Crystal Reed’s artistic ambitions lead her to roles in TV, movies

July 13, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

McClatchy Newspapers

DETROIT

Crystal Reed has traveled a long way in a short time to achieve her dream of becoming an actress.

“If fame happens, so be it, but that’s not ever something that is driving me,” says Reed, whose artistic ambitions helped her land the female lead in MTV’s newest high-profile scripted series, “Teen Wolf,” which debuted June 5.

To find success, the twentysomething Michigander says she saved as much money as she could and, “without knowing a soul,” moved from her temporary Chicago digs to Los Angeles just two years ago.

“I’ve never had a backup plan; there’s no Plan B,” she says. “I got into acting because I love it. It’s my passion, and it’s the only thing I can do.”

Reed is about to show off those acting chops on a grand scale when one of the summer’s most- anticipated comedies, “Crazy, Stupid, Love,” opens July 29. Although she has a small part in the ensemble movie, Reed appears alongside Steve Carell and Ryan Gosling, two of the industry’s biggest and most respected stars.

“Working with both Steve and Ryan in the same scene, one that we ended up improvising, is the highlight of my acting career thus far,” she says.

Reed’s performing roots were laid down in Michigan. She attended Dort Elementary School in Roseville (“The Dolphins are very intimidating!”), Roseville Junior High and Roseville High School, where she was president of the school’s drama club. Reed fell in love with theater after she performed in a series of local and high school productions, including “Annie” and “Grease.”

Mary Cooney, a theater department lecturer for Wayne State University, says she recalls sensing something special in Reed in the Intro to Theater class she taught.

“What I remember, especially, is how very focused and dedicated she was,” Cooney says. “Sometimes when people first get to college they think of it as an extension of high school and aren’t very disciplined, but Crystal, from the moment she got there, took theater very seriously.”

Reed left Wayne State before finishing her bachelor’s degree in fine arts and moved to Chicago. There, she continued to take improv and theater classes at places like Second City, iO Chicago Theater and Act One Studios. But it was a brush with Batman that set her destiny in motion.

“I came really close to getting a role on ‘The Dark Knight’ when it was filming in Chicago” in 2007,” she says.

“One morning I woke up and while holding my cup of coffee I looked outside of my apartment while they were shooting. I had an epiphany. If I’m serious about being in film, I have to move to Los Angeles.”

Christine Reed, Crystal’s mother, says she was definitely worried about her only daughter being on her own in Hollywood, but she tried to support her decisions.

“We always knew that Crystal had a lot of potential and could do anything she wanted,” she says. “She really showed a maturity toward and worked so hard toward her goals. I give her a lot of credit because she did this all herself.”

Encounters with creepy agent types and endless auditions became part of her everyday LA existence. About four months after she moved, however, she caught the eye of MTV executives after landing the role of “hot theater chick” in a 2010 episode of the network’s “The Hard Times of RJ Berger.” That led to her “Teen Wolf” casting.

“Teen Wolf” creator Jeff Davis says Reed was the first of hundreds of actors they saw for the role of Allison Argent, the girlfriend to Scott McCall, the teen-turned-wolf played by Tyler Posey.

“Many people come to LA seeking fame and fortune and they just don’t have that special ‘it’ quality,” he says. “Crystal, she had it.”

During her audition she brought us to tears and had us laughing and is stunningly beautiful and displayed these amazing instincts. Every other girl who came in, I remember, I just kept saying that they’re just not as good as Crystal.”

Davis says Reed has gone beyond his expectations, and that she’s a real pro whose immense talents are matched by her work ethic.

“It took me about 15 years before I could write a decent script, and Crystal, after just acting in a handful of things, has a mental agility that is so impressive. She can play the hard dramatic scenes, do comedy and turn it up when it comes to romance. I hope that we’ll all be together making ‘Teen Wolf’ for a while, but whatever she sets her mind to, she’ll find success.”