Katharine McPhee: From House Bunny to "Community" and Beyond!

After Katharine McPhee's  "American Idol" fame she branched out into acting and scored (ha,..in more ways than one) as a pregnant coed in the popular film comedy The House Bunny.

With a new music tour coming up in April, Katharine is making time for TV as she plays Amber, Chevy Chase's stepdaughter in the NBC series "Community", then goes on to film her own NBC sitcom pilot about single girls in the city called "The Pink House".

We called the "Idol" alum to catch up on her current career boom!  Catch the singer/actress Thursday, March 8th in the "Community" episode entitled "Basic Genealogy".

TeenTelevision: So obviously we know that you’re trained in music. What led you to acting and to this role on "Community" in particular?

Katharine: The passion for acting started a long time ago actually. A lot of people don’t know I was pursuing acting long before I went on 'Idol'. I was born and raised in LA and I was going out for pilot season and films and then just sort of fell into doing the Idol show, and obviously music was always something that I wanted to pursue.

But as soon as the show was over I got to take time to go back and really focus on trying to pursue the acting a little bit more. And then, you know, I did House Bunny. I’ve just been always looking for a perfect opportunity to just wet my feet a little bit and get in there as far as getting film time. NBC’s 'Community' came up and I was doing my promo week for my record back in early January.

I was going to test for "Trauma" on NBC but that didn't work out.  I said, 'Listen, this one didn’t work out but hopefully in the future we can work on something.' And then they called and 'Community' came up. I love the show and I was really excited to be a part of it. And it’s such a great cast so it was a fun one.

TeenTelevision: Do you feel like you aren't getting any credit yet as an actress?

Katharine: As far as the music industry goes, I feel like in the industry I’ve been given a lot of respect. People in high regard have given me lots of really wonderful compliments and so I never really feel like that.

TeenTelevision: When did you catch the acting bug? A long time ago?

Katharine: I think it really came in high school. I had a really incredible drama teacher in high school which is funny, because I went to Notre Dame High School which had a very athletic-driven program.  So (it was odd) to find this gem of a teacher at that school to give us so many opportunities to do great plays and musicals and so that’s where I just fell in love with it.

After I graduated high school, I went to school for theater for three semesters. I dropped out of school to come back to LA to be an actress, to start my career; you know I was from here.

TeenTelevision: What did your parents think about that?

Katharine: I have to say I’ve been so lucky. My mom has never been one to follow the rules, you know, by the book. I mean she was totally on board with me so was my father. I’m glad there were because it would have made it a lot harder to come back if someone wasn’t supportive. And that’s really the only way I would have come back to L.A.

TeenTelevision: So what was your first acting job?

Katharine: Well it’s funny, when I left school and I came back to LA, my very first gig was I booked an MTV pilot and it wasn’t aired. The pilot was presented as like a live show and the executives were there and it didn’t get picked up but it was my first time doing a pilot. And then I went on to do a bunch of theatre things, like local things in LA.

And then of course I auditioned for 'Idol' so the rest is history.

I was just really looking for anything. I was in the original production of  'Rock of Ages' which they’re now turning into a movie. Then I went on to go and do Broadway and it’s very cool to see something that you’re a part of. But yeah, that’s the kind of stuff that I was doing before the world met me.

Of course now I’m on TV so it’s definitely been a long journey but I’m excited to be where I am.

TeenTelevision: Are you going to be able to balance the music career with your acting career?

Katharine: Sure. I mean I think that there’s been a lot of great examples out there of people who have done it. I mean I think Barbra Streisand is a perfect example.

Now obviously I’m a very different artist from her but, even J. Lo was doing it for a while, you know. There’s tons of people who do it.

I think it’s just about having balance. I got this NBC pilot and so I had to move around some of my touring dates or whatever to accommodate obviously the rehearsal schedule in shooting this pilot, but it’s totally doable. Actually, getting more acting gigs makes me that much more excited about the music because I have to really find the time to make it a priority and make it special.

I’m just really grateful that I’m a person who doesn’t just have to rely on one thing because my husband always jokes like that I’m A.D.D just because I can’t really focus on something for very long. I just feel really grateful to be able to go and shoot something and then be able to go off and do rehearsals with a big bad and go tour around. I think it’s totally doable.

TeenTelevision: You seem to have great comedic timing. I was wondering if that comes naturally to you or is that something you’ve studied?

Katharine: No, it’s not something I’ve studied. I think obviously I’ve studied people that I admire as comedians but, I certainly don’t call myself a comedian. You give me a microphone to do stand-up it would be the worst thing you’ve probably seen.

I really just look at certain people that I admire Goldie Hawn. To me she was just the perfect girl in a funny movie. One who can hold those kinds of romantic comedies. So, no, I haven’t studied comedy or comedic timing or things like that.

TeenTelevision: We also hear that you are shooting your own NBC pilot. What can you tell us about your character? I guess it’s called 'The Pink House'.

Katharine: Yeah and my character’s name is Emily and she’s a girl from Chicago; a girl from the Midwest. She and another character, Jamie, who they’re just in the process of casting right now, are roommates but they don’t like each other very much and they’re both very opposite from each other.

My character is the anti Hollywood (chick). She doesn’t worry about the calorie consumption she’s taking in. She is very nice girl but says what’s on her mind.

And the other character Jamie, is like the quintessential girl who comes here to LA to not really even have a career just to marry a rich man and that’s her goal in life. And mine is to have a career. And my character works for a pharmaceutical company but doesn't enjoy working for it. I make a lot of money but from an integrity standpoint she doesn’t think that’s a great job, selling products that make people have horrible side effects.

TeenTelevision: Do you find any similarities between the characters you’ve played so far both on TV and on film and are you going to establish yourself as a certain kind of actress?

Katharine: I never would have thought that I would have gone from House Bunny to doing 'Community' and now signed up to do a half hour pilot which is a multi-cam, it’s a sitcom. I never would have envisioned that for myself.

I’ve always kind of seen myself more doing dramatic stuff. I love both. They’re just so different, and of course I would love the opportunity to do more serious films, as well.

But I think that it’s also just a matter of what’s out there right now and what people want to see. Now, the certain opportunities that I’ve been given to act in have just been more comedic stuff.

I did a romantic comedy last summer in Hawaii called You May Not Kiss The Bride, but I’ve always played the sort of straight character. I’ve never been the one to be over-the-top.

I think that I’m trying to create sort of a certain style for myself as an actress and which direction I want to go, but I think for me it’s always staying in a specific straight character versus the maybe more outlandish character.

TeenTelevision: Any more acting inspirations besides Goldie Hawn?

Katharine: Well as far as like actresses, I have been and always will be a huge Julia Roberts fan. I grew up loving her and Meg Ryan; the actresses who could pull off the really sweet comedy but also had their moments of real heart in the pictures that they’ve been in and that’s just something that I hope to aspire to. I'd like to go on to do something more serious like Erin Brockovich, so, yeah, I have people that I look to and hopefully have a good team around me.

TeenTelevision:  On "Idol",  I wonder what you thought about Didi Benami singing the song, "Terrified" which you have on your album.

Katharine: The next day I got a bunch of phone calls from my label and emails and things because, you know, it was great that she sang it. It was really cool. It kind of brought me back to when I sang KT Tunstall’s song on the show so it was great. I was completely thrilled and this song still keeps continuing to do really well. And we’re deciding whether or not we’re going to release it as a single. But it’s great. It’s kind of nice that full circle.

TeenTelevision: You moved your tour dates. Can you give us more details on the upcoming tour?  

Katharine: Right now the individual dates are on my Web site, Katharinemcphee.com, and they all are different venues. They vary from House of Blues and then to theatre dates. They’re all kind of different and they’re all throughout the spring and summer.

TeenTelevision: What is your live stage show going to consist of?

Katharine: Well actually, we’ve just started rehearsing for it. My taping day for this new pilot is March 25th which happens to be my birthday, but that was actually supposed to be our very first show in Palm Springs.

I was kind of relieved they moved the show to later in April because it’s my first time really getting to do a set that’s about 1-1/2 hour long. It really consists of my newest record, all these songs. Then I’m covering a couple of songs, more up-tempo songs that people haven’t heard for a long time and is not common to cover.

So to answer your question, it’s like really we’re just figuring it out right now.

TeenTelevision: Was acting or singing your first love when you were a kid or teen? Was there one that won out over the other?

Katharine: You know, singing was my first love, hands down. That was the first thing I knew as a kid I was good at. Living in L.A. with my mom and I would be at the mall and there’d always be like little kind of creepy talent scouts that come up you and be like, 'your daughter could be in movies or your daughter could be in commercials'.

My mom was always very wary of these people and they’re always the ones who said 'only if you pay $550 to come to take this course', like you always know it’s a scam.

TeenTelevision:  Great advice right there. Beware the mall talent scouts!

Katharine: Yeah. But I was always really actually nervous about doing acting as a kid. Something about it made me nervous. I definitely was a little shy like meeting new people and I think that’s what scared but, it wasn’t really until high school that I got really passionate about both.

TeenTelevision: Sometimes with trying to get acting roles, does it ever feel like you’re still on 'Idol', like you’re still proving yourself?

Katharine: You know, it’s really funny. I was wandering around the house and I was with my husband and I’m like, 'oh, my stomach' and he’s like, 'What are you nervous for? You have done this more intense like ten times the drama and all the sacredness.' Basically what he was saying is 'you should not be scared'.

Sometimes you do feel like it’s like a never-ending competition but that’s what it is in the acting world. You know, you’re constantly going in for something. Next week I’m reading for Judd Apatow ( for a comedy movie). (You wonder) when you’re going to get past those stomach butterflies and things like that, which I constantly have.

But I think I’ll never get over being slightly nervous. I think just the difference is when I was on Idol is I just know how to breathe through them a little bit better. Like when I look back the performances on that show, I just go wow. Someone wasn’t breathing at all. So...

TeenTelevision: How are you feeling about these changes on 'Idol' with Paula leaving, Simon leaving and all that? Was it inevitable?

Katharine: I think it’s inevitable. I think it’s inevitable that people move on and want to do something different with their life. I mean, how many years has the show been on now, eight or nine? That’s a long time for them to be doing that, so I don’t knock anybody for changing their mind to do something different.