Candace Bailey, co-host of G4’s “Attack of the Show.”
Candace Bailey
Attack of the Hostess
by Jay S. Jacobs
Cute, funny actress and hostess Candace Bailey makes G4’s cutting-edge pop culture series Attack of the Show a must-see for the tech-savvy viewer. The fast-paced show shares entertainment news, tech previews, wacky videos and retro commercials with snarky love, good humor and unmitigated respect.
Candace Bailey is the “chick” in a boy’s club gone wild: a sweet, beautiful and surprisingly game-for-anything beacon of estrogen in a show which celebrates testosterone. It’s a bit of a surprise for Bailey – she is an actress who sort of stumbled into hostess work when she was hired for Nickelodeon’s series U-Pick Live.
Bailey hasn’t given up on her first love. She spent a couple of years in the cast of the cult-favorite series Jericho, as well as doing guest appearances on shows like Ghost Whisperer, Robot Chicken and The Sopranos.
She recently braved a cold to give us a call and catch us up on all things Candace.
You have worked to be an actress since you were five. What drew you to acting?
I have no idea. Still to this day, every time I watch a TV show that I connect with or a movie that I love, there is a part that I feel I can play. I’ve always seen myself in that role, ever since I was really young. I’d just imagine myself playing that part. (laughs)
Beyond wanting to act, what were you like as a girl growing up in Florida?
I was a gymnast. I did gymnastics six days a week, four hours a day. Very competitive gymnast. It was pretty much my life for eight years. Then, I quit gymnastics and went into ballet and modern dance. That was my life throughout high school. Ballet and school.
What were some of the other things you were passionate about growing up?
Those were kind of my life. (laughs) Obviously, I spent a lot of time with my family and my friends. I had a really good group of friends. Because gymnastics took up so much of my time when I was younger, that was it. I wanted to be in the Olympics. I wanted to get as good as I could be. I was very driven with that. And schoolwork, of course, as well. I was a very driven kid.
Do you still have any things from back then that are still sacred to you – that you have to take with you no matter where you move?
I have a ton of pictures. I’m a huge picture person. I have brought all of my pictures from home back over here. I have my yearbooks. Not to bring things down, but two of my best friends were killed in a car accident when they were 20.
Oh, I’m sorry to hear that…
So, I have a bunch of great memories and pictures and words written by them. I like to keep those very close to me. I’m trying to think of anything in particular. I have a couple of stuffed animals I’ve had since I was like seven years old. I had them on my bed for years and years – I would have them in college, just a couple of them. I still have them at my house, but I don’t have them on my bed anymore. I think they are zipped up in a storage box somewhere.
What do you miss most that you lost along the way?
I had a Hello Kitty lunchbox (laughs) that I wish I still had. But I could probably actually go find it now. Also, do you know the little Snoopy Sno-Cone maker? I loved that growing up. That and my Easy-Bake Oven. I loved those two things. I wish I still had those, because I don’t bake, but I would bake if I had my Easy-Bake Oven. (laughs again)
What were some of your favorite books and the books that stuck with you over the years?
I loved Where the Wild Things Are. I’m trying to think of books I loved as a kid. The Berenstain Bears. A book called Love You Forever (by Robert Munsch). That was always my favorite one. My mom read that to us all the time, so that one was the one that is closest to my heart.
What kind of music were you into and have your musical tastes changed?
I’ve always just been someone who listens to the radio. My music tastes definitely have changed. I think music from the Nineties was awesome. (laughs) I’m just gonna say that. I mean, there’s a lot of great music now too, obviously, but so much of it is synthesized. I really like singer/songwriters. James Taylor is my all-time favorite. He’s always been my favorite. I love that. When I was younger, I didn’t appreciate the classic rock so much. Now, I’m like, yeah, that’s the good music. (laughs again) So, I guess my music tastes have changed. I feel sometimes, I’ll be listening to radio and I’ll be like in my Granny voice: What are the kids listening to these days? This isn’t music!
My family. And we had beautiful beaches.
I lived down there for a year myself when I was in high school, in Palm Beach Gardens.
Oh, okay. I was north in Gulf Breeze on the panhandle. So we could have really, really pretty beaches. I miss my grandparents and my mother, of course. And the beaches.
How is the lifestyle different in Los Angeles? Do you like living there?
It’s totally different. Originally I moved to New York, and New York is a completely different lifestyle from where I grew up. It’s very slow paced, everyone knows everyone, very chill. Then moving to New York from that… I had gone to New York every summer, from the time I was twelve, so it was kind of my home away from home. I was used to it, but it’s a complete switch of pace. Everyone is always moving, on the go, everything is super high energy and there is always something to do. I think that’s what drew me to New York, because it was so different from where I grew up. Just the energy in New York, it’s just so awesome. Out here is kind of a mix between home and New York. There’s a whole lot to do, but everything is really spread out. You have your car. In New York you’re always taking the subway or a taxi or walking everywhere. Here it’s like home, where you have your car, you can drive everywhere. The weather is always nice. But it still has that great energy. And still a lot to do.
You’ve been hosting with Attack of the Show and your previous Nick series U-Pick Live. How did you segue into hosting from acting? Do you enjoy it?
I absolutely love it. I had done some commercials and a few little guest star things acting-wise. Then, when I was in college, I auditioned for a hosting job. I had never auditioned for a hosting job before, but they were like, “Just go out for it. It could be fun.” That was the Nickelodeon job that I ended up working. I didn’t realize that I loved hosting when I was auditioning for it, but then I got the show and I absolutely loved it. I loved being able to be myself and just be real and getting to do the silly things that I get to do as myself. It’s totally different from acting. Acting I get to be a different character all the time and get to fit into that role, but I love both equally.
Do you play a part in picking the crazy videos or old commercials used on the show? What kind of things do they look for?
Yes. Just something that first off hasn’t been everywhere. Every now and then we’ll have one that lots of people have seen, but we like to have newer videos that not as many people know about. Something that makes us laugh, that’s we’re like, “Okay, this is hysterical. We have to show this.” Or “This is crazy, I can’t believe this happened.” Something that makes us go “Holy crap! We have to show this on the show.” But always different videos, from Russian video-cams to a squirrel flying out of a window. It doesn’t really matter as long as it catches our attention.
Was there one that just totally made you crack up while filming?
Yes. There was one a couple of weeks back when we had John Barrowman as co-host. He’s a hoot already, he cracks me up. The two of us together are constantly laughing and having fun as is. Then there was this boating video. People on a lake, they are hitting the waves and this camera is shooting them. It goes back and forth and with each fall they fall more and more. All of the sudden everyone just falls down. (laughs) It sounds tragic, but it’s not. Everyone lives, everyone is okay, but it is a hysterical, hysterical video. We were watching that on the show and could not contain our laughter. We were just dying.
On Attack of the Show you’re like the girl in the boy’s club. Is that a fun situation?
It’s totally a boy’s club and it’s all boys working on the show. Actually, now we’ve got a few more girls. But, yeah, it’s fun. I feel like I’m a guy’s girl, so I feel like I fit in very well.
What’s the toughest thing you have to do on the show?
Toughest. I really don’t know. I don’t think it’s tough to be on the show. I love every aspect of it.
Do you have some ideas for segments or skits that you’d just love to do on the show?
I do and I’ve pitched so many ideas. Right now we’re at a point when they are doing a rebrand with the network and they’re changing the show around a bit. So, I hope that they will do some of my ideas, but we’ll see. I have no idea.
I’m sure you’ve been watching the career of your Attack of the Show predecessor Olivia Munn. Are you trying to balance acting and hosting like she has been?
Yeah. I haven’t actually seen the show, The Newsroom. I hear it’s really good, I just don’t have HBO. I was hosting before and then I did Jericho and was acting and then I went back into hosting. I would love to always be able to do both. I want to host, I want to act, I want to be able to do them simultaneously or keep going back and forth from one to the other. But I never want to have to choose one or the other.
You were terrific in Jericho. What was that show like to be a part of, particularly with the strong cult following?
It did, which really validated everything. When the show went away, it was so nice to have the support from all of the viewers sending the nuts to CBS and just showing how much they loved the show. It really meant a lot to us. It was a great show to be a part of. The people working on it are amazing. I met one of my closest, dearest friends on that, Shoshannah Stern. So I feel very lucky. We might be coming back to Netflix. I haven’t heard anything lately, but they talked about bring it back as new episodes, so it would be really great to work with everyone again.
Do you have any other acting jobs coming up?
Not as of now. Attack has kept me pretty busy. Our schedule is – we have a great schedule, but we work year round. We don’t get a lot of time off. But I would like to be able to do both acting and Attack. That would be ideal.
You were named one of Maxim‘s hottest women. Was that a surprise? How did that feel?
I’m totally flattered. I think whoever is picking is crazy. (laughs) But, I am completely 100% flattered that they would think of me in that category, because I just see myself as a fun, silly, crazy girl. The fact that people see me that way is awesome.
What was the first movie you ever saw that really blew you away?
I always loved The Sound of Music. And The Wizard of Oz.
Is there a certain movie that if you are in a bad mood it automatically cheers you up?
Yeah, there are a bunch of movies. Old School. I would say Old School. And every time I’m flipping through the channels and I see You’ve Got Mail, I have to turn it on. If I see it on the TV, I have to turn it on, for some reason.
Is there something you watch when you need a good cry?
Oh, The Notebook. Absolutely. (laughs)
What movie do you think you have seen more than any other?
Maybe Pretty Woman.
What kinds of things bring you back to the old days? What makes you nostalgic?
Fall. Every time fall comes around. It’s my favorite season. I absolutely love it. But it always reminds me of fall growing up at home. Halloween, going trick or treating every year. Anything fall related. If I smell a pumpkin-scented candle. Or Christmas time always makes me nostalgic for those years long, long ago.
What would people be surprised to know about you?
I’m such an open book, so it’s very difficult for me to figure this out. I hate the Chevy Volt. I don’t know if that’s something surprising. I hate it. I don’t know why. Something about the inside of the car, I felt like I was in a spaceship when I was in it. I really can’t stand that car. I know that’s totally random. (laughs) Can I tell you more things that are really random?
Absolutely…
I also hate olives. I love olive oil, but I can’t stand olives.
I know exactly what you mean, I hate raspberries but love raspberry flavoring.
Yeah. It’s so weird. I’m allergic to lavender. (laughs) And cats. I’m allergic to lavender and cats.
Copyright ©2012 PopEntertainment.com. All rights reserved. Posted: October 18, 2012.