Actress and TV Show host Lisa Rinna has a career that has spanned over four decades. Many fans may recognize her for playing the role of Billie Reed on Days of Our Lives and as Taylor McBride on Melrose Place. Plus, Rinna has been the host of multiple different talk shows including Soap Talk, in which she was nominated for four Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Talk Show Host. In recent years, Rinna has appeared on Dancing with the Stars and The Apprentice. Rinna is now a contestant on the new reality show competition Sing Your Face Off. She took a few minutes to discuss the show with us.
TV Overmind: Hi, Lisa. How are you doing today?
Lisa Rinna: Hello. Good. How are you?
TVO: I am doing well. Thank you. You are currently starring on the new reality series Sing Your Face Off. Can you tell our readers the premise of the show?
LR: There is five of us and each week we transform into different pop icons. We sing. We dance and we transform via prosthetics and costumes into a pop icon we are given each week. I guess that is a pretty good assessment of the show.
TVO: You summed that up very well. How did you get involved in this project?
LR: My manager sent me over the synopsis of the show. I read it and auditioned for the show. I just thought it would be the most fun I’ve ever had and I was right. It was a blast.
TVO: You have the perfect personality for the show.
LR: Thank you. I think it is the type of show that if you are going to do it you either go hard or go home. And I went hard. As I was growing up, I’ve always been a huge fan of pop stars whether it was Cher or Barbra Streisand. I love music so much. This was a chance for me to do something I would probably never get the chance to ever do. After doing a show like Dancing with the Stars which I loved so much, I think I am always searching to challenge myself and this certainly did that. I knew it would be a family show we could all watch together and it would be feel good fun.
TVO: You had mentioned that some of your favorite icons included Cher and Barbra Streisand. Would those be two artists that you would be dying to impersonate on the show?
LR: Yes, absolutely.
TVO: I watched your performances from the first two episodes where you were Dolly Parton and Britney Spears. You did an awesome job.
LR: Thank you.
TVO: I really liked how engaging you were with the judges. I don’t necessarily notice that as much from the other contestants. You go right out there and are in there face. It is really fun to watch.
LR: (laughs) I have known Debbie Gibson for a long time so I think that was helpful because it made me really comfortable. I am completely in awe of Darrell Hammond and I have been a huge fan of his from the early days of Saturday Night Live and then I instantly connected to John Barrowman like he was my long lost brother. It was a perfect mix.
TVO: Does Darrell Hammond do any of his SNL impressions in between takes?
LR: Yes. (laughs)
TVO: Are there any that are your favorite?
LR: Oh gosh. All of his. I like everything Darrell Hammond does. I like Darrell Hammond just being Darrell Hammond. He is a genius.
TVO: Did he do his Donald Trump for you since you were on The Apprentice?
LR: I believe he did do Donald Trump.
TVO: Can you tell our readers who are some of the people you are going to be impersonating in the next episode?
LR: I will be Katy Perry and Justin Bieber this week.
TVO: Are you able to share what songs you are going to be performing?
LR: You will have to tune in. I will tell you that I play a very young Justin Bieber.
TVO: How long does it take you to transform into these musical icons?
LR: Oh gosh. Depending on who it is at least three or four hours because you have prosthetics, wigs, makeup, and costumes. We probably had four or five days per musical icon. That’s not a lot of time.
TVO: One final question for you. Many of your fans recognize you from Days of Our Lives. Can you tell us your favorite crazy storyline that involved Billie?
LR: Oh, absolutely. The storyline with Curtis her father and he gave her acid and she went on an acid trip. He was going to try and rape her. I know that sounds really sick saying it out loud but that was by far the most fun I had. I will never forget that scene. It was a brilliant time.
TVO: Thanks for chatting with us today, Lisa.
LR: Thank you so much. Have a great day.
Check out Lisa Rinna impersonating Katy Perry and Justin Bieber on Sing Your Face Off on Saturday June 7th at 9 PM Eastern/8 PM Central on ABC.
To read more about Sing Your Face Off, visit the Official ABC Page: http://abc.go.com/shows/sing-your-face-off
Photo by Michael Buckner/Getty Images
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