When you’re part of a big family, it’s easy to feel like you’ve been lost in the chaos. Sometimes there are just too many people around or too many events going on that you may feel like you blend into the background.
Nickelodeon’s The Loud House avoids this issue among its nearly dozen Loud family kids by giving them all unique looks and personalities, keeping each character an individual even when part of the larger family unit. As the show transitioned from its animated origins to a concurrently running live-action adaptation, it maintained this aspect of its creative uniqueness.
For actress Lexi Janicek, becoming her The Really Loud House character Lisa Loud takes a little more than just makeup. In addition to makeup, glasses, and a wig, Lexi has to subdue her naturally bubbly and outgoing personality.
“At this point, I know Lisa so well that it’s pretty easy to transition from Lexi to Lisa and back again,” Lexi says. “I guess the hardest part is probably lowering my own energy and emotion when I play Lisa. I tend to have a happy and positive energy in my regular life, but that’s not Lisa. She’s more factual and has a calmer energy. She doesn’t get excited very easily, so I have to constantly remind myself of that.”
Fans of The Loud House need not worry about Lisa changing too much in her live-action form from the scientist they’ve come to love in animation.
“My version of Lisa is pretty similar to the cartoon in terms of her general characteristics. I think our appearances are very close but live-action Lisa definitely has more variety in her wardrobe – woo hoo!” she cheers. “Live-action Lisa also shows a little more emotion in the series compared to the cartoon. She’s still very scientific and matter of fact, but we see a little bit more excitement, empathy, and remorse in the live series.”
Lexi grins as she shares that portraying Lisa has caused her to learn a lot of new vocabulary words. “Lisa’s personality is different from my real-life personality, but there are parts of Lisa that I can relate to,” she goes on to say. “I think that’s a good lesson: finding common ground with people even if you seem really different at first.” It’s a lesson that works for her as she continues to portray Lisa. “Throughout filming, I realized that she and I actually have more in common than I originally thought.”
One common ground between them is STEM, or science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
Photo Credit: Laura Janicek
“I’ve actually always really enjoyed STEM. My top Christmas gift last year was a rock tumbler that I still love!” she shares. “Playing Lisa has helped introduce me to new STEM-type things that I didn’t know about. There are so many topics that Lisa will casually mention, either in the live-action or in the animated series, and I’m like, ‘I don’t know what that is!’ ‘What’s a supernova?’ and ‘What’s a plasma accelerator?’ I usually have to ask someone or look it up online, but it’s great because then I get to learn new and interesting things!!”
Given Lisa’s tendency to focus more on areas of STEM than other things, Lexi would love to see her experience a social challenge. “Lisa is so smart and scientific, but she struggles a bit with relationships and social interactions. I think it would be great to see her work through something like that,” she says. “She definitely has it in her, but I think she would have to get some help from her siblings. Some of my favorite episodes are when all the kids work together to solve an issue, so helping Lisa with a social situation would be a fun one.”
Having the Loud kids work together to solve an issue is something Lexi would love to see more of if The Really Loud House gets a second season. She calls the episode ‘Heart & Soul’ from this season to be one of her favorites.
For those that haven’t seen the episode yet, Lexi explains, “The four younger girls – Lisa, Lana, Lola, and Lucy – all scheme and work together to fix a family situation that they helped create.” Getting the girls to work together is something she definitely wants to see happen again. “I think it would be fun to see more mischief and teamwork with the younger girls. Throughout the first season, the writers have done a great job balancing funny, crazy situations and sweet family moments. I would love to see that continue in a second season!”
It helps that most of the cast of A Loud House Christmas returned for the live-action series, the strong bonds built while filming the movie only getting better as the group spends even more time together for the series. The addition of a few new cast members expanded their great relationships too.
“We had such a blast filming the movie, but once it ended, we didn’t know if we were ever going to get to see everyone again. Reuniting after a year apart was absolutely amazing!” she gushes. “We basically picked right up where we left off and got closer and closer as we filmed the series.” She adds that the new cast members fit in right away. “We had some fun social outings and get-togethers during pre-production that helped us all get to know each other. Such a fun way to start the series!”
Among Us was the hot game while filming A Loud House Christmas and it’s one that Lexi says the younger cast members still play. “Even while we’re on hiatus, we’ll jump on a group FaceTime call and play together pretty regularly. Super fun and a great way to stay connected while we’re physically apart.” Other activities that the cast does together include rock climbing when they’re all in town together. “It’s something both the older and younger cast have been able to enjoy together. It’s such a fun activity and great exercise too!”
Throughout filming, I realized that she and I actually have more in common than I originally thought.
Working on the series has meant more time to spend together as a cast, and more opportunities to do fun hang-outs like this. “Filming the series is really cool because it’s a longer timeframe with more storylines, costumes, and cast interactions. I feel like we’ve definitely become closer as a family throughout the series because we’ve had so much more time together.” She says that filming the movie took two months while the series takes about five months.
“I think the vibe is pretty similar,” she says, “but it’s definitely more social now that Covid is less of an issue! Thankful for that!!”
What has also been “super fun” is having new episodes come out every week and experiencing the show with the fans as it airs.
“We’re just as excited as the fans because we don’t usually see the episode until it airs! I always look forward to Wednesdays and Thursdays because we start teasing clips and behind-the-scenes footage for the upcoming show,” Lexi says. “All of the pictures and social media posts add to the excitement and fun. I think the fans really enjoy all of that too.”
With the season a little more than halfway over, Lexi shares that fans still have a lot to look forward to. “There are so many great episodes ahead. We have more catchy songs, crazy antics, and sweet family moments for sure.” She teases, “I can’t give anything away, but there is at least one thing from Lisa that I don’t think anyone will expect! I can’t wait for that episode.” She grins as she adds, “You’ll have to watch them all to figure out what I mean.”
Looking at the future of The Really Loud House, Lexi says, “I think it would be cool to see the characters grow and evolve along with the live-action cast members. Obviously, we’re all getting older in real life. I would like to see The Loud House characters age up a little bit too.”
Photo Credit: Laura Janicek
As a big fan of the original animated series, it makes sense that Lexi is just as passionate with that as she is with her own series. She even names The Loud House as her favorite cartoon.
“I’ve seen every episode available on Paramount+ more than once,” she shares. “It’s such a relatable show and it’s funny. Watching the cartoon and then getting to work and play on the live-action set is pretty surreal. It’s awesome.”
Given her deep connection to both, the young actress says that working on her show has only made her love the animated series even more. “I don’t think it’s really changed my view,” she says when asked if her work affects her view of the animated series. “I think the biggest difference for me now is how much I notice Brian Stepanek as Lynn Sr. It’s so cool that he plays the dad in both the animated and live-action series.”
She adds, “I also sometimes find myself repeating the Lisa lines or imagining what it would be like if we filmed an animated scene in the live-action series.”
The perks of working on a set for a series include a few things that she enjoys. “I love it all. I don’t know if I can pick just one thing that interests me the most,” she says about working on a set. “I will say, it’s always super fun when it’s my turn to be ‘on’ and I have lots of lines and get to interact with everyone in character. I also love the costumes. It’s exciting to get to see what I’m going to wear.”
Lexi goes on to say, “The Really Loud House [set] is amazing because we have a lot of fun and creative costumes and they change a lot from episode to episode.”
To finish off her interview, TEENPLICITY just had to incorporate her love for the television series Survivor.
Asked which cast member would win if The Really Loud House cast did a season of Survivor, Lexi shares, “Okay, we’ve actually talked about this a little bit.” Her conclusion? “I think Jahzir [Bruno] might win because he can fish and he’s also pretty laid back. You can’t always tell what he’s thinking which is an advantage in the social game. I think he would fly under the radar and not be a target for anyone until later in the game.” She adds, “I would definitely try to align myself with Jahzir.”
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The Really Loud House airs Thursdays on Nickelodeon!
For all things Lexi Janicek, be sure to follow her on Instagram!
