Within weeks of moving to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career, 9-year-old Addison Riecke landed a supporting role in The Thundermans, a Nickelodeon television series premiering this fall.
Local girl makes it big! Covington’s Addison Riecke stars on The Thundermans on Nickelodeon. Read more about her journey to Hollywood!
When Addison was 7 and beginning formal acting classes, she never dreamed she would have a role in a national television show two years later. Catching onto acting quickly, she found a natural ability to transform into character. Addison fell in love with the trade.
“My favorite thing about acting is that you get to be somebody that you’re not—you can be a nerd or a bully. It is a lot of fun, and I love it,” Addison says. She loves it so much that she and her mother, Jeanine, traveled from their hometown of Covington to Los Angeles in August 2012 to see if Addison could make it big in Hollywood.
“We planned to be there for just one month to give Addison an opportunity to try out acting,” Jeanine says. “She kept booking things and we kept extending our stay. It kind of snowballed. One month eventually turned into four.”
Before Addison landed her gig on The Thundermans, her schedule in California was unpredictable and quite a shock to her dad, Jared, when he first traveled to Los Angeles for a visit. Jared says, “They will get calls literally one hour before an audition. They may be driving to one audition, and the phone rings, and it is her agent sending them across town to another one.”
By the end of their stay, Addison had booked a guest-starring role on ABC’s How to Live with Your Parents, a recurring character part on The Thundermans and several national commercials, including ones for Sony Playstation and Lunchables.
“I thought, ‘Wow, I can’t believe this,’” Jeanine says. “You always want to support your child. When you see the positive feedback they get and see the excitement surrounding how well they do, it makes everything worth it.”
After returning to Louisiana for an extended stay, Addison and Jeanine moved to Los Angeles in April to begin filming the first 13 episodes of The Thundermans.
“Los Angeles is really cool!” Addison says. “You get to do something new every day when you are an actress. I go on a lot of auditions and my days are never the same. The weather is always good, and it rarely rains. You can go to the beach, go swimming or have a picnic outside at the park.”
As for Jeanine, moving to California has required some adjusting. “The honking is unbelievable! People lay on their horns there,” she says. “In Louisiana, people are more laid back and give a tiny honk. Not there!”
Addison interjects, “It was so loud in our apartment that we even had to get ear plugs!”
The opportunities are more than worth the noise to the duo, and both are ecstatic about what has arisen from their stay in Los Angeles. The outcome has far outweighed their expectations.
Just like anything in life, acting has its setbacks; however, Addison doesn’t let rejection stop her enthusiasm. She says, “I try not to let the disappointments get me down. In acting, you end up with a lot of ups and downs, but you can’t ever give up. You just have to be patient, because you never know what is going to happen.”
Although Addison and Jeanine have temporarily moved to Los Angeles, Addison is still enrolled in school in Covington at Kehoe France. Lindsey Jenkins, Addison’s teacher, works in conjunction with an on-set instructor at the studio. E-mailing tests and lesson plans back and forth, the two coordinate Addison’s education.
“That is why we keep her enrolled at Kehoe France,” Jeanine says. “When we come in town on breaks between seasons of the show, Addison can go right back into school. We want her to still have the sense of home here in Louisiana. We are trying to keep the interaction between her and other children at her school, especially with her being an only child. This process is all so new to us.”
What does Addison miss most about being home in Louisiana? “My cats!” she says. “I am such a cat person. When I get old, I am going to be a cat lady with 15,000 cats.”
Whether acting will remain her permanent career or not, Addison is certain about one aspect of her future. “I want to go to college. I look up to Anne Hathaway because she is so successful, and she put acting aside to go to college. I think that is really important. My dad always says education comes first.”
Mature beyond her 9 years, Addison’s outlook on life is admirable. “I look at all of my auditions like I am waiting at a bus stop. If I miss a bus, there is always another bus around the corner,” she says. “I know in the long run that there is a plan for my life, and that is what gives me peace. I believe I was meant to act, and I would never want that talent to go to waste.”
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