GIRLZ : 5 JUNE - 2 JULY 2003
Interview With The Tribe Cast : By Marlene Smits : Photos - Diederik Faber
Translator : Lisette
---- Meet The Mall Rats! ----
How did you get into the business?
 Meryl: I started acting when I was fourteen years old. They held auditions for the tribe and through my agent I ended up auditioning for a part. I had zero experience but luckily enough they chose me to be part of it. I've been working on it for four years now, so that's running fantastic.
Antonia: I've always loved acting, but I've never had a professional training. I did do some summer courses though.
Did you have any idea what you were getting yourself into, when you started with The Tribe?
Antonia: I didn't have the slightest clue that we would have to wear these distinctive clothes and accessories. When I was told that I would be getting purple hair, I didn't know how to react. I was fourteen and wanted to be just like my friends. Purple hair didn't fit into that picture. So I was thinking: 'Noooooooo!'. But once I had it, I thought it was quite nice actually. Besides I live in a quite alternative place, and I'm not the only one there who walks around with a strange hair colour. So looking back it wasn't so bad at all. And I let all the other things just happen. We were so young that we thought, the things we were allowed to do and the things they did to us, were super cool.
Meryl: At the beginning I didn't know what part I would get. Well it appeared to be the part of Ebony. I didn't know how long I would play the part because there was talk that the leader of my gang might be die. That was quite weird. But all the other things were a major experience. We have got a giant cast (it changes, but there's and average of 19 people playing in it) and I've made a lot of new friends. We all get along great, and that makes the work utterly nice!
James: I am just new because I first appear in series 4 of The Tribe. Of course I knew the series, but I didn't know how it would be to act with all those people. My advantage was that I already knew some actors from other shows. But I have to say that it is a super positive experience. I became part of the group without any problem. It was like I had been part of it all my life. Everybody is so nice and enthusiastic and that makes acting even more fun!
In what way did The Tribe change your life?
Meryl: It's been really hard for me to leave my family. They live far away from the place where they shoot the tribe, so I had to move. But I learned a lot. I mean, it's not just anything to be asked for such a big series when you're fourteen. But I went for it and because of that I learned to take care of myself.
Antonia: Well as a start I haven't had a single school vacation over the last three years! I left school the year before to focus on The Tribe. After that I really wanted to go back to school. It's quite hard to combine the two, because every minute of free time is taken away by the series. I think I did learn a lot as an actress. Sometimes when I watch an old episode I think: O that was awful! I could do that much better right now. But it pleases me to see that you can work on a series for years and still grow.
What are the similarities and differences between the character you play and yourself?
James: Jay is very serious and focused on saving the world. And that's an absolute resemblance, haha! Only I want to relax from time to time too. No, seriously, now I do believe in norms and values, so that's a similarity. But of course I don't think I can save the world.
Meryl: Ebony is a real cow! She's very stubborn, bossy and always wants to be at the steering wheel. I'm a little stubborn and domineering but not as bad as she is. I also love to do things on my own, and don't want to have to depend on someone else. But I am a lot nicer than Ebony.
Antonia: I'm much more stable than Trudy. She's labile and depends on others. She wants other people to take care of her. I think I can take care of myself. Above all Trudy can be very unreasonable and I don't believe I'm like that. I'm somewhat more harmonious and wiser.
What do you fall for in a boy/girl?
James: I like girls that that are very confident about themselves, who believe in themselves and who care about the people surrounding them. Besides that she must have a good sense of humour. What I like about people, in girls too, is passion for life. It doesn't matter what you do as long as you do it with your whole heart. She must have a down to earth approach too. I think it's such a shame that I meet so many girls, and not only in the acting world, who take such gigantic airs. I'm really allergic to arrogance!
Meryl: Lets be honest, the appearance is important. So he must be attractive and well groomed. Besides that I fall for a person with personality, someone who can be himself. But he must be friendly and caring too, and he must have a great smile. Good conversations and having fun are, by the way, two musts!
Antonia: I fall for guys that have cheerfulness as their philosophy of life. Besides that I want someone who is good looking and someone with whom I can have good conversations. So, beauty and brains! And humour is very important for me too.
Are you in a relationship at the moment and isn't that hard when you're so busy?
Meryl: No… I'm single… (sigh)
Antonia: Yes I am and he's exactly like I described my perfect guy, haha! And yes, of course it can be quite hard sometimes with work and school. We miss each other a lot, but we always keep good contact. Even when I'm in a foreign country, we call each other and I tell him exactly what has happened that day. He knows how ambitious I am and he completely supports me in that. I think that's very important in a relationship.
James: My girlfriend, who I had been with for one and a half year, and I broke up four weeks ago. So, no, I'm not in a relationship at the moment.
What was your worst date ever?
Antonia: I had a date with this guy and we were going to eat and drink something somewhere. The situation was a little bit tensed and when we didn't know what to say to each other for a moment, he said something terrible: 'Wow this is an uneasy silence, don't you think so?' I was completely over him when he said that.
James: Oh, I've got a funny one. I met a girl through a friend of mine. We got along extremely well, so well that I arranged some tickets for a school ball, through my friend, to meet her again. In spite of not knowing anyone there except for that friend and the girl, everything went fine, since I was kissing the girl. But after a short time, I was brutally disrupted by a friend who came running to me with the message that the girl's boyfriend had just arrived with a group of other guys. He had heard a bout me kissing his girl… It scared the hell out of me since I didn't know that the girl had a boyfriend. Let's say that I'm very happy that I'm such a good sprinter, otherwise those guys would have really gotten me. Haha!
 Have you got a golden dating tip?
James: Be yourself!
Antonia: Never eat a Turkish pizza during your first date. 'Cause there is no way you can eat that in a graceful way without getting you face dirty. Take that from me Girlz! Don't go there!
Meryl: Don't eat any garlic before your date!
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