The
following are articles found online about Carly Pope.
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Star
of TV's Popular struggles with L.A. lifestyle
DENE MOORE Canada.com
On screen in Popular - the latest teen angst drama to hit prime-time television
- Carly Pope longs to belong. Off screen, the Vancouver-born actor, who
plays Sam McPherson in the series, is hoping for just the opposite. "Down
there everything is about autographs and pictures and . . . being the
biggest, newest, freshest face around," Pope said during a recent visit
to her hometown from her new home in Los Angeles. There is this "celebrity-thing
they have going on down there," she said, rolling her eyes. It's all been
a bit overwhelming for the 19-year-old actress. Less than a year after
her 1998 high school graduation, she won the role in "Popular", dropped
out of university, left her parents' home and moved south. "I wasn't ready
for the publicity, I wasn't ready for living on my own," she said. But
she's learning to cope, between tearful phone calls to her mom and dad
in BC, Pope began acting just two years ago, landing her first role in
a small scene in the film Disturbing Behavior, which starred Katie Holmes
of "Dawson's Creek". The part ended up on the cutting room floor, but
Pope's career didn't. A number of TV movie roles and a bigger role in
the film "A Cooler Climate", with Sally Field and Judy Davis, followed
in short order. Originally Pope tried for the role of Brooke in "Popular"
- Sam's arch-rival. But "I knew I didn't feel right for it and they knew
I didn't feel right for it," she said. As Sam, she and her alternative
style friends fight the social dictatorship of beautiful Brooke and her
snobby sidekick, Nicole. Between pondering how many calories are in a
grape and planning her first sexual encounter with boyfriend Josh, Brooke
struggles with her own need to be popular. Despite her alterna-talk, Sam
struggles with her own desire to be one of the cool kids. In the pilot
episode she recounts the first day of the previous school year, when she
showed up with a bright magenta strip of hair in her bangs. But the bangs
backfired because everyone had coloured hair, "even the special kids."
Life at Kennedy high school doesn't much resemble life at  Lord
Byng secondary in Vancouver, where Pope finished her high school days.
"There wasn't that kind of exclusion," she said. "Of course, there were
times when I was unhappy and there were times when I felt it was very
hard." But "I get very disturbed by some of the things that happen (in
the series.) Yet it rings true to many high schoolers south of the border",
she said. "I can't tell you how many people down there come up and tell
me that's so realistic," she said. Pope, who signed a seven-year contract
with WB for the series, said she's not chasing down any more projects
at the moment. The cast members of "Popular" are working 12- to 16-hour
days. When their hiatus hits, Pope said she'll be back in Vancouver "just
hanging out." Popular airs on CTV in Canada at 8 p.m. Saturday night.
UltimateTV.com
by Hugh Hart
Carly Pope nails it as the bright, independent 16-year-old Sam in "Popular"
(8 p.m. Thursdays on The WB). The 19-year-old actress plays a high school
newspaper editor who juggles a crush on a high school counselor, a rivalry
with the school's cheerleader clique and loyalty to her clique of malcontents.
Born and raised in Vancouver, Pope and her brother, also an actor, now
live in L.A.
New York Post
By Don Kaplan
One of the stars from the new WB hit "Popular" says she hates being, well,
popular. Carly Pope, who plays a high school in-crowd outcast, says Hollywood
is too obsessed with celebrities. "Down there," says the Vancouver-born
actress, "everything is about autographs and pictures and ... being the
biggest, newest, freshest face around." "There is this celebrity thing
they have going on down there," the sultry brunette told a Canadian news
service during a recent visit to her hometown. On the series, Pope, 19,
plays Sam McPherson, an insecure, crusading teen journalist who wears
her unpopularity like a red badge of courage. Her nemesis, the blond,
popular, head cheerleader Brooke McQueen (played by Leslie Bibb) later
becomes Sam's stepsister when their parents get engaged. The show has
been scoring strong ratings since it debuted in September and has become
somewhat of a cult favorite among twentysomething male viewers. But Pope
says she wasn't prepared for the show's apparent success. 
"I wasn't ready for the publicity, I wasn't ready for living on my own,"
Pope said, adding that she's learning to deal with the success between
tearful phone calls to her parents in Canada. Pope says that the experiences
of her on-screen personality is much different from what she encountered
in real life. "There wasn't that kind of exclusion," she said of her own
high school career. "Of course, there were times when I was unhappy, and
there were times when I felt it was very hard." In the U.S. though, Pope
thinks her character's hard knocks are much more true to life. "I can't
tell you how many people down there come up and tell me that's so realistic,"
she said. "I get very disturbed by some of the things that happen [on
the series]," Pope said. She scored the role on "Popular" less than a
year after she graduated high school in 1998. For the job, she had to
drop out of college and move to Los Angeles, where the show is produced.
Pope actually began acting just two years ago, when she landed her first
role in a small scene in "Disturbing Behavior," last year's teen scream
flick which also featured "Dawson's Creek" star Katie Holmes. On "Popular,"
Pope says she originally tried out for the role of Sam's arch-rival, Brooke,
but: "I knew I didn't feel right for it, and they knew I didn't feel right
for it," she said.
Ultimate TV Production Begins On "PURPLE HAZE"
(6/2/99) Wed, Jun 2, 1999 06:23 PM PDT
Production has begun in Toronto on "Purple Haze"
(working title), a powerful new ABC telefilm starring Jonathan Jackson
(former Lucky of "General Hospital"), who just received his third Daytime
Emmy Award. The movie also stars newcomer Carly Pope (from the WB's new
show, "Popular"), JoBeth Williams ("The Big Chill") and Colm Feore ("Storm
of the Century).
"Purple Haze" is a riveting drama about America's quiet epidemic -- heroin
use among middle and upper-class young adults -- and the deadly consequences
from its use. Mr. Jackson portrays Max Hanson, an 18-year-old with a picture-perfect
family, close friends and a passion for ice hockey. But trouble brews
beneath the beautiful facade. His domineering mom (JoBeth Williams) lives
vicariously through her son, and Max's father, Ed (Colm Feore) is unable
to bridge the ever-widening gap between two people he loves very much.
When Max meets a new girl at college, Molly (Carly Pope), he is drawn
into a world that leaves his family reeling. Molly encourages Max to experiment
with drugs and before long, he is addicted to heroin. Their descent into
a hellish existence dominated by getting their next fix shocks Max's family
and friends, but it will take a tragedy to convince Max that his life
is out of control -- and in danger.
The executive producer of " Purple Haze" is Thomas Carter, who won his
third Emmy last year for " Don King: Only in America." The producers are
Richard Rothstein and Christine Sacani. The teleplay was written by Mimi
Schmir and Elizabeth Egloff. The director is Eric Laneuville, who received
an Emmy for direction for " I'll Fly Away." "Purple Haze" is a production
of The Thomas Carter Company."
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