Inside ‘The Secret Life of the American Teenager’ Star Shailene Woodley’s Moral Struggles With the Show
The Secret Life of the American Teenager alum Shailene Woodley has quite the resume. The actor has done a plethora of movies and TV shows, many of which have earned her critical acclaim. She’s done everything including blockbusters like Divergent to indies like The Fallout. Playing a wide variety of characters also means Woodley has faced some moral dilemmas, as was the case in The Secret Life of the American Teenager.
Shailene Woodley’s first big TV role was ‘The Secret Life of the American Teenager’
Though Woodley had more minor roles on shows like The O.C., The Secret Life of the American Teenager provided her first series regular role. Her character, Amy Juergens, was initially someone Woodley was thrilled to play. Woodley felt passionate about telling stories about teen issues like pregnancy, sex, and relationships. However, as the series progressed, it deviated from her personal beliefs.
Why Woodley struggled morally with playing Amy Juergens
While speaking to Flaunt, Woodley got candid about her time on The Secret Life of the American Teenager. “I’m extremely grateful for it; it was a fantastic five years of my life, but towards the end, morally, the things that we were preaching on that show weren’t really aligned with my own integrity,” she shared. “So that was a bit hard to show up to work every day knowing that we were going to project all of these themes to thousands—millions—of young adults across the country, when in fact, they weren’t what I would like to be sending out.”
Why didn’t Woodley leave ‘The Secret Life of the American Teenager’?
But if Woodley was struggling with the content of the show, why didn’t she get out? It likely came down to her contract with The Secret Life of the American Teenager. “It’s like anything in life, whether you’re an actor or you work in an insurance office, if you want to be able to leave your job, it’s nice to be able to leave your job,” Woodley shared. “But when you’re in a contract, unfortunately, you can’t do that.”
Most actors who land series regular roles are locked into a 7-year contract. This means that they are not allowed to leave the show without steep penalties. Fortunately, for Woodley, The Secret Life of the American Teenager was canceled after season 5, so she got to move on to different projects.
Woodley questioned if she should join the ‘Divergent’ cast
Shailene Woodley’s time on The Secret Life of the American Teenager was likely part of the reason she was a bit hesitant about Divergent. Though Woodley loved her character and the dystopian story, she was hesitant to be locked into a contract once again.
Ultimately, through meditation, Woodley realized that she couldn’t let her experience on The Secret Life of the American Teenager stop her from joining the Divergent cast. She also reached out to The Hunger Games alum, Jennifer Lawrence, for some advice on handling such a high-profile role. And while the Divergent series didn’t go exactly as Woodley planned (she never got to finish it), she doesn’t regret playing Tris Prior.
