Janel Parrish Reveals She Misses Playing ‘PLL’s Mona: She Was An ‘Actor’s Dream’
Janel Parris is reuniting with her ‘PLL: The Perfectionists’ co-stars for a good cause, and HL spoke with the actress about ‘PLL’s recent anniversary, her thoughts on A, ‘To All The Boys 3,’ and more.
There’s not a day that goes by that we don’t miss Mona Vanderwaal. She certainly kept things interesting on both Pretty Little Liars and Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists. HollywoodLife talked EXCLUSIVELY with Janel Parrish about everything Mona and PLL, including where Mona would be today, a potential revival, and, of course, A. We also discussed Janel’s upcoming projects, including To All The Boys 3!
Janel is reuniting with her Pretty Little Liars: The Perfectionists cast and creator for a special cause. They will be hosting a live fundraising event on June 27 on Chat4Good to drive donations for Smile Train, the world’s largest cleft organization. Janel, along with her fellow cast members Sasha Pieterse, Sofia Carson, Hayley Erin, Sydney Park, Chris Mason, Eli Brown, Evan Bittencourt, and Kelly Rutherford, will take part in a live panel, moderated by TV host Tommy DiDario. The event will take place at 12:00pm PT/3:00pm ET exclusively on the Looped app. The live event will also include a fan Q&A and virtual one-on-one video chats with the cast. Fans can register for tickets at Chat4Good.com.
How does it feel to reunite with your PLL: The Perfectionists castmates for this fundraising event?
Janel Parrish: We’re so excited! We have kept a group chat going ever since we finished filming. I’ve never connected so quickly with a cast before and truly love each and every one of them. To be able to reunite to benefit SmileTrain is a dream.
You played Mona for such a large portion of your career. What’s it like to continually have such amazing support from fans?
Janel Parrish: I mean, I just feel so lucky. And so glad they like Mona! She was one of the best characters I’ve ever had the privilege to play and I miss her!
Pretty Little Liars just celebrated the 10th anniversary of its premiere. What has playing the character of Mona meant to you?
Janel Parrish: So crazy. Mona was SUCH a fun character to play, and I honestly wouldn’t have wanted any other role! The writers constantly kept me on my feet with so many twists and turns… I feel like she had so many personalities over the years, and it was an actor’s dream to be able to play them all.
Who have you kept in touch with the most over the years?
Janel Parrish: We all definitely keep in touch, but I would say the person I see/speak to the most is Brendan Robinson who played Lucas. He’s one of my best friends, and he met his girlfriend at my wedding!
What do you think Mona is up to today?
Janel Parrish: I hope she’s left her sleuthing days behind her and found a good guy and settled down! I would like her to be genuinely happy.
Would you be down for a PLL revival down the road?
Janel Parrish: I’m down! I vote for a musical movie since a lot of us also sing.
Do you think A will ever really be gone for good?
Janel Parrish: If PLL ever were to return… what would it be without A? In PLL: The Perfectionists we had a version of A called “The Professor.” I think in any PLL world, there has to be a VERSION of A.
Will we get to see more of Margot in To All The Boys 3?
Janel Parrish: Yes! I’m very excited for fans to see the third film… you get a lot of the Covey sisters! We also got to film in Korea for two weeks which was an incredible experience, so I’m so excited for everyone to see what we were up to.
What projects are you working on right now?
Janel Parrish: I have a film called Mighty Oak that comes out on streaming July 7, and I’m so excited for people to see that. It’s just a heartfelt, feel-good movie that spreads a hopeful feeling of positivity, and I feel that’s what the world needs right now! As for after that, there are a few things in the works!