Have U Heard??

Have U Heard participated in a question and answer session with MAKE IT BREAK IT star Candace Cameron Bure, who plays Summer.   The actress is best known for her run as D.J. Tanner on FULL HOUSE but is back on TV as a series regular on the ABC Family hit winning over a whole new set of fans.

Candace was refreshingly open and honest and as nice as she seems.  She spoke about Make It or Break It, her faith, her family, how she manages it all and much more!!   Read the interview below to get a good look at Candace Cameron Bure.

New episodes of MAKE IT OR BREAK IT premiere tonight, January 4th at 9 p.m. ET.

Question: Has your life been different than you imagined it would be?

Candace Cameron Bure: I’m certainly thrilled with my life and what’s become of it and feel incredibly blessed with the family that I have. I love being back at work. If you ask me what kind of life I would want, it’s exactly the one that I’m living. I’m incredibly grateful and thankful for it and excited to see what the future will hold.

Question: What is it about this show that you feel continues to draw in viewers?

Candace Cameron Bure: I think it’s a well-written show and the storylines themselves, because there’s so much drama; there’s a lot of conflict and having it based around gymnastics is something that hasn’t been on TV yet. I think is quite interesting for the viewers. I know we have so many fans who are gymnasts or have been in the gymnastic world and they’re so excited and pleased that there’s a show representing some of the things that they’ve gone through their whole lives.

And, also, being a teen drama and discussing the life of what teens go through and the hardships and drama itself – that’s something that hooks you and keeps you wanting to come back for more, to see what happens.

Question: What about the role continues to challenge you?

Candace Cameron Bure: I’m having so much fun on the show and with this role. I mentioned before it is fun that I get to be a really positive person, and a go-to person for the girls in the gym if they want, especially for Lauren.

I’m a stable figure that hopefully represents love and that’s a great character to be playing. It’s fun for me to be in much more of a motherly role and an adult role, obviously having been on TV as a child for so many years. That, in itself, makes it nice to come back to TV as a completely different person in the sense that I’m an adult.

Question: Have you noticed any changes in your day-to-day life since the show premiered? You have a whole new fan base and then, again, with the fans that have followed you all these years, has that impacted you in a way that you’ve been able to notice?

Candace Cameron Bure: I’m still recognized from FULL HOUSE; I think I will be my entire life and that’s still where the majority of my fans are from. It is pretty fun for me when some of the younger kids come up to me say, “Aren’t you that lady from MAKE IT OR BREAK IT?” That tickles me to death.

I love having new fans that know me from this show – that’s always a fun thing, but I’m forever grateful and love my Full House fans. I guess I haven’t seen a huge, dramatic change in fans from being on the show. I think I’ve got a great group of core fans that have just followed me for a long time; it’s quite flattering and I’m appreciative of them all.

Question: Do you have input on that or do you just have an amazing wardrobe?

Candace Cameron Bure: It’s both, but we have an amazing costume designer, Mary Kate – that’s just funny, her name [laughs]. Well, Mary Kate is great and we talk a lot about the wardrobe, but I think because I’m the only one in the show who’s technically not a gym mom or one of the gymnasts, so she just gets to have a lot of fun with me and put me in great clothes. A lot of them are the designers and the type of clothes that I wear in my own life. I come out on stage every day and all the girls on the show check me out to see what I’m wearing. They say, “You have the cutest clothes on the show.” That’s totally all our costume designer and I give her props, she’s awesome.

Question: You took a five or six-year break from acting back in 2001. Coming back into it, having a familiar name is it an easy transition back for you into the work or did it feel like you were starting from scratch all over again?

Candace Cameron Bure: No, Hollywood embraced me and gave me a very warm welcome back. When I decided to come back towork, it didn’t take long at all. It was basically a little reintroduction of, “Hey, I’m back,” and everyone wanted to see what I looked like. From what most people say, I pretty much look the same as I did even ten years ago. I haven’t aged too much.

Aside from people just seeing what I look like, it was a very warm welcome. The calls started coming in right away. I didn’t have to fight hard at all, which is a beautiful place to be; I’m grateful for it.

Question:I wanted to ask you about what you said earlier in the interview. You said that you hold a high standard to choosing roles. Does it ever feel like you might be limited as an actress by doing this or is it not something you think about?

Candace Cameron Bure: I definitely am limited, absolutely, but that’s okay. I’m the one that’s limiting myself and I’m limiting myself by choice. I want to do things that either will have a message at the end of the day, a good moral message, or things that will encourage people or families in a positive direction.

Not that everything is going to be perfect or everything’s happy; there are always struggles and conflict in television or movies and participating in those are great. I don’t have to do everything that holds the exact same viewpoint that I have, but at the end of the day, for me, I want it to have a positive reflection or redemption at the end of it, something learned from the situation. Yes, I’m limited, but that’s completely fine with me.

Question: You mentioned that being a mom of three gets you disheveled. Does that help you play the scenes with Lauren, being a mother yourself?

Candace Cameron Bure: I think being a mom and having the maturity and patience with children, that I can definitely draw on that when Lauren gives me those zingers of comments and lines. You have to take it all in stride and certainly I can feed off of that from being a mom.

Question: You mentioned the Olympics. I wanted to know, with the Winter Olympics coming up in Vancouver, when hockey starts, does that cause a split in your house? Do you root for the U.S. and [your husband] Valeri roots for Russia or how does that work?

Candace Cameron Bure: I’m an American and will root for everything American except when it comes to hockey. I’m not a traitor, but my husband did play in two Olympic games and of course I was rooting for Russia when he played in those games. I have a silver and a bronze medal sitting in my home that he took home. I’m incredibly proud of him and those medals. Even though he’s not playing in the Olympics again, my heart’s going to be with Russia because that’s his team and he won those medals with Russia. It’s the only team in the winter sports, hockey, when my heart goes with Russia.

Shari Von Holten: You were very successful as a child actress and have grown up to be a successful person. How did you escape the childhood curse and what would you suggest for those people out there now that are actors and actresses to help them avoid the curse?

Candace Cameron Bure: I had a very grounded, supportive family that was holding my hand through every day of this business, which is what I attribute to the reason why I came out the way I did and avoided the curse, as you call it. I think it has everything to do with the people that are around you. Faith and my family has always been the focus and that’s what my parents instilled in me.

As for advice for the kids, it’s not so much for the kids, but for their parents or their support systems that are around. I’d like to tell them to be strong and be selfless in the sense that someone’s well being and safety comes first than getting the next big-paying job or to be in the spotlight and sacrificing part of yourself just to become more of a celebrity.

Like I said, I’ve always attributed it to my faith and my family. I think having stepped out of the business for a while and coming back into it I have another fresh perspective. You kind of just see it for what it is, which is that it’s a job. There’s celebrity that comes with it, but you’ve got to not pay attention to that part in the sense of thinking that it’s reality. We’re all human beings and we’re all equally valuable and should be treated that way.

Question: I know you’re in the 9:00 timeslot and not the 8:00, but some of the storylines are a little mature. Does it ever concern you that you’re on a family channel and we can’t exactly let some of our younger kids watch some of the storylines?

Candace Cameron Bure: Absolutely; I’m a parent and my children are 11, 9 and 7 years old. Make It or Break It is on ABC Family, but like you mentioned, it’s the 9:00 timeslot and does have a rating of +14. Anyone that’s watching or any parents that are watching, which I hope parents are sitting down and knowing what their children are watching, would see that +14 in the upper corner of the television to know therating.

Even with my children and me it’s a major concern. I’m very aware of what they watch. Because the network itself has the word “family” on it, doesn’t necessarily mean it’s for only younger children. I think ABC Family is very specific to different age groups within a family. The show itself, I TiVo because my kids want to watch it because I’m on it; they’re interested to see what Mom’s doing, but the show’s not entirely appropriate for my children.

I will sit with the remote in hand. There are certainly parts that my children can watch and that’s what we do. We sit with the remote and we watch the gymnastics parts and parts that I’m in that are fine, but when there are those teen conversations that talk about sex or things that are too mature for my children, we fast-forward through it.

Question:  That’s the exact same thing I do. One more question for you; back to your FULL HOUSE days. Do you ever keep in touch with the cast?

Candace Cameron Bure: Absolutely. I’m very close with Bob Saget and Dave Coulier. I just saw John Stamos last weekend. My family and I were in New York and we went and saw him in Bye, Bye Birdie on Broadway. I saw Andrea Barber just two nights ago. She came over to my house for a little Christmas party so we do keep in touch. The rest of the guys we try to see when we can. We’re close friends.

Question: As a mom of a preschooler I just have to ask, “How do you do it?” You have three children, you have a wonderful marriage, and you still have time to do so well in your role as Summer. Any secrets?

Candace Cameron Bure: I didn’t do it when I had a preschooler so don’t feel bad. I’m only doing this now because my children are all in school and fairly independent and can do homework on their own for the most part. It’s a hard balancing act, but I think those early years are such formative years and it’s so incredibly important to be there and not try to do it all. I think that’s why I survived because I wasn’t working at all when my kids were young.

Question: The series is filmed in California, right?

Candace Cameron Bure: Yes.

Question: Do you live in California or do commute?

Candace Cameron Bure: We moved to California over the summer because we were in Fort Lauderdale for the past eight years. The commute was just a little too far. We made the move and put the kids in school here in L.A.

Question: I was just wondering how you make that work. It’s kind of complicated, isn’t it?

Candace Cameron Bure: I was commuting for about the first two months that I was filming the show, going back and forth because my kids were still in school in Florida. When we realized the show was such a success right from the start, we made that decision to move.

It’s worked out great and my kids are thrilled. It’s coming home for me, to come back to L.A., because I was born and raised there and all my family’s here. My kids were thrilled because Grandma and Grandpa and cousins and aunts and uncles are all here. It wasn’t a difficult move, either; it was an exciting, fun move for us.

Question:I know you can’t give away too much about the upcoming episodes, but is there anything you can clue us into about what we should expect or something exciting that you remember from filming, anything like that?

Candace Cameron Bure: I am so nervous about giving too much away; I’m fighting to say anything. There are some characters that are brought back that we’ve seen before. There are some brand-new characters that you’ll be introduced to. This season is following the wave of Kaylie having placed first at Nationals and then following the story of Payson, who is badly, badly injured and has been given a diagnosis to never compete again.

There’s fun, exciting travel on the show that you’ll see with the girls who are competing and, what’s brilliant that they’re doing, is really intertwining different relationships together. Some new characters will unexpectedly come together and I think… there, that’s it; that’s all I’m telling you.

Question: Do you still keep in touch with the FULL HOUSE cast?

Candace Cameron Bure: Yes I do; we’re all pretty close.

Question: Have there been any funny or embarrassing moments on the set?

Candace Cameron Bure: We’re always having fun. I think that we hold such a fast pace that it doesn’t allow us to make for as many jokes as we would like, but there have been a couple times on the set with Peri Gilpin and Neal, who plays Sasha. We had a couple of laughing moments where we absolutely can’t stop laughing and it’s been “Take Five”, “Take Six”, “Take Seven”, because we go into that hysterical mode and can’t pull it together. We’ve had some good times.

Question: Summer has stuck by Lauren through so much even as hard as Lauren’s tried to push her away. Why do you think Summer has stuck by her?

Candace Cameron Bure: I think Summer is trying to represent what unconditional love is. I know that has a lot to do with her faith and God’s unconditional love for every one of us. I think Summer’s trying to live that out. It’s especially hard with Lauren because she hasn’t been nice to Summer. I think she’s been such a great example of being that love and the stability in her life that she sees that she needs. I think that Summer has really learned from her own past experiences in her life, having wished that she had someone like that in her life and now getting the opportunity to be that in someone else’s life.

Question: What do you think she sees in Lauren that maybe other people don’t see?

Candace Cameron Bure: I think there’s a little bit of that little-girl-lost type of thing that Lauren is so over top at times that a lot of times it’s really because the person is struggling so badly with their place in life or who they are or not feeling loved or accepted. It comes out in venomous ways sometimes. So I think that Summer can see that in Lauren that it’s probably a lot more insecurity than it is being a bad person.

Question: You just alluded to the fact that Summer sort of has a past. Have you created a back-story in your mind for Summer that you use in the role?

Candace Cameron Bure: There’s a little bit that was shared on one of the episodes when she had a serious talk with Lauren about her past and just finding love in all the wrong ways and trying to be accepted by physical love and realizing that isn’t where it comes from. I’ve of course in my mind expanded a little bit upon that and having a back-story for Summer and even where she found her faith and drew upon that.

Having talked with the producers and the writers on the show; we’ve kind of created a little bit more, but there’s still room for more development with Summer’s character. I’m always looking forward to seeing what the writers are going to do and to have the opportunities to talk with them about seeing more things like that come out through Summer.

Question:: She’s such a great character. What would you say her dreams are or her goals?

Candace Cameron Bure: I think Summer really wants to get married and have a family and have kids. She’s a very smart, organized woman and I think she really has that A-type personality that probably thinks she can do it all and do it all well. I think she has a big future in store for herself, but she needs to find that man first, her husband, to get the ball rolling.

Megan Ward (TVisMyPacifier.com): I write for a TV site. What’s your TV pleasure? Obviously you TiVo Make it or Break it, because it’s fantastic. What else do you watch as a family?

Candace Cameron Bure: I don’t watch this as a family, but my favorite show is Lost and I just can’t wait for the new season to start. It’s just my all-time favorite show. Let’s see, as a family we watch a lot of The Discovery Channel and Animal Planet. We watch a lot of the animal shows like UNTAMED & UNCUT and the ANIMAL RESCUE. I think we’re big animal lovers – we have two dogs. That’s what my kids like and it’s safe television to watch and educational, too. We actually don’t watch too much TV during the week. That’s the time it gets shut off because we devote it to reading and homework, but on the weekend we love to do Movie Night so any great family movies we love.

Question: What type of music do you listen to?

Candace Cameron Bure: I listen to mostly contemporary Top 40 Christian music. I do like to listen to oldies, which my parents listened to when we were growing up. My kids will listen to more pop music today and I feel so old. I used to listen to a lot of pop music and my parents would always complain. Now I’m the one complaining. My kids listen to it; not that all of it’s bad, but I just like to unwind and de-stress; I just like more mellow music.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.