Diamond White On The Difficulties Of Shooting TV In 2020: 'I Had To Hug A Mannequin'
The Bold And The Beautiful is back tonight and there's a brand-new force joining the show as Diamond White makes her debut as Paris Buckingham. The sister that no one knew existed jumps into the fray during episode 31 of the show's impressive 34th season.
CBS' Matt Weiss spoke with White about becoming Paris Buckingham and what it's like to shoot a show in 2020 (spoiler alert: it involves hugging mannequins).
MW: Hey Diamond, nice to meet you!
DW: Hi Matt, nice to meet you too.
MW: Excited to talk to you today about your new role on The Bold And The Beautiful. Before we get into your role, were you a fan of these kinds of shows growing up?
DW: I don't remember what it's called but my mom used to watch soaps and that was kind of my introduction. She would always pull me aside and oh let's sit down and watch my show when I was younger. I didn't know what to expect going into it.
MW: How did you getting the role come about exactly?
DW: Well I've been acting for years and my agent had sent this audition for this character that was not fully developed. They were like kinda put your spin on it and let's see what you do. I had just shaved my head, so I was like, hmmm let's see if I even book anything else because I look completely different. I put it on tape and it was one of the first auditions that I had done having no hair. I think that it boosted my confidence a bit and I think that's why I did end up getting it.
MW: Very cool. Now it's a crazy time, crazy year to be joining a new show. How long was it before you actually got to meet everyone?
DW: It actually wasn't very long once I knew that I booked it. It was within the next two weeks. I met them through Zoom when I was auditioning, so I kind of had an idea of who they were because we had a big conversation after I auditioned. Pretty quickly after I found out that I got it. It was straight to Covid testing. Making sure I didn't have Corona and then it was meeting everyone and getting settled. It actually happened pretty quickly; I was very surprised.
MW: And you are, of course, playing Paris Buckingham, sister to Zoe and your father is Dr. Reese Buckingham. What are some of your favorite things about Paris? What's something about her that that really connected with you?
DW: Well she is all about helping people. She's a really genuine person; she's a social worker. Anything that she could do to help anyone else she will and that stood out to me. It's interesting because in the sides there was nothing about her being the warm person she was. I guess that they came to develop that after I read. The sides are kind of more like someone who always knows they have a secret in the back of their head.
MW: A little closed off like there's something behind the scenes that we don't know about yet...
DW: Exactly.
MW: That ties into my next question. What's the dynamic like with your co-stars on the show? What does Paris' presence change for them?
DW: This is the sister that no one knew existed. We already know my dad is shady. I don't know if that runs in the family or not but I think it's going to shake things up a bit especially with my sister and her dynamics between the different guys that she's into. Now there's two of us.
I can pop in any moment and be like, actually, sis I think I got this one. I think it is going to be interesting to see where Paris falls in, especially because she isn't into fashion at all. She doesn't know anything about fashion. She's not into this world that they all have established and done well. She's kind of just in and messing stuff up I guess.
MW: To just mess stuff up and steal your sister's boyfriends. You're just causing chaos everywhere. [laughs]
DW: [Laughs] Yeah. But I think deep down at heart, Paris is a super genuine really into helping people. I don't really take her for harmful, someone who's purposely going to harm someone.
MW: Your debut episode is Monday November 2nd. What are we actually going to see in that episode when you join everyone?
DW: Well, no one knew I existed so it's like who is this, why she here, how did she get into this building. This building is on lock down. Then it's me reconnecting with my sister, me finding out that there are all these cute guys around the office that I'm just like, whoa. All these guys are really cute.
I'm talking to my sister and I'm like you can't just be focusing on work. I know that there's a guy in your life. I think she's a bit hesitant to kind of tell me what's up because she doesn't know why I'm there. I'm just crashing in and I got my eye on one of the guys.
MW: Were there any unique experiences that came from shooting a show in 2020?
DW: I had to hug a mannequin [laughs]. The director of that episode went and showed me how to do it and how to like wiggle and make it look as real as possible. That's the one thing I'm just hoping it looks good.
MW: Yeah stuff you probably never signed up for before, right? Something never thought you'd be doing?
DW: Welcome to a TV show in the middle of a pandemic. You would never expect.
MW: Yeah, you'll never forget that though.
DW: Yeah, it's definitely a memory in my head forever. I just hope I don't have to kiss it, I just don't.
MW: Well hopefully you can hug real people in the near future; hopefully we all can for that matter. Thank you so much for the time today Diamond and all the best moving forward!
DW: Thank you so much, nice meeting you!
Diamond White makes her debut as Paris Buckingham today in The Bold And The Beautfiul, check your local listings for more information.