Megan Park plays “Grace” on The Secret Life of the American Teenager. She plays the good Christian girl who falls for the bad boy school drummer Ricky. Her character Grace is very different from Amy. But what about the actors behind the characters? What is Megan really like? I got to speak with her recently and found out for myself.

When asked if her personality is anything like her character’s Megan Park replied, “I’m probably a lot like Grace in real life. I mean we’re both confident people, bubbly and outgoing. I think Grace and I both like to see the good in people. But I’m very different than Grace in a lot of ways too. I’m a little bit of Amy sometimes; I can be a little bit of Adrian sometimes.  You know I can definitely see myself in all the characters, which I think is one of the reasons why everybody responds so well [to] the show is you know there is a bit of everybody in every character, I think, so that’s really appealing to people. But I think I’m probably the most like Grace, but there’s definitely a bit of me in everybody else too.”

Megan Park was asked by another reporter, “Do you think it’s important to have a strong Christian character on the show that’s really not portrayed as a caricature [like] a joke?”

She responded, “Yes, exactly. And it was so important to me that from the beginning Grace was more than just a Christian girl. And I think it’s wonderful that there is a Christian character on a primetime show and that she isn’t just portrayed as that — that’s not just the main thing about her. And I wanted from the very beginning to make sure that she was Christian but she made mistakes, and she struggled with her religion and she questioned it and she went through her teenage years with that at her side type thing. So I think we’ve done a pretty good job of portraying that. And Brenda Hampton, it’s so important to her too that she’s a normal teenage girl but she’s also Christian, and I think that has come across really well so far.”

A question about Grace and Ricky’s relationship and how they affect each other was asked. Megan Park had this to say, “I think that definitely Grace isn’t as naïve as she once was and I think she’s dating Ricky now and there’s going to be temptations and there’s going to be questioning and stuff and she definitely struggles with some things this season. But you know she’s a good girl at heart and she always does have good intentions. But you do see Ricky kind of trying to be a good boy to be with Grace, but you also see Grace kind of struggling with being perfect and being good and the responsibility of that and maybe wanting to take some risks a little bit. So you definitely see her struggle with that throughout the season.”

“What made you want to be a part of the show originally?” was asked to Megan. She responded, “You know I read the pilot episode, my manager sent it to me, and right away I was like ‘Oh my gosh, I really want to try out for this show. And I actually tried out for the role of Amy first and then they were like, ‘You’d be better as Grace.’ And I always kind of felt a connection to Grace, so I was really happy when they wanted me to read for her. And I just really responded to the material, I thought it was so realistic and real life issues and I would want to watch it. And I think when you read a script of something that you would want to watch, that’s a great sign of something that you should be involved with. So I think I just instantly responded well to the material and connected with the character, especially. So that’s what made me want to do it.”

Personally, I had a lovely conversation with Megan:

Sarah Eve: “Megan, it’s great to talk with you today.”

Megan Park: “How are you?”

Sarah Eve: “I’m good.  I just want to tell you that I love your character; I definitely identify with her the most.”

Megan Park: “Oh really, that’s so cool.”

Sarah Eve: “Yes, I was wondering, what is a typical day in your life like?”

Megan Park: “A typical day in my life. Well if I’m filming, usually I have to get up at like 5:30 in the morning and then I go to set and I sit in hair and makeup for about two hours. And usually there are lots of other girls in there with me getting ready and stuff, so we gossip and we talk and we listen to music and dance around and we go over our lines together. And then we film all morning and then at 1 o’clock we have a lunch break, usually for an hour, and then we film until about four or five at night and then usually I come home and I’ve got a bunch of phone calls to make and I call my family back home and say hi.

Megan Park as Grace

“And then actually a lot of the times I end up hanging out with my friend Cody and writing some music, because I love to write music and I play guitar, so I like to spend some time on that or I go to see a movie sometimes with my friends. So I have a few hours in the night where I get to hang out and do some fun stuff and then I have to come home and look over my lines for the next day and then get to bed pretty early. So it’s not that exciting, really, but that’s usually a typical day.”

Sarah Eve: “How has your life changed now that you’re a star on a hit TV show?”

Megan Park: “It’s kind of bizarre, I mean I didn’t really realize how huge the show was until I went to the mall after the show started airing and I couldn’t go into a store without somebody coming up to me and saying how much they loved the show. So it’s very surreal and you kind of are in a bubble when you’re on a set, because you don’t really get out that much, because you’re so busy working. So when I do go out to a movie theater or a mall or something or an airport even, I was just in the airport yesterday and it was pretty crazy. But it’s great, because nobody ever has anything negative to say, it’s just people telling me that they love the show, and that’s awesome, I couldn’t be happier about that.”

Sarah Eve: “The clothes on the show are great.  I was wondering, do you have any input on the clothes that your character wears?”

Megan Park: “You know I do actually. They are so awesome, the wardrobe people, they really want us to feel comfortable and have a say in how our character looks and they love to hear about where we like to shop. And a lot of times I’ll come to set wearing a shirt or something, and they’ll go, ‘Where did you get that?’ And they’ll go out and get the same thing for my character, which is kind of cool.

“But it has been interesting, because my character started out wearing a lot of sweaters and very conservative things and it was great, because that was kind of the place she was at in her life — that very kind of naïve place. But then since the show has been going on and especially in season two she kind of gets a bit more edgy with her clothes, which I really like. And she has an awesome leather jacket this season, which I don’t think anyone has seen yet, but it’s really cool. Definitely as her character is changing, the clothes are changing too, which I think is really cool.”

Sarah Eve: “Wow, that is really neat. Now for a tough question, do you think the show is discouraging or encouraging teenagers to have sex?”

Megan Park: “I don’t know that it’s doing either, really. I think, hopefully, kids will just see what happens when you make either decision and they’ll see the consequences of both sides of it, and maybe that will help them make a decision that is best for them. I think obviously teen pregnancy will scare some people away from having sex, which is a good thing.

“But I think that it shows that there are characters, like my character, Grace, who is a very sweet girl and very confident and well-liked and she doesn’t have sex, and maybe that will influence some kids to say, ‘Well, she doesn’t do it and she’s saving herself for marriage, so I can do that too.’ And then there are characters who have made mistakes and are dealing with the consequences and so kids will see, if I make a mistake there could be really, really big consequences. So hopefully it will just open up their eyes to the reality of that.”

Sarah Eve: “Oh, I agree. That’s such a good answer. Thank you for talking with me today.”

Megan Park: “Thanks so much.”

The Secret Life of the American Teenager airs on ABC Family, Monday nights at 8pm (Eastern), and is also available on ABCFamily.com.