For those of you who regularly watch G4’s Attack of the Show, you already know of the adorable and quirky co-host Alison Haislip. Her energy and geek knowledge on screen makes it easy to instantly become a fan. Aside from managing a crazy schedule, she was able to spare some time and share insight about working at G4, her perspective on geek culture, and her personal geekiness. And I am beyond pleased to announce that Alison is as cool and geeky in real life as she is on TV.

After graduating from Boston College with a BA in Theater Arts, when did you decide to make the move to LA?

I’m a Jersey girl through and through so I thought I was moving to NYC to continue my acting career.  Then fate intervened, and I spent my senior spring break visiting a friend in Los Angeles.  When I stepped off the plane, I just knew I had to move sunny California.  I changed all my plans in 2 months and moved to LA 3 weeks after I graduated.  I haven’t thought about moving once…I haven’t even moved apartments since I got here!

What events led to landing your career on G4’s Attack of the Show?

Beer.  Seriously.  I was bartending at a beer and wine bar called The 3rd Stop, when one of my regulars came in with a friend to celebrate his wife’s pregnancy.  It just so happened that this friend worked in the development department at G4.  After a couple of beers, my regular turns to his friend and goes, “You should totally know Alison!  She plays video games!  Put her on your network!”  Obviously intrigued, the friend began quizzing me on my gaming knowledge.  When he was satisfied that I actually knew what I was talking about, we exchanged emails, and he said he’d be in touch.  2 weeks later, I had a meeting with G4’s head of talent.  A week after that, I came in for an audition.  I had never seen a teleprompter a day before in my life, let alone hosted anything, but apparently I did something right because a few weeks after that, they hired me for my first gig.  The rest is history.  I have since seen that audition tape, and I’m baffled that they took a chance on a noob like me.

Aside from delivering news on The Feed, you have interviewed a lot of celebrities. Have any of those interviews made you nervous?

Sir Ben Kinglsey.  He’s a knight, for crying out loud!!!  Not to mention one of the most highly respected actors EVER.  But wouldn’t you know it, he’s the nicest guy.  I walked into the room, and he immediately complimented me on my top.  That put me at ease and we had a really great interview.  A lot of people have surprised me with how gracious and honest they are.  Keifer Sutherland and Jim Carrey stick out as being some of my best interviews, though my favorite goes to Leonard Nimoy.  He was so kind, open, and sincere, I almost cried while speaking to him.  It felt more like I was chatting with a long-lost mentor than interviewing an amazing actor in the biggest fan boy series ever.  You can’t go wrong with Spock.
What’s your favorite moment (behind the scenes or otherwise) since working at G4?

I’ve had some really incredible experiences at G4.  I’ve had SWAT training, drifted cars, shot a multitude of guns, kayaked part of the Colorado, traveled the world, and worked with some of the most amazing people.  But I think my favorite moment has to go to a very recent night in Tokyo, where myself, Blair Herter, and 10 American Ninja Warrior competitors rented a karaoke room, drank large quantities of beer, and sang our hearts out.  If videos of this night ever make it to the interwebs, you will not be disappointed.  Bonnie Tylor’s Total Eclipse of the Heart will never be the same.

From what I can tell, you seem to be a “geek girl”, or at least have knowledge and affection for geek culture. Do you consider yourself geeky, and if so, when did you realize you were?

Birth.  I’ve always been a geek.  My whole family is geeks.  We threw Star Trek parties.  Asimov is my favorite author.  When I got the chicken pox in 2nd grade, I watched all 3 original Star Wars every day for 2 weeks straight.  I’ve had a crush on Gambit since I was old enough to know what a crush is.  My Nintendo is still my favorite Christmas gift I’ve ever received.  I took philosophy of Tolkien in college and went to the midnight screenings of all 3 LOTR films.  I went to Space Camp…for FOUR YEARS!!!  There’s no way around it…I’m a geek.

What struggles or rewards have you experienced as a female in the forefront of geek culture news?

Myself and those like me (i.e.- Donatello, Leonardo, and Rapheal) always struggle just to fit into society, but when that evil Shredder attacks, we don’t cut him no slack.  And our reward is knowing we kept the world safe another day from the Foot Clan….and pizza.  After all, I am just a party dude.

When you’re not busy hosting, acting and traveling, how do you spend your free time?

Drinking.  Actually, I do that while I’m hosting, acting, and traveling as well, so I guess ‘reading’ would be a better answer.  Reading while drinking.

Can you share something that your fans may not know about yourself?

I can’t tie shoes correctly.  I graduated as valedictorian of my high school and I can’t tie my friggin’ shoes right.  It’s something I’ve struggled with since kindergarten.  I’m still waiting for Velcro to become cooler than shoe laces.

What’s one geek gear (book, gadget, etc) that you just can’t live without?

I could never live without at least one copy of the entire Lord of the Rings trilogy.  Also, I’d be at a loss without my Macbook or my X-Box 360.  I believe I spend more time with them than I do with my friends….that probably explains a lot in my life.

You have nearly 28,000 followers on Twitter! Why do you use Twitter and do you feel it’s a worthy avenue for communication with your fans?

I’m pretty sure it’s written into my contract that if I don’t use Twitter, G4 can crucify me live on ‘Attack of the Show’ with sumo wrestlers and velociraptors while Kevin and Olivia sing the theme song to ‘Growing Pains’…and we all know that isn’t pretty.  But beyond that, Twitter is simply the easiest way to keep people up to date on what I’m doing…whether it be important like a new blog I’ve posted, or not so important like what kind of milkshake I’m wishing I was drinking right now.  Strawberry.  The answer is strawberry.  And any place where I can let thousands of people know that I want a strawberry milkshake and they can, in turn, let me know where I should get one, or that they want chocolate, or that they want to father my children, is a very worthy avenue.

What do you want to be when you grow up?

Awesome.

On a side note: Those of you who have been a long time follower of @geekgirls know that in the past I have been very vocal with my opinion of celebrity tweeters. But, after many long blog and twitter discussions about this topic, I decided that I would still follow a few of my personal favs… because it is nice to read what they are up to, even if they never, ever, ever tweet back. Since then, I have been lucky enough to have received a tweet back here and there from a few people that I really admire. I understand they can’t always say hi back to everyone all the time, and feel that I may have been a little harsh to lump all celebrity tweeps into one angry stereotype.

That being said, I have really enjoyed reading @alisonhaislip’s twitter feed, sending her silly tweets and being okay with not expecting a response. One late night in September, I just asked if I could interview her. I don’t know why I asked her in a tweet. I mean, I have wanted to interview her for awhile, but I assumed that I would have an enormous quest of telephone calls and emails in order to accomplish this. But she did @reply…. and the rest is history.

@geekgirls ♥s @alisonhaislip

Thanks Deb & Kristina for being so quick and sweet in helping me get this interview ready