Hailey Sole is a rising young star who, at only 14-years-old, has had guest starring roles on some of the most popular television shows such as Private Practice, Ghost Whisperer, and Criminal Minds just to name a few.
On July 31, she made her Netflix debut on the series Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp, which is a prequel to the 2001 movie Wet Hot American Summer. In the show, she plays Amy alongside big names such as Kristen Wiig and Paul Rudd.
Along with being an actress, Sole also is involved in multiple charities and she is an Honor Award Member of the California Junior Scholarship Federation. With everything Sole has accomplished, it is clear she will continue to move forward and do great things in the future.
TheCelebrityCafe.com spoke with Sole about being a young actress while also balancing her schooling and the charities she is part of, which include Habitat for Humanity and Ahead With Horses. Read our interview to find out more about this amazing young woman as she makes her way through Hollywood.
TCC: Beginning in Private Practice, you have had roles where you were featured in many different situations. As a young actress, how do you approach your characters?
Hailey Sole:Well usually I read a bunch of scripts and I kinda get a feel for how the character is and I read over the descriptions and I kinda see what I can relate to in my own life. Then I go through each line, and I usually just, like, cold read it just to see what kind of feel I get for it. Then I go and say “How would I react to this?” You don’t want to necessarily like, act as if you’re someone else, but you kinda wanna hold that character into yourself. So I kinda go “How would I react to that and how would I play this.” Sometimes it’s fun because you can be someone completely different and if it’s just like you, that’s awesome because you get to use things from your own life.
TCC: In Criminal Minds, you had a pivotal storyline that really made viewers nervous for the character, Meg. How did you feel about having this plot that drove your acting in such a powerful and dramatic way?
Hailey Sole: I was really excited because you know, human trafficking and kidnapping and social media is a problem that we have today. I got to portray and actually issue and hope to bring awareness to some people that, you know a lot of people think “Oh no, that would never happen to me.” And it brings awareness that it can happen to anyone. I like being able to portray something that actually happens in real life. And I was also really excited. I mean, who doesn’t want to be kidnapped on a show? That’s really cool. I was excited for that.
TCC: You’ve worked with so much talent, including Jennifer Love Hewitt in both Ghost Whisperer and Criminal Minds. What have you learned from them as you continue to grow as an actress?
Hailey Sole: Well from people that are more dramatic, actually both dramatic and comedy, I learned you just have to go for it. You can’t hold back, you can’t be scared to do something. You can’t hold back and be afraid that someone will judge you. You just have to go for it and give it your all. Be yourself and you can’t be afraid of what people think. That’s the same with comedy, that’s what I’ve learned because I actually used to be shy. And acting has helped me a lot with that because I’m definitely not shy anymore.
TCC: What can you tell us about your character, Amy, on Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp.
Hailey Sole: Well, I can tell you, actually it’s already come out so I can basically share that you know, I relate to her a lot. She’s really nice and she becomes friends with anyone and tries to be neutral and be nice to everyone. And I do the same things, I love to be friends with everyone. I love meeting new people. That’s exactly what she does on the first day of camp. I definitely really like her as a character and I’m happy I got to play her.
TCC: In addition to acting, you are also involved in charities including Habitat for Humanity, Helping All Transients, Operation Progress, and Ahead with Horses. What drew you to being involved with these particular projects?
Hailey Sole:Well, I really just like that, you know like we’re talking on the phone, not a lot of people have access, the homeless don’t have phones or necessities like food and water like we do, and we’re just so lucky. And I think that it’s really important to go and give back and help other people out. That’s exactly what I do. You know, it’s really cool to be able to think maybe tonight I helped someone, maybe they didn’t go hungry. Just that feeling, it feels awesome.
TCC: Besides acting, you have other interests such as musicals and cheerleading. What musicals are your favorites? How long have you been cheering?
Hailey Sole: I really love the musical Mary Poppins. I think it is one of the first that I remember. I remember I went to Michigan to visit my aunt and Mary Poppins was playing there and when my aunt was a little girl, her grandma or aunt surprised her with Mary Poppins so I got all dressed up and they took me out to a limo, and they took me to the theater and we saw it. It was the most amazing experience and I loved it. I still love the musical. It’s one of my favorites because of the content and how I remember it. It was a great experience for me.
I’ve been cheering for four years now and I like it because it’s challenging and I like to be challenged in order to be the best I can be. And it’s just fun too. I love sports, I love to watch sports, so I love that I get a free pass into every game to cheer on all of my best friends. It’s really cool to watch my best friends and know I am supporting them and cheering for them. And it’s a great experience, too, because there are some people who just don’t go to football games and don’t go to basketball games. You don’t know how much fun it is to be part of a wrecking crew and cheer on your team until you’ve done it. It’s one of my favorite things.
TCC: Through your school, you are an Honor Award Member of the California Junior Scholarship Federation. This is such an amazing accomplishment. How did you receive this honor?
Hailey Sole: Well, we have to qualify, we have to get honor roll for three semesters and I qualified for it. I was really excited about that. I want to focus on academics because they are really important so that’s one of my main focuses in life and I was really excited I could qualify for that.
TCC: You are also studying two languages in school, Mandarin and Spanish. What do you find the most rewarding about learning other languages?
Hailey Sole: Being able to communicate with other people, I’d have to say. Also it’s just really cool, there are a lot of Spanish speakers in California, and when we’re talking, you’re like “Wait, I know what that means!” It’s really cool to listen to other people, or hear them talking, and all of a sudden it clicks, like, “Wait, I know what you’re saying.” It’s kinda cool so you can relate to them. I like that feeling.
TCC: With school, acting, and charity work, you have so many different things on your plate. How do you work around your acting work with school and all you have going on in your daily life?
Hailey Sole: I really focus on school and if an audition comes up, usually it’s after school, but if I call out, it’s kind of like being sick. What happens when you’re sick is you go to your teachers, you get your homework, you leave, and the next day you come back to school and turn your homework in. With acting, I go and get homework from all my teachers, which my teachers are completely supportive of me and happy that I’m acting so that’s really cool. I get my homework and I go on set, I do my homework. We are required to actually do homework. When I go back to school, I turn it all in. So it’s really no different than other people.
TCC: Now that the fall is coming up and it’s time to go back to school, what would you say to fellow kids and young actors and actresses who are transitioning from summer to school?
Hailey Sole: I would just say that, for me, confidence is key. You have to be confident when you go into school because there are so many new people. One of the problems that I made going into middle school was I would put walls up and I wouldn’t be open to making new friendships. And there are plenty of people who want to be friends and will reach out to be your friend as long as you just let them. So I think that is really important. Just to be open with people and confident, you know fake it til you make it. Fake your confidence until you meet someone and find a really awesome group of friends and stick with them. That’s what I’ve done because I’ve got a group of friends who support me in everything I do and I could not ask for anything better. They’re amazing and that’s definitely what I would suggest to other people. Find that one group of friends you know will have your back for the rest of your life. Because I know I found them and it’s awesome.