Tania Gunadi stars in Disney XD's Aaron Stone as Emma Lau and her alter-ego Dark Tamara. Fans of the shows Boston Public, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and Even Stevens will probably remember her from her guest starring roles in those shows. We recently had the opportunity to discuss her role in Aaron Stone, as well as her upcoming projects, and her love of animals (and Jesse McCartney). 

TH: I know a lot of actors use character journals when they're trying to develop their character's personal back stories, is that something that you've ever experimented with?

TG: I do that for every show, yes.

TH: So that kind of gives you some extra context with your character?

TG: Yes, definitely. For those who know me on set, I'm very different away from the set. When I'm working, I'm usually very quiet and keep to myself. I do my best to hang out with people kind of as my character, but not go crazy with it.

But when I'm not working, I'm usually very cheery and high energy.

TH: On Aaron Stone you play two different characters, Emma and her alter-ego Dark Tamara, so it begs the question if you have another side to your own personality; perhaps a Dark Tania?

TG: (laughs) That's funny. Well the other side of my personality is the boring Tania. Because even though I get invited to parties, especially after being in Aaron Stone, and I like doing those things, I also truly enjoy being by myself a lot. I enjoy playing with my cats and I know I'm going to be a "cat lady" someday (laughs). I like to stay at home, especially on the weekend.

It's actually cool because I get to be different characters all the time. When I'm on set I get to play two characters and in my real life I have two of me. So I have like four lives total.

TH: That's even more challenging for you.

TG: Hey, even more fun.

TH: In real life you're 26, and it seems that your character on Aaron Stone is younger than that, so is it a challenge for you capturing the exuberance and the sort of pent-up energy that kids tend to have?

TG: The truth is when I was growing up in Indonesia, which is where I'm from, I was never really exposed to the art world or the world of creativity. I didn't understand the meaning of passion that I learned here in the United States. I'm not discounting my childhood in Indonesia, I did have a lot of fun, but every day was the same. And when I first came to America it opened my eyes and I now feel like I'm a new person, I feel like I'm a child again. Every day I feel like, "Oh my gosh, I didn't know this exists or that exists." When I first saw the freeway, for example, I was like, "Oh my gosh, there's actually a street that has more than two lanes." I think maybe that's what makes me a good fit for the younger roles, because I feel like I'm young.

TH: You film in Toronto for Aaron Stone, so if you were to take us on a tour of the city, what have you discovered to be some of your favorite hot spots there?

TG: There are many places. Every weekend I would go to Centre Island. You can take a ten minute ferry ride and you would be at this island where they have a petting zoo, amusement rides, biking paths, and places to eat. You can do all kinds of stuff on Centre Island.

I also did a lot of tours: a boat tour, scenery tour, and city tour; and Niagara Falls is really nice. I also love Toronto because they have a lot of vegetarian restaurants that are very delicious.

TH: And I hear that you are a strict vegetarian.

TG: Yes, and in Toronto they have lots of vegetarian restaurants that offer fake meat. And I love it because I get to eat fake shrimp, fake barbeque ribs, and fake bacon. In L.A. they have some, too, but not as much as Toronto.

TH: I know that in both Toronto and Los Angeles that you dedicate a lot of your free time to local animal rescues, what's a quality or an attribute that animals have that you wish more humans did?

TG: They always give you unconditional love. No matter if you're cranky or happy they treat you the same, they love you no matter what. They're so forgiving. If you're away from home all day because you're working for 14 hours, they're not like, "Hey, where have you been? You don't love me anymore, what's going on?" They don't do that, they're always there. What else, I like that they have lots of fur (laughs).

TH: That's true. There are lots of cold days that I wish I did.

TG: Not that I want people to have more fur (laughs). I think they're so beautiful; even though they eat the same food every day, they're still appreciative. They appreciate the food that they eat. And they love treats and they love new toys, which don't have to be expensive.