Dec 26, 2013 at 1:20 pm

Kat Graham: Just Jared Portrait Session Star! (Exclusive!)

Kat Graham is a denim darling in this exclusive photo from the latest edition of the Just Jared Portrait Session Series.

The 24-year-old actress was snapped in several different looks from Abercrombie & Fitch in the shoot that took place at Siren Studios.

Kat stars on the hit The CW series The Vampire Diaries and she chatted with us about her favorite moments on set (including getting pranked by Nina Dobrev and Ian Somerhalder). She also opened up on how she is preparing for her upcoming wedding to fiance Cottrell Guidry and even told us her funny nicknames for her dog!

Click inside to read our full interview with Kat Graham…

Kat Graham – JustJared.com Exclusive Interview

Just Jared: How’s the photo shoot going so far?

Kat Graham: It’s going amazing. It’s interesting because we’re doing these different looks that feel very fall and winter. It’s great to get into those clothes because I feel like I haven’t worn anything like that all year. So it’s been exciting to try on different things and see new and old collections. It’s fun.

JJ: You’re here for exactly a day, then you’re flying back. Where are you in filming The Vampire Diaries?

KG: Less than a day! (laughs) We’re in the middle of shooting episode 15 of 22 this season. When we get back from vacation, we’re going to do 16 through 22.

JJ: Do you have a favorite scene that you’ve filmed so far this season?

KG: I guess, when I came back to life. (laughs) That was a good episode. I think it was episode seven or eight.

JJ: Do you have a funniest on-set moment from all the seasons that you’ve filmed Vampire Diaries so far?

KG: When I do those spells that aren’t even in English. They’re in this weird Latin. So Jasmine Guy (Grams on TVD) has to do them sometimes with me. We’ll just start cracking up in the middle of it. When I have to do those spells, those are silliest ones. And then, obviously, I’m pretty clumsy, so I’m always falling. I walked into a pole the other day on set in front of all the extras and they laughed at me. (laughs) I’ve slipped on some of the stairs they [use] to go into this tomb that are all made of styrofoam. I was walking with Nina [Dobrev] and she’s playing Katherine, and we’re supposed to be walking down, like I’m supposed to be taking her, and we’re going down to this tomb and I winded up slipping on the stairs, going thud, thud, thud, thud, thud, all the way down. And they have just caught it all. Yeah, I have really embarrassing moments. I walked into a wall, I mean, it’s just all embarrassing.

JJ: What’s your favorite off-set moment?

KG: I get pranked a lot. There’s a lot of dancing going on in the hallways. Ian Somerhalder can cut a rug. But, I’m usually getting scared. Somebody popping out of somewhere.

JJ: What’s the most memorable prank?

KG: We were actually driving from set, at the end of the street, and I had my window rolled down. Then all of a sudden, somebody goes into my driver’s side window and goes, “WaAaAAAaAAaaa.” And it’s Ian just jumping out of his car in the middle of the night, scaring the crap out of me. When they’re in vampire mode, I lock my dressing room door because it’s so scary to see. And I just said that Candice Accola, she put in her fangs and had the red dots for effects, and she looked like a kitten. So those are really fun when we can’t get through scenes because they’re just hysterical.

JJ: Describe your cast members in one word each. Ian Somerhalder.

KG: Super-fantasmatic-humanitarian-pioneer. That’s one word.

JJ: Nina Dobrev.

KG: I can’t. She’s beyond one word… She’s a life enthusiast. Bold. Light. Strong. Focused. Best friend.

JJ: Paul Wesley.

KG: Real.

JJ: Steven McQueen.

KG: Unique.

JJ: Zach Roerig.

KG: Country boy. That’s two words.

JJ: Michael Trevino.

KG: Rad.

JJ: Candice Accola.

KG: Wifey.

JJ: Joseph Morgan.

KG: Stellar.

JJ: Matthew Davis.

KG: Alien.

JJ: Sara Canning.

KG: Bright.

JJ: Claire Holt.

KG: Everything.

JJ: Malese Jow.

KG: Meatball.

JJ: Kayla Ewell.

KG: Sweet.

JJ: Torrey DeVitto.

KG: History.

JJ: Taylor Kinney.

KG: Sexy.

JJ: Phoebe Tonkin.

KG: Lips. She’s all lips.

JJ: Now for some random questions. What’s the difference between a mooch and a hooley randall?

KG: Where did you get that from?! (laughs) Have you heard me talking to [my dog] Izzy?

JJ: Answer the question!

KG: Where did you get that from?? Did you get it from [my fiance] Cottrell [Guidry]? You are way too engrained in my life! Why are you all up in my life? (laughs)

KG: Okay… You’ve obviously been in my house way too much if you’ve heard me say a mooch or a hooley randall. Mooch is the name that I give to my dog because she’s a mooch and she lives off of us and she doesn’t pay rent. And a hooley randall is when she’s being silly and wagging her tail. And being a slut. (laughs) I’m so mad at you.

JJ: Who is DJ Footy Pajamas?

KG: I guess that’s me. (laughs) I guess I’m DJ Footy Pajamas. I think it’s just because I don’t have a DJ nickname… A hooley randall… I’m so mad at you. (laughs)

JJ: Nina asks… Who is your celeb crush?

KG: Nina already got it. I’m not giving her any more. She outs me. (pauses) It’s James Franco right now.

JJ: Does she have someone else in mind? Or is that who she had?

KG: Uh, she outed me and said it was Jeff Goldblum, but that was Jurassic Park days.

JJ: What kinds of things are framed on your walls in your house in Atlanta, and why?

KG: A lot of it is, um, naked Madonna, from her sex book. So I’ve got a lot of black and whites all over my house, of like Oprah, Muhammad Ali, Angelina Jolie, and Brad Pitt. And you know, iconic black and white photos of these amazing celebrities because I just feel like they’ve done so much in their career and the photos are amazing. But a lot of them are, yes, naked photos of Madonna.

JJ: What is your Monday night tradition? Tell us what it is and what’s your most memorable moment from one of those nights.

KG: Monday night traditions, in Atlanta, are me and Nina Dobrev on her couch, watching Homeland or any movie. The best thing I love doing with her is going to the movies, and we bring, she brings pillows to the movie theaters. And we just wind up, snuggling up and having a girls night and watching movies. That’s a huge thing. When I don’t have that on Monday nights with her, I feel naked without them.

JJ: Who are your dream celebrity bridesmaids?

KG: Probably all of them from the movie Bridesmaids. If I could just have them, I would have them.

JJ: If you could have anyone alive on this earth to officiate your wedding, who would it be?

KG: That’s a good one, that’s a really good one. (pauses) That’s alive? So they’ve probably already died. Probably the real Elvis.

JJ: He’s not alive.

KG: You mean that they were dead, and I bring them back to life?

JJ: No! They’re living now, currently.

KG: Oh. That are alive now? [Vampire Diaries creator] Julie Plec is actually ordained. So maybe her, maybe Julie Plec.

JJ: That was actually her question.

KG: That was Julie’s question?!

JJ: She got you! (laughs)

KG: She sure did. I love me some Julie.

JJ: Who’s a bigger workaholic, you or Julie?

KG: Julie.

JJ: She said it’s you.

KG: (laughs)

JJ: Which of the Vampire Diaries men, past or present, do you wish you could have a sexy storyline with?

KG: Ian. Everyone is going to be like, “Oh it’s because he’s so hot.” But it’s actually because we work the exact same way with [our acting coach Ivana Chubbuck], and I think we would just do the most interesting work together as actors. That’s the only reason.

JJ: Tell us about your morning ritual in Atlanta.

KG: I get up at 5 a.m. and do my emails. Then I run three to five miles, and then I meditate. Then I get ready and I go to set.

JJ: We hear you are curating an exhibit in Atlanta about underground gay clubs, elaborate.

KG: Yes. Well, I started working on the council for GLAAD Atlanta because I thought that I could maybe help a little bit. And I’m part of this house in Atlanta, called the House of Brooks. I am the only fish in the house. And I wanted to do something that kind of showcased the life down there and how different it is. There’s still a lot of discrimination with the transgender community. My best friend is transgender, so I wanted to do something that showed the transgender community, and the gay community, in the most amazing, honest, fierce light. I just wanted to highlight this lifestyle because I feel like a lot of people, when they think of a drag queen or they hear the word “tranny”, there’s a lot of negative connotations to it and I’m trying to break that. That’s always been a goal of mine in Atlanta. And as a celebrity, to be an activist for the LGBT community. I feel like I’m getting there but I feel like there’s a lot more work to do. So me doing this fundraiser is like the first in that direction.

JJ: You’re very close with designer Jeremy Scott. How did you two meet?

KG: Jeremy was actually the first designer to ever let me pull clothes. Actually, he was my first stylist, technically. I didn’t have one before him. He let me wear his pieces and he helped me when I was like a no one, I didn’t have the show or anything, and he was so sweet to me and so kind to me. Throughout each others careers, we’ve just been really supportive, and he’s the one designer, besides a Jean Paul Gaultier, that actually makes the most sense on me. When I wear his clothes, I feel like myself. And when I’m not wearing them, I don’t feel like myself, and I just think he’s an iconic, fun designer. I just feel like he’s a pioneer, and I’m excited because he’s the new guy of Moschino. It’s well deserved, and it’s exciting to get back to that brand too.

JJ: You not wearing Jeremy Scott is not as uncomfortable as me wearing an ugly, oversized blazer at Magic Castle (a private, members-only club in L.A. for magicians).

KG: (laughs) So, for anyone reading this, every time I’m in L.A., Jared [Eng] and I hang out. It just feels weird if I don’t hang out with you at this point. We’re always going to events together. So this time, we decided to go to the Magic Castle, Jared shows up in this Commes des Garçons amazing jacket, these crazy shoes, pulls up in his fancy car, and they tell him that he can’t wear his jacket inside BECAUSE IT HAS A ZIPPER. And then I continue, before he could say anything, I’m like, “No, no, no. It’s COMMES DES GARCONS. He can! He’s fine! Let’s go inside! They don’t let him in the door, so they wind up putting on this super XXL coat on you, you are mortified. You’re like sitting there with your arms crossed, watching the magic show, this guy pulling out ducks and rabbits. And you are just not having it. You looked like… You looked like you were from the 80s… (laughs) I don’t know what you looked like.

JJ: I was the most uncomfortable I’ve ever been in my entire life!

KG: You were! You were really unhappy, you weren’t having any of it. But you looked cute in your ugly [Christmas] sweater outfit the other night. Which wasn’t very ugly except for a little bit of glitter, that was fine. (laughs)

JJ: What has been your most extravagant purchase?

KG: Extravagant?

JJ: Clothing wise.

KG: A $10,000 Versace dress. From the 90s Gianni Versace collection, which is in his showroom right now, in a hybrid chamber.

JJ: You are a fashion chameleon. What has been your favorite incarnation of yourself?

KG: My blonde. I’d like to go back there, I got a lot of pressure from my team to be a brunette. Just because that’s what I’m known for, I mean, the character I play on TV is a brunette and apparently people had trouble recognizing me. That, I would have to say my blonde, I felt really good as a blonde and I’d like to go back to that one day.

JJ: Have you worked with will.i.am? What’s the story?

KG: I worked with Will when I was like 16, 17, and I did a few records with him. I did “I Got it From My Mama,” which he released as a single for his Songs About Girls album. Then I went on tour with him, for a few months. We met when I was like 15, 16, and I was making beats, and I would go vintage shopping and I would bring him like all these random, cool vintage pieces that I got for a dollar. And he would invite me to listen to all the Black Eyed Peas tracks that he was working on, so I’d be in there for hours and hours, just him and the engineer. I remember listening to him do a cut of “My Humps,” and I remember listening to it thinking it was horrible, and it was totally him demoing it for Fergie. He was like, “This is amazing, I think it’s so great.” And I’m like, “I don’t like it that much.” And it winded up being a smash, so it shows how much I know. He’s such a creative guy and he played all these amazing samples, and he was what really inspired me to want to be a producer and get more into music. He was really a part of my evolution as an artist. He supported me when I did my first records and my first solo project. We were going to do a whole thing together, which still might happen one day, but yeah. He’s just a creative genius.

JJ: Where are you with your new music?

KG: Well, “Power” has been out for a while and right now we are with the move to Interscope, since A&M folded, it’s been a whole new world for me. We’re just making sure that the next thing that we do, whether it’s with “Power” or new music, or an album, has the right time and invested into promoting it and that we do great visual stuff for it and plan it out right.

PHOTO SHOOT CREDITS (PICTURES BELOW) �”�”

Picture 1
Jeans- Abercrombie
Top- The Row
Jacket – Burberry Prorsum
Shoes- Louise et Cie
Necklace – Tory Burch

Picture 2
Jeans- Abercrombie
Top- Tory Burch
Necklaces -Tory Burch
Shoes- Ruthie Davis

Picture 3
Jeans- Abercrombie
Scarf- Asos
Top- Proenza Schouler
Blazer- Stella McCartney
Necklace- Giles and brother
Bracelets- Dannijo
Shoes- Tory Burch
Glasses- Vogue Eyewear