The Secret World of Larisa Oleynik

By Erica Press

Larisa Oleynik leads a double life. "I have two completely different worlds," she explains. "When I'm at home, it's Larisa the student. In Los Angeles, it's Larisa the actress who gets up and goes to work every day."

The work she's referring to is the as Alex Mack on - you guessed it - The Secret World of Alex Mack. Like Larisa, Alex leads a double life. Even though she has amazing, top-secret superpowers, she still has to deal with the daily hurdles at school and chores. There are some differences. While Alex has lived in Paradise Valley her whole life, Larisa grew up in Northern Califronia. And while Alex can't share her secret with most of the people in her life, Larisa couldn't hide her new status as a star if she wanted to!

The acting bug bit early, when her aunt suggested she audition for a production of the musical Les Miserables. Just eight years old, with a few school productions under her belt, Larisa suddenly found herself playing the part of "Young Cosette." "It was really cool to do that for my first big thing," she says. "It gave me a tast of acting." Larisa soon began taking acting classes, and she got an agent who started to set up more auditions for her. It wasn't long before she realized that acting wasn't all glitz and glamour: "After I started acting classes, I realized that it does take work."

Larisa claims she "had no idea" when she first auditioned for Alex Mack that it would become such a hit. "I thought, 'This is cute,' " she laughs. "Then after we started filming, it became really exciting. I think it's a good show, and I'm really proud of all that we've done."

Ask Larisa about the people she spends most of her days with, and her eyes light up. "I love everyone on our cast and crew," she states emphatically. "It's like having another family." She is close to Meridith Bishop, who plays Annie Mack, Alex's big sister. When it comes time to slip into character, Larisa says she and Meredith often joke about Annie's occasional scolding of Alex. "Whenever we're rehearing a scene and it's typical Alex and Annie stuff, we make fun of it!"

Larisa also spends a lot of time with Darris Love, who plays Raymond Alvarado, Alex's lifelong next- door neighbor and best friend. "Darris is really cool," says Larisa. "He totally sticks up for me"

When Larisa isn't practicing her lines or rehearsing a scene, she's most likely in class, just like Alex - except Larisa has a tutor, who teaches her on the set. "It's hard, 'cause we're supposed to do three hours of class a day on the set but we can only do it in 20-minute increments," she says of her tutoring schedule with a sigh. "So it's like, I'm doing a scene, then they rush me back and I'm doing geometry. I don't really get much time to focus on either one."

In the spare time that she does have, Larisa likes to read. "I love Little Women. I read Anne of Green Gables in fourth grade but I reread it every year. that was probably my favorite book growing up. That and The Secret Garden." She also listens to a wide range of music, ranging from classical to alternative. "Right now I'm really into women singers," she says. "Alanis Morisette, Heather Nova, Natalie Merchant..." Does Larisa ever want to record her own Top 40 hits? She laughs, "Well, I sing in the shower! And I write songs in my journal. But I don't show them to anyone."

Reading and listening to music are just two of Larisa's interests. She also likes to loan her time and talent to causes like The Big Help. "A lot of kids look up to celebrities," Larisa explains. "Like if kids see Magic Johnson or someone else helping out, then they'll think, 'Okay, that is a cool thing to do. Why don't we try and do that? So it's nice to be able to use that for good."

Larisa claims that Alex has become a part of her: "Sometimes I'll find myself doing stuff and I'm like, 'Wait, that's something Alex would do!' "

"I think Alex is a role model," she adds after a minute. "She has her own style and doesn't really follow other people. But she doesn't realize what a cool person she actually is."

That's just one more thing Larisa and Alex have in commmon - Larisa may not now it yet either, but she's a pretty cool person herself.

The Secret World of Alex Mack 1997 Calendar

From www.larisa.com

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