From the archives! This interview is from our Winter 2005 issue. 

WHAT IS IT LIKE TO ACT IN A VIDEO?

We interviewed Rochel McAllister age 10, who is an actress in the Agent Emes video series. She gave us a behind the scenes view of the Agent Emes videos! 

Tell us about the Agent Emes series:
They’re about a boy named Shimi Epstein (played by Sholom-Ber Cohen) who is a secret agent. He spreads Torah and mitzvos and works against the schemes of the evil Dr. Lo Tov of Aveiros International. He has a lot of fun adventures!

What character do you play?
I play Baila Epstein. She’s Shimi Epstein- or Agent Emes’ little sister. She’s funny and she likes making jokes about everything.

Are you similar to Baila?
People call me funny but that’s about the only resemblance.

How did you get the part?
I had to try out. We did a sample part from the movie. I was really nervous. It took me a few times to get it right. I’m really lucky I got the part because a lot of people tried out.

How did you find out you got the part?
They called me by phone. I was really excited!

Was it hard to memorize your lines?
For the first movie it was easy because I had al- ready memorized them to try out. The second and third ones I had a little trouble with. I would forget what I was supposed to say, so they would stop and start filming all over again.

What’s filming like?
It’s really fun doing it. Usually when I’m done with my lines I have soda and junk food. That keeps me active and awake! People always make mistakes, and we have to film the scene over. Sometimes the crew gets a little cranky when they have to keep filming. We joke around a lot. Once Sholom-Ber (or Shimi in the movie) and I were having a contest to see who could drink the most pineapple-orange juice. He won, and I got a stomach ache! For the third movie we had to do a scene outside at night. I wasn’t tired, I was so hyper and I was running around. It was so much fun!

How did they film scenes in stores and in public?
To film the scene in the store for the first movie they closed the store while we were there. We had to use a dead fish for that scene and by the time we were done the whole store stunk like dead fish!

How did your friends react when they saw the movie?
They were really happy for me. My best friend still hasn’t seen it because she doesn’t have a TV, but I told her it was really good and she believes me.

Did you have any acting experience before Agent Emes?
Only in school plays and stuff like that.

Do you think you’ll act in more videos after agent Emes?
I don’t know. It depends what movie it is. I like filming, but it might interfere with other things I want to do, like right now I’m in a soccer clinic.

Is a fourth movie coming out?
They started filming for the fourth movie, but then they had some money problems so they couldn’t continue.

To find out more about the Agent-Emes videos visit www.agent-emes.com!