Sarah Hyland is either a serious gamer, or she’s good enough of an actress to convince us that she is.
We caught up with the 24-year-old last weekend in her suite at the Venetian in Las Vegas, where Activision flew her in during the PlayStation Experience to try out the new Destiny DLC called The Dark Below. The Modern Family starlet did all she could to fuel your fantasies of catching her online in a Destiny, Halo or Call of Duty match-all while picking at a salad…
COED: When did you start gaming?
Hyland: The first gaming experience I had was with Nintendo. Super Nintendo, Nintendo 64, all that kind of stuff. Then I was a PlayStation kid up until I moved out to L.A. Then I switched over, then I came back. I’ve always loved playing them. I’m not going to be that girl that’s like ‘Oh I’m the best. I’ll whoop your ass at everything.’ Well, maybe I will at Mario Kart, but that’s it.
What do you think of Destiny?
I played it for the first time today. The demo for the new expansion pack. It’s so fun. I love it a lot. It reminds me of a really badass Halo. I like how the three different characters have their own unique abilities and that how it’s so individualistic to your person — how you get to choose what you want. So that’s what I really love about the game, and I’m excited for people to see it Tuesday and I think it would make a really good Christmas present as well. I actually didn’t want to come back up here because I kept wanting to play, but we had to.
You dyed your hair blonde. How do you like it?
The new hair–I love it. I’ve been planning this for like two years. Two years ago, at the beginning of the summer I said ‘I’m going to lose weight, dye my hair blonde and what else was I gonna do? I was gonna do something else. What was it? Get a tattoo? No. yeah but that wasn’t part of the three thing. I can’t remember the third.
But you did get a tattoo?
I got one. Yeah, I got my first one a couple weeks ago. It’s a hummingbird behind my ear. My first tattoo is a neck tattoo. Pretty thug. It didn’t hurt as much as I thought it would. I thought I’d be crying, screaming in pain the entire time, so it wasn’t that bad.
If a dude is a gamer, is that a positive or negative for you?
I think it’s more of a neutral. I think it’s fun to play video games with guys. Sometimes I can get on their nerves, because I’m not the greatest, so they kind of have to revive me all the time. But I think it’s great for a relationship for people to have their own stuff. If you take it to the extreme, that’s when it becomes a negative. But I think it’s great for people to have their own interests and their own hobbies so they can stay individuals without combusting in this amalgamation of people.
Are you working on any side projects right now?
With Modern Family right now. it’s kind of hard to do a bunch of stuff outside of that while filming the show. I’m excited to do things like this and get out of town and open my mind palate. I’ve got my last show tonight. I’m doing the unauthorized musical parody of Scream playing Sidney. It’s got a double cast, so when I had to work–or needed a weekend off–it was okay. It’ s a parody version of Scream with 90s music.
What do you like to do in Vegas?
Shopping’s always really great. I actually like to see all the different hotels. I think it’s really interesting how every one is different. I always love the pool. Actually, No. 1 is the food. It’s always the greatest. There’s Lavo and then there’s Stack at the Mirage and–what is that Mexican place at Aria? There’s a Mexican place at Aria–Javier’s–that’s amazing. The food here is so good.
What clubs out here do you like?
I’ve been to a lot out here I think they’re all fun. I think if you’re to a certain level any place is fun. Most recently I went to Beacher’s Madhouse and Hakkasan. They were very enjoyable.
What did you think about the PlayStation Experience crowd?
I thought it was awesome. I wasn’t out there for very long because I had to come up here. Everyone seemed super rad.
What makes Destiny a good game?
I’m a person that is sometimes scared of new video games because I feel like I’m gonna be awful at them. So when I played this for first time, it was really great. Because I’m having fun, so if someone like me can have fun playing this game, I think anyone can.
What was it like the first time you killed someone in Destiny?
I smiled, and my heart beat really fast. I was like, “Sarah, no. You can’t celebrate because there’s still people shooting at you.” It’s not like the game stops as soon as you kill one person. You have to keep going.
How did you get the kill? Did you sneak up on him?
He snuck up on me, and I was, like, “Whoa! Poo! Bam! With my rifle.”
Do you own a PS4?
Yeah, I have both consoles.
What’s your favorite game right now?
Right now, Destiny is one. I’m also a Call of Duty fan, and Halo. Those are the only first-person shooter games that I’ve played. I really like Nazi Zombies from Call of Duty.
Reviews by Phil Villarreal. Phil is an author, blogger and Twitterer. Publishers provided review copies.
