Bryan Melara / Roundup
As Laura Sixtos worked in her living room, her phone started to ring.
Her daughter Andrea’s talent manager was calling.
She thought it was the typical audition call.
It wasn’t.
“Your daughter’s going to be a star,” the manager said.
Laura’s heart began to pound as she learned her daughter had landed a role in the new Spider-Man movie.
Andrea, still wrapped in her bed sheets, was in disbelief when her mother informed her she landed the role.
Immediately, she jumped out of bed with joy and hugged her mother as the tears fell from her face.
“It was a very emotional moment,” said Andrea. “This is really going to boost my career.”
Andrea, 20, hopes her role in the movie is only a stepping-stone to her dream of becoming a Hollywood star.
At Pierce, she has already reached stardom as a softball player.
Although the second baseman came into the season with limited experience, she has played like a well-seasoned veteran.
She currently leads the Western State Conference Gold in batting average, hitting .529 with three home-runs, 11 RBIs and 12 stolen bases.
“She’s first team all-conference,” said head coach Pat Grennan.
Prior to her collegiate career, Andrea played at El Camino Real High School in Woodland Hills.
That was in 2006, as a 10th grader playing junior varsity.
“It was a hard year. It was fun, but it was really hard,” said the Pierce second baseman. “It was hard on me physically. It was hard on me mentally.”
The memory of her coach making her run 25 laps around two softball fields during a game for being late still lingers in her mind, as do other grueling situations she faced.
“She would work us to the bone,” Andrea said. “She would make us condition until we cried.”
In addition to being over-worked, Andrea, was put on the spot more than everyone else on the team. Yet, she never thought about quitting.
“Even though I was treated unfairly, I never gave up,” she said. “I saw girls dropping left and right. That’s not the way to handle things.”
Midway through the season she was benched and replaced with the team’s teacher assistant, which impacted her decision on returning the following season and moving on to varsity.
“She really tweaked my attitude about wanting to be on that team — she was just so negative,” she said. “But I came out as a stronger person.”
Andrea described herself in high school as the one who hustled the most, ran the hardest and really cared.
However, she didn’t feel her coach recognized her hard work.
This season her efforts haven’t gone unnoticed. Everyone from teammates to coaches have praised Andrea’s diligence.
“Any drill we ask her to do, she does,” said Grennan. “She never stops working.”
Outfielder Ashlee Amerian, who played with Andrea’s older-sister, Alicia, last season describes the Sixtos sisters as being very alike.
“They’re both positive and try to keep everyone around them positive,” said Amerian.
Coming into the season the team hadn’t a won a game since 2009.
This year they’ve improved their win total from the last two seasons with five wins.
Amerian credits Andrea for the team’s improvement and feels she’s played a huge part in the team’s success.
“She’s a busy girl, but, when’s she there she puts in 110 percent every time,” she said. “Everyone on the team loves her.”
First-year assistant coach Danny Moore views Andrea as a “natural leader.”
“On the field she talks a lot,” he said. “She’s good all-around.”
Andrea expressed her interest in coming back as a team captain.
“I would freaking love it,” she exclaimed. “I love my team. W
e’re a little family.”
The second baseman began the season playing first base and has also pitched.
“She’s capable of playing all positions,” said Moore. “You can plug her anywhere and she’ll adapt.”
Playing multiple positions is an everyday thing for Andrea.
When she’s not on the field or on set, she enjoys playing the piano.
Her repertoire on the keys includes Celine Dion’s “My Heart Will Go On,” and songs from the 2001 film “Amelie.”
She dubs her father as her number one fan. After every session he claps and chants, “we’ve got gold, we’ve got gold.”
“My dad is a great inspiration,” she said. “He’s so supportive in everything I do.”
Although she doesn’t know how to read music, she’s committed to learning and plays at least once a day.
“Any chance I get I’m on my piano,” she said. “It really feeds my soul, there’s so much passion put into it.”
School is also high up on her list of priorities. She is currently enrolled in 12 units.
Similar to Peter Parker’s lifestyle, Andrea is a superhero in her own right; in her ability to balance everything out.
Andrea began acting at age 13 in a Sear’s Christmas commercial.
She’s also made an appearance on Nickelodeon’s “Ned’s Declassified School Survival Guide” and has been in other commercials, shows and independent films.
In her latest project “The Amazing Spider-Man,” she plays a character named Sharisse, best-friend to Emma Stone’s character, Gwen Stacy.
In one of her scenes she has an encounter with the villain in the movie known as “The Lizard.”
One of the people who, according to Andrea, played a major role in helping her land the part in the newest Spider-Man film debuting July 2012, is her acting coach Steven Anderson.
Anderson met Andrea three years ago, when she and her two sisters, Alicia and Veronica were looking to join his class.
With limited space in the class, Anderson told the trio they had to prep a monologue and perform it for him if they wanted to get into the class.
He recalls Andrea being the spokesperson of the group and volunteering to go first.
“She delivered a power-punch monologue,” he said. “She’s very driven.”
Anderson, who has coached big names like Halle Berry, Eva Longoria and Shemar Moore; views Andrea as very committed and hard-working.
He compares her work ethic to that of Longoria’s.
“There’s a lot of pretty people in Hollywood, but, many of them can’t walk and talk at the same time,” Anderson said. “The thing that differentiates Andrea is her diligence and work ethic.”
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Tangled, acting in the new Spider Man film Andrea Sixtos tells all. (UD 2011)