The Flashback Interview: Lisa Fuller
I had sent my latest interview subject, Lisa Fuller, an interview request last year. I didn’t initially hear back from her, so when I saw that she would be attending the April 2023 Chiller Theatre convention, I knew I had to not only meet her because I loved her work in movies like Teen Witch and Earth Girls Are Easy, but because I wanted to confirm the e-mail address I sent the interview request to was accurate. She checked it out a few weeks after we met at Chiller, and she agreed to an interview.
Lisa Fuller is an accomplished actress with credits going back to the 1980s. She’s also a noted singer, and she currently teaches acting alongside her husband and fellow actor Dan Gauthier. There’s a lot of ground to cover with Ms. Fuller, so I hope you all enjoy getting the chance to know this versatile talent much better.
Say hello to Lisa Fuller!
Johnny: Before anything, I do thank you for taking the time out of your schedule to speak to me.
Lisa Fuller: Oh, no, thank you for being interested (laughing).
Johnny: Alright. I have my questions ready to go…
Lisa Fuller: Okay!
Johnny: …Starting with this: Did you want to be a performer growing up, or did you initially have a different career goal in mind?
Lisa Fuller: My mom took me to the theater to see the movie A Star Is Born with Barbra Streisand and, pretty much, I saw that and just begged and begged and begged for voice lessons. She put me in voice lessons, and then that kind of opened up everything.
She looked for an agent, and I got a modeling agent at 9. I did that for a while, and then I got commercial representation. I did my first commercial at 15, and it was a Honeycomb commercial.
It started so young that it wasn’t like I was going to do something else. It wasn’t even as if I was then going to go to college. It was just something I started doing, and I loved it so much that this was going to be the path that I took, so I never really thought about doing anything else.
Johnny: Okay. According to IMDB, although the movie wouldn’t officially be released until 2008, you debuted in the 1983 comedy IMPS*, playing the character of Stephanie, so were you nervous about being on a film set for the first time, or did it come pretty easily?
Lisa Fuller: It actually came pretty easily. If I remember correctly, I don’t think I had any dialogue in that, and I actually booked that through my modeling agent. That was before I started, in earnest, going out for theatrical stuff, and everybody, from what I remember, was really nice. It was a super-small shoot, and now it seems like it happened so fast. It was like a dream (laughing). It’s really hard to remember much about it.
Johnny: Well, we’ll move to a credit you will definitely remember more about. Your first released movie was 1987’s The Monster Squad, where you played Patrick’s Sister, so what are your favorite memories of working on that movie?
Lisa Fuller: Oh, gosh, just about everything. First off, everybody was so amazingly nice. I felt so lucky to get the part because it was quite a big-budget picture. I think it was a 12 million dollar picture. We got to shoot on Warner’s and Universal’s lots, which is always really special. We did the exteriors on the lot.
It was fun because I could completely and totally relate. I had a brother who was six years younger. I had done a Mikita Tools poster when I had just turned 18, and we got about thirty posters or so from the company. My brother was the entrepeneur, and ended up selling these posters (laughing) to his friends.
Everything that was going on in the movie, with my little brother Patrick and all of his friends, was just something I could completely and totally relate to. It was almost like my life, and I was known to my brother’s friends as Bill’s Sister. When people ask, “Does it bother you that you don’t have a character name?”, well, no, of course not.
The movie is about the boys, and in the boys’ world, all I am is Patrick’s Sister. You know what I mean? (Laughing) “Is your sister going to come?”. Nobody’s going to see you as who you really are because you’re only in their world, and it’s all about them, really. That’s what’s cool about that. Also, that was the first time that wardrobe and makeup came to me and asked, “What are you thinking about your clothes and your hair? How do you want to approach it?”.
This all happens in a limited time for the most part, so I was going to be in the same clothes for the bulk of the shooting. I went shopping with the wardrobe person at the mall for my outfits, and the hair person said, “Okay, let’s think of a hairstyle that will be easy as far as consistency”, and things like that. It was just so nice because it really felt like it was a collaborative effort for this character. I was absolutely, totally comfortable in my clothes and makeup and hair for the entire shoot, which was really the first time that had happened for me, you know? That was neat.
Johnny: That’s wonderful to hear. What do you think that home audiences who rented The Monster Squad, or watched it on television, saw in it that theatrical audiences did not?
Lisa Fuller: I have no idea how they marketed it, but in a sense, even at the time it was a little racy to have 14-year-old kids smoking and cussing. What’s so great about the movie, and I think why it resonates wih so many people who discovered it on VHS or at Blockbuster, is that it is how kids talk. Everybody can remember the middle school playground (laughing), and it’s not like cuss words weren’t flying around.
I think that, because it was a kids’ movie, when kids watched it, it felt sort of grown-up because of what they were doing. I think it was an empowering movie for kids, in a sense. As far as not discovering it in the theater, I don’t know if the rating or the marketing had anything to do with it, and I don’t remember what the other movies were that they were in competition with, but I am really glad that people did discover it on VHS, and what a surprise.
It was a disappointment that it didn’t do better because I think it’s a good movie. It’s so well-written, and all the performers are so good. It’s a shame that it didn’t get the initial celebration I think it probably deserved.
Johnny: Well, at least it eventually got it, and you know wha they say: It takes time for some classics to be made.
Lisa Fuller: Yes, and I’m so glad it did.
Johnny: Going into 1988, you played Kikki in Earth Girls Are Easy. Was that movie as much fun to make as it was to watch?
Lisa Fuller: Yes, definitely, (laughing) especially with Damon Wayans and Jim Carrey on the set, as well as Julien Temple, the director.
What’s funny is that I used to be a nail biter, and because of the character I was playing, a club girl, I wouldn’t have bitten-down nails, so I put on press-on nails. We were shooting the scene in the bar around the time Jim’s tongue comes out, and I think Julien and I actually used this in the movie. When my fingernail comes off, and Damon looks at it weird, that was completely improvised (laughing).
My actual fake nail was coming off, and Julien was like, “Oh, my gosh. That’s so great. We’ve got to use that because it’s so crazy! It’s so disturbing!”. He put it in there, and it was completely unscripted, so that was kind of what it was like on the days I worked. It was really loose and really free. Julie Brown was really nice, and the two girls in the jeep with me were so cool. I would run into them a couple of times after that shoot on auditions, and they were just always so nice and warm.
Jeff Goldblum and Geena Davis were great. Geena was just so sweet. You’d never even know that she was on her way because her next movie was The Accidental Tourist. She was literally so down-to-earth. That experience was so much fun. I think I only worked on it for a week, and I originally read for the nurse at the beginning, the one the boyfriend was cheating with, and then they called and offered me this role instead, which was actually much better as I was a little young for that role, I think.
Johnny: Yeah. When it comes to Earth Girls Are Easy, your scene were primarily in the club Deca Dance, the actual location of which was the Griffith Park Observatory. As I’m sure you’ve been to the observatory many times, how did you react upon seeing how the production designers transformed the space?
Lisa Fuller: Oh, that was so cool. The exteriors, with the way they put up the lights, made you say, “Oh, my gosh. This would be an amazing club to go to”. The interiors were actually shot at a club in Marina Del Rey.
Johnny: Oh.
Lisa Fuller: I remember shooting club scenes, i believe, somewhere in Marina Del Rey. I forget. Has anybody else said anything about that? Have they been able to track that down at all?
Johnny: Not yet. I know that some of the production designers who worked on that movie, like Dennis Gassner and Nancy Haigh, would go on to win Oscars for other movies. I’m hoping to track any of them down for interviews because I would be interested in asking about that.
Lisa Fuller: Yeah! I would be interested in knowing because it’s kind of fuzzy for me. I remember we shot the scene where I say, “You guys want to party?” or something like that, on Ventura Boulevard in the Valley, and then the exteriors were Griffith Park Observatory. The club, as I said, was in Marina Del Rey, and it may even have been closed down. I’m not sure, but it had all the stuff there, the dancefloor and everything like that.
Johnny: Alright. To go to another movie credit, in 1989, you played Randa in Teen Witch. That movie is still talked about to this day, so what do you think has given Teen Witch such staying power?
Lisa Fuller: I think that people just love the campiness of it, and the music sticks out for a lot of people. It’s really a late-80s time capsule, in a way, with the outfits, the attitudes and the music. I think that’s probably it and, again, it’s popular around Halloween.
I think Disney Channel used to rerun it, so it was another movie that got rediscovered because that didn’t do too great in its’ theatrical release, which I don’t think was very wide. I think it’s something that was on that kids discovered. They could sing the songs, and do the silly dances, and have fun with it.
Johnny: I can see that. Of your scenes in Teen Witch, which was your favorite to film?
Lisa Fuller: Hmm. I guess the last scene, because of the Schwinn comment. I think that was really fun. I enjoyed the school dance. I got to wear my own dress, so again I felt comfortable in the clothes I was wearing. It was fun and light-hearted. The place where we filmed it was a big room where we all sat around and talked and had fun. I would say that was probably my favorite scene, the end.
Johnny: Alright. Now jumping to television, in the 1988-1989 time period, you played the character of Tami on several episodes of Head Of The Class. What do you recall the most about working on that show?
Lisa Fuller: It was really fun when they did the High Noon reenactment because I’m a huge black-and-white classic movie lover. That was just a joy. Again, I love when you get to shoot on the lot because of its’ history. It was just so fun to shoot in the Western town and wear the period clothing. I just loved, in particular, that episode, and everybody in that cast was exceptionally nice. It wasn’t high-pressure. I just remember the directors being really easy-going, and everybody just being happy. It was fun because it was full of a lot of people my own age, so that was neat.
Johnny: I’ve actually interviewed several other people who worked on that show. I interviewed main cast member Khrystyne Haje in 2016…
Lisa Fuller: Of course!
Johnny: She’s a sweetheart.
Lisa Fuller: Yes!
Johnny: And in 2020, shortly before the pandemic began, I interviewed Christine Elise, who appeared on several episodes.
Lisa Fuller: I remember her. Yes, it was funny. She was on one of the episodes I was on, and I do remember, as it was a sitcom filmed in front of a live audience, sitting in the stands during rehearsals and talking with her. I just remember that she was a really cool girl. I liked her.
Johnny: Oh, she’s absolutely cool. Returning to you, though, also in 1989, you had a small role as a Game Show Hostess in How I Got Into College, which I find to be one of Savage Steve Holland’s most underrated movies. Would you agree with that assessment?
Lisa Fuller: Absolutely. The only reason I actually got that part is because I was cast in the pilot for The New Adventures Of Beans Baxter, which was on the first year that Fox launched. I was cast as the Swedish Girl in that pilot, and then I got fired and replaced with Karen Mistal. That’s how I met Steve the first time, and then he offered me the part as the Game Show Hostess, which was super-fun because I got to wear that crazy dress and everything.
I remember being really nervous because I had to drive, and I was like, “What if I crash the car?”, but it all worked out. I didn’t crash the car. It was fine. When I got the pilot, I was like, “Oh, my gosh. Savage Steve! This is such a pleasure to meet you. I am one of the hugest fans of Better Off Dead”. That was a movie I had already seen, and absolutely loved, so that was neat to work for somebody where I had actually seen their work previously, and really respected it.
Johnny: Cool. Still in 1989, you played Joanie Snowland in Night Life, another collaboration with my friend. and former interview subject, Darcy DeMoss…
Lisa Fuller: Yes.
Johnny: …So what made that movie so unique to work on?
Lisa Fuller: Well, that was the first movie where I ever got to do prosthetics for when the zombies came in. We worked with the special effects makeup people, and we got to get body molds of ourselves and all of these things. That was super-exciting. That was really fun to me. I would think Darcy would feel the same way. The cast had Darcy and Mark Pellegrino and Scott Grimes and Cheryl Pollak. They were such nice people, and as it was night shoots for the majority of it, we just had a lot of fun hanging out.
For me, it wasn’t even like work. Those are the two main things I liked about that movie. It was super-fun to hang out with those people, dancing around and listening to music, and the special effects makeup was such a joy. I thought, “This is really cool”. I got to go to the special effects studio where they do all the fake bodies and masks of you, all the craziness. Oh, all the mortuary stuff was also fun because they had real motuary equipment. I though that was really interesting.
Johnny: I’m glad to hear you had such fun on that set.
Lisa Fuller: Yes.
Johnny: Going into the 90s, you played the role of Dawn Winthrop on several episodes of General Hospital. You’re not the only cast member from that show that I’ve interviewed as I’ve also done interviews with Ami Dolenz, Melanie Kinnaman, Sheila Lussier, and Brooke Bundy, so I have to ask: What did working on a soap like General Hospital teach you that you would utilize in your later work?
Lisa Fuller: I think it reinforced how important listening is as an actor, so there’s that. I think the other thing is that you just have to let it go. Once the day of work is finished, you can’t go back. It’s over, and maybe it was a day you felt you didn’t do so well, or maybe you did amazing, but either way it’s a soap opera.
It comes and it goes and it’s gone, you know, because of the way that soap operas are. I know some people do rewatch them, but for the most part, they come, you watch them, and they’re gone. It’s one of those things where you have a good day or a bad day, whatever. It lets you realize that it’s just acting. You move on. You don’t get too upset or too celebratory. I think the perspective of a soap opera is really good for that.
Johnny: Okay. Going back to prime-time television, you made several appearances on The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air as the character of Toni. What did you like the most about working on that show?
Lisa Fuller: I loved the writing. I got to say a couple of funny lines. I loved the character, and I thought she was super-funny. It was a free, loose set. It was basically that. It was well-run, easy, nice and pleasant, and I loved the outfits that I got to wear.
Johnny: To go to a question tangentially related to The Fresh Prince, nowadays if Will Smith is talked about, mention of Slapgate isn’t too far behind, even over a year after it happened, so do you think Will Smith will ever recover from that?
Lisa Fuller: Probably, I think so. In general, sometimes people do things in the heat of the moment. I don’t really weigh in on it. It doesn’t really concern me. I think it’s between who it’s between (laughing), and they deal with it…
Johnny: Fair enough.
Lisa Fuller: Life’s crazy (laughing).
Johnny: Staying on TV, you would reunite with Teen Witch star Robyn Lively on the short-lived 1992 drama Freshman Dorm, where you played the character of Cynthia. How did that show differ for you from other teenage-oriented projects you worked on?
Lisa Fuller: Well, I liked it. It was different because I was playing a college student, but I just had my son, so I was actually already a mom. Again, it was nice and well-done. I enjoyed the directors and the writing. I actually only saw Robyn one time. Because of the shooting schedule, my shooting was primarily with other characters. Even though I did every one of the episodes, I only saw Robyn once the whole time, and then I saw her at the wrap party, and that was it.
Johnny: A funny thing about Robyn Lively: For years, I thought that, as with many actors over the decades, she was older when playing teenage roles. I had no idea that, when in Teen Witch, she was literally still a teenager. I thought she was older.
Lisa Fuller: Yeah, definitely. She was still a kid.
Johnny: Going back to you, though, you’re also an accomplished singer, having released an album of standards called Teach Me Tonight. What has singing provided for you that acting has not?
Lisa Fuller: It’s really my first love, and I just get so much joy out of singing and playing guitar, and writing. I just couldn’t imagine my life without it.
Johnny: Besides standards, what kind of music do you like?
Lisa Fuller: I like folk and jazz, and a little bit of country, and a lot of singer-songwriter stuff as well as, of course, standards.
Johnny: Alright. To go to a different topic, you currently work alongside your husband, and fellow actor, Dan Gauthier as an acting teacher, so what school of acting do you primarily teach, or do you mix-and-match from various disciplines?
Lisa Fuller: It’s primarily mixing from our personal experiences, and what we hope to bring to it is the experience we have in the industry.
It’s not just about acting. We’re talking with our students about interviewing, going into the interview, and what happens there, how to deal with auditions that maybe you aren’t the happiest with, understanding why you get the job sometimes and why you don’t get the job sometimes, and sometimes there’s no rhyme or reason to either of those. It’s chaos, and there’s just a certain amount that you accept. It’s just part of the business.
As far as the acting, it’s mainly about being organic and in the moment, as creative and free as possible. It’s about keeping open to other actors that you’re working with that help shape a lot of what you do in terms of responding. That’s pretty much it, I guess (laughing).
Johnny: What has been your proudest accomplishment as a teacher?
Lisa Fuller: Turning people on to different things. Also, seeing when they really feel that they’ve achieved or succeeded at something. When it really registers, and when you see growth in a person, artistically and creatively in confidence, that’s really the most rewarding thing. It’s really incredible.
Johnny: I can definitely see that. A few years ago, I interviewed my friend Kim Hopkins, and I asked her a question I would now like to ask you as well: I’m on the autism spectrum, and although I’ve been fortunate enough to have a lot of help with my social skills, I know there are many on the spectrum who have diffficulty with them, so do you think acting lessons can help people on the autism spectrum as a way to learn social skills?
Lisa Fuller: I think it could be a possibility. We actually have a person on the spectrum currently in our class right now. He did a few episodes of the show Atypical, not the lead, but a supporting role. His name is Anthony Jacques Jr., and he has an IMDB page. He’s on the spectrum, and he’s actually one of our students. He brings a lot to class, and it’s rewarding.
It’s great and wonderful, and he participates in scenes with all of our other actors. We pair students with different people every couple of weeks. We do a thing where you work on a scene for two weeks, and then the next week after that, you get a new scene. Anthony is a great addition to our class. He’s out there and he’s working, so it’s fantastic
Johnny: That’s wonderful to hear, and as I am on the spectrum, it always cheers me up to hear success stories like that. It really inspires me, so I’m glad you have that going on. To go to a different topic, you’ve done a few conventions, including the Chiller Theatre convention, where we met in April of 2023.
Lisa Fuller: Yes.
Johnny: What’s been the most rewarding part of attending conventions for you?
Lisa Fuller: Well, I’ve only done two, and the second was the one I met you at. I really think that, for me, the most rewarding thing is meeting the fans, the people that love the movies and television shows I’ve been in, any of the work that I’ve done. It is so rewarding to meet them and talk to them. So many people have passed these movies, like Monster Squad or Teen Witch, onto their kids. It just keeps going on that way.
I have to say I had no idea I would have such an amazing experience meeting everybody. Before, at my very first one, I was so anxious and nervous because, for the most part, I’m somewhat shy and reserved. I showed up, and everyone was just so warm and interested, and had such nice things to say. I didn’t feel shy or reserved at all. It was just so fun, and so interesting. It’s definitely opened my world up. I really appreciate going to those conventions. I really do.
Johnny: Well, I certainly did enjoy meeting you. You were very friendly to me when we met.
Lisa Fuller: Oh, thank you!
Johnny: What’s been the most memorable piece of memorabilia you’ve signed, whether at a convention or through the mail?
Lisa Fuller: The Monster Squad has so many interesting things because fans create such crazy things. Andre Gower did a documentary on The Monster Squad, its’ fans, and conventions. He did a sort of teaser premiere in Austin, Texas. People had Monster Squad pajama bottoms, for example. There were so many things.
The most varied things I’ve signed have come from Monster Squad, and there’s so many people out there doing great artwork. I can’t think of any one in particular, but I’ve been given a couple of really amazing hand-drawn pictures. Of course, those are really awesome to have, and I appreciate them. They’re really neat. It’s just great to see people putting their creative, artistic work out there. It’s just awesome.
Johnny: It certainly is. I now come to my final question. I imagine it can be a bit rough to answer right now as we’re currently in the midst of a writers’ strike, but what’s next for you?
Lisa Fuller: Right now, just continuing teaching. I was singing with a trio, and I have snippets of a few performances on Instagram. I would like to get back to performing live music again as that was shuffled away with COVID. I’d like to do more singing, and I’d like to do more conventions. When people call, I’m available. That’s pretty much it. I’ll keep teaching, and I’ll keep playing guitar on my porch. (Laughing) I guess that’s my plan.
Johnny: Well, it sounds like a good one, and that does it for my questions. I again thank you for taking the time out of your schedule to speak to me.
Lisa Fuller: Oh, no. Thank you so much.
Johnny: I don’t have much else at the moment, but it was an honor to talk to you, and I hope you have a wonderful evening.
Lisa Fuller: Thank you. Thanks for a great interview.
Johnny: Thank you. Bye.
Lisa Fuller: Bye.
I would again like to thank Lisa Fuller for taking the time out of her schedule to speak to me, as well as providing most of the photos that you see in this article.
Coming soon to the Flashback Interview are conversations with Oscar-winning makeup artist Kevin Haney, Oscar-winning hairstylist Anne Morgan, actress/singer Tricia Leigh Fisher, and supermodel Kim Alexis.
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