Have you been watching the new season of One Tree Hill?! Even though Lucas and Peyton are gone, we couldn’t be more pumped about the show! We got the scoop on the newest season (and characters!) from newcomer Shantel VanSanten, who plays Haley’s emotional big sis Quinn. Read on to find out all about her character, what it’s like on set, and how cute little Jamie is on-screen and off. Spoiler alert: someone from the cast got a surprise proposal!

What was it like joining OTH this season?
I was really overwhelmed and nervous moving here. I come from more of a film background and I wasn’t quite as excited about TV because I don’t have as much control over knowing what happens to my character. But after educating myself about the show I was so excited. The cast is all great and welcoming.

So tell us about your character Quinn.
Quinn is Haley’s older sister. She comes back to Tree Hill because she’s really struggling with her marriage and her life and just in general finding inspiration for herself. She becomes a part of everyone’s world in Tree Hill, not just Haley’s.

Do you see similarities between Quinn and yourself?
Yeah, it’s the kind of show that I think everybody can relate to. There’s times when my life is almost paralleled to something Quinn was going through. But they’re all very normal struggles that different people find themselves in at different times in their life. I think that that’s the appeal of the show and why it’s done so well. It deals with very normal, real life problems.

Do you have a favorite part about playing Quinn?
The interactions with Jamie have been so much fun. I kind of play the not-so-conservative aunt to him. I’m the crazy aunt who comes in and kind of like lets him do whatever he wants, and Haley’s a lot more motherly. And in real life he’s such a good kid and actor, so that’s been really fun.

Is he as cute on-set as he is on-screen?
Yes! One day on set, the props department gave him my wedding ring to give to me. So he got down on one knee and proposed to me. And nobody will let it go. Rob Buckley and James are always like, “That little kid, he beat us all to the punch!”

So you play Haley’s sis (and best friend) on the show. Did you guys bond off-set to prepare for the role?
We spent a lot of time together over the very first few weeks just getting to know one another and really bonding and doing sister-like things. She doesn’t have any sisters and I have a sister I’m really close to, so just sharing stories and experiencing things together was a lot of fun.

Do you think that your relationship with your real sister is seen in Quinn and Haley’s relationship?
Oh yeah, definitely. It’s cool because Quinn’s a photographer and my sister’s going to school to be a photographer, so she was in the dark room the other day developing film and explaining to me what it was about. And it’s cool because it’s brought my real life sister and I closer together, even more than we already were.

Now you’ve done both movies and TV. Which do you prefer?
They’re two totally different worlds. When you shoot a movie you get a script and you know what’s going to happen. You create a character and it has a beginning, a middle and an end. But then there’s the aspect of TV that I love where my family gets to watch me once a week and I get to learn about a character and develop a character episode by episode and script by script. And it’s cool to be a part of that.

Is it very different without Lucas and Peyton in the storyline this season?
Of course. But I just think it’s breathing new life into the show. You have new people to follow, new characters with new lives that you get to all of a sudden be a part of. And I think that that energy’s good for a show that’s been around for a while.

So what’s up next for Quinn?
She’s obviously going to explore the confusion of her relationship and really bond with the people around her. And I don’t even know what decisions she’s going to make, but I think that with the confusion will come an opportunity for growth in other relationships as well. There are a lot of opportunities for her that I’m excited about.

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