Alexa tells us about hanging out with the cast and crew of Spy Kids 3D: Game Over, how she memorizes her scripts, and how that makes her a better reader too!

Star Faves:
Full name: Alexa Ellesse Vega
Birthdate: August 27, 1988
Birthplace: Ocala, Florida
Mother: Gina, a former model
Siblings: four sisters! Margaux; 20, Krizia; 12, Makenzie; 8, Greylin, 2
Pets: Alexa has four pet chickens named Pepper, Rooser, Lily, and Rosie.

Star Faves:
TV show: Malcolm in the Middle
Movie: The Green Mile
Sports: basketball and football
Book: The Count of Monte Cristo
Food: Japanese
Actor: Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins
Music: Destiny's Child

Q: Alexa, we've talked to cast and crewmembers of Spy Kids 3D and it sounds like it was lots of fun to make. Tell us the best part of making the film.

Alexa: I've always said that Spy Kids is like a big family because you know everybody there and you've been working with them for four years. You develop a relationship with every single person. I hang out with the crewmembers—that's how close we all are! They've seen me grow up. The best thing about doing this one was coming back and knowing we were going to have a good time. It's not like one of those sets where you're going, "Oh, gosh, I hope everyone's nice." You already know everyone's nice! With Spy Kids, it's great. I'm really secure. What's great is, I get to hang out with all of them. We get to play video games and football at lunch.

Q: What's your favorite video game?

Alexa: It's called Ready to Rumble and there's another one called Crazy Taxi.

Q: Are you good?

Alexa: I think I'm good at those games. (Laughs)

Q: Is there a video game that you'd like to be trapped in like Carmen in Spy Kids 3D?

Alexa: It's called Dead or Alive, and it sounds very scary but it isn't. It's like a wrestling game but it's like a Japanese version. It's really cool. The reason why [I like it] is I love Japanese food! The characters are really awesome and the characters and scenarios have different things going on. Like in one scenario, it's winter and you can snowboard and stuff, and another time you're in pure sun and in paradise. I think that would be nice!

Q: When you were a little kid did you have a favorite children's book?

Alexa: That would have to be The BFG by Roald Dahl. I love that book. I will always read that book.


Q: What do you especially like about it?

Alexa: Because it takes you to a place where it's so amazing. I mean, you have this little girl, Sophie, who's traveling everywhere, and then you have this big, friendly giant who takes you to a whole new land. So it's just a book full of adventures where they have crazy words for things. When you drink soda, the bubbles don't go up—they go down! So everything's crazy there!

Q: What will you be reading this summer?

Alexa: Well, I have to read some books for school. Another one, I've already read, but I'm going to read it again—Shakespeare's As You Like It. It's one of my favorites.

Q: Are you going to read it to your younger sisters?

Alexa: Oh, yeah. Well you get the [version] where there's one page in Shakespearean language and on the next page it basically translates it for you. So I'll read a page and I'll be like, "Now what was that about?" They have fun with it because they're learning as well and they get to tell all their friends, "Yeah, I'm reading Shakespeare." So it's fun for them. If they don't understand it, there's always a translation page so I can explain it to them and they go, "Oh that's what that meant!"

Q: You'd be a great teacher, Alexa!

Alexa: Thank you! I love teaching kids things. Any time I'm at my little sister's school, I always volunteer. I know all the teachers there and they're really, really nice. I'm like, "Can I come into your class one day?", and they're like, "Sure!" So I come into class all the time and I get to read to them and help them out on their math problems. It's great!

Q: Do you think your love of reading helps you memorize your lines from a script?

Alexa: It definitely enhances it.

Q: How many lines, say, a day do you have to memorize?

Alexa: Normally we do a couple scenes a day. They can either be really long scenes or really short scenes. It just depends on the kind of day you have. Let's say it's a really long day that you're having. Well, you might have to learn up to 15 or 20 pages of dialogue, which isn't a lot. People are like, "That's so much! How do you memorize it?" But really, I don't even have to look at it for five minutes and it just sticks there. I guess it's just second nature now because I've been doing it since I was 4. I was basically taught, "You read it a couple times and you should have it by then." I've just developed something that says, "I've got it!" But, you know, it's not that hard, and I definitely think that reading has a lot to do with it. I actually think reading lines helps you read a book easier because you learn not to memorize each page but to understand it a little easier. You grasp certain things that people wouldn't grasp.

Q: What's the coolest stunt that you've ever done?

Alexa: I got to go on the edge of this cliff with an 800-foot drop in Spy Kids 2. It was really scary because the rock that we were on was very loose, but it was a perfect shot. They had to literally strap me to the rock so I wouldn't fall off. I had to wear a harness, but what they were scared of was that the rock would fall if there was too much weight on one side. So we had to balance all the weight out so that nothing would happen. It was so beautiful up there. It was one of those things that you'll never get to do it again because you wouldn't have the proper equipment for it—do it now, this is your chance. As soon as I got up there, I opened my arms out. It was so cool because you could feel the wind. It was around at 7 a.m. and it was beautiful out there. I got to see all these eagles flying. It was one of those things that you only see in movies or in dreams and it was actually coming true, so it was really neat. It was really beautiful.

Q: Are you a risk-taker? Do you like to do things like that?

Alexa: Oh yeah. Even if I didn't have a harness on—my mom would kill me—I'm one of those people who wants to go do that. When I'm older I want to go skydiving. That seems so cool! I have this thing, when I'm running—I run cross-country—I love the wind against my face. It gives me this rush, I'm just like, "Oh yeah, I'm running!" It makes me want to run faster. That's why I want it to be extreme!

Q: Describe Daryl, Robert Vito, and Ryan Pinkston each in one sentence.

Alexa: Okay, I'll start with Ryan Pinkston—my little Sweet 'N' Low. He's the sweetest thing, but everyone thinks he's like 9 years old, but he's really 15, so I called him Sweet 'N' Low. Robert Vito is too cool for me. Let's put that one down. And um, Daryl, um, your typical little brother.


Q: What made Spy Kids 3D special as compared to the first two films?

Alexa: Well, this time it's in 3D. And it's the last one, as the title kind of tells you—Game Over. It could be a new beginning to a new Spy Kids when we're older, but this kind of closes it up and says "the family's moving on." It's great because every time there's something that always has to do with family. That's the great thing about the movie is that it always gives out good messages, and that's the main goal that Robert Rodriguez is trying to reach—show that family is important and you don't want to give it up.