Before she was Leia Forman, 'That '90s Show' star Callie Haverda was an Austinite

As an old TV show theme song goes: Hello, Wisconsin!

But this time, by way of Texas.

Netflix did a little double-dip in the nostalgia well last month, when the streamer released “That ’90s Show,” an aptly titled sequel to long-running sitcom “That ’70s Show.” (Mining Clinton-era vibes for a popular comedy that premiered in 1998 but was set during the Ford administration? What an onion.) All episodes from the first season of the new show are now streaming on Netflix.

"That '90s Show" stars Callie Haverda as Leia Forman, the daughter of “That ’70s Show” characters Eric and Donna (Topher Grace and Laura Prepon). The show returns audiences to the fictional Wisconsin town of Point Place, where Leia has come to spend the summer with her grandparents, Kitty and Red (Debra Jo Rupp and Kurtwood Smith, returning from the original cast). Like her father before her, Leia falls in with a mischievous and oh-so-period-appropriate gang of friends. Sitcom antics ensue, lessons in maturity are learned and some weed is smoked.

Haverda grew up in Northwest Austin, and though she’s relocated to California for the show, she still has family and friends back home. “It's a very versatile, really fantastic place,” she says of Austin, mentioning South Congress and the food as some of her favorite parts of her hometown.

Before starring in “That ‘90s Show,” Haverda cut her acting teeth in Austin, taking classes and performing in some stage shows as a younger child. Haverda says she is “super big theater person,” but “I learned a lot from theater in general. I think it helps with being more comfortable with moving my body, for sure, because there's eyes on you at all times. So you constantly have to be your character and being in that headspace.”

That experience also comes in handy on “That ‘90s Show,” which is filmed in front of a live audience, Haverda says. And yes, Haverda, 15, wasn't alive in the 1990s or during the run of the original show. Making "That '90s Show" involved a little research on the actor's part and introduced her to things like Tamagotchi, riot grrrl culture and, of course, plenty of music.

We caught up with Haverda by phone a couple days after “That ‘90s Show” premiered. This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

What attracted you to acting?

I was actually inspired by my older siblings. I have three older siblings, and two of them were actors. They don't act anymore, and they definitely won't. (laughs) ... I fell into it with them. My parents actually didn't really want me to get into it from such a young age. But I convinced them, because I thought it was so much fun.

I did my first commercial when I was 6 years old. And from then on, it was just what I've always wanted to do, what I've always been in love with. I think starting out so young has definitely helped me in terms of knowing what I've wanted forever, instead of just coming into this now at this age and having no idea what to do. I've learned so much over the years. I definitely know what type of roles I like to play, and kind of what I want to do with my career.

I've watched the first few episodes of “That ‘90s Show.” I've seen probably every episode of “That ‘70 Show,” so it was nice to slip back into that world. Your character on the show, Leia, is the new girl in town. This friend group is new to her, and she's getting her footing. You're also stepping into this TV world that people a lot of people feel like they know very well from the old show. Were you able to find some familiar feelings in Leia that really resonated with you, and that helped you understand the character more?

Oh, yeah, for sure. Like you said, stepping into this whole franchise that has such a fantastic legacy. But I think also in general, for me moving to California, and meeting a whole new group of kids that I thought were so cool, most of them are older than me, I always wanted to kind of appear cool to them, just like Leia, so I could totally relate to her and all the things that she went through.

I think over the course of filming, I definitely grew with her, and I found my place among all of us friends, all my castmates. We all fell into place a lot like our characters and just developed really nice, amazing relationships. … I think the writing, as well; each episode that I got, it was just like, “Wow, this sounds like I'm just reading about my own life story."

Speaking of your castmates, you get the feeling you all have a really great chemistry with each other. What it's like to share this new big adventure with other people who are in a similar place in their lives and careers? You're all at a similar age, all stepping into this big new thing has a lot of expectations.

It's fantastic. I mean, seriously, when I first met them all, I realized that these are my people. And, you know, they kind of became my tribe. We could relate so much to each other. Because it was the very first time all of us doing live audience shows, and being able to step into this world.

All of us had seen “That ‘70s Show” by then. We all took a step toward the very first time we all met each other, and we got to see all the sets, the basement, the living room, the kitchen, and it was so surreal for all of us. We all bonded over our shared excitement and fear. Because we're also all stepping into very iconic shoes of other people. I think we were all intimidated a little bit by that, and by the fact that there's going to be so many people watching us and expecting so much.

But I think that also helped, that we were all little intimidated, because we talked about it. We had a ton of conversations about our fears and our expectations. We definitely bonded over that a lot. We hung out on and off set and went through it day by day together and experienced it together, which is pretty insane. We were all just thrown into this same world together.

It's kind of like a summer camp bond.

Yeah, for sure.

You've joined an established onscreen family, with Debra Jo Rupp, Kurtwood Smith, Topher Grace and Laura Prepon. They had years to forge this family dynamic that we see on screen. What was it like for you to step in and be a new factor in this dynamic, but also playing someone who's 15 years old? You know, Leia’s obviously very familiar with the characters, because she's their daughter and granddaughter.

Honestly, I was pretty terrified. I knew even just from my siblings how much this show had impacted people. My grandparents and my parents on the show, they're such fantastic actors. They're also really nice people. As soon as I got to set and I met them, they made me feel so comfortable, like we had known each other for 15 years. That was definitely helpful.

We had three days of rehearsals, but we actually had like a week before of just getting to know each other. During all of that time, we developed our characters together and our relationships, also based off the writing that was out in the episodes we had. Debra Jo, Kurtwood and I definitely developed that kind of bond. I feel like Red and Leia have a little bit more of an understanding relationship than maybe Red and Eric do, so to develop that over the course of the show was super fun.

I feel like we didn't talk about it that much. It was more so like second nature. We all fell into place.

Has there been anything about making your first TV show that’s surprised you? Maybe something you've discovered that you can do that you have been really proud of?

A big thing for me was being very, very aware of all of the cameras, because there are four cameras on you pretty much at all times. And you never want to have your back to one of the cameras. So we always had to make sure we were cheating our bodies correctly so that at least on every camera, there'd be like a part of your face. That was definitely hard, because you're just playing this character, but you also have to remember this camera, make sure that I'm facing this way, or make sure my body doesn't look awkward on this camera.

What's it been like to have the people in your life be able to turn on Netflix and watch you on this huge show?

Oh, my goodness. It's been fantastic. There has been so much support and so much love from friends and family and fans alike. I think what I really love about being able to act and have my work out there is that my grandparents are able to watch it. Because now that I live in California, I rarely ever see them. They still live back home in Texas. My grandma told me the other day, we were we were talking on the phone, and she said that she's already seen the series four times through. That just makes me feel really good that my family is able to watch and support and experience this journey with me even though they can't come to California and come to a live show.

Actually, my grandpa did come to a live show, which was great.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: 'That '90s Show' star Callie Haverda talks growing up in Austin