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Metro.Style Exclusive: Tom Everett Scott on Working on "Elle," the Prequel to "Legally Blonde"

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<div style="text-align:center"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1783318944556elle on prime video 1.png" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner">Photo: Jessica Brooks/Prime</span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><p><strong>Prime Video&#x27;s </strong><em><strong>Elle</strong> </em>successfully <em></em>premiered on July 1, and it&#x27;s now the #1 show on the streaming platform worldwide. The comedy series is the prequel to <em><strong>Legally Blonde</strong></em>, which starred <strong>Reese Witherspoon </strong>and is marking its 25th anniversary this month. With <em>Elle </em>showing<strong> Elle Woods</strong> as a 16-year-old (<strong>L</strong><strong>exi Minetree</strong>) <strong></strong>navigating her way through high school and adjusting from Bel Air to Seattle, we now come to see just how much of her personality as a grown-up is influenced and shaped by that of her father, <strong>Wyatt Woods</strong>, played by esteemed actor <strong>Tom Everett Scott</strong>. </p><p>In an exclusive interview, Tom Everett Scott talked about <em>Elle</em>—from the cute story about his casting and his thoughts on the nostalgic set to his similarity to his character and his experience working with Lexi.</p><div><br/></div><div style="text-align:center"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1783336784800tom everett scott for elle.png" style="width:960px;display:block;height:auto" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner">Photo: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Prime Video</span></span></span></div><div> </div><div><em></em></div><div><strong>The first person who found out he got the role in <em>Elle </em>was...</strong><em></em></div><p>...her daughter, who, like Lexi, is 25 years old. Tom told <strong>Metro.Style</strong>, &quot;I have a daughter who&#x27;s 25 now, and she and I were traveling together when I got the job. And she was so excited because this is such a huge movie for her. It really is. So, that was exciting for me. That just made me happy. It was just a wonderful moment for me and my daughter, for me to be cast in this.&quot; </p><div><br/></div><div><strong>As a dad, is he similar to or different from his character, Wyatt Woods?</strong></div><p>Tom said he always tries to find something common between him and his characters. &quot;When there&#x27;s something different,&quot; he added, &quot;I&#x27;ll just, you know, figure out some other way to identify with it.&quot; But when it came to Wyatt, Tom could relate to how caring and loving he is as a father. &quot;I&#x27;d like to think I share those similarities,&quot; he mentioned. </p><p>Tom and Wyatt do not have the same circumstances, though, and so their parenting styles vary. As an actor, Tom would sometimes travel for work and be away from home for some time. &quot;Sometimes I would be on the other side of the world while my kids were growing up, and I would try to be there as much as I could. Zoom and FaceTime have certainly, you know, helped a lot, but it&#x27;s not the same,&quot; he opened up. But he finds ways to make up for lost time, saying, &quot;When I&#x27;m not working, and I&#x27;m home, I&#x27;m a 24/7 dad. So I was able to be there full-time, you know, for big stretches.&quot; </p><p>Wyatt, on the other hand, is a plastic surgeon, and he&#x27;d normally be at work during the day and back home by the end of the day, so parenthood doesn&#x27;t quite look the same for them. Still, the essence of fatherhood, which is being there to support their kids and cheer them up when needed, is universal. </p><div><br/></div><div><iframe class="instagram-media instagram-media-rendered" id="instagram-embed-14" src="https://www.instagram.com/reel/DZ2nnNgkZzj/embed/?cr=1&amp;v=14&amp;wp=864&amp;rd=https%3A%2F%2Fod2-workbench-web.abs-cbn.com&amp;rp=%2F#%7B%22ci%22%3A14%2C%22os%22%3A32831288.299999997%7D" allowtransparency="true" allowfullscreen="" frameBorder="0" height="881" data-instgrm-payload-id="instagram-media-payload-14" scrolling="no" style="background:white;max-width:540px;width:calc(100% - 2px);border-radius:3px;border:1px solid rgb(219, 219, 219);box-shadow:none;display:block;margin:0px 0px 12px;min-width:326px;padding:0px"></iframe></div><script async="" src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script><div><br/></div><div style="text-align:left"><strong>The quality Tom thinks Elle picked up from Wyatt is...</strong></div><p><strong></strong>...her positivity! Elle has a certain charm and aura that just brightens up a room. With her magnetic personality, Elle effortlessly draws people in. In one scene, Wyatt becomes the life of the house party when he suddenly picks up the guitar, entertaining everyone. &quot;There&#x27;s a goofiness in there,&quot; Tom said about Elle. <strong></strong><br/></p><div style="text-align:left"><br/></div><div style="text-align:left"><strong>He said he admires the actress behind the young Elle Woods, Lexi Minetree.</strong></div><p style="text-align:left">The original Elle Woods, Reese Witherspoon, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vl_3e4EWIG0" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">finds it &quot;spooky&quot;</a> how much Lexi resembles her when in character. Indeed, Lexi is every inch perfect for this iconic pop culture figure, and Tom couldn&#x27;t agree more. &quot;I really, really admire her. So impressed with her. She&#x27;s a talented actor,&quot; Tom shared. But beyond the character portrayal, Lexi is also remarkable as a person. He added, &quot;She is a positive person. She cares about her friends and her family so much. I am honored to be part of this with Lexi.&quot;</p><div style="text-align:left"><br/></div><div style="text-align:left"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1783337189508elle on prime video 5.png" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner">Tom Everett Scott, Lexi Minetree, and June Diane Raphael | Photo: Ryan Northrop/Courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios</span></span></span></div><div style="text-align:left"><br/></div><div><strong>James Van Der Beek was part of <em>Elle</em>, and Tom said it was &quot;a wonderful experience&quot; working with him.<em></em></strong></div><div style="text-align:left"><strong><em></em></strong></div><p><em>Elle </em>is actually the last series of t<em></em>he <em>Dawson&#x27;s Creek </em>star, who passed away at 48 in February this year after battling cancer. In <em>Elle</em>, <em></em>James played the role of Dean Wilson. Tom is grateful that he got to meet him before he passed. &quot;I had never met him before,&quot; Tom shared. &quot;I&#x27;d always liked him as an actor, and getting to work with him was great... I felt like he was happy acting, and I feel like he was happy on that set. We all went and got dinner one night, and I got to know him a little bit. I&#x27;ll treasure it. He was a really lovely person. It was nice to see him up on the screen. It was nice to see him up there. He was a handsome, lovely person who was a really good actor.&quot; </p><div><br/></div><div style="text-align:center"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1783338131307elle on prime video 6.png" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner">James Van Der Beek | Photo: Kimberley French/Prime</span></span></span></div><div><br/></div><div><strong>For Tom, part of the reason why the young audience will appreciate <em>Elle </em>is the positivity it spreads.</strong></div><div><strong><em></em></strong></div><div><em></em></div><div><em></em></div><p>&quot;I just think it&#x27;s got that energy. It still has that energy and that positivity,&quot; Tom noted, talking about how timeless the influence of <em>Legally Blonde</em> can be even after 25 years. &quot;<em></em>There&#x27;s a lot of need for that in the world. And I think people will identify with that.&quot; </p><div><br/></div><div><strong>He had a blast on the set, especially with the throwback, nostalgic elements that recreated the 90s&#x27; vibe.</strong></div><p><strong><em></em></strong><em>Elle </em>is set in the 1990s, and so, there was no other way to achieve that mood than by going all-out in the props department. Tom said that he loves that period because it brings back memories of him starting as an actor, getting married, and really building a life of his own. &quot;So for me, the nostalgia was really, really great,&quot; he commented. &quot;I love it. I love the music. I love all the styles. They really got me in a great wardrobe. For this, my character wears a lot of vintage Ralph Lauren. And it&#x27;s a lot of fun. We&#x27;re kind of a fancy family from the 90s.&quot;  </p><p>Apart from the clothes, Tom also mentioned the vintage phones. &quot;I think the phones are funny. You know, definitely there are some phones with a big long antenna. It comes up and the, you know, rotary phones that have a long cord. I mean, it&#x27;s pretty funny. It&#x27;s funny to think how we got things done without smartphones. And yeah, it&#x27;s been pretty educational. It&#x27;s fun when the younger cast don&#x27;t know what these things are,&quot; he shared.</p><div><br/></div><div style="text-align:center"><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px;display:block" width="960"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/1783339025352elle on prime video 7.png" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" width="960"/><span class="fr-inner">Photo courtesy of Prime Video</span></span></span></div><div><em><br/></em></div><div><strong>What to look forward to in <em>Elle</em>&#x27;s Season 2?</strong></div><p><em>Elle </em>was renewed for a second season even before the release of its first season. Tom said to look forward to the different character arcs and how these will evolve in the next season. &quot;I am very grateful for the kind of, you know, stuff that they&#x27;ve got Wyatt doing in Season 1, Season 2. I&#x27;m very, very happy with the situation. Elle and Wyatt, their relationship definitely keeps growing,&quot; Tom concluded. </p><div><em></em><strong></strong><em></em></div><div style="text-align:left"><br/></div><p style="text-align:left">Lead photos by <strong>Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Prime Video </strong>and <strong>Jessica Brooks/Prime</strong></p>

<p>In this Metro.Style exclusive, Tom Everett Scott talked about "<i>Elle"</i>—from the cute story about his casting and his thoughts on the nostalgic set to his similarity to his character and his experience working with Lexi.</p>

In this Metro.Style exclusive, Tom Everett Scott talked about " Elle" —from the cute story about his casting and his thoughts on the nostalgic set to his similarity to his character and his experience working with Lexi.

The 'Elle' Experience: Tom Everett Scott’s Anecdotes From the Set of the 'Legally Blonde' Prequel

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The 'Elle' Experience: Tom Everett Scott’s Anecdotes From the Set of the 'Legally Blonde' Prequel

Grace Libero

Published July 06, 2026 08:15 PM PHT

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Updated July 06, 2026 08:18 PM PHT

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