenes it’s a closed set,” Morris said. “Just the director, camera operator, costume and hair people, and someone from Equity. [an actors’ labor union].”
That’s still quite a few onlookers for a sex scene. “The Equity person is there to make sure everything is OK.” Morris said. “They always ask, ‘Are you OK? Is everything fine?’ ”
At first, she admitted, the racy scene did bother her, “but I learned to zone out,” she said.
Both actors are straight. “It really doesn’t matter,” Morris said. “It’s acting. It’s really your job.” She said it helped to be friends with Black D’Elia. “I knew her from when we were really little. There’s a sort of trust between us.”
She’s also learned a lot about being on a set. “The days are longer than I thought,” she said. “I’m there at 5 a.m. and leave at 7:30 p m. There is a lot of waiting around in between takes and taking naps.”
Skins’ heads
The first of 10 episodes premiered on Jan. 21 on MTV. The original show was created by Bryan Elsey and his son Jamie Brittain, debuting on British TV in 2007.
“It was a huge critical hit in England,” Morris said. “A cult phenomenon that looks at certain types of teenagers, their friendships, and relationships, and what they go through.”
She said that the Parents Television Council “haven’t read the show, and say stuff based on the promos.”
And Morris’s own parents are fine with it.
“They think it’s great, an awesome experience to have,” Morris said. “I can always go back to school. I was going to school to train to be an actor; it’s better to be working.”
Her half brother who is 28, expressed concerns that “his sister was growing up on TV” and he was “a little weird about the scandalous clothes.”
The show is filmed in Toronto. “They found a pretty cheap filming space,” Morris said, “and they got us apartments three blocks from CN Tower on the lake.”
Filming for Skins ended in December, and Morris and Black D’Elia live together in an apartment in New York City.
Said Morris, “I’m auditioning and focusing on myself and getting my career together.”
Kate Rounds can be reached at krounds@hudsonreporter.com..