'The Real World': Cast members tell UB what it's like

By CHRISTINE VIDAL
Reporter Editor

Real, as in MTV's "The Real World."

Julie, Joe, and Heather, former cast members of MTV's hit show now in its fourth season, came to UB Sept. 19 for two shows in the Student Union, where they told enthusiastic audiences what it was like to be on the show, and what's happened in their lives since.

As different as they are, they landed on the popular show the same way-on a fluke.

"I had ants in my pants to get out of the South," said Julie, a native of Alabama and a member of the first season's New York cast. "I was enrolled in college studying theater and dance, flunking out of everything, and heard about the auditions on the radio while driving home for Christmas break."

She auditioned, along with "every hillbilly you ever heard of," but didn't take it particularly seriously. "I was so nonchalant that I didn't even bother to attach a resume." Then the phone rang. "'We're looking for Julie; this is MTV,' and I was, like, 'Yeah, right,'" she said. But the offer to live in New York and be on the first season of the show was real. "It was hard to go back to school that second semester when I was thinking, 'Damn, I'm going to New York.'"

Joe, a business owner and former college RA, said he found out about auditions on the Internet and sent his tape as a joke. "A friend of mine who owned a camcorder put the footage together. I said stupid stuff like, 'This is my sofa and these are my walls'." He admits, "It was only something to do because we were bored." Then the call came. "You got it, you're on "The Real World." Pack your bags and get down here in a week." Joe was chosen to be a part of the Miami cast of "The Real World," which is currently being aired.

Heather didn't know about the search for a cast until a friend dragged her along with him to the audition-and she was chosen. "I just had a simple life going, then I moved into the (New York) loft. People ask why'd I do it? It was free, it was just free," she said. Today she's a recording artist with EMI Records.

Contrary to the show's name, things aren't always as they appear on "The Real World," according to the three cast members.

Part of living in the MTV Real World house included weekly interviews with each cast member where producers ask questions intended to elicit a particular response. "And they edit like mad," added Julie. Interviews and interaction within the house are blended together to create a new reality that doesn't necessarily mirror what actually goes on.

All had to adjust to the reality of living with cameras filming them day in and day out. "At first I was really self-conscious," said Julie.

"You never know how much you cherish your privacy until you have a camera in your face all the time," said Joe. He added that the guys' shower in the Miami house was "the only off-limits place, so that was where we'd all go" for privacy.

Even deliberate attempts to be alone were thwarted, sometimes accidentally by the cast members themselves. Joe once went to a pay phone to have a private conversation, he said, then forgot to turn his microphone off. Producers eventually taped the on/off switch to the "on" position, eliminating even that option.

Asked by the audience what was going to happen on an upcoming show, Joe smiled and said, "You'll see." Their contracts prohibit cast members from talking about the shows before they air, he said. But that didn't prevent him from giving his opinion about a couple of cast members. "Flora, you think she's really bad, but she's worse than she seems." And Melissa, who is portrayed as really sweet? "I never want to see her again for the rest of my life."

The take on MTV wasn't all that flattering either. Asked about Pedro, a member of the San Francisco cast who had AIDS and has since died, Heather snapped, "It was sick and pathetic. They cast him on the show knowing what was going to happen to him."

Julie was equally acerbic. "They're just bloodsuckers." Cast members are just about money to MTV, she added.

While MTV used to pay full freight, the most recent cast had to earn their keep. The New York cast lived in their upscale loft for 13 weeks, all expenses paid. "Not only were we given a check at the end of each week, we were also given money for food and spending," said Heather. "I guess MTV learned from its mistake; we tried to milk them for everything we could." Joe said that he and his cast weren't paid until the 22 weeks of filming were complete. "They did this so that we would be forced to actively search for jobs-I guess to make the show more real."

Students in the audience asked about the show that reunited cast members from previous seasons. "Heather and I initially thought of blowing the whole thing off, but it ended up being a lot of fun," Julie said.

Joe resides in New York and is touring the country. Heather also lives in New York, where she owns a hair and barber salon. She's set to leave Sept. 28 for an East -West Coast Rap Tour. Julie's continuing her dance study and living in California with a former cast member.

Herschele Melson contributed to this story.