EXCLUSIVE: 'Too Close to Home' Star Danielle Savre Talks Season 2 Drama, 'Sweetheart' Heather Locklear
Season two of Too Close to Home is filled to the brim with drama, but if you're looking for answers before the season's final two episodes, good luck.
ET hopped on the phone with the TLC drama's breakout star, Danielle Savre, who teased (as much as she could) what's in store for her character, Anna, as the season comes to a close. She also opened up about the show's difficult production schedule (the series shoots the whole season in just eight days) and her first time meeting Heather Locklear.
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"It's essentially how they shoot soap operas, but the difference is most soap operas are shot on a soundstage, whereas we shoot on location on Tyler Perry's lot, so he's built our trailer park and Dr. Allen's home," Savre explained of the show's production, adding that "nothing can prepare you" for shooting at such a quick pace.
"It's pretty intense, but at the same time, what's great about it is it is kind of done like a theater play. The other actors and I get together and rehearse for basically a week, just in our private time. So when we come to set, you're basically getting that one take, two if you're lucky to nail it, and he usually tries to do everything in one take, in the sense that there's three cameras running too," she said. "It's definitely not something I could have prepared for, because it's so different, but it's exciting. It's like bootcamp."
The "he" Savre is referring to is of course showrunner Tyler Perry, who is involved in every aspect of production -- from casting, to writing, to directing.
"He's very hands-on," the 28-year-old actress confessed. "[During my audition], Tyler was the one sitting there, giving me the notes and direction during the scene. Ever since I booked [the role], I was like, 'OK, I don't want to disappoint him,' but it turned out great, and I think he's happy with me," she laughed. "He says he is."
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Perry may rule Too Close to Home, but Savre says the cast is like family.
"Right before the second season, we all flew out, we stayed at an Airbnb together and just rehearsed day and night up until the day of shooting," she said, revealing that she's bonded with her on-screen sister, Kelly Sullivan (Bonnie), in particular. "Kelly is like my soul sister. We're kind of like the team leaders, and coordinate everybody getting together for those rehearsals and dinners."
"It's fun because most sets don't have that. Usually, it's women feuding, so the fact that Kelly and I are both women and leaders of the show, it's nice," she added. "It gives me hope."
But don't count the rest of the cast out -- the California native says she's learned things from all of her co-stars, including fitness model/man bun expert Brock O'Hurn (Brody).
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"He has taught me to do an easier bun. Like me, my bun maybe takes 30 seconds, but his takes about five, so it's an efficient bun," she confessed, laughing. "Study Brock's man-bunning, whatever it's called, bun-making, and you'll be more efficient at making your own bun."
Savre, who has a singing background, has also learned who can carry a tune -- and was more than excited when we brought up the possibility of a musical episode.
"Oh my gosh, that definitely needs to happen! I'm going to tell Tyler," she exclaimed. "A lot of people can actually sing! Robert [Craighead], Brad [Benedict] and Kelly, those are the top three ones, that can absolutely sing and are great at it... season three, here we come, musical!"
And while Savre hasn't heard Locklear's singing in person, she says the iconic actress couldn't be nicer.
"At first [working with Locklear] was absolutely nerve-wracking. I was sitting in the chair across from her in the hair and makeup room, and I couldn't even say hi to her. I had to wait for her to come up to me because I was so nervous," Savre recalled. "But she actually came up to me and said hi, and after that, we just rehearsed scenes and she was great. She gave me so many nice compliments and she's such a sweetheart. It's so funny because she plays the mean girl so well, but she is so sweet in real life."
Fans of the show have seen Locklear and Savre at odds onscreen as the first lady tries to put a stop to the president's feelings for former White House staffer Anna (she caught the two in an affair in the show's pilot), and Savre says the two will continue to battle it out through the rest of the season.
"You'll get to see how far Heather Locklear is willing to go to keep the president away from Anna, and how far the president is willing to go to be with Anna," she dished, also teasing the big pregnancy reveal. "The audience will finally get to find out who is really pregnant, because I think even though people think they know who it is, they may be wrong."
Too Close to Home airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on TLC.
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