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The Vertical Drama Roles Lottie Guidi Refuses to Take · Breaking The Meta

• Mike Winson: Hello, everyone, and welcome to Breaking the Meadow. My name is Mike Winson. Today we are sitting down with the star of such wonderful shows and series, such as Bullies and Me and Villains Beware, Mommy Punches Hard. Her name is Lottie Guidi. And I am so excited to have her here to talk about her and just learn more about what she is doing in the vertical world. Hello, Lottie. How are you doing today? Lottie Guidi: Hi, I'm good. Thank you so much for having me. Mike Winson: Absolutely. I I I mean I messaged you a little bit about it. I'm semi-new to the to the vertical world. I've only been watching verticals for like gosh, maybe a month. I know, right? And Lottie Guidi: Welcome to the vertical world. Exciting. Mike Winson: I have to say, you are now the the sixth vertical actor that I've had the honor of interviewing. You all are the nicest people I have ever met. And as weird as some of your verticals can be, I do Lottie Guidi: Well. Mike Winson: really enjoy talking to you guys because yeah, you guys are just every time. So I'm really looking forward to this. And I really I'm really looking forward to talking about at least one of your ones because I Had so much fun watching it. And Lottie Guidi: I'm so glad. Mike Winson: so we'll get into it. But first, first, I want to kind of start off by just learning just a little bit about you and your background. Obviously, we talked a little bit before we started, but so you grew up on the East Coast. You grew up in the DC area. You I noticed that you are a ballet dancer as well. Lottie Guidi: I am Mike Winson: Did you start off as a ballet dancer and then kind of move into acting or did you kind of do it all together? Lottie Guidi: Yeah, so the way it started was I grew up in Washington DC, East Coaster. Woo. Mike Winson: Whew, East Coast Bascoast. Lottie Guidi: East Coast, West Coast, yeah. I'm gonna get so much hate for that, but I believe it. I believe it in my heart. Mike Winson: Ha ha ha. Lottie Guidi: yeah, I I and I my parents were really big into the arts and giving us a classical education. My mom had been a teacher. That was what she did for her career and decided that she wanted to teach us, her kids. I have an older sister and a younger sister and I'm the middle. Three girls. My poor dad, except he loves it. Mike Winson: As as a as a middle child myself, middle children are also the best. Just saying. I knew we were gonna be friends after this. Now, Lottie Guidi: We are. We're a dying read. I do. I I feel like it. Mike Winson: East Coast and middle children. It's a sign. Yep. Lottie Guidi: It's a sign. It's gotta be. It's gotta be. But yeah, so I I and my mom was really big about so obviously if we're all being homeschooled as children, we have to have outlets, we have to have socialize somehow. And ballet was the my old older sister was always wanted to be a ballerina. She that Mike Winson: Mm. Lottie Guidi: was like her biggest dream. And she did it. She did it. Mike Winson: Yeah. Lottie Guidi: but she always wanted to be a professional ballerina and I so as a s classic younger sister followed in her footsteps when we got put into ballet at the age of two. The difference Mike Winson: Whew. Lottie Guidi: between me and my older sister is she Love structure. She loves discipline. She is so type A. She thrives in that environment. I am a child of chaos. I was constantly getting in trouble in ballet for not talking or for talking too much, Mike Winson: Yeah. Lottie Guidi: for making faces at bar, for trying to get my friends to laugh, for goofing off. Anytime the teacher would turn around, I'd be like, and then go back to Mike Winson: I have no idea. I have no idea about that in any way, shape or form. Lottie Guidi: I feel like I feel like you might understand what I'm talking about a little bit. Just a touch. It's Mike Winson: Mm, a little bit. Yeah. Lottie Guidi: the ADHD. I mean, like, and again, at the time. Mike Winson: And I think we're just performers at heart. Lottie Guidi: I yeah, I wrote a short script about that actually. The first line of the entire short script is I only know how to exist when I'm wanted. Mike Winson: Mm-hmm. Lottie Guidi: Crazy, crazy way to start. Crazy way to start. Mike Winson: Yeah. Lottie Guidi: But yeah, so I I started ballet and at the age of I think I was probably ten or eleven, I was dancing with Washington ballet. I most of my all of my childhood and I was in a lot of their professional shows with their adult company with their actual core, Mike Winson: Mm. Yeah. Lottie Guidi: because they would pull from the school if they ever needed children in their shows. And it was highly competitive. And again, due to my love of performance, I was always I was never not chosen. And I got to perform at the Kennedy Center and the Warner Theater and just a bunch of really amazing venues, all while publicly disliking. Ballet. So I was not. Mike Winson: Hmm. Lottie Guidi: I had like a group of girls I was super close with at ballet, but Mike Winson: Yeah. Lottie Guidi: the large majority of my class was not a huge fan because I was always distracting everyone. I mean, Mike Winson: Mm. Lottie Guidi: that's actually a lie. Like socially, we all loved each other. Like all 30 of us were like attached to the hip. I mean, you spend four hours a day every single day, and then like eight hours on Sundays together, you're gonna get close. But it was just like in class, I think tensions were a little bit. And I would annoy my teachers because I had a natural aptitude for it. I have I was born very flexible. So like I never had to necessarily work as hard for some of the natural technique things. And again, I think that that caused some tension. Mike Winson: Yeah. Lottie Guidi: And I remember vividly my the the Miss Sisi. she was kind of the person who was in charge of the kids who are in the adult shows. She went to my mom one day and she was like, Look, your daughter's incredibly talented and she clearly loves the stage and she clearly loves to perform. But I don't think ballet is the right outlet for her. I think you should try acting. And my mom Mike Winson: Mm. Lottie Guidi: was like, Hmm, you might be onto something there. And Mike Winson: Yeah. Lottie Guidi: so I started acting, and so it was it was a segue, but I Mike Winson: Okay. Lottie Guidi: really owe it all to Miss C because without her recommending telling my mom essentially, like, she's got something here. It's just Mike Winson: Yeah. Lottie Guidi: needs be on a different path. without that I don't know I don't know how long it would have taken me to find acting. Mike Winson: So what what did acting look when did acting start? When did that when did that actually happen? And what did what did that transition look like? Were you doing like what kind of st what kind of stuff were you doing as an actor in the beginning? Lottie Guidi: So when I first started, it was I auditioned for a little play at my church. So the way I went to a church in McLean, and they used to have all of these programs for kids. Mike Winson: Mm-hmm. Lottie Guidi: and they would do it once a month, it was called Kid Stuff, and it was like a it was like a show after the third service of church. And there was dancing and there was singing, and everyone on the kid team were like, shirts at kid team and we let in the dances and all the like you need to be a certain age you need to audition for it and then there was a skit always as like the second part. and it was always about one of the virtues like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-kind, all of those good ones. And people would write scripts for these skits and they would sometimes be really funny, sometimes kind of comedic. and They were often spoofs. So I remember I was eight and I auditioned for one of these plays at my church. And I really liked I didn't like any of the roles that were w written for the kids. I liked I set had my eyes set on the comedic villain of the script, the one who needs to learn their Mike Winson: Really? Lottie Guidi: lesson. It was it was a spoof on Are You Smarter Than a Sixth Grader? Mike Winson: Okay. Lottie Guidi: or Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? That's another show. It's Mike Winson: Fifth grader. I think it's fifth grader. Lottie Guidi: fifth grader. Clearly I never saw it, but it was a spoof on that. Mike Winson: Is there really much difference we're if we're being straight? Not not a whole heck of a lot. Maybe. Lottie Guidi: You know? to the fifth grader, maybe, but maybe potentially. But the ADHD is so strong. Where was I gonna right? It was a spoof on Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader? And there was like three kid roles and then one adult who's like playing against the kids. And Mike Winson: Mm-hmm. Lottie Guidi: the adult was a written for a man. It was the name was David, and I just really thought I could do this role justice. So I went in there, they're like, who are you auditioning for? And I was like, the 40-year-old man role. Mike Winson: As an eight year old. Lottie Guidi: As an eight-year-old, I was like, I'm gonna be the 40-year-old man. And they were like, okay, like, let's see it. And I was like, and I I did the audition, I had them all laughing, and I left out I walked out of that room feeling pretty pretty pretty good about myself. And sure enough, they let me play the 40-year-old man role. They switched the name from Mike Winson: Wow. Lottie Guidi: David to Daisy, and that was my first experience on a stage. And it was a testament, I think, to Little Me that if you really want something and you just commit. There's a solid Mike Winson: Yeah. Lottie Guidi: chance you might get it, but it also was the first time I was on a stage and I felt like I was just like fully allowed to be exactly doing the thing I wanted to do. And Mike Winson: Yeah. Lottie Guidi: through that opportunity, someone someone saw me in that and offered they were writing a pilot for a TV show for like a like a tween market. And they asked if I would wanna audition and I got that. And then I got to work on my first ever set at the age of ten. And I was with them Mike Winson: Wow. Lottie Guidi: all the way through the Kickstarter to the launch of that first episode. And yeah, so it was just once I started doing it, it was all I ever wanted to do. I never really stopped. Mike Winson: That's crazy. And when did and I want to go, I want to go back to the the to the church thing in a second because that actually explains a different question that I had later on. When did the transition to verticals happen? Lottie Guidi: Ooh, okay, so verticals. I did my first one. Time is weird. Holy cow, it's gone. It's actually this December I'll hit two years. Mike Winson: Okay. So you s so you start at the beginning of twenty twenty five. Lottie Guidi: Ye yes, yes, yes, that's correct. Mike Winson: Which would make sense because I'm looking at all of your things and twenty twenty five looks like the start. You did broken. Broken was your first one. Lottie Guidi: Yep. That's Broken was my first one. So yeah, that was my that was the first one I did. And we filmed that in December of twenty twenty four and it came out all of my I don't think I had anything come out before twenty twenty-five. But yeah, that it was it was such an exciting transition. I got into it because my best friend, Testinerstein, she's another vertical actress. Mike Winson: Yep. Lottie Guidi: have you talked to her yet? Mike Winson: No, I've reached out to her, but I have not had a chance to talk to her yet. Lottie Guidi: She's been insanely busy this month. I live, she's my next door neighbor now, too. She convinced me to move across the street from her. Mike Winson: okay. Lottie Guidi: So I've counted. It's a 45 second walk from my door to her door. And I still feel like I barely see her. She's been so busy. Mike Winson: Yeah. Lottie Guidi: So busy. but yeah, she was the one who we were out at dinner one night and she was telling me about these verticals. And I was Mike Winson: Mm. Lottie Guidi: I was still in school at the time. And so I was like, that's crazy, that's wild, I don't know about that. but she was telling me, she's like, there's so much fun. When you like when you're done with school, you need to audition for these. Like you should try doing these. And so I did. And that's next thing I knew, I was on one and I had like the best time of my life. And then a month later, I booked another one. We've just kind of been doing Mike Winson: Heck yeah. That's so cool. okay. So you're you grew up going to church, obviously. Is your family? I'm assuming your family still is church or church going, Lottie Guidi: Yeah. Mike Winson: church believing. The reason I bring it up is I saw one of your videos post bully the my bullies in me, where you had to explain to your parents how you had to do a lap dance and and Kiss a guy for the show. And Lottie Guidi: Yes. Mike Winson: that was hilarious. I Lottie Guidi: My family is funny. My family is if there's one thing we all are, it Mike Winson: They were struggling so hard. Lottie Guidi: Yeah. Yeah. And it was that that was my on that recording, it's my mom, my older sister. You could not that my older sister ever said anything. She was just dying laughing. She she was like just watching me suffer. She thought Mike Winson: Yeah. Lottie Guidi: that was hilarious. And then my grandparents and my mom. So my dad would luckily miss that conversation. He was not present for that one. I'm sure his mother and his father updated him though. Mike Winson: my gosh. And how like, I mean, we obviously heard how it was going. Have have your parents like learned to accept it or they just they they've you've you've kind of had to accept that they are struggling with one part of what you do. Lottie Guidi: They're actually pr pretty good about it. I think that they trust me with the roles that I take. Mike Winson: Mm. Lottie Guidi: there can be some very, very raunchy verticals. I'm not sure if you've seen any of the very spicy ones, but they're out there. Mike Winson: Yes there. Yes there are. Yep. Lottie Guidi: And I don't do those ones when I get Mike Winson: Mm-hmm. Lottie Guidi: auditions for them or I make sure I I just often turn down the auditions or if it's If I didn't know before I got the script, I make sure to read the script before I sign my contract, just because I never want to A put casting in a position where they know I'm uncomfortable or waste their time. But B, I I never want to put myself in a position where I'm not comfortable with some of the content. Mike Winson: Mm-hmm. Lottie Guidi: so I think my parents, my my family's pretty good about trusting me with it. The issue is this was last year, I was home for Christmas. And I was going into my mom's room because she was getting ready for like dinner with me, my dad, my sisters, whatever. We were all getting ready. It was like right after Christmas, maybe slightly after New Year's. Might have been getting ready for her birthday dinner. And we I was walking into her room to ask her what she was gonna wear that night so I could match the vibe. And I hear the sound of my own voice. And I'm like Mike Winson: no. Lottie Guidi: And I'm like, which one is she watching? Which one is she watching? 'Cause Mike Winson: no. Lottie Guidi: I had two come out that week. One of them was my mommy punches hard and one of them was All My Bullies Want for Christmas is me. And I was like, 'Cause one of those one of those I'm not all there upstairs. Mike Winson: Yes, that and we're gonna talk about that one because that's one of the most recent ones I watched. It was yeah, we'll talk about it. Lottie Guidi: It's a it was a fun one. But the other one I was I I had a shower scene in. And I was Mike Winson: Mm. Lottie Guidi: like, god. no. Mike Winson: Yeah. Lottie Guidi: I was like, this is no, because no one wants their mother to see them making out Mike Winson: No. Lottie Guidi: a man ever, but much less it was a and Mike Winson: Let's put it this way for anyone listening, they do a really good job making it look like more is happening than is actually happening. And if you aren't part of the world at all, you you are convinced that these things are happening. And sometimes like it's not even close to happening, but they're really good at what they do. Lottie Guidi: I had a childhood best friend of mine ask if I if I was like like how I was dealing with because I I I don't do any of the simulated sex ones. Mike Winson: Mm-hmm. Lottie Guidi: And she was like, Yeah, because then you'd have to like be having sex with your co-stars. And I was like, why would I Mike Winson: Mm-hmm. Lottie Guidi: have to be Whoa, why would that have to happen? And she's like, for the film. And I'm like. Mike Winson: No Lottie Guidi: So actually that's not at all what I do for a living. and she's seen verticals. She's seen she's Mike Winson: Yeah. Lottie Guidi: seen them. So I'm like, that's wait, you do know that like on like HD TV and like like just you you know that like on HBO, you know that these people are not. Tell me you know this, right? Tell me you know that like actors are not like Game of Thrones was not just one big like, you know this, right? Like Mike Winson: No, yeah, no. Lottie Guidi: tell me you know this. I was losing my mind over it, but we clarified. Clarified, actors are not actually having sex with anyone. Mike Winson: Yep. Yeah. so how has that it's really interesting because you know, I I've grown up in the church my entire life as well. How how has it been being a part of the vertical world while I'm assuming you still are a okay, so Lottie Guidi: Mm-hmm. Mike Winson: you still are a person of faith. How is that how has that balance been for you? Lottie Guidi: been really interesting in some ways you meet a lot of people who are Christian too. I I recently lost my cross necklace on a because they made me take it off for something and I wear it every day and then I Mike Winson: Mm. Lottie Guidi: must have fallen out of my purse. But I think like again, like I I used to wear it all the time to every set and like people would see it and be like, Wait, are you? And I'd be like, Are you? And it would just be like a fun little moment of connection. Mike Winson: Yeah. Lottie Guidi: It's even in Hollywood, even in like some of the darkest spiritual places, you can find so much light and you can find other people who are also. I was on Bullies in Me actually, and I was wearing my cross necklace and I was humming, I can't even remember which song, I was humming a Christian song. Mike Winson: Mm-hmm. Lottie Guidi: And then Michael, who played Bo, started singing it with me. And then Nick joined in and then Jude joined in. And then it was like the four of us being like Mike Winson: heck yeah. That's so wild. Lottie Guidi: and I was just humming it under my breath like mindlessly as we're going from like where we'd just been shooting back to holding to change. Like I wasn't even thinking. And it's one of those moments where you're just like, wow, you really do. And then we ended up having like a lot of really great conversations about faith and like where we all differ and where we're all in our walk. Mike Winson: Yeah. Lottie Guidi: And you'll meet Christians who haven't been to church in years and people who don't really like but it's the and then you get to talk and encourage them. And and then of course you meet people who just don't want anything to do with it. And Mike Winson: Right. Lottie Guidi: You know, you have to be respectful of that too, because we're all in a workplace and Mike Winson: Mm-hmm. Lottie Guidi: it it is a place of business and you never want to make someone feel uncomfortable at their job. Mike Winson: Yeah. Lottie Guidi: But yeah, it's it's really fun it I mean, it can be really great. I mean, navigating content I believe is up to each individual and where they are with their walk with God. That's completely up to the discernment of the the actor. for me I have some rules I try to avoid. certain things, certain tropes. just because it's what I feel like fits me best, not everyone has that same level of Yeah. But Mike Winson: Sure. Yeah. Lottie Guidi: I I think it's interesting. I mean it definitely does impact the roles I take, the things I audition for, the rooms I want to be in. But you know, I think that everyone's got boundaries. Mine just might be informed by something else. You know what I mean? Mike Winson: Yeah, that's awesome. And I mean, so I before I started, before I was introduced to the vertical world and had the honor of interviewing people like you, the other part of what I do for this podcast deals with a lot of political stuff and what's going on in the world. And as someone who's a Christian and seeing, you know, I get out every day, I do lives every day, and I'm talking with people that have been hurt by Christians. And it it's always a struggle sometimes to figure out how to balance, you know, my faith with talking to these people that are very angry at the Christian world. So it was really interesting to hear how how it it is there. That's awesome that there are actually more out there than than you would think sometimes watching this stuff. all right. I want to talk. So I watched the first full I mean I've seen you in you popped up on on On stuff that I watch, but the first one that I watched all the way through of you was Villains Beware Mommy Punches Hard. My favorite vertical, probably of all time. I love it so Lottie Guidi: you that is such an honor. Mike Winson: much. Love it so much. Lottie Guidi: Thank you. Mike Winson: And and I'll tell you why. Not only because if you watch any of my other ones, you'll find out I'm I'm all about the strong women in. In verticals. I think I think there needs to be more the strong, powerful women and in in verticals. Lottie Guidi: Yeah! Mike Winson: But what really did it for me was when you did that that that dance scene with the sword. Lottie Guidi: Thank you. Mike Winson: That was that was before I knew you were a ballet, that you were a ballet person, but it was just you nailed you, it was so good. It was so good. Lottie Guidi: Thank you. Mike Winson: I was like, I watched that, I was like. Yeah, I'm watching all of Lottie's stuff from this point on because that was just that that was so good. what was it Lottie Guidi: So much. Mike Winson: what was it like okay, we'll we'll start, we'll start in the beginning. What was it like? Was that the first was that the first real vertical you'd done where you played a very strong lead character? Lottie Guidi: Yeah, well I had done one in it was my third ever vertical. I played a tattoo artist who falls in love with another tattoo artist. And she was described by a lot of the fans as like morally gray. Because Mike Winson: Okay. Lottie Guidi: she didn't she didn't she was kind of yeah, she was kinda but she wasn't necessarily strong. She was weak in other ways. She like didn't take the same level of craft that a lot of vertical lead whipp like characters do, but This was my first time getting to play a character who like actively fought for herself. Like it was Mike Winson: Literally kicked ass. Lottie Guidi: Yeah. And it was really I when I read the script and I saw the breakdown, it was one of those moments where I was like, I really want this role. Like I really, really want this one. Mike Winson: Hmm. Yeah. Lottie Guidi: And it was a close call. It was a close call, as I was later informed, between me and one other person. And Mike Winson: Mm. Lottie Guidi: I just really, really, really wanted it. And Ultimately I think it came down to my ballet skill set was the thing that I think made made it possible for me to play that role. but yeah, that was my first time getting to play a really strong woman. Mike Winson: That and what what was it what was it like for you to see to see a really strong you playing that and watching it when it was all said and done? Lottie Guidi: It was by far like my favorite thing that I had worked on. We had a six-hour stunt rehearsal the day like two days before we started filming with Mike Winson: Mm. Lottie Guidi: Jen Rose, our incredible stunt coordinator. She is just one of my favorite people in this space. I love her so much. We actually got we got drinks the other night and it was so fun just getting to sit with her and talk with her. she's so talented. and so we had like a six-hour stunt coordination. Rehearsal where we kind of went through some of the bigger stunt blocks together so the days of filming could move a little bit smoother. And she was like teaching me the choreo, and I'm left-handed and she's right-handed. So she Mike Winson: Yeah. Lottie Guidi: choreographed for a right-handed person. I'm over here like, Wheel, sorry. And so Mike Winson: Mm. If you want me to if you want this to look natural, we're gonna have to make some changes to this. Lottie Guidi: I was like, so actually, I fear maybe there's been a miscommunication. Mike Winson: Mm. Lottie Guidi: But she fixed it on the spot. She flipped all Accoreo. We made Mike Winson: Wow. Lottie Guidi: it work. I have like videos of me learning that dance. And Shane Davis shows up for his fitting and read through, the guy who played my husband. great guy. Love him to death. and he was like, whoa, what just cause I like I just like I'm doing my sort, I was practicing the Mike Winson: Yeah. Lottie Guidi: end. And he was like, Whoa, what? Mike Winson: Yeah, when you did that split, I was just like, Yes, let's go. Lottie Guidi: Thank you. Thank you. It was so much fun. Also, it's like I've been dying to combine my ballet skill set with my acting skill set for the longest time now. I've been begging to do like something dance related. And so Mike Winson: Mm. Lottie Guidi: that was really, really fun that I got to. Mike Winson: I'm surprised that there hasn't been one where like the lead character is just a in ballet. Like that Lottie Guidi: There have been a few, I just haven't been casting any of them. And I'm like, guys, please, I was born for this. Mike Winson: Like seriously, what the heck? Lottie Guidi: I know. I got really close once and then they were like, no. And I was like, okay, thanks. Thanks for thanks for thinking of me. Mike Winson: I yeah, I will also say I can definitely tell how much work you put into the into the fight scenes because of all of the ones that I've watched, it was the most natural looking fight scenes in it. Lottie Guidi: Thank you. Mike Winson: And and that's what made it even cooler because you get these guys that are that that are in other ones, they're supposed to look tough and they're just like and I'm just like, dude, that doesn't even look like you went for a punch. Just Come on, where you were just like you literally looked like you were kicking their butts, which is great. Lottie Guidi: Thank you. I I just had we were doing this one stunt sequence. I think it's one of the first ones in there, where I'm like protecting the little girl from the evil evil thugs who come into the the Mike Winson: Mm-hmm. Lottie Guidi: living room. And we were running really, really behind on filming that day and the sun was setting and we were gonna mess up the lighting, and we had about I wanna say 45 minutes to get that entire stunt sequence. Mike Winson: Whoa. Lottie Guidi: And Jen pulled me outside and was like, this is what we're gonna do. And she choreographed it and we fixed it. We Mike Winson: Wow. Lottie Guidi: went through it with the guys. And I'm wearing heels and we're practicing on gravel. And these guys are flipping onto mats over gravel. And like everyone was just being troopers. We were like, we're gonna get this. Like Jen had us all locked in. We got back in there, we did one wide, it looked great. We moved on, we started for coverage. It was just like banging it out. And we Mike Winson: That's crazy. Lottie Guidi: It was so much fun though. I feel like my adrenaline was just like going nonstop that entire day because I was so excited for this stunt scene. And then we finally get to it and they're like, we have ten seconds to film this. I'm like, okay. Mike Winson: Yeah. Lottie Guidi: And but it was so much fun. It was just I love stunts. I love action. It's my favorite thing to do. I would love to be in an action movie or a stunt. Mike Winson: Mm. Lottie Guidi: So anytime I see an action script, I'm like, give it to me. Mike Winson: Yeah, yeah, for sure. Lottie Guidi: And so it was so fun. It was just the absolute best time. Shane was so jealous of all of my stunts because he's sitting in a wheelchair the entire time. Mike Winson: 'Cause he's sitting in a wheelchair like almost the entire time. Lottie Guidi: He was begging. He was like, Can I just throw like one punch? And I was like, shh, baby girl, it's my turn. It's okay, I'll throw the punch. Exactly. Mike Winson: I'll take this. You just you just sit there. I will protect you. Lottie Guidi: Don't mess up your hair. Don't get up. Don't get up. It's crazy. Mike Winson: Yep. Yep. Except he wasn't supposed to be he he wasn't actually like lame anymore, so he could have. Lottie Guidi: He Yeah. He he could have gotten up at any point and he didn't. Mike Winson: He could have. so what was it like playing a person with the mind of a of a like a five year old for a good chunk of that episode? Lottie Guidi: It was definitely interesting, because obviously she suffers like a brain injury Mike Winson: Yeah. Lottie Guidi: and so it's all because she's been like concussed massively by a hammer. I honestly think I just wanted to figure out a way to I knew we were trying to play into the comedy and so I obviously wanted to play that comedy, but I also didn't want people to think I was making fun of people with mental disabilities. on a much smaller scale, I Have ADHD and dyslexia and have processing issues. And I have been made fun of for those, believe it or not, people are still bullying kids over dyslexia. That's crazy. I got bullied in college over that. Which Mike Winson: That's crazy. Lottie Guidi: is wild to me that you couldn't be in college and still treating people like that for the things they are clearly struggling with. It's not not a choice. Mike Winson: Yeah. Lottie Guidi: Did Percy Jackson teach us nothing, you guys? It's cool to be different. It's cool. Mike Winson: Yeah. Not to mention you may be a Greek god, so just like whatever. Lottie Guidi: Thank you. Like, you don't know who my parent might be. I mean, I do, you know, the one true guy, but like other than that, like it could be could be, I don't know. I but like, yeah, so I wanted to make sure I was doing it in a way that like wasn't going to potentially offend people Mike Winson: Yeah. Lottie Guidi: or make people feel bad about themselves. while also understanding the context of the script and playing into the comedy and the tone of the piece. It was honestly really helpful having an actual live eight year old on set with me because anything she she was just wild bouncing off the walls, yapping Mike Winson: Mm. Lottie Guidi: around. And so it got really easy to drop into that kind of like free spirit, like giggly little mindset, because Mike Winson: Yeah. Lottie Guidi: I was working with a child and so it's really easy to put yourself Mike Winson: You just copied them. Lottie Guidi: Yeah. I was just like, Olivia, come here, we're gonna run cartwheels in the grass. Let's go. It was so fun. Mike Winson: Nice. Nice. Yeah. That yeah. That for anyone listening, go watch it. Just go watch it. villain, villains beware. My mommy punches hard. You literally need to watch that. Lottie Guidi: It's a good one. Mike Winson: yeah. So I was gonna had a question asked, but I think you already answered it. if there was one kind of vertical style that you haven't had a chance to do that you like that you wish you could if you could snap your fingers and get that chance, what would it be? Lottie Guidi: Yeah. Like a Mr. and Mrs. Smith style action vertical. Like spies. Mike Winson: Mm. Lottie Guidi: I would want to do spies or like military training type thing. Like enemies to lovers type. Enemy like I don't know. I more action. More just more action and or a ballet one. Those are my two answers because I have I've not yet to do one of those yet. So fingers Mike Winson: Yeah. Lottie Guidi: crossed. Mike Winson: what could you give us a like your funniest event that's ever happened on on a scene, like on a in a show, in a in a recording. Lottie Guidi: There have definitely been some really funny ones. What is a funniest moment? okay, so this one's not out yet. It's with me and Riley Schroeder. it'll come out sometime soon, hopefully. Mike Winson: You be let me guess you recorded it in like March or something or April. Yeah. Lottie Guidi: like that. No, it was it was in July. We filmed in July. So I guess they've got a little bit of time. Yeah. Mike Winson: okay. See 'cause I know a lot of people that recorded in March and April, their stuff is coming out right now, so Lottie Guidi: Recorded in in April. I and they just came out last night at midnight. So I was like, all right, there we go. Here it is. Okay. And I didn't even know it was it's Mike Winson: Is that is that the this time daddy won't fail? Or is that Lottie Guidi: that one came out pretty quick actually. Good short was on it. This is a it just came out. It might not even be on my IMDB yet because it literally just came out. what is the name of it? It's like sexy professor or secret husband is the name of it. That's the name of it. Mike Winson: We'll have to take a look for that one. Lottie Guidi: And it's just it just dropped. And I only I only found out because I was on TikTok live with Shane Davis last night and someone was like, Lot of your new show's out. I was like, it is? No, it's not. What show? What are we talking about? What's going on? It was out. I didn't Mike Winson: There you go. Lottie Guidi: even know. where was I going with this? I completely lost funniest story. There we go. ADHD. Mike Winson: Yes, funniest story. It's okay. I forgot to. Cause I think that's what we're that's what our interactions are all gonna be like as we just kind of go off on tangents randomly, which is fine. It's okay. It's fun. Lottie Guidi: Tangents. Yes. It's it's gotta sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do, you know? Mike Winson: Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. Lottie Guidi: Exactly. It's all cyclical. We circle back. It's fine. Mike Winson: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Lottie Guidi: yeah, so funniest moment. We were filming a slip and fall scene where I clumsily lose my balance. Or no, I get shoved. The the female lead shoves Mike Winson: Okay. Lottie Guidi: or the female villain shoves me. And I throw all the papers in the air and I like fall back and Riley slides in and catches me. Mike Winson: Of course. As must happen. Lottie Guidi: And as must happen. and so we're doing this, and I'm in I love a stunt, so I'm never gonna take it easy. I'd also worked with Lapia, she was the stunt coordinator that day. and so I'm like, what? Like I am fully just throwing myself at the ground and expecting Riley to catch me. Poor Riley is about to have panic attacks. I am Mike Winson: no no Lottie Guidi: hurling myself towards the ground, and he's doing a great job of getting in there before I hit the ground. But Mike Winson: Mm-hmm. Lottie Guidi: you can tell he's like, stop doing that. And I'm like, no, they need it, they need it for the shot. I'm sorry. Mike Winson: They said they said they wanted realism. What can I say? Lottie Guidi: So finally, exactly. I was like, I have to make this look realistic. And he's like, You're literally just hurling your like this is not. So finally we're at a we're they're like, Okay, we want you're like, we wanna move on to the next shot. We wanna do close up. Can you like put your hand here? Can you get this there? Like, so they're like, Okay, let's just frame it up. So Riley is on his knees. I am laying over his leg in like a back bend with one arm around him. Mike Winson: Mm-hmm. Lottie Guidi: And I'm like trying to engage my core to support myself, but like really it's all kind of on Riley. Mike Winson: Yeah. Lottie Guidi: And he can tell that I'm like trying to not break him by Mike Winson: Yeah. Lottie Guidi: putting my entire weight on him. But I'm like, literally, this is Riley, and I'm the line on top. Like I'm balancing on him. And so we're doing this scene, and the camera's framing up, and we're holding and we're holding and we're holding and we're holding. And we're just kind of staring at each other, like talking, but like, you know, trying to. Your faces are pretty close. You're just my abs are burning. His leg is shaking. We're all like, it's we've been Mike Winson: no. Lottie Guidi: holding for probably five minutes. Probably five minutes at this point. And we look up and we realize no one is even looking at us. No one is even looking at us. And I'm like, hey, can we can we move? Mike Winson: Stop. Lottie Guidi: And they're like, no, no, no. And the first AD's like, no, no, no, camera's framing up. I was like, Ben is over there. Ben was our our DP. I was like, Ben is Ben is talking to the the gaffer. Are you sh Okay. So we're holding, we're holding, we're holding. At this point, the girl who plays the villain has pulled out her phone and started a stopwatch. Well now we're timing how long we're in this position. Mike Winson: my gosh. Lottie Guidi: After the initial like five minutes, I think we ended up being there for Prob I think it was like four more minutes. So it was probably a total of eight minutes just holding that position, staring lovingly into each other's eyes after I'd been hurling my body at the ground for about an hour and he was already exhausted from catching me. Mike Winson: my goodness. That is crazy. Lottie Guidi: It was wild. And it ha we it was so funny though. We well, there's a lot of funny moments on set. I guess it's always just kind of like hard to explain unless you've been there for the entire twelve hours and are as sleep Mike Winson: Yeah. Lottie Guidi: deprived as you know, 'cause like everything's hilarious when you hit that point. Everything's funny then. Mike Winson: Sure, of course. Sleep deprivation will do that to you. Yeah. Lottie Guidi: Great time. Great time. Mike Winson: so before you started doing vertical drama stuff, you played Penny Pingleton in Hairspray. Lottie Guidi: Yeah. Mike Winson: What? Compare being in a vertical to being in hairspray. What like do you like one more than the other? Are there things you liked about doing hairspray more than than doing verticals? Lottie Guidi: Theater and film are so very different. For that show, we spent, I think it was something like three months in rehearsals and then had like a three-weekend run. Mike Winson: Yeah. Lottie Guidi: and so you spend a whole lot more time at films a lot are not films, it the project is a lot longer of projects because of the rehearsals and you know, you do the same thing a lot of times all the way through. You kinda get like it's like one take. You get one take because you know, you can't you've got a live audience. And I really love the live audience aspect of theater. And I also loved the process, the rehearsal process of theater, because you really get to know everyone so well. Like those become your best friends. Like I still talk to some of the people I did hairspray Mike Winson: Mm. Lottie Guidi: with. Because it's like they become like a next level of family to you. We really all bonded so much. And that was actually a really, really special cast too. It was one of it was one of those moments where like everyone just really clicks. I honestly think it prepared me a lot for verticals because Penny is a very similar character trope to a lot of the YA verticals I've done. The awkward, clumsy Mike Winson: That's true. Yep. Lottie Guidi: girl. Yeah, it's pretty much copy paste from what I think I've done a few times. But I I personally, and this is not always the case with a lot of actors, I really like film because my brain is so fast-paced that there is Mike Winson: Mm. Lottie Guidi: something about doing a scene for an hour and then never having to think about it again that I really like. I can do 20 pages of sides in one day and it have the best day of my life and be bouncing off the walls and change my costume 40 times and then never have to think about that day ever again if I don't want to, you know? So it's it's Mike Winson: That's crazy. Lottie Guidi: It's really great in so many ways. And I think for ADHD people it's very like pleasing to like check off the list like that as opposed to like restart, rest you know what I mean? It feels very Mike Winson: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Lottie Guidi: productive. Mike Winson: How has your ability to s to learn lines and things like that meshed with your ADHD and and dyslexia, right? I've n okay, yeah. Yep. What a combo. Lottie Guidi: Yeah, that's the combo. Woo! it's the best one. my dyslexia gets worse when I'm really tired. So or I'm reading out loud. Reading out loud is hard for me. So yeah. Mike Winson: Mm. Lottie Guidi: It's interesting. It's really interesting, but For me, it was like the hardest thing about reading was learning to read. And then once I got it down, I had such a love of reading because I love storytelling and I love escapism. So I mean perfect career. But once I got it down, I was just constantly reading. I was at like a college reading level at the by sixth grade. yeah, I just love to read. Mike Winson: Wow, that's so cool. Lottie Guidi: I it's one of my favorite things to do. I'm I always joke that like I'm not good at it, but I I do a lot of it. Mike Winson: Well, the fact that you do a lot of it I think means you're pretty good at it. Lottie Guidi: Thank you. I can also read pretty quickly. Again, all in my head. but it's it's great. I love reading. so that's always been helpful with scripts and stuff. I really just like fall into like the wow, like I'm reading a story right now. Like I'm reading a book that no one else has really gotten to read yet. Mike Winson: Nice. Lottie Guidi: but with the ADHD, the hardest part about all of it, I would say, is Focusing long enough to s make myself sit down to look at the lines. Mike Winson: Mm. Lottie Guidi: Often I will learn my lines in the makeup chair because if I learn them, if I try and learn them before that, Mike Winson: Too early. Lottie Guidi: it's yeah, my brain is just like, I don't care. I don't care. And I'm like, but you need to, you need to care. And I'm like, so Mike Winson: That's that's amazing that you can learn in the makeup chair. I don't know if I could do that. Lottie Guidi: Sometimes I'll learn them during blocking. I I the reason it's I think it works for me is your brain is a it's a muscle. And my mom was really big on making sure growing up that we exercised that muscle Mike Winson: Mm. Lottie Guidi: ad nauseum. Like she was we had to do this thing called memory masters, where we had to memorize a bunch of just random facts and like historical facts, timeline facts. Conjugate Latin verbs, how list every preposition off the top of your head, type random things. And Mike Winson: You know, the again, the the normal stuff that kids do these days. Yeah. Lottie Guidi: Yeah, yeah, classic, classic. and I honestly I think that that gave me a lot of Retention ability. I can just Mike Winson: Yeah. Lottie Guidi: recall and retain information at a really quick rate. And I honestly I think I owe that skill to my mom. Cause like who needs a list of every US president from the beginning of America till now? Probably no one, but it's still in here. And every time we elect a new one, I add to the list. Mike Winson: I'm sure you'd like to forget some of them. But anyways, we won't go there today. Lottie Guidi: That'll be nice. Mike Winson: Okay. I wanna do I call it a speed round. It's not really a speed round, but I got a bunch of questions. They're just simple, simple answers, simple questions, no, no, no hard thinking. Ready? Lottie Guidi: Amazing. Mike Winson: Go to coffee order. Lottie Guidi: Ooh, I really like a iced vanilla latte half sweet with coconut milk or pistachio milk. Mike Winson: Nice. sweet or savory breakfast? What kind? Lottie Guidi: Savory. I really like breakfast potatoes with like all of the stuff, like the cheese and the eggs over easy and jalapenos and sweet Mike Winson: Hmm. Ugh. Lottie Guidi: peppers and onions and yeah, all cheese, all that good stuff. Mike Winson: Yeah. Nice. Beach or Mountains. Lottie Guidi: Ooh, teach. Mike Winson: Okay. go to karaoke song. Lottie Guidi: Need you now. Mike Winson: Okay. dogs or cats? Lottie Guidi: Dogs. Mike Winson: Favorite comfort food? Lottie Guidi: pasta, any kind of pasta. Mike Winson: Any kind? Like pasta straight by itself or like like a pasta sauce kind of a thing? Lottie Guidi: honestly it would actually it's either mushroom mazzotto or Mike Winson: Mm. Lottie Guidi: panaella vodka or spaghetti bolognese. All Italian Mike Winson: Okay. last yeah. Last show you binged. Lottie Guidi: Ooh dateline Mike Winson: Yeah. You're so DC. Lottie Guidi: Ha Mike Winson: morning person or night owl. Okay. Lottie Guidi: Night owl. Mike Winson: one food that you refuse to eat. Lottie Guidi: I'd try anything once. I didn't love chicken chicken knees when I was in China. I don't think I'd eat that again. I did try it. It just wasn't my favorite. It was too chewy for me. Mike Winson: Mm, yeah. I I Yeah. favorite season? Lottie Guidi: Summer or fall, I can't decide. Mike Winson: Well, you are a an East Coast northern person, so fall is always gonna be in people's hearts if you live up there. Lottie Guidi: So good. Mike Winson: sweet treat you can't say no to. Lottie Guidi: Brownies with ice cream. Mike Winson: Mm. What kind of ice cream? Just straight vanilla? Lottie Guidi: Vanilla. But only with brownies. If I'm not having brownies, I that I'm not choosing vanilla. If I'm going out for ice cream, I'm not picking vanilla. Mike Winson: Okay. if you could act or sing with anybody, who would you pick? Lottie Guidi: Ooh. I would act with Robin Williams. Mike Winson: Mm. That would be a lot of fun. That would be a lot of fun. if you had a free day with zero plans, what would you do? Lottie Guidi: immediately make all of the plans. I I can't be alone with my thoughts for that long. I'd be like, Who's free? Someone be free. Yeah, a lot of that. A lot Mike Winson: So hang out with people. Yeah. Yeah. Lottie Guidi: of that. I'd probably like try and go skydiving. Mike Winson: Mm. Lottie Guidi: I would maybe force people into playing laser tag with me. I don't know. Go grab a drink with friends at our at our favorite we really love this place called Dante. It's a great restaurant. Mike Winson: Nice. Lottie Guidi: Yeah, I don't know. Mike Winson: what is your favorite book? Lottie Guidi: Ooh, that's hard. I read so many of them. all-time favorite would either be Persuasion or Pride and Prejudice. I could reread those probably a million times and never be sick Mike Winson: Mm. Lottie Guidi: of them. Big Jane Austen fan. I also really love. No, I'm gonna stick with those. I'm gonna stick with those. Mike Winson: and as someone who's been in things like hairspray, I feel the need to ask favorite musical. Lottie Guidi: Ooh, great comment. Mike Winson: Great comment. Lottie Guidi: Uh-huh, great comet of it's it's based off of warranties. Mike Winson: I've never heard of that. I'll have to check that out. Lottie Guidi: Yeah, Natasha Pierre and the Great Comet, it is so beautifully written and existential in all of the best ways, and so very Russian. And I love it. Mike Winson: So Lottie Guidi: Or cabaret, if we're looking for a more Mike Winson: No, I mean it doesn't need to be. I don't have a problem with it. I was just like, I was sitting there processing. I'm like, I thought I knew musicals, but I've never heard of that one. So yeah. I'll have to check it out. Lottie Guidi: It's good. You should listen to the new Josh Groben I think is in the new cast album. He sings Mike Winson: Mm. Lottie Guidi: for Pierre in that. And it's great. It's great. It's really great. Mike Winson: Wow. That's awesome. for anyone that wants to find you and watch you as you do all of this crazy stuff, where can they find you? Lottie Guidi: I'm on a lot of different vertical platforms. I'm on Drama Box, I'm on Good Short, and I'm on what's a third I'm on a lot. Drama Wave? I don't know. They might be only doing AI these days, I don't know. but yeah, and then Mike Winson: And then you're also on social media. Lottie Guidi: on socials, my Instagram is Lottie underscoreGweedy, and on TikTok it's Lottie.gweedy. Mike Winson: Lottie, thank you so much for coming on. This was awesome. And I look forward to having you back on at your next shows whenever those come out. Lottie Guidi: Thank you so much for having me. I had such a blast. Mike Winson: Yeah. And for everyone that's listened so far, thank you so much as well. Please hit all those buttons below. Makes it possible for me to keep doing what I'm doing, which is interview amazing people like Lottie here. And just so you know, for anyone that doesn't know about this podcast, Breaking the Meta is about having hard conversations when necessary, fighting to break the status quo and the idea that all people, no matter your race, religion, gender, or identity, deserve rights, respect, dignity, and safety. Again, Lottie, thank you so much for being here. And everyone else will see you next time on Breaking the Meta. Bye guys.