Sticking It ... in Hollywood

As a star gymnast at the University of North Carolina, Maddy Curley knew she'd never make a living by jumping around on a balance beam or doing flips and twirls on a floor mat.

So instead of eyeing the Olympics, the four-time Academic All-American kept her focus on her first love: Acting. And now she's landed her first gig—as a gymnast, appropriately enough, in Stick It, a new Disney movie opening Friday. The film, targeted mainly at a teen audience, is rated PG-13.

Maddy Curley plays Mina in Disney's 'Stick It'.

Curley, a devout Christian, plays a supporting role in the film. The leading role belongs to Missy Peregrym, who plays Haley, a 17-year-old former gymnastics star who has big family problems—and a few too many arrests. Forced back into gymnastics to clean up her act, Haley rediscovers her love for the sport—and brings a little sass and rebellion to the game while she's at it.

As Mina, one of Haley's teammates, Curley plays a talented-but-timid gymnast who eventually learns to assert herself, thanks mainly to Haley's energy and influence. 

We caught up with Curley recently to discuss the movie, her role, and the challenges of being a young Christian in Hollywood.

Have you always wanted to be an actress? Or did you ever have a goal to be an Olympic gymnast?

Maddy Curley: Well, there's no money in gymnastics. And I definitely wanted to be an actress. When I was younger, I had other goals too, crazy ambitious things like Senator or a Congresswoman. But acting was always at the top.

Tell me about your character in this film?

Curley: I play a girl named Mina, a 16-year-old up-and-coming gymnast. She's the type who would never speak up to her coaches. And then this girl Haley comes in, and she's one of Mina's idols, and she kind of learns how to stand up for herself from Haley. She gets her coach and the judges to notice her and how talented she is.

Is there any of you in that character?

Curley: Oh definitely. I definitely was one that was overshadowed by some of my teammates, but I was always in the gym every day, sticking it out and working my hardest. I think Mina's a lot like that. She's a really driven hard worker, and it's paid off. But it's just a matter of getting people to recognize that talent and not just doing cookie cutter routines that are safe, but like going for these big skills.

Do you think this movie accurately captures the world of competitive gymnastics, even though it's a comedy and a satire?

Curley: I do. I think it shows how hard everyone works. And I love that it doesn't focus on anorexia and bulimia like every other stupid gymnastics movie. This doesn't even go there. It just shows girls that are healthy and strong and good gymnasts.

Yes, but competitive gymnastics does have a history of a number of athletes with eating disorders?

Curley: Yes, but it's not just because of the sport. In college, we definitely had a couple of incidences where girls got to that point. But in elementary, middle school and high school, never did I have a teammate that had anorexia or bulimia. And so whenever I see these movies, I'm like, "What are they talking about?"

But then I got to college and saw a couple of people go through that. I think that's mostly because you can't eat the same way you did when you were little. After you hit puberty, which most gymnasts hit really late, your body changes and you have to eat differently. You can't just eat whatever you want any more.

Curley (2nd from left) and co-stars Vanessa Lengies, Nikki SooHoo, and Missy Peregrym.

Do you think this film is plausible, with a renegade gymnast bringing a rebellious attitude to the sport and gymnasts putting on sassy, in-your-face routines? I can't imagine seeing it in the Olympics?

Curley: I think it would be hilarious, but I don't think it would ever happen, because you work so hard to have your minute and a half routine on each event. I don't think anybody would give that up just because they don't think the judging is fair.

And pulling one of those smart-aleck maneuvers would just get you judged out of it?

Curley: True, but it would be hilarious.

In what ways did you bring your faith to this project?

Curley: When I auditioned for the role, I was just praying, "Lord, this is something I want so bad, but I want your will to be done and if this is right for me, let me make a difference in the Christian world because of this movie." And I think he answered that prayer, because so much has been happening. I found out there are a lot of faithful people in Hollywood, a lot of Christians.

The first person I met was John Kirby, my acting coach who is also a Christian. When I first walked into his office, I met Jim Caviezel [a Christian who played Jesus in The Passion of The Christ], and he talked to me about auditioning and what I needed to do. And then John Kirby and I talked about Christianity and how we hoped to have a lot of Christians in this movie—and there were. Missy Peregrym [who plays the lead role of Haley] is a Christian, and it was just so cool the way Christ worked throughout the whole movie.

A lot of the cast and crew said there was just something really different about this film. They thought it was just that there were nice people, but I think it was that Christ was on the set and working through so many of us.

Give me an example of what that looked like?

Curley: It could be me praying with Alicia [Saari, who plays Lacey]. I'd pray with my acting coach before I did a scene. Missy would pray before a lot of scenes. It was just cool. We wanted to be seen as talented actors and gymnasts, but that Christ gave us that talent.

Did you get a chance to talk about your faith with any non-Christians?

Curley: Oh yeah. Alicia and I were always talking about it, especially to our coaches—our real-life gymnastic coaches on set. They'd ask us questions, and we talked to them about the gospel. They just picked our brains, and you could see there was some interest there. Sometimes they'd make fun of us, but it was never demeaning. They'd say, "It's too hard to be a Christian, you can't do anything fun." And we're like, "We have tons of fun. Do you see us being unhappy." And they're like, "No, I guess you do seem like pretty happy girls"

Curley (in blue) and Saari (left) often discussed their faith on the set.

We got to talk with the director about our faith, and even I got to talk with Jeff [Bridges, who plays the coach] about it. Alicia and I would read our Bibles on set, and people would ask us, "What are you reading? What do you believe in?" Stuff like that.

Were you asked to do anything in this film or to wear any clothing that made you uncomfortable?

Curley: The only time was one line where I was supposed to say, "Oh my God, I'm the new vault champ." But they ended up not even using it, because Disney said they didn't want to have "Oh my God" in there. So, that solved that dilemma; I didn't have to decide if it was right or wrong—although in that case, I wasn't like taking the Lord's name in vain. As for clothing, I leotards every day, so I didn't feel like I was being revealing or anything. Everything was really appropriate looking.

Are you hoping to get other film roles?

Curley: Yes, but nothing has come up yet. I got an agent out of this and a manager, so that's been helpful.

In the meantime, how are you earning a living?

Curley: I'm working at a coffee shop and at a restaurant, and I've worked as a PA [production assistant] for Jordon Scott, who's Ridley Scott's daughter. She does production stuff right now, but she wants to be a director. She just helped produce and direct a Land Rover commercial in Tokyo. I was not there; I helped her from America. And she also did a movie called All the Invisible Children. And I baby sit for my producer.

I hear that you're also doing some youth work at a church?

Curley: Yes. It's a volunteer job at my church. I help lead the discussions when we split up into small groups after our big group session. I usually just teach a little lesson and then pray with the girls. We stay in touch throughout the week; it gives them someone to trust and to talk to about the things going on in their lives.

Curley hopes to exemplify what it means to be a Christian in Hollywood.

Do you talk about movies much with the girls?

Curley: Yes, especially since they found out about this movie. But we talk about a lot of movies.

What do you think about influence of movies in teenagers' lives?

Curley: It's a big influence. I wasn't allowed to watch PG-13 until I was 13, and I think it's important for parents to screen before kids see stuff. But at the same time, this stuff [in movies] will go on in life, so if you do let kids watch it, then just say, "These are my expectations." I've seen a million things in movies that I know that I don't want to be involved in, but I don't think it's going to hurt me to watch those things—because I know the difference and I know what I want to incorporate into my life and my actions.

If a teenager were to ask you for advice about discernment about what to movies to watch, what would you say?

Curley: I think you can stay away from R-rated movies while you're younger. There's nothing that you need out of those movies, and there's so many other movies that you can watch that are age-appropriate. But if you are going to see a rated R movie, I would just make sure a parent has seen it first so you know it's appropriate—or at least so you can discuss it, so you can know how to avoid some of the behaviors you've seen, how to follow a different path. It is hard to be a teenager and see things constantly, to see people having sex in the movies and on TV show all the time—even after the first date. It's so nonchalant and casual now, I just think it's important for parents to really stress what is right.

To you, what does it mean to be a Christian in Hollywood?

Curley: I hope that in everything I act in, people can see a godly woman. I pray about each opportunity and each role that comes up. Like if they wanted me to play a girl who does something inappropriate, would I be willing to do that? Would I say, "It's just acting"? I think it would have to be very obvious that it was acting and not appropriate for real life.

I think you have to be prepared to turn down certain roles. And God will bring other things along; it's not going to end your career because you turned down a few things that you think are inappropriate. I think it's only going to lift you up as a Christian.

Learn more about Maddy Curley at her official website.

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