Behind-the-Scenes with Lexi Minetree, Who’s Playing Elle Woods in New Prime Video Show

When the camera cuts, the interview isn’t over. With Cut for Time, TODAY.com asks the burning questions our anchors couldn’t get to on-air.

For those who grew up in the ’90s, there’s a throwback series coming to Prime Video in all its pink glory. “Elle,” a new prequel series to “Legally Blonde,” also has evergreen lessons to offer younger generations — and not just how to use a landline.

Lexi Minetree, 25, takes the helm in the show, portraying Elle Woods years before her famous pivot to practicing law.

With a self-proclaimed adrenaline buzz from her first-ever morning show appearance, Minetree walks into TODAY.com’s Orange Room with an infectious smile and sports a hot pink blazer suit set. As we sit down for more questions after her on-air chat with Savannah Guthrie and Carson Daly, she compliments my own pink jacket, with a fluffy pen from the June 20 “Elle World” New York City pop-up event clipped to the collar.

She tells me she approached her role with one primary question: How did the Elle Woods of “Legally Blonde” first get her confidence? She says “Elle,” out July 1 on Prime Video, answers it.

This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.

Coming into this role, in what ways did you want to make it your own, and what did you want to spread in terms of her legacy? Why does the world need Elle Woods right now?

I feel like with the prequel, you really get to explore how does one get to not only learn who they are, but how to gain the confidence to be different, and to own what makes you you. I think, especially nowadays, bringing that sort of empowerment to a new generation of women, as well as the people who grew up loving “Legally Blonde,” I think that’s really special. Now you get eight more hours of this amazing character.

You have been talking this whole press tour about how much Reese has played a mentorship role for you and the entire cast. What advice did she give you in terms of her experience playing this role, but also having grown up following her dreams and living in a time where she had to advocate for herself?

She says at least once a week people come up to her and go, “I became a lawyer because of this role,” or, “This character changed my life, or empowered me, or made me embrace who I was,” and that means something when a character is that special to someone. I hold that it is important to take care of things like that, and I think she really wanted to make sure that we captured her spirit. I’m really lucky because she really trusted me with this character.

I took a look at your Instagram, and I’ve seen that you are a bit of a self-proclaimed nerd, whether it be a wizarding video game or your love for SpongeBob. How did you think about that in terms of bringing parts of yourself into the role?

It’s so funny that you say that, because there’s this website that has factoids on people, and my friend said to me, because there’s trivia on it, the facts about me are that she’s a big fan of SpongeBob. I feel like there‘s a big culture of nonchalant-ness now, where people are afraid to make bold choices or lean into their interests in fear of being judged. I feel like getting to play Elle, I got to lean into all those things that in high school maybe I would have tried to hide a bit, and be someone who just embraces who they are and leans into the cringiness.

At the “Elle World” event, I saw you sitting with your co-stars, and it looked like you might have been reciting the original Harvard admissions video. We know you’ve seen it 150 times, at least. Talk a little bit about that dedication, and what drew you into prepping like that?

I feel like most people go method for crazy roles, but I feel like this character is one of the best characters to go method for, leaning into her character traits, which is being hardworking and believing in yourself … I also want this character so ingrained in me that when I get to set, I can be free to make my own choices, because the script is so fun and the other actors I work with are so talented, that we throw stuff at each other all the time. There’s so much improvisation that happens on set, it kind of makes me sad that viewers only get to see one take of everything, because we do some crazy stuff, that I’m like, “I know this will never make it into the show,” but we sometimes just do it to make each other laugh. But more than that, too, there is some really heartfelt moments every episode, and I feel like that is what is so special about the show.