Lala Kent on How ‘Vanderpump Rules’ Prepared Her to Star in a Slasher Flick

Adam Salandra
Movies Horror
Movies Horror

Lala Kent may be best known for facing off against her coworkers in Bravo’s hit reality show Vanderpump Rules, but now fans can see her face off against a serial killer as the lead in Lionsgate’s new horror movie The Row.

Starring in her first major motion picture, Kent plays a college freshman who reluctantly joins a sorority, but things take a dark turn when her sisters start dying in gruesome ways.

“I have been working on my acting since the age of 12,” the reality star told FANDOM. “That’s the whole reason why I moved out to LA, so I’m excited for fans and my friends to see me in a light where it’s like, ‘Wow, this is Lala where she’s not taking her top off and she’s not acting crazy.'”

Getting everyone to see her in a new light may be one of the biggest challenges in her transition from reality star to movie star, something she was warned about when she first moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career.

The 28-year-old said she vividly remembers an agent warning her when she first arrived in LA that her acting career “will probably be non-existent” if she signed on to star in Vanderpump Rules. But Kent said she didn’t believe him for a second and she became determined to prove she could do reality TV and still become an actress.

“I feel like there’s still very much a stigma, but I’m here to break that,” Kent said. “I don’t feel like we live in this day and age where it’s one or the other. We can have it all. If you wanna do acting and a reality show and have a baby and be a housewife and do all of the above, it’s totally possible. And I think it’s chicks like me who are here to break the stigma.”

The Vanderpump Effect

Lala on 'Vanderpump Rules'
Lala on 'Vanderpump Rules'

Not only is Kent not worried about Vanderpump Rules hurting her acting career, she actually credits it with helping her be better on set.

Vanderpump has offered me not only extreme opportunities, but we’re filming every single day and there’s a camera in your face all the time,” she explained to FANDOM. “With acting, when you’re in classes they tell you that once the camera is up, people freeze. It’s just human nature for people to be like, ‘Wait, this is weird.'”

“So I would say when we started filming The Row, having cameras go up, it did not intimidate me,” she added. “So I’m extremely thankful for Vanderpump Rules and I always will be.”

She’s also grateful to her fellow Vanderpump castmates, who all came out to the premiere of The Row to support her.

“Two years ago, I wouldn’t believe you if you told me this was gonna happen,” Kent said about bonding with her reality costars. “So yes, they’ve been extremely supportive. I love them.”

But if her two worlds were to collide, which of her Vanderpump costars does Lala think would make the best villain in a horror movie?

“Kristen,” she said without hesitation. “Cause she has those eyes where she looks at you and you’re like, ‘What are you capable of, Kristen Doute?’”

Now that Kent has had her first starring role in a major film, she’s ready to take on more acting opportunities. But where would she love to see her career go?

“My dream acting role would totally be a Mr. and Mrs. Smith or Lara Croft — anything and everything Angelina Jolie with a gun and leather and cleavage is right up my alley,” she said. “My dream role would be to carry a gun and whip my braid around.”

But until that role comes along, fans can check out Lala in The Row, available on video-on-demand and in select theaters now.

Adam Salandra
Adam Salandra is an Entertainment Editor for FANDOM. When he's not covering the latest in pop culture, you can find him playing with his French Bulldog pup or hovering over the table of food at any social gathering.