Written By: Jayme Face
In her biggest role to date Bethany Antonia plays Margot Rivers in Netflix’s popular new show “Get Even” based on the hit book Don’t Get Mad by Gretchen McNeil.
Photo Credit: Michael Shelford
upfrontNY: Can you tell us about “Get Even”?
Bethany Antonia: Yes, so “Get Even” is a ten-part drama series and it’s based on the novel by Gretchen McNeil. It follows four teenaged girls, each from completely different social circles and walks of life. They all join together to form a secret society called D.G.M., it stands for “Don’t Get Mad” because they want to “Get Even”. We see them do that, but things start to fall apart when the girls find themselves in the middle of a murder investigation. Things spin out of control and we have to figure out who is trying to frame them.
upfrontNY: Were you familiar with the books before landing the role?
Bethany Antonia: I wasn’t familiar with them, but after I’d had one or two auditions I read the book before the chemistry read so I was familiar with them by the time I met the other girls. It was so helpful because the books are meaty and there’s only so much you can cram into a 25-minute episode, but the book was so incredible.
upfrontNY: How do you relate to your character or what any of the characters go through in the series?
Bethany Antonia: I play Margot Rivers and she’s known as the genius of the group. Each of the girls have an alias that they are known as; they have the genius, the boss, the princess, and the rebel. I’m the genius. I’d like to think I relate to her intelligence, but I don’t think I do. She is super, super intelligent. She goes through a really sad bullying storyline throughout the show and she really has to lean on the girls in the group to kind of help her find herself and find who she is. I think I relate to that from my personal experience. I wasn’t bullied to the extent that Margot is but I definitely have to figure out how to use my friends to lift me up when I’m feeling really low. So, yeah that’s how I relate to her, to all of them.
upfrontNY: “Get Even” is quickly becoming a hit what kind of fan feedback are you getting?
Bethany Antonia: It’s been so exciting because we had the premiere in February and that was great! We got to see a lot of people because we got to have a real premiere. Getting to see it launch internationally has been so exciting because we’ve been waking up to like hundreds of messages from people from different time zones, different places and just hearing from people who relate to the storyline from all over. I think that people love that it’s a show about all four girls and they’re all about girl power and they’re trying their best to do what they can. I think that really relates to the time that we’re in now.
upfrontNY: Did you always want to be an actress?
Bethany Antonia: Yeah, I did actually. I always try to figure out the exact moment that I decided, but for as long as I can remember I have just always had this buzz for acting. I didn’t really know what it was or how to go about it and then when it all fell into place and I was like ‘Okay I’m going to be an actor’ it was just like wow how could you consider anything else other than what you are doing now.
upfrontNY: You are a pianist; would you ever think about going the music route?
Bethany Antonia: Oh, I don’t know about that. I think no. I play music and I write music, but that’s more of a hobby for me. It’s a nice outlet that I get to do, but no I don’t think I’d like to do the music route. I would like to do musical theatre though. I’d like to do that, but not play the piano at the same time.
upfrontNY: You are passionate about social justice issues such as the Black Lives Matter movement and LGBTQ issues. You are also from England and spent time in France. Do you notice any differences in these movements and issues in different cultures?
Bethany Antonia: Yeah, I do actually. I think spending a chunk of my childhood in France was really interesting because we lived in the deep country side and a lot of the people I was going to school with I was the first black girl that they had ever met. Going through that you realize that racism is taught rather than innate. I think having that experience makes me look at people who can’t accept other people with really sad eyes because they have to be taught to act this way. I’ve seen first-hand that children are not born with these views so I think it gives me a little more empathy for people who do have horrible views and are unopen to change. I think racism is a standard language that goes across the globe and it’s just horrible the things that we see everywhere.
upfrontNY: You are also passionate about sustainable living and wildlife conservation what steps do you take to ensure you are living sustainably?
Bethany Antonia: I’ve been vegan for about seven years now. That’s something I did for the animals. I hadn’t even really thought about the benefit for the planet, I was so young. I try to do something every day that will benefit the planet. I avoid fast fashion; I don’t buy anything that’s from places like that. I try to cut down on my waste. We try to grow our own vegetables which isn’t possible in England because our weather is so bad over here. We’ve got tomatoes and lettuce and we’re trying our best to grow our own things, but it takes maybe like six months to get maybe like one vegetable you can use. I think just try to do one thing every day that can help.
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