Why Tracy From The Roommate Looks So Familiar
The psychological thriller The Roommate featured a face you might have recognized: Aly Michalka, who played Tracy. A young student living in a college dormitory, Tracy makes friends with Sara (Minka Kelly) — but unfortunately for Tracy, Sara's roommate Rebecca (Leighton Meester) is not quite right in the head. Rebecca becomes completely obsessed with Sara, and possessive when other people try to spend time with her. The unhinged roomie ends up attacking Tracy in the shower, threatening her with death if she continues to horn in on her Sara time. It's a drastic change from the roles most people might associate Michalka with, since she rose to fame on the Disney Channel.
Michalka is a face most younger millennials will recognize as a cast member of the popular show Phil of the Future in which she played Phil's (Raviv Ullman) best friend, and later girlfriend, Keely Teslow. For two years, from 2004 to 2006, the two were all but joined at the hip, with Keely keeping a tight lid on the secret of the futuristic origins of Phil and his family. In the show's final episode, the pair have turned their close friendship into a relationship, after plenty of will-they-or-won't-they moments throughout the series.
The show was unfortunately canceled on a cliffhanger at the end of the third season, although Aly has stated she would be open to the possibility of a reunion at some point (via Elle).
Aly Michalka and her sister AJ formed a musical duo
Aly has also had a successful music career, forming a pop duo with her younger sister AJ (another former Disney Channel star). They released their first three albums during Phil of the Future's run, finishing with Insomniatic in 2007, before taking a lengthy break from music as their acting careers heated up. They released their next album a decade later in 2017, and were pleased to be back on the music scene after the 10-year hiatus.
""It feels kind of like we've never left," Aly told Rolling Stone at that time. "AJ and I went into this reunion of sorts wanting to make music that our fans would connect with, but at the end of the day, we want to make music that if we heard it on the radio or streaming, we would be like, 'Wow, I wish we had written that song.'"
Since then, they've released a fifth album, titled Sanctuary, in 2019. The duo have released plenty of music videos during their careers, which they share with their fans on their website Aly and AJ.
Aly Michalka has had a nice television career
After getting her start on the Disney Channel, Aly went on to score plenty of TV work over the years. From 2010 to 2011, she filled the lead role of Marti Perkins on The CW's Hellcats; the college cheerleading series also featured another Disney Channel alum, Ashley Tisdale (High School Musical, The Suite Life of Zack and Cody). The show was based on the book Cheer: Inside The Secret World Of College Cheerleaders, and followed Marti as she was forced to get herself onto her university's cheer squad in order to earn the the scholarship she needed to remain a student.
She also played the series regular role of Amy in the YouTube Premium series Ryan Hansen Solves Crimes on Television for two seasons, before it was canceled in late 2019 by the streaming service. The cancellation came as a result of YouTube opting to shift their focus away from the scripted series they were producing to more unscripted content, per The Wrap. Michalka appeared in 14 of the total 16 episodes.
Michalka has also appeared in a number of recurring and feature roles on series like Two and a Half Men (in which she popped up for five episodes as a potential love interest for Amber Tamblyn's Jenny) and the CW's iZombie (in which she portrayed Peyton Charles in all three seasons). She has also taken on a number of guest spots in single episodes of series like CSI: NY, Breaking In, Anger Management, Motive, and MacGyver.
Aly Michalka has also popped up in feature films
Aside from her time on TV, Michalka was also able to make the jump to film after her success on the Disney Channel. Her first film post-Phil of the Future again saw her teaming up with a fellow Disney Channel alum when she starred in Bandslam alongside Vanessa Hudgens (High School Musical). The film combined her love of acting with her love of music, as her character formed a band with two friends from her school. Michalka also appeared in 2010's Easy A, a high school movie of a different stripe, and one which helped make a household name of Emma Stone.
In 2014, Michalka took the lead role in Sequoia, a small independent film. The movie centered on Michalka's character Riley, a cancer patient who has lost all hope and plans to commit suicide in Sequoia National Park (believe it or not, the flick is actually a comedy). She's intercepted on her way to the forest by an unexpected encounter with a young man, who she ends up falling in love with.
Another lead role for Michalka came in 2015's Weepah Way For Now, in which she starred alongside her sister AJ. The real-life sisters played onscreen sisters in the film, which made good use of their musical talents. About to become adults, the sisters host a party before they set off into the world, but the evening turns to tragedy quickly as the partygoers come into conflict with each other. The aftermath sees the sisters realizing the only people they can really rely on is each other.
Aly Michalka is set to appear in an oft-delayed upcoming film
Aly has one upcoming project at the moment, but it's only upcoming because the release has been repeatedly delayed after initially being set for release all the way back in 2014. Killing Winston Jones is a dark comedy film in which she plays the supporting role of Cookie Jones; the project doesn't have an official release date announced as of yet, but is listed on IMDb as being complete.
The cast includes veteran actor Richard Dreyfus in the titular lead role and Danny Masterson (That '70s Show) as his son Ethan Jones, a sixth grade teacher. Ethan is trying to convince the school he works at to name the new gymnasium after his father, who spent years teaching gym at the same school, in order to get his father a win over his old rival, another retired gym teacher. Unfortunately for him, there's a specific requirement for the naming rights that his father doesn't quite meet: In order to have a building or classroom named after him, he needs to be dead.
Perhaps the flick will see the light of day now that Michalka has made a belated splash with The Roommate — but in any event, we have a feeling we'll be hearing more from the talented actress soon.