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"If you don't already watch ABC's sitcom The Middle, take a weekend to get acclimated\u2014and enviably fall in love\u2014with the quirky family comedy. Starring Eden Sher as the perpetually-brace-faced middle child, she's awkward, adorable, and one of the most relatable teenagers on TV. Turns out the twenty-one-year-old actress is just as awesome in real life.\n\nWe caught up with Eden about what it's like to relive high school, how she gets into character, and why \"feminist\" is such an important word.\n\nSue Heck is one of the coolest teenage girls on TV. How did you create such a likable character?\n\n \"I think I'm credited way too much! A lot of it is just me\u2014but if I didn't have filter or care about anyone ever. I think when I'm channeling Sue, I'm channeling Eden in her purest form.\"\n\nWhat was your high school experience like?\n\n \"I went to public school my whole life. It was a performing arts school so I can't say if it was a typical experience or not, because it's all I know. I remember the general anxiety of teenager, and I remember establishing some sort of appearance based on what my peers would think. And cliques, oh my god, the worst. The worst!\"\n\nAfter guest-starring on shows like Party Down and The O.C., how did it feel to land The Middle?\n\n I cried a lot. Obviously. I sobbed when I found out. It was more a relief that anything else. It was like, \"Oh, I actually am an actress!\" It was a confidence affirmation.\"\n\nWhat's it like on set of your show?\n\n \"It's great. Like 97% of the time, it's a wholly positive experience. I didn't really consider how rare that is until this year. I started talking with other people and casts who appear to have really good chemistry and seem really pleasant, sometimes they have terrible experiences. So I've realized our cast is not the norm. We all don't have egos. We're not competing the prettiest or the funniest, because we're all really supportive of each other.\"\n\nWhat's your relationship like with your on-screen brother Charlie McDermott, who's about the same age as you?\n\n \"We're very, very, very close. I love him. I have two brothers in real life, and he's like my third brother. I totally relate to Sue on the whole level of growing up with a younger and an older brother, because it's my life, too.\"\n\nWhat else are you up to?\n\n \"I'm finishing post-production on this short I wrote and directed. I'm currently in the process of writing a web series with my friend Allyn. We're supposed to be completely done by May, and then we can shoot it in June or July. We're going to shop it around. It's all too soon to give out details. I don't want to talk about it and then have nothing come of it! Maybe I'll do a movie? If our show gets picked up for a fifth season, then I'm just going to focus on that.\"\n\nYou wrote an excellent piece for Jezebel about the absence of women directors in Hollywood. Can we expect to read more from you?\n\n \"I never want to sound preachy about youth and feminism, but I feel like there aren't enough young people coming out about their concerns and opinions. I feel very strongly that young women have regressed a little bit. But I do get all preachy about it. In the '50s and '70s, feminism was a way more accepted worldview to have than it is now. Young women aren't identifying as feminists as much. If more young girls were like, 'Yeah I'm a feminist!,' others would follow.\""^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.teenvogue.com/story/eden-sher-the-middle-interview>