The TV Chick

Pretty Little Liars is off to a fantastic start. Last night’s episode was a big one for Hanna when she discovered her mom’s pool of money she had stolen from the bank. Not even hours later, Mona throws Hanna a big bash which doesn’t end so well, and somehow the money is gone. But not without a cryptic message from A, who tells Hanna she’ll get the money back if she does what she says. Oh A and your evil ways. I recently had the chance to catch up with Ashley Benson, who plays Hanna. She had a lot to say about Hanna’s big emotional journey, her new custom fat suit (to play Hefty Hanna) and what A. has in store for her next.

When you first signed on to this show, did you have any idea of what kind of level of success it would bring, how big of a show it would become?
No, not at all.  When I first went to the cable [network], they were telling us that it was going to be; they just thought it was going to be successful and me and the other girls were kind of like, we hope for it, we hope for it, but you never know. So, we filmed the pilot and we waited to hear if it got picked up and it did, and then we filmed and started airing it and it just went out of control, so I had no idea.  But it’s pretty amazing to be part of something that you think could be successful and then it starts to actually happen and go above and beyond is unreal, so it’s really awesome.

Hanna’s been through quite an emotional journey from the beginning of the first season until now. So what has it been like changing and evolving?
It’s wonderful. I love that I get to switch the character up. Hanna’s so much fun because she gets to go into popular Hanna and hefty Hanna, so there’s a lot of different things. But I just got my first fat suit the other day. It’s amazing, customized for me. Before it was just old ones that were so gross. Hanna’s awesome, but this season she’s more vulnerable and more emotional and you see more of her personal life than you have. She goes through a lot of struggles with her mom and money and so she has quite a challenge.

Are we going to see more Hefty Hanna coming up?
Yeah, definitely.  Every episode usually has flashbacks, so there’s a lot of Hefty Hanna and there’s really good stuff this next couple of episodes.  That’s my favorite part to play, so I can’t wait for you guys to see it.

What has been the most challenging aspect to the role for you?
Everything kind of goes pretty easy. Going into Hefty Hanna — what really helped me was getting the fat suit on. When I have it on, I just feel like her and it’s a lot easier to play and all that.

Do you have a favorite moment from filming the show so far?
Probably just working with the girls. It’s so nice to come to work and like the cast. We all get along so well. We have the best crew and the best producers and they make it a lot of fun.

Are you all very close?
We are. We’re all so close. It’s so fun. Sometimes it could be hard to get along, but all 4 of us are best friends.

What’s the best lie you ever told?
The best lie? I don’t know, I don’t tell lies! I would say homework lies. When I was in school, I never did my homework and I always told my mom that I did. I tell white lies.

You just did your first Christmas movie. What was that like for you?
It’s called Christmas Cupid, part of the 25 days of Christmas, which is amazing. I got to work with Christina Milian and Chad Michael Murray and me and Christina have become inseparable. It was amazing. My character Caitlin, is this wild-child, who dies and comes back as a ghost. So it’s the first time I’ve ever played a ghost. It was a lot of fun. She’s like an alcoholic and crazy, crazy girl.

Did you get any tips from your co-star Sasha about playing a ghost?
She’s kind of like Sasha’s character a little, it’s funny.

Why do you think this show, Pretty Little Liars, resonates so well with viewers?
One thing, it’s based off of a book series by Sara Shepherd and we’ve been really lucky that the readers have followed through with the series. It can get complicated when books are turned into shows because if something is on there that’s not in the books, the readers get kind of upset about it. But I mean they love it and, obviously, there’s just so much suspense and mystery and fun. The four girls are always so different; we have completely different personalities and I think that each girl is very relatable to young girls and young teenagers right now. We all deal with real issues, so I think that a lot of people can attach to one person and kind of feel that they can connect with them and I think that’s really important. All of our fans usually grow to like one person. We get a lot of people who come up to us and just say, you know, I’m dealing with what Hanna’s going through right now, what’s your advice? And we give them advice, it’s amazing. I think the fans being able to connect with your character is really important and they seem to be doing that, so it’s awesome.

Can you give a little teaser of what’s coming up this season for Hanna?
Hanna gets really tortured this season by A, and she makes her do a lot of really bad things. So it’s really good.

Because of this torture, does she change?
To an extent, to an extent. You’ll see a completely different side of Hanna.

What has that been like playing a different Hanna?
Amazing. It’s awesome.

Pretty Little Liars airs Monday nights at 8 pm on ABC Family.