It’s easy to see why the creators of Amazon series “Transparent” chose Kiersey Clemons for the role of Bianca—the young actor is bubbly, likable, and friendly, much like the teen she plays. Many of the characters Clemons has taken on reflect that, but as she gets deeper into her career, she’s going for darker parts.
Take her upcoming MTV series “Eye Candy.” Based on R.L. Stine’s novel of the same name, it follows a young woman named Lindy and her friends as they try to find a deadly stalker. Clemons plays Lindy’s best friend and roommate, Sophia, who, according to the actor, is an “almost mother figure” just trying to help her pal stay out of trouble.
Meanwhile, in her first feature film, “Dope,” Clemons’ character Diggy and her friends find themselves in a panic to get rid of a bag of drugs someone has planted on them.
One of Hollywood’s brightest up-and-comers, Clemons was kind enough to take some time from filming to speak to Backstage about how she got started acting, what’s in her future, and everything in between.
On how she got to this point.
Clemons has been in the business for about four years now and has managed to book TV and film roles for just about as long. She wasn’t always a screen actor, though, instead testing the waters in theater.
“When I was younger I liked writing stories and watching younger actors on TV,” she says, adding that her mom wanted her to try theater first to make sure the life of an actor was something Clemons really wanted, and that she could keep up with school and other responsibilities.
After she signed with an agent, she formed a relationship with Disney, which helped get things moving. Her guest spots on “Shake It Up!” and “Good Luck Charlie” segued into a recurring role on “Austin & Ally,” which then led to “Cloud 9.”
On her fans.
Though she’s still pretty new to the acting game, Clemons has her share of devoted fans, some of whom apparently take her friendly attitude a little too much to heart.
“I think the most bizarre thing that ever happened to me was, There was this guy who was following me on Twitter, and I ran into him at a film premiere,” says Clemons. “I guess he thought we hit it off, so he started sending flowers to my manager’s office.” Not to worry, though, Clemons says the interaction was a little weird, but not “creepy weird.”
Another time, Clemons got lost on her way to karaoke and randomly came across a girl who used to run an old fan page devoted to the actor.
These random run-ins seem to be commonplace for Clemons; not too long ago she met one of her favorite rappers on the street, who revealed she’d just been watching “Transparent.”
“It turns out we were fans of each other!” says a clearly delighted Clemons, who posted several Instagram photos of the two of them together.
On “Eye Candy” and her other upcoming projects.
Next year is already shaping up to be a busy one for Clemons. “Dope” will hit theaters, and “Eye Candy” is scheduled to premiere in January.
“We don’t even know who the serial killer is yet,” reveals Clemons with a laugh, referring to the MTV series. “It’s a lot like ‘Pretty Little Liars’ but there’s a little bit more humor in it. All the characters are really different from each other.”
New projects aside, “Transparent” was renewed in the fall, and Clemons’ character Bianca will be back. She couldn’t say much about what we can expect from Season 2, except that Bianca is getting a boyfriend.
And it turns out acting isn’t the only venture Clemons, who likes to keep busy, is trying out. She’s dabbling in music as well, which she plans to debut sometime in the next year.
On advice for fellow young actors.
Make sure you really want the life of a performer, Clemons urges. “It’s a lot of hard work and really long days. From the outside it looks like all fun and games. I think a lot of kids I’ve met in L.A. trying to act want to escape working long days and think acting is all photoshoots and red carpets.”
But Clemons knows better. “It’s hard work, like everything else.”
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