Lisa Rinna Dishes on Going "Iconic, Classic" for Lopez vs Lopez & If She Wore a Wig on Set
Lisa Rinna, as well as VPR's Scheana and Brock, share how their time on reality TV is different than guesting on scripted shows.
Lopez vs Lopez's latest guest stars are familiar faces for reality TV fans.
In an all-new episode airing April 23, Vanderpump Rules couple Scheana Shay and Brock Davies play competitive parents at Chance’s (Brice Gonzalez) school opposite Mayan (Mayan Lopez) and Quinten (Matt Shively). Then, former The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Lisa Rinna (also known for Days of Our Lives and American Horror Stories) plays a celebrity hairstylist who has a thing for George Lopez, also in an episode airing April 23.
Scheana Shay and Brock Davies talk filming Lopez vs Lopez
Turns out, Shay and Davies had to audition for their roles on Lopez vs Lopez. Shay realized they were going to be in Amsterdam when they were supposed to audition, but thankfully they were able make it work by doing it virtually, she told NBC Insider.
“I’ve done reality for so long, but I do have my background in acting and hosting, and this is something that I’ve been wanting to get back into for a while, and I’ve never done a sitcom,” Shay said. “The multi-cam live audience has always been a dream of mine, and I’ve been a fan of George Lopez, like, my entire life, so to get to work with him and his daughter on this show was absolutely incredible.”
For Davies, the opportunity was “surreal,” especially because he didn’t initially plan to work as an actor growing up. Now, he’s “hooked” and wants to do more acting projects.
They play Erica and Justin, fellow parents at a school event with a penchant for following rules.
“I show up to the school thing late because I was saving a baby and doing brain surgery and I like to brag about that, which is so fun because never in my life will I be a surgeon,” Shay teased about their characters on the show.
Portraying competitive parents did make them think of what it will be like for them when their daughter, Summer, attends school.
“She just got accepted into a very competitive preschool, and I did not realize how competitive it is,” Shay said. “We’re at the tour and there’s, like, a pregnant mom there, there’s the mom who has a 12-month-old, a 14-month-old; they go to us and they’re like ‘How old’s your kid?’, and we’re like ’35 months.’ I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, we are behind.’”
Thankfully, Summer was accepted and is set to start class this summer with fellow Vanderpump Rules and The Valley babies Cruz (Brittany Cartwright and Jax Taylor’s son) and Ocean (Lala Kent’s daughter), according to Shay.
Lisa Rinna opens up about working with George Lopez
Rinna’s guest role as hairstylist Lisa Perry was created for her, she told NBC Insider.
“The last three roles that I’ve played, I’ve worn wigs,” Rinna said, when asked about her hairstyle for the show.
For Lopez vs Lopez, she wanted to do “the iconic classic Rinna” but even grander because of Lopez's hair.
“[George] walked in one day, and it was just so big and, like, full, and I thought, you know, we need to do that for my hair,” Rinna said about the collaborative process.
Like George and Mayan, a real-life father-daughter duo, Rinna has worked with her daughter, Delilah Hamlin, on an upcoming movie called Mommy Meanest.
“It was so fun to see George and Mayan working together and being so professional yet knowing they are father and daughter,” Rinna said. “I was so impressed by their professionalism and grace that they showed not only to each other but everyone on the set around them.”
Rinna shared how her time on Real Housewives really served her as an actor and gave her a sense of “fearlessness” when working on scripted shows.
“Doing reality is like flying from the seat of your pants,” Rinna explained. “Scripted, you have a character, you have a script, you have words that you can live behind. Reality, you’re right out there…you’re walking a tight-rope without a net.”
Rinna has “always” been a fan of Lopez and raved about his gift-giving abilities.
“George Lopez is one of the greatest gift-givers of all time,” Rinna said, though she did decided to keep the gift she received private. “No one is more kind and generous than George Lopez and that set. We got flowers, we got gifts…I’ve never been around so many kind people that are so grateful to have you there.”
Watch the new episodes back-to-back Tuesday, April 23rd at 8/7c and 8:30/7:30c on NBC. New episodes air next day on Peacock.
