Alexis Bledel is one of a group of Latinas we’ve talked about before. Like Sara Paxton, JoAnna Garcia Swisher (Reba, Animal Hospital), Julie Gonzalo (Dallas), Bella Thorne, and Sarah Ramos (Parenthood), Bledel considers herself a proud Latina, but her blue eyes, light skin, and American accent keeps her from playing Latina roles. That’s the case once again in The Brass Teapot, a light-hearted romantic fantasy (based on a comic) starring, among others, Juno Temple, Michael Angarano and Alia Shawkat. The story follows a couple in their mid-twenties who find a mysterious, magical brass teapot which makes them money but at a surprising price. Then, just a couple of weeks later, she stars in a new Hallmark telemovie, Remember Sunday, what looks to be a more serious version of Fifty First Dates with Zachary Levy of Chuck fame.
Even before these two-releases-in-one-month April, Alexis has been keeping busy. She first came to national notice in the cult rom-com fave, The Gilmore Girls years ago. Then there was The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and its sequel, the historical drama The Conspirator directed by Robert Redford, and the independent Canadian film The Kate Logan Affair. She also performed in a live production of Regrets at the New York City Center. Most recently, she had a well-received arc on another cult fave, Mad Men.
L-r: Alexis Bledel and Billy Magnussen
The Brass Teapot
And still: no Latino roles, no matter how hard she tried. Born in Houston, Texas, the daughter of an Argentine businessman of Danish descent and a mother who spent most of her time in Latin America, she grew up in a Spanish-speaking household; in fact, she didn’t speak English until she was eight years old. “It’s the only culture my mom knows from life, and my father as well,” she told Latina recently. “They made the decision to raise their children within the context they had been raised in, so we speak Spanish in my parents’ house.”
Maybe the day will come when Alexis will get the chance to put her Latino heritage to good use. In the meantime, there’s The Brass Teapot, opening wide on Friday April 5 and Remember Sunday, on the Hallmark Channel April 21. She has four other movies filming or in post-production that you’ll see in the theaters or on the tube in the next year or two…and its recently been confirmed that she will play opposite Jason Ritter in a Fox comedy pilot called Friends & Family, an adaptation of the British comedy Gavin & Stacey.
Here’s a clip from Remember Sunday, just to wet your appetite:
