Nickelodeon Presents "The Troop" Season 2!
New Faces… Same Great Action When the Second Season of “The Troop” Premieres on Nickelodeon. Malese Jow Tells Us All About it!
Nickelodeon fans are excited that the second season of “The Troop” will begin on Saturday, June 25, at 12:30PM! In the first season of the series, we met Jake (Nick Purcell) a typical teenager who is brought into a secret society. This organization helps keep the world safe from supernatural beings that unknowingly inhabit our planet. Jake is teamed with Hayley, a smart and beautiful girl who throughout the first season, he developed a crush on. Things get shaken up a bit in season 2 with the arrival of a new girl named “Cadence,” (played by Malese Jow). The attention-grabbing newcomer tries to come between Jake and Hayley and she is used to getting what she wants. Does this outsider help or hurt the team when it comes to their missions? You’ll have a great time watching to find out!
Here is a sneak peak at the first episode of the second season:
We recently had the chance to chat with Malese Jow about bringing “Cadence” to life on “The Troop.” Thankfully, she is nowhere near as scary as her character and we had a great time talking with her. Find out more about Malese below.
Meet Malese Jow
Malese Jow is an Oklahoma native who has been in the entertainment industry for over half of her life. Nickelodeon fans might recognize her from another Nick series called “Unfabulous,” the show that launched the career of actress Emma Roberts. She’s back in the Nick fold, shaking things up on “The Troop” as the trouble making “Cadence.”
The actress recently called in to talk about this fun role, where she is headed this summer, and why it is great to be back on the channel that started it all for her. Read on to learn more about Malese.
“I was a little girl in Oklahoma and I was really shy,” she recalls regarding how she got her start in show business. “I actually started out as a singer first. So like whenever I would get onstage performing for people like in talent shows, [or] in talent competitions, I would just come alive. That kind of made the organic process of I started getting into print and commercials.”
The whole family was supportive of her pursuing a career. “We ended up coming out to Los Angeles in 2000. I was just turning ten, for pilot season. We were just going to stay for a few months.” Malese ended up booking jobs and never looked back. “I ended up staying. It was a family thing. They were very supportive and now I’m living my dreams. It’s great!”
She never viewed the move from Oklahoma to California as anything other than exciting. “I was so excited. I didn’t look at it as a nerve-wracking experience at all. My family came out with me. They were so supportive. It was more like a mini-vacation. When you’re going out on auditions, at that age, you’re with kids your own age, and you’re doing commercial auditions for like Cap’n Crunch so it’s really no pressure at all. It’s more fun and you get to make friends. I’m so fortunate that I got to come out at such a young age, because I think if I were to come out now, I’d be so scared and so nervous. So everything worked out perfectly.”
She started landing commercials and ironically, a guest spot on a Nickelodeon series. “Oh man,” she says, trying to recall her first professional jobs. “I know I booked a guest starring role on Nickelodeon for ‘The Brothers Garcia.’ That was a huge thing for me. So Nickelodeon has been my family since I was 11 or 12 years old. Then I booked my first real job as a series regular, Geena Fabiano on ‘Unfabulous,’ when I was 12. From then on, I spent three years on a series with them.”
She’s back on Nickelodeon now, starring as “Cadence Nash” on the “The Troop.” Her character is a volt of electricity that causes ripples in the calm waters of the secret organization. “I would describe Cadence, in one word, she’s edgy. She’s fearless. She’s definitely the girl that walks into a room and grabs everyone’s attention. Yet, she could care less what people think of her. At the same time, people will see when they follow the second season of ‘The Troop,’ that she kind of reveals more of a deeper side. She does have insecurities which is why she comes off so brash. You’ll have to keep watching the show to see what her insecurities are. It’s really interesting.”
Talk about making an entrance… Nick has given fans a sneak peak of “Cadence’s” arrival. You can see it here:
The memory makes Malese laugh. “I’m so not like that, the attention grabber. That intro, I’ve never done anything like that before so when I heard motorcycle, helmet off, and slow-mo, I was like ‘No way!’ That was fun though. It was definitely cool. She got a good entrance on the show.”
Getting in to character wasn’t hard for the actress. She says the wardrobe certainly helped as did her previous acting experience. “I think it’s cool when you can be able to do characters that are so opposite from you. I don’t know, I mean you put on a leather jacket and you get intros like on the motorcycle, you kind of become the character. I had just played a vampire on ‘The Vampire Diaries,’ and that actually kind of brought out my more serious side. So it was cool to take my background, which I started out on Nickelodeon, then I got to do something more serious like ‘Vampire Diaries,’ to kind of mash those together, you get ‘Cadence.’”
Joining an already established series could be difficult for some people but Malese says the cast and crew made her feel at ease. “I was definitely nervous, but they definitely welcomed me with open arms. We filmed up in Canada, so whenever you are away from home and filming on location, you kind of do bond like a family. We ended up getting to know each other really well. Nick is great. Gage is great. Then Matt Shively joined us a few episodes in, which is awesome. He is so hilarious. It was a great experience.”
Only a couple of things surprised her about her new cast mates. “Nick Purcell, he LOVES country music! All the time, you will hear country music blasting from his trailer. It was so hilarious. You would never think. Gage is very tomboyish, considering her character is very girly. She shows up to work in sweats and she does kickboxing. She’s actually more ‘Cadence’ then I am as far as being tough and intimidating. But she’s so sweet. Matt Shively, he is a goofball! We would go back and forth, just cracking each other up. He would be the one starting Justin Bieber songs and getting it stuck in everyone’s head. He was a blast to have on set.”
Though there was something unique about every episode, there is one that stands out most to Malese. “Every episode is special in their own way. There is an episode where ‘Cadence’ gets a little transformation. Throughout the show, she’s always the girl in jeans and boots and a leather jacket. She gets a little help from a magazine. ‘Hayley,’ she encourages her to come out of her shell a little bit. So seeing her transformation was definitely a fun thing to do. We also have some little twists in there. We get to put on chicken costumes and prom. You’ll have to watch out for that one, it’s definitely my favorite.”
She’s been working fairly consistently but when she does get a day off, “I like hanging out with family, to be totally honest,” she says. “I like sleeping and catching up on my rest and reading. I love my reading time. My sister is my best friend. We usually do something like to go a museum or go out to lunch or go to a mall, just normal girly stuff.”
In terms of music, she shares a common passion with her co-star Nick. “I listen to pretty much everything. I’m pretty open to anything music. I love it so much. But I definitely love my country music. I have a soft spot for country, especially, during summer. I feel like country music is so happy and fun. So that’s definitely playing in my car right now.”
Speaking of summer, Malese says her favorite memories of the season are more about who she was with instead of where they were. “Visiting family is always fun,” she raves when asked about her favorite summer memories. “Here in California, you have the beach at your disposal. I have it fifteen minutes away from me. I have Disneyland. I think, just being with family, I think you make the best memories during the summer.”
This summer however, she is set to make a memory that will likely stay with her forever. “Later on today, I’m going to be visiting family over the weekend in Oklahoma. Then a few days after I get back, I get to go to France for a ‘Vampire Diaries’ convention with some of the cast. So that is really exciting. I’ve never been anywhere that far before! I’m kind of dreading the plane ride, but I know once I get there, I’m never going to want to leave. It will be fun! It will definitely be an experience. My sister is coming along with me so it will be a trip of a lifetime!”
After that trip, Malese will turn her attention back to acting, auditioning and working on her craft. Her inspirations are some of today’s most notable talents. “I loved Natalie Portman’s transition from being a young actress and now she’s an A List celebrity that still has her sophistication. She’s so classy and she’s so well-educated. She’s definitely someone I look up to. Anne Hathaway also had a great career. She did do kid-friendly stuff and now she’s grown up and she’s made a smooth transition. Both of those ladies, they’re amazing. I would love to work with them. As far as having someone that I really admire, Meryl Streep is just able to do anything and everything. She is just absolutely amazing!”
“I’ve played some pretty good characters,” she ponders when asked about what her dream role would be. “What would I want to play that is different? I would want to play a more family role,” she decides. “I would love to have a family. That’s something I haven’t been able to do yet. I’ve been the tough intimidator and I’ve been the fashionista. So I think just being the girl next door would be cool. That’s something I’ve never done before believe it or not.”
Right now, she is just happy to be back “home,” on the channel that launched her career. “Nickelodeon has been such a huge part of my life. I wouldn’t be where I am if they hadn’t believed in me and hadn’t taken me on when I was twelve years old. I was so green. I barely had a resume. They believed in me and have me three years on a series, and now another season on a series and I’ve guest starred on a few of their shows. I definitely feel the love from them. It’s very much mutual. I feel like they handle their stars GREAT. They have good material. I personally love watching the shows. I love watching ‘iCarly.’ I’m also going to be a part of ‘Big Time Rush’ which I didn’t get to tell you, which is very exciting. Those boys are great! They just really know how to make a great family! It’s really a great thing to be a part of.”
She hopes that any young people with acting inspirations will participate in events that help them gain confidence. “Like I said, I started out with singing first. That put me in front of people so I got comfortable being in front of people. So if you are into acting or singing, definitely take classes, do theater, get yourself comfortable performing and doing your craft in front of people. Because, coming out to L.A., your thrown into a room in front of people that you don’t know and you’re expected to give your A game. I know that I froze up a few times but definitely become comfortable. Definitely gain your confidence and be perseverant. You get a lot of no’s before you get a yes!”
We’re glad that Nickelodeon said “yes” to giving Malese a character that she can really have fun playing. Fans will have a great time watching “Cadence” mix it up on “The Troop.” Where there is smoke, there is fire!
For more on The Troop, visit http://www.Nick.com
Find Malese on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/xomalese