Amanda Schull isn’t dodging the question about whether “Center Stage” fans can anticipate a trilogy. The 2000 American teen drama swiftly became a cult classic, with a sequel released in 2008. Now, 16 years later, Schull is opening up about the possibility of a third installment. “There is a world,” the “One Tree Hill” alum exclusively hinted to The Post at the Alzheimer’s Association’s Dance Party to End ALZ on Sunday. “There is a world, yes.”
“Center Stage” chronicles the journey of young ballet dancers as they join the American Ballet Academy in New York and navigate the highs and lows of life, dance, and relationships. The film featured Ethan Stiefel, Zoe Saldana, Sascha Radetsky, and Susan May Pratt. Schull, who portrayed Jody Sawyer, had two on-screen romances: Stiefel, as the arrogant ballet dancer Cooper Nielsen, and Radetsky, as the sweet ballet student Charlie Sims.
Schull honored “Center Stage” with a heartfelt Instagram post in September. “25 years ago, I found myself in the perfect place at the perfect time. I was in my beloved city, San Francisco, about to become an apprentice with one of the world’s top ballet companies, @sfballet, and I was given the chance to audition for and then play the role of #jodysawyer in the movie #Centerstage,” she reminisced. “Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine this movie would have such an impact. It shaped my life’s path. And I discovered last weekend that it has touched more people than I ever realized. Almost 25 years to the day of filming Center Stage, I had the immense honor of attending @sfdancefilmfest screening of the film at the Herbst theater in San Francisco, co-presented by my former company, @sfballet.”
Schull added that everyone at the event “came to celebrate not just the movie, but also dance and the power of art.” The Hallmark star concluded, “We create art hoping that someone, somewhere, will see it and feel a stirring within themselves that validates our countless hours of struggle. But to still feel those ripples of affirmation 25 years later is astonishing. I will carry the warmth you all gave me on the stage of the Herbst theater in my heart forever.”
Schull was also part of another beloved series: the legal drama “Suits,” which ran from 2011 to 2019. The nine-season series found new life on Netflix, prompting a spin-off. “Suits” starred Patrick J. Adams, Gabriel Macht, Sarah Rafferty, Rick Hoffman, Gina Torres, and Meghan Markle. The Duchess of Sussex appeared on the USA Network show for seven seasons before her 2018 marriage to Prince Harry. Schull, as Katrina Bennett, recurred for six seasons before becoming a series regular in the eighth and ninth seasons.
“It came out of nowhere,” Schull said of the show’s Netflix revival. “And it happened in this strange void where we were on strike, so we didn’t really get together to talk about it because that was against the union rules of the strike.” “I was hearing about it, but we didn’t actually celebrate it until recently at the Austin Television Festival,” she explained. “And it was just a beautiful chance to connect with fans and my ‘Suits’ family. ‘Suits LA’ is also coming out soon, which is exciting.”
Currently, Schull is busy with her Hallmark series “Family Practice Mysteries” alongside Brendan Penny. “We filmed in a real, functioning morgue,” Schull disclosed. “Cremations were happening while we were there. This sounds quite grim, but they were lovely people and very respectful of everyone, of all the souls that had passed through. We heard many stories of their work, which is part of what my character understands, so it was really fascinating research that I never sought out myself.”
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