Interview: Marisol Nichols' Heather "Works Her Butt Off"

Marisol Nichols, courtesy ABC

ABC's Sunday-night hit comedy-drama “GCB” wraps up its first season this Sunday at 10/9c, and if you're a big fan like I am, you don't want to miss this Sunday's finale. The good Christian belles of Dallas are sure to tease, please and leave their viewers hanging until the show's return next year. And if you happen to have missed all the hoopla the first time around, never fear: Season one will be released on DVD June 12.

I spoke with one of the “nicer” belles a few weeks back, Marisol Nichols, who plays Heather Cruz, the show's self-starting go-getter who's not as quick to judge as her (sometimes) hypocritical friends.

Celebrity Extra: When you first read the script for “GCB” last year, what were your initial thoughts?

Marisol Nichols: My first thoughts were, “This is so amazing and it's going to be a huge hit.” My second thought was, “I will never get hired, but I can't wait to see the show.” So, the fact that they hired me was kind of shocking, but I was very glad, obviously, that they did.

Marisol and Jennifer Aspen, courtesy ABC/Eric McCandless

CE: What is it about Heather that sets her apart from the other ladies, and what made you eager to play her?

MN: I like the fact that out of all the girls, Heather was the most grounded out of anyone. I could understand what she had to do to survive in this community, and I felt like she was the most grounded out of everybody.

CE: While Cricket is a powerful businesswoman, most of what she has and has built on is thanks to her family, but Heather started from nothing and pulled herself up by her bootstraps.

MN: Yeah, she made her own money. She worked her butt off to get to where she is. She didn't inherit a business; she wasn't born into money; she didn't marry into money. She had to make it on her own, and that I can completely relate to. I've been working odd jobs since I was 12. I think I forged my ID when I was a kid so that I could work at 14. But I wanted to work; I wanted to make more money. I didn't want to have to ask people for money; I wanted to do it on my own. I have literally been working since I was 14 years old, so I can relate.

CE: These girls are all friends from high school and before, and it's funny, yet scary, that a few of them are still stuck in that high-school mentality. Have you seen that in your own life, or was this a new idea for you to relate to?

MN: I think that when I was in high school, I thought that that was it, and that those relationships and how I felt with other girls at that time were how everything was going to be for the rest of my life. Fortunately, I moved away, so I learned that it's a lot different. I think maybe if I would have stayed I would have maybe stayed stuck in the same viewpoint. I'd like to think that people grow out of it, but you never know. There are always a few who are stuck in the past.


What's funny to me about high school is that there is always that mean group of girls, and I can remember their first and last names to this day. It's something you always remember.

CE: For this first season, the entire series was shot before anyone got to see it. Do think that was helpful for your show, since you got to explore the writer's vision without having outside pressure to change this or adjust that?

MN: In some ways it was great, because you didn't have the pressure of ratings and the people liking it or anything like that, and in other ways you kind of really need that audience feedback. In some ways, I think we were sort of just winging it the first season, where the second season -- you know, I'm already saying that we're going to have a second season, but if we have a second season -- I think it will be based more on audience feedback.