Mary-Kate Olsen's fame didn't necessarily secure her the part of Tara on Showtime's hit series, Weeds.  In fact, series creator Jenji Kohan said they decided to add Olsen to the cast not because of her celebrity status, but because she delivered a solid performance during her audition with costar Hunter Parrish.

''The truth is we're so protective of the show,'' Kohan said to Entertainment Weekly.  ''We don't stunt-cast.  She earned that part.  It's weird to say that she's trying to break into the business, because of her status, but she is and she should have her shot.”

Olsen and her twin sister, Ashley, have been in the public eye since they made their acting debut on the hit family series, Full House.  The two have appeared in numerous film and television productions, and successfully marketed their brand through various media, including fashion.  Despite their long career in the entertainment industry, Olsen feels she and her sister have not gotten the opportunity to really act.

''If you look at our career, 21 years ago to today, it was about entertaining a specific audience,'' Olsen said.  “It wasn't about acting.  It was about pleasing other people and making kids smile.”

When she was a student at NYU, Mary-Kate Olsen began to take acting classes, and now hopes to land more roles in independent productions.  Recently, she worked on Jonathan Levine's upcoming film, The Wackness, wherein she plays a young hippie and locks lips with 63-year-old actor, Ben Kingsley.

Though Olsen's fame had little bearing on the show's decision to cast her, it did it have an impact on the show's production practices.  Since Olsen is a paparazzi magnet, Kohan said they were forced to change their signs during filming to avoid being spotted by the media.

''When we were on location, we couldn't have Weeds signs up because we would get stalkerazzi,” Kohan said.

Being followed by paparazzi is a price all celebrities must pay, and Mary-Kate Olsen has tried her best to preserve some of her privacy by becoming more aware of her day-to-day actions.

''I would love to be able to swim in the ocean in Malibu,'' she told Entertainment Weekly, “but that is asking for a bikini shot.  That's inviting something that I don't want to happen.  I don't need to be on a 'Who's Skinny, Who's Fat, Who's Looking Healthy, Who's Not Eating?' list.''

Olsen's ten-episode arc on Weeds is scheduled to begin on September 17.


-Lisa Claustro, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
Source: Entertainment Weekly
(Image Courtesy of the Associated Press)