SheWired Chats with 'Anyone But Me' Star Rachael Hip Flores

A new web series with the tagline “A new generation searching for love and belonging in the post-9/11 age,” is exploring what it’s like to be an out teen these days. The show is called Anyone But Me, and it follows the lives of a diverse group of teenagers in New York City, some of whom are gay or lesbian, and all of whom have one thing in common – their lives are largely out of their control.

Hopefully you caught last week’s interview on SheWired with Anyone But Me actress Nicole Pacent. This week we caught up with her on-screen love, Rachael Hip Flores, who gave us the scoop on kissing girls on camera and why she would play an elf in a 'hot second.'

SC: Tell me a little bit about your character. Who is she? 

RHF: Vivian is 16 years old. She’s an out lesbian. She is in a situation now where she is forced to move away from the Queens area to the Westchester suburbs, which have a decidedly different atmosphere. The show follows her struggles coming out to people, dealing with her father’s illness, this new mother figure in her life (Aunt Jodie) and her relationship with Aster (her girlfriend) and how the move affects them as well.

SC: There is a lot of pressure on her. She’s so young, and because of that a lot of her life is out of her control (the move, for example) and she’s just dealing with it as it happens to her. So what’s it like for you, because obviously you’re not 16 anymore, to go back to that time and relate to that time period? 

RHF: It’s so uncomfortable! It’s awful but also, because it’s awful, it’s so much fun. I think that regardless of sexuality or race or anything, when you’re 16 things just are out of control. I think one of the things I relate to about Vivian is that she is very mature beyond her years. I’ve always felt a little bit older. Vivian’s not going to get bent out of shape over not being invited to the prom, she has weightier issues to deal with. It’s fun and also awful to go back there. I mean, who really did have fun when they were a teenager?

SC: So when you first heard about this project, what was your first impression? What drew you to it? 

RHF: It was a weird process. I’m still starting out, so I have to audition for everything that comes up. So, I went into it a little bit blind. I was in China at the time with my family when I got an email from a friend who works with me at my horrible day job at Barnes and Noble. He sent me a message about a project where they needed someone who looked 16. And everyone at the store always made fun of me for how young I look. I didn’t know anything about Tina, didn’t know Susan Miller was a part of it, and then I walked into the audition room and did it and thought it was fun. And the sides were well-written, so all of a sudden, it started to feel kind of exciting.

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