Kelly Stables: Two And a Half Men Star On The Rise
Imagine yourself coming off a role on television’s number one sitcom. Then, you land a new, reoccurring role working with one of TV’s biggest female stars. You’re on the cusp of greatness. Imagine no further. This is the Kelly Stables story.
At five feet – in one-inch heels – the Missouri native has made her way into homes, with her fun personality and cutie pie looks. Occasionally, her height has caused casting concerns, keeping her from some roles. In general, though, physical stature has proved no impediment to the beautiful and talented Ms. Stables. In fact, she takes pride in being teeny-tiny.
Speaking with Kelly, you can tell she’s serious about the craft of acting. She’s a team player, making an effort to point out the director, writer and everyone else responsible for helping put her on her current trajectory.
Fans of The Ring franchise might remember Stables as Evil Samara. Most recently, television viewers would know Kelly from her role as Melissa in Two and a Half Men.
Stables says everyone on set of Two and a Half was professional and that Charlie Sheen – whose name frequently makes it into the tabloids – treated her great. She notes that it’s hard to be in the public eye, constantly having your faults open to scrutiny.
Stables is set to star alongside Alyssa Milano in ABC’s comedy Romantically Challenged, slated for April airing. Stables will play Milano’s younger sister. She says many people see a resemblance between her and the well known Milano.
As she continues to become better known by the public, it seems likely we’ll see Kelly starring in her own television show or in a big screen comedy. Truly, Kelly Stables proves the old adage that good things come in small packages.
Listen to the Kelly Stables CYInterview:
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Chris Yandek: In your almost close to decade working in TV and film, I’ve seen as well you’ve done stunts and voiceover work, what’s the most important thing you’ve learned about yourself as you continue to establish yourself in this industry?
Kelly Stables: “The most important thing I’ve learned about myself, you know, I think just to persevere through this business and to have goals in mind. I think goal setting in any profession is important and it keeps you from falling too hard when you do have disappointments and that reminds you to keep going and reminds you what is in fact it is that you want. I think in Hollywood you can have the tendency to just be drifting out in the ocean and let the tide take you where it may.
So if you do set goals for yourself that helps remember what it is in fact you do want and for me it was just to have, to be able to act. Acting is my passion. It’s my heart. So that’s why I’ve done anything from the smallest little theater production where there’s more people on stage than there are in the audience to better things. I enjoy. To me it is an art. It’s fun. It’s in my blood. I love it.”
CY: So what would you like the every day TV and every movie viewer to know about you if they’ve seen you on screen and they can’t put the name with the face? What you like them to know about yourself as an individual off screen and who you are as an individual?
KS: “I think I live quite a personal life. I appreciate the support so much that my fans give me and the encouragement, but I do kind of keep my personal life to myself and that helps keep the sanity. As fun as it is and as a dream come true as much as it is it also is work. I don’t think I just go and goof off and even if it’s a comedy or sitcom there’s a laugh track there’s real feelings and emotions and want that character, which require sitting down with the script and really figure out what this character wants. I don’t know. Maybe, hopefully they can see that I’m trying hard and putting some thought behind my performances and not taking it lightly even though I’m having so much fun with it.”
CY: I’ve read everywhere online that you’re height is five feet. Is this true?
KS: “When I’m wearing one inch heels absolutely it’s true.”
CY: Height has always been a big thing in other industries such as modeling, have you ever felt like your height has prevented you from getting certain roles or has it ever been an obstacle for you?
KS: “Yeah. Absolutely. But it’s also been a blessing. I’m teeny-tiny for a reason. Every time if I start to be like gosh, I wish I was 5’4 or whatever, I’m healthy. I can walk. I have my sanity and that’s a lot more important than an inch or two. As a matter of fact, the week before I had my Two and a Half Men audition I was auditioning for a show and they plain out said, ‘Kelly, we think you’re really fun. We really like you, but our lead male is over six feet tall so you’re just too short.’ And those are just the facts. That was their opinion.
For some reason they didn’t want to work with that. Chuck Lorre and his team took advantage of my height and got some fun jokes out of it. They called me a lot of short jokes. I love it. I myself think it’s funny. So yeah it can work in my advantage if they choose to let it or they can choose not to pick me because of it. I worked with Julia Duffy on a movie and she’s maybe 5’1 herself and she gave me some advice.
She said, ‘Kelly, it’s funny, they’ll tell you you’re too short, you’re too short, you’re too short until you get something big and then all of a sudden they’ll pair you up with a guy who is six feet tall. I have no control over what they think of me whether it be my hair or my height or anything. So all I can do is try and do my best and do a good job and not worry about the things that are out of my control.”
CY: You’re currently working on a series titled Romantically Challenged alongside Alyssa Milano who you’re playing her sister. Why don’t you tell me a little about the project that’s slated to air this April?
KS: “It is so much fun. It’s called Romantically Challenged. It’s gonna be a sitcom for ABC and it’s about a group of pals who love each other and support each other and try and genuinely in their own way help each other though their romantic challenges so to speak. We’re having a really good time. We all get along truly as friends. We play rock band together and hang out and we go out after every show. It’s like we can’t get enough of each other.
We’re being directed by legendary sitcom director James Burrows, who I tell you he has to be a super hero, he’s got like a hundred eyes. He’s managing not only performances, but he’s also managing blocking or cameras and when they’re going to push in or when they’re gonna pull out and it’s incredible. Our writer is Ricky Blitt who is this amazingly, hysterical, talented writer.
He use to write for the Family Guy. He’s just got this comedic ability. It’s astounding. It’s been so much fun. We’re shooting on the old Seinfeld stage, which is just this huge stage. There is a plaque on the stage that says, ‘Home of Seinfeld.’ It’s surreal, but it’s so much fun. Gosh I hope that America likes it, makes it to air and I hope it takes off cause we’re having a great time. I would watch it if I wasn’t in it.”
CY: Could you see yourselves being Alyssa Milano’s little sister in real life?
KS: “I could. She is a really cool person. I was able to go to her wedding. She invited me to her wedding so I have that mental, that real mental vision of her walking down the isle with her looking gorgeous with her veil on. I definitely use that in my character. She’s just a really cool person. She’s a humanitarian and she genuinely loves her family and as do I so they reach other on that level. I have a big sister in real as well. Quite a big pull on that. Yeah. She’s cool. We have the exact same profile oddly enough too. People when we’re together go, ‘Oh my gosh! I can see it. I can see it.’ And she’s an itty bitty girl too.”
CY: Recently audiences had a chance to see you in Two and a Half Men. What was that experience like working on the number one comedy? Must’ve been a career, uplifting moment.
KS: “Absolutely. Yeah. It was a big blessing and quite fun and a big learning experience for me. These guys are the best. It’s the most watched comedy on TV. I really learned a lot just by watching and seeing how things were done on that set. One of the things that I keep going back to is how professional everybody was.
It truly was a job for them that they enjoyed and that they appreciated, but John and Charlie showed up on time. They knew their lines. They took directions. There was no ego on that set. Also just to be able to see it directed and redirected and to interact with Chuck Lorre was huge. He’s just a genius with his words and his thoughts and his vision. He use to be a musician. I guess he technically still is. They say comedy is all about timing.
So I think that he visualized and heard the internal rhythm of the show and I think that’s partly why it’s so successful. There is a beat to it. It was just so much fun and it really was funny too. Several times I’d sit back and go wow, I’m getting paid to laugh and laugh at other people. It’s pretty great.”
CY: What should people know about Charlie Sheen personally? Obviously he’s back in the news and going through some things and his family life, but should people know about him that have never met him since you’ve had a chance to work with him?
KS: “He never said a mean thing to me. He’s very supportive. He was very kind to me as a matter of fact. The side I saw to Charlie was kind, was professional, was supportive, was funny and regardless of the degree of people’s faults, we all have faults big and small. It’s very hard for someone to be in the public eye and to have their faults just broadcasted everywhere. To me as a small actress coming into a big show, he couldn’t have been cooler and nicer to me. And you hear horror stories about how it is on other sets or someone talking down to other people, but it was a great, great experience. So yeah, I think he’s a very nice person.”
CY: So as an avid baseball fan of the St. Louis Cardinals, I have to ask from a female perspective, what did you think of Mark McGwire’s recent announcement that he used steroids? And how do women, someone as an avid sports fan view these kinds of things?
KS: “Well, I look at is a way of cheating. What I am saddened by is the guy who was out there trying to do his best who wasn’t using drugs and really trying to do it honestly and he didn’t get the attention or he didn’t get put on a team because he choose to do the right thing. It’s also a sign of our times. When people first started smoking way back when they didn’t know the damages it would do.
I don’t know if he quite knew how dangerous or the affect. I don’t know. I don’t know him. I don’t know the moral dilemma if he had one taking them. I do look at it as cheating. It’s too bad. However, in a way it’s interesting that it happened because now hopefully players can look at it and learn from it, establish stricter guidelines and stricter testing and policy and you can learn from your mistakes.
Everyone’s gonna make mistakes. As long as you can admit to them first of all and acknowledge them and then learn from them, you maybe end up a better person so hopefully the national baseball league will learn from this and not just ignore it and dust it under the rug. Hopefully we can say hey, this happened at that time and it was wrong. I think he was just appointed the batting coach too wasn’t he?”
CY: Yup. Exactly. Absolutely. You know your stuff.
KS: “We’ll see. St. Louis is a very family oriented town and we’re a forgiving town and we love our Cardinals. I think it’s better that he came out and admitted it because like I say, nobody’s perfect. I think it’s a wronger deed to keep on denying it and living with that lie. That could eat you up.”
CY: In closing, what do you hope for the future?
KS: “I hope Romantically Challenged is a great, great hit. I hope America likes it. I just want to thank you so much for bringing me on your show. I really appreciate it.”
You can find more about Kelly Stables at her official website at: http://www.kellystables.com/