Everybody’s favourite Gemini vegetarian returned to our screens on July 1 with the Legally Blonde prequel series, Elle. The series follows a newly 16-year-old Elle, whose father performs a nose-job gone wrong, forcing the family to relocate to Seattle while the scandal wears off. A fish out of water, Elle must adapt to her new environment while staying true to herself. Sounds familiar?
With any beloved property (even one that has already been adapted six times), you want to know that your favourite characters will be well taken care of. Legally Blonde purists wondered if canonising a chapter like this might be out of step with the trajectory that leads her to Harvard. That it might undermine that arc.
But the Prime Video series reminds us that Legally Blonde is not simply a fish out of water, a book judged by its cover, and categorically not a story of a superficial person acquiring depth. It’s a film about someone who is tired of being underestimated. And Elle, likewise, is about her realising what she’s capable of.
Lucky for us, Lexi Minetree is a Legally Blonde super fan. We all know that the search for Elle began with an open call which seven of Minetree’s friends all immediately sent her way. And in keeping with the original, it doesn’t take long for Minetree’s Elle Woods to do what Elle Woods does best—win us over.
Her comedic beats shine because they’re rooted in the all-too-high-school feeling that your life is over. When tasked with staging a comeback her friend says the only ways she knows to do that are “getting pregnant or hosting SNL” to which Elle responds, exasperated “I’m a virgin and I can’t wait until Saturday!”
The show is littered with little nods to the original, such as pink, scented paper, and even a fashion-forward smoking gun when Elle becomes involved in uncovering a local scandal, planting seeds for her lawyerly prowess later in life without making it seem inevitable.
But best of all, Minetree embodies that patently Elle Woods beauty that doesn’t make you want to be more like her but more like yourself. The Nod catches up with the actor to talk about taking on the cherished character, astrology, Reese Witherspoon, and what it was like stepping into some big Jimmy Choos.
Below, excerpts from an interview with Minetree:
This all started with a big open call. What was that process like for you? How did you prepare, and when did it start to feel real?
I first applied through the open call and did the crazy slate that has been going around, where I recreated her Harvard admissions video. And then I sent it into the void and was like, “I'll probably never hear back. A month later I got a call-back for the show! It changed my life! From there it was an eight-month process of doing director sessions and producer sessions, which ended with me meeting Reese [Witherspoon]. I'm grateful for the long process, because it really gave me time to step into Elle and to understand who she was.
Your recreation of the Harvard admission video is uncanny. Where did you draw the line between studying Elle and making her your own?
I really wanted to capture as many of the mannerisms that Reese did in the movies, and so I watched the movies a lot; I probably sounded like a crazy person to my roommates because I was always practising in our apartment. I just wanted it to be so ingrained in my body that I didn’t even have to think about it when I got on set. I’d even have phrases from the movie that kind of helped get me into character. “Elle-isms” that I could just say and automatically I would just fall into place.
In terms of making her my own, I did a lot of thinking about what this character would look like in high school, what would be the same, what might be different, and what would her arc be to get to that place. And then honestly, just be in the moment and bring bits of myself.
I think Reese really trusted me with this role, and she trusted that she saw something in me that was in Elle Woods as well. So, I kind of let that part have fun.
What’s the best advice Reese Witherspoon gave you?
I asked her one day how she showed up when she was having an off day, and she went, I show up with 100 per cent of whatever I have to offer. So if you’re having a 30 per cent day, show up with 100 per cent of that 30 percent. I feel like it’s simple, but it's so effective, because if you always show up with whatever you have, you did the best you could. Obviously, the baseline is always treating people with respect, but I think that it gives you grace to be human.
We first meet Elle at her Sweet Sixteen. When she blows out her candles on her cake, what does she wish for?
For her life to stay exactly the same.
The curse of the Gemini is that they’re misunderstood, but the gift is their duality, and that’s like Elle Woods personified. How did you find that duality, and how did it change when we found out about her Cancer cusp?
That’s a cool question! You know, I do think that Geminis—as a rising Gemini myself—have duality, but I also think Elle likes to plan things and be prepared. She probably researched everything about what it means to be a Gemini, and she was like “This is my personality and this is where I fit in”. So, when she found out that she was a Cancer cusp, it kind of turns everything on your head, like “maybe I don’t know myself as well as I thought, or maybe I’m more nuanced than I thought”, and I think that’s what the show is about.
The movie is about someone who’s very sure of themselves and everyone else is catching up to them. The show, to me, is a little bit more about figuring out who you are, and if you’re the person you thought you were.
If there’s one person you might look like more than Reese Witherspoon, it’s June Diane Raphael. Her performance as Elle’s mom, Eva Woods, makes you think “I totally see where she gets it from”.
June is one of the best people I’ve ever met. She’s amazing, she’s hilarious. I remember the way that June loves to work is like watching a masterclass in comedy. We’ll be on set and she’ll go, “Just keep the cameras rolling, I have some ideas”, and then we'll fling out 10 different alt lines, and each one is better than the next. I honestly feel a little sad that everyone can only see one version.
Are there any favourite improvised lines that stayed in?
She did improvise this moment in episode eight where she’s like “Don’t you dare arrest her. She’s in Chanel!”. Her performance kind of encourages the rest of us to be more bold with our choices too. So, whenever I’m going through a crowd and stuff like that, or I’m in a mosh pit, I’m making stuff up. Like when I was like “I'm in wedges!”... That’s all improvised.
Given that Elle is a character that you love so much, what was important to you in taking care of her in this rendition?
Keeping her joy and her earnestness, because to me she just is joy personified. If I wasn’t having fun, then I knew I was doing something wrong. There are scenes, of course, that are harder and more emotionally hitting, but for the most part I let myself play. Sometimes I would do things that were absolutely ridiculous, and they were like “Okay, that was a great take, let’s try it a different way now”, but at least I let myself go for it, and I think when you let yourself go for it is when you surprise yourself.
