BEYOND THE BOX

BEYOND THE BOX
Breaking Expectations & Choosing Purpose
Exclusive Interview with Cassandra Scerbo
Featured in 'Innerviews'
Hosted by Allié McGuire

​For years, audiences knew her through roles that defined a generation of fans, but the path forward has become something far more intentional. In this conversation with Cassandra Scerbo, we explore the shift from playing the parts people expect to choosing the work that truly matters. It’s a story about stepping beyond labels, embracing purpose, and finding the courage to redefine what comes next.

ALLIÉ: From Make It or Break It and Bring It On: In It to Win It to Sharknado and ABC’s Grand Hotel, you've been part of projects that shaped a generation of fans. My first question for you today is this: what shifted inside of you that made you say, it's time for something deeper? It's time for intention. What was the shift that made you want to do more than what you were doing?

CASSANDRA: First of all, since we're talking about gratitude, I'm so grateful for all of those projects because, like you said, they had such incredible fan bases and many of them were very genre-driven. I'm so grateful for that. Every single project is a stepping stone, a learning experience. You get to work with so many amazing people along the way.
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CASSANDRA: (continued) I’ve always wanted to be taken seriously when it comes to my craft. Since I naturally have a more bubbly personality and I played all of these really fun roles that I truly enjoyed during that time period, but I felt like it was kind of hard to break out of certain boxes. I did feel stereotyped at times, and I think that’s a natural part of the journey for so many artists. But I reached a point where I really wanted to tell stories that spoke to me on a deeper level. Around that same time, I met my husband, and that shift in my life happened to lead us into forming a production company.

It’s been such a fulfilling evolution, getting to work behind the scenes while also creating and stepping into projects that feel more aligned with who I am now. The roles I’m drawn to today carry more depth and reflect me as a woman in this chapter of my life.

I always say I don't want to go to work every day and play myself. I love stepping outside of the box and crave roles furthest from who I am. That’s the beauty of storytelling; researching people from all walks of life and bringing those characters to life. The question became: how can I rebrand myself at this age when I've been known for these projects that have such dedicated fan bases?

Fans still sometimes think that I am the characters. Even on Instagram, someone commented recently on a Valentine's Day post saying something like, “We love Lauren and her husband.” They really see you as the character. And I love that connection, but it also makes you wonder, how do I break out of that?

The first step is telling yourself that you can. For so long, I was such a people pleaser. I wasn’t giving myself the authority to say no. I wasn’t being unapologetic enough. I was just the “yes” person.

It took believing that everything I needed was already inside of me. It took a strong support system and love. I still have my home in Los Angeles, but I moved out during COVID. Now I'm bi-coastal, but I have a home in Florida where I am right now. Stepping out of that bubble helped me recognize all of this.

During COVID, we were forced to turn inward. I think that’s when the shift really began.

Time is really all we have in life. I'm totally stealing this quote from my friend Alexa (I love her quotes and nuggets of wisdom), but I remember her saying something on the order of “We have two things in life, time and choices.” That really stuck with me. I started asking myself, how do I want to spend my time? And what intentional choices do I want to make with it?

That’s when the shift began: COVID, stepping out of LA, finding my partner, coming back to Florida, being with my family and my roots. Everything just aligned. But we have to go through things to get there. I had to feel stereotyped. I had to feel put in a box in order to shatter those walls. There’s something very freeing about saying, I'm breaking it all down and this is the real me now.

ALLIÉ: You mentioned time and choices. That’s empowering, especially in moments where we feel disempowered by everything going on around us. We can’t change the past, but we can choose our way forward. I want to talk about something new. In The Wolf and the Lamb, you play a schoolteacher and mother confronting something ancient and terrifying inside her own child.

​ALLIÉ: (continued) What did Jo teach you about fear, faith, and the strength we sometimes don’t realize we carry?

CASSANDRA: Everything. She taught me everything.

I genuinely mourn my characters when I'm done playing them because I try to give all of myself to whoever I’m portraying. With Jo, it was the biggest challenge of my career so far because we're talking about motherhood. That is sacred. My mom is my best friend. I love her so much. But I’m not a mom myself.

So I had to pull from the love I've witnessed my entire life. The love from my mother, the mothers in my family, my sister, my sister-in-law, my aunts, cousins, and dear friends.

There is nothing like a mother’s love.

I wanted to play something completely different from myself. I’ve never played a mom before, so I needed to do that justice. I want to be a mom someday, but I’m not one yet. Everyone says you don’t understand that love until you experience it.

Working with Jaydon Clark, who plays my son Henry, was incredible. The bond we developed on set was unbelievable. He will always be my first “film baby.” I love him deeply. To prepare, I create a diary for each character. I journal as them. When I start writing from their perspective, so much unfolds.

I didn’t share this publicly before, but I recently lost my dog, Gucci. He was my baby for 17 years. I got him during the first season of Make It or Break It. Losing him was devastating. While playing this role, I tapped into that love. Anyone with a fur baby knows that feeling. You would do anything for them.

At the end of the day, although the film is a western horror, for me, the story was also about a mother’s love. The lengths you would go to protect your child.

ALLIÉ: The film explores how fear fractures a community. Your work with Boo2Bullying deals with similar issues in real life. When bullying enters a school or a young person's life, what does it actually do to the fabric of that community?

CASSANDRA: When we go into schools with Boo2Bullying, the work that excites me most is the in-person conversations. Seeing a child come up to you and say, “You changed my life” or “You saved my life.”

CASSANDRA: (continued) These are kids who should feel safe at school, and instead they feel alone.

Community reminds people they’re not alone. That’s everything.

In the past, I’ve struggled with OCD and anxiety, and I’ve learned how important it is to have a support system and to feel safe talking through whatever it is you’re facing at any point in life. Getting it out of your body is imperative. It’s important to teach this to the students we serve. That whatever someone is going through, someone else has most likely walked through it before them. 

There are billions of people on this planet, you’re not alone, and it is so important to speak up when facing these challenges. Whether that be bullying, mental health, or really anything you may be going through, you are not alone.

That’s actually our slogan at Boo2Bullying: You are not alone.

Happy people don’t go around trying to ruin someone else's life. Hurt people hurt people. That realization was really eye opening. Playing Lauren Tanner on Make It or Break It showed me how bullying often comes from pain. Lauren was a broken girl. Her mother abandoned her. Her father was extremely hard on her.

That experience is what inspired me to become involved with Boo2Bullying.

ALLIÉ: Why is it so hard for us to just be? We always feel like we have to do, do, do.

CASSANDRA: I think we forget how important it is to be present.

Enjoy the coffee you’re drinking. Enjoy cooking your meal. Smell the food. Watch it come to life.

It sounds simple, but being present changes everything.

I used to run on a hamster wheel trying to do everything and make everyone happy. I thought success meant doing more. But success is also internal growth.

Sometimes it’s about checking in with your inner child and asking, who am I really?

ALLIÉ: After being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis six years ago, I realized I can’t be the version of myself I once was. I don’t even know who the next version will be because MS is unpredictable.

But slowing down has been a gift.

​CASSANDRA: Thank you for sharing that with me.

Every challenge in life has meaning. Some things are incredibly difficult to understand, but there’s always something to learn.

What you’re doing with your story is helping other people. That’s powerful.

Every challenge builds character. It teaches us who we are meant to be and how we are meant to inspire others in the short time we have here.

ALLIÉ: If we can slow down and appreciate the moment we’re in, how much more fulfilling could life be?

CASSANDRA: Exactly.

We need each other. We’re all walking each other home.

Be kind. Be generous. Pour into others, but also pour into yourself. ∎

Find & follow Cassandra on Instagram: @cassiescerbo