Stateline teen to appear on ABC drama 'Grey's Anatomy' on Sunday

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE - Becca Gardner, the 15-year-old Stateline resident fresh from her acclaimed appearance in "An Unfinished Life," is worried about how people will take her next role.

Scheduled for a 10 p.m. airing on Sunday, the TV show "Grey's Anatomy" will have a guest appearance by Gardner in a character very unlike her past portrayals.

"She's nervous for people to see it," said her mother, Kelly Gardner. "She just hopes people remember it's acting."

Kelly said her daughter will play a person uncomfortable in her body during the Golden Globe-nominated ABC drama about medical interns at a fictional hospital in Seattle.

Becca earned a guest appearance on ABC's courtroom drama "The Practice" a few years ago.

Asked if she prefers acting on television to appearing in movies, she was noncommittal.

"I actually love both, but I think being a guest star on (TV) shows is good, too, because you get a taste in between movies," Becca said.

She spent two weeks working on her guest TV appearance. A bright spot, according to Becca and her mother, was the opportunity to loop, or record, her sound at a facility in Meyers.

The Gardner family traveled to New York City for the 2005 fall premiere of "An Unfinished Life," in which Becca starred beside Robert Redford and Morgan Freeman. After the East Coast premiere, she came to Wallace Theaters for a South Shore premiere complete with a lime-green carpet, her favorite color.

"The best premiere was in Tahoe, by far," Becca said. "It was so cool. It makes me feel good that people care. I didn't really expect that much."

Despite reviewers such as Richard Roeper praising her role in "An Unfinished Life," Becca said she ignores critics. The reviews that really mean something to her come from family and friends.

"I don't want to get caught up in it, and I don't need to know what people are thinking of it," she said. "As long as my family and the people who I love are satisfied, I don't care what other people think."

She is perturbed by the rave reviews and award nominations given to "Brokeback Mountain," a movie she feels is similar to "An Unfinished Life" because of its location in a remote country.

"Timing is everything," she said. "It's so weird because that's a Western movie type - I guess, I haven't seen it - but it's coming out now and has much better publicity than coming out in September."

Becca said she hopes her newfound friends from "Grey's Anatomy" will win in their respective categories at the Golden Globe awards.

Finished with school for the week, Becca was waiting for a script to arrive Friday. She has done a couple of auditions after her movie appearance, but remains focused on schoolwork at Whittell High School and learning to drive.