After spending three years as a VJ on Much Music, the Canadian equivalent of MTV, Amanda Walsh set her sights on an acting career. Shortly after touching down in L.A., Walsh began to land roles in such popular shows as Smallville and Veronica Mars (and more) before booking a part in the Shia La Beouf sleeper hit Disturbia. Now the former VJ turned actress is honing her acting skills in the straight-to-DVD sequel to the popular '80s hit War Games, which hit store shelves on July 29.

THE DEADBOLT: Would you say that youre tech-savvy in your day-to-day life?

AMANDA WALSH: Ah... no. I’m one of those people that for every tech gadget I own and I don’t own, I never get around to reading the manual. I’m always like, "This time it’s going to be different." And I never do it. So I don’t really use anything for more than its primary use, like my phone is my phone.

THE DEADBOLT: Yeah, I’m the same way sometimes.

WALSH: I think some people do, right? Some people must. Someone told me you should read it on a plane, but I was like, "What? That would be boring." I guess it’s a good idea.

THE DEADBOLT: So what attracted you to your character in the the War Games sequel?

WALSH: Oftentimes in films I think they sort of separate [the genders] and they’re like, "Okay, you’re the hot chick or the smart tomboy." I think Annie kind of gets to be a full person and I was really attracted to that because she contributes to the journey; she helps Will. They’re much more of a team than you often get to see. What I liked about the character is she’s a strong female character, but she’s human. Oftentimes I’m watching a movie where people are under extraordinary circumstances or on the run or in scary situations, and for them to never break down it doesn’t seem realistic to me. What I like about her strength is that she’s vulnerable and sensitive enough and just normal enough that she will break down, but then to be able to overcome that and continue on. To me that’s what real courage is really about.

THE DEADBOLT: You were only 2 years old when the original movie came out so I take it you went back and watched it for research. Did you do anythinh else?

WALSH: I did go back and watch it for research a couple of times. And then I also watched other movies I could think of that involved the same themes. You know, Hackers, The Net, or Enemy of the State, those kinds of movies to get myself in the right mood. I also did a lot of chess research, actually, because Annie is an avid chess player. I really wanted to feel like I knew what I was talking about and how her brain was operating, how she would be thinking about something.

THE DEADBOLT: Do you play chess?

WALSH: I used to play when I was a kid. It sounds like a funny thing to say about chess, but at the elementary school that I went to it was part of our math program. So my brother and I played a lot of chess growing up. I haven’t played in ages.

THE DEADBOLT: How do you feel about the way technology has taken over our lives, for better or worse, since the early '80s?

WALSH: I think it’s great in a sense that since I live in a different country from most of my loved ones. So when the world is a little smaller, you can send a picture really fast or some e-mail. That just does wonders for being far from home and connecting different cultures and different people from around the world. So in that sense I think it’s great. I think the only way it’s a little creepy is interpersonal relationships. It’s weird because in some ways it strengthens it because you have more methods of communicating. But then people lose touch with just seeing each other face-to-face, and I think that’s important. I am online in terms of Facebook and Myspace, and all of that stuff, but it’s also a bit funny this new urge to share all the details of your personal day-to-day comings and goings with everybody. I don’t know if that’s because of all of this new technology or if it’s from - I don’t know. My latest theory is that because we’re in an age of celebrity that it all of a sudden seems as if everybody doesn’t know what you’re doing, it doesn’t count.

THE DEADBOLT: What was it like filming in Montreal, and the film's setting as "Montreal", since you’re from Quebec?

WALSH: It was great. I grew up in a small town outside the city and I moved away when I was 19. So I never got to spend a ton of time in Montreal. I would go in and out, but this was my first time getting to actually live in the city and I really appreciate what a cool city it is and what a cold city it is. [laughs]

THE DEADBOLT: After spending so much time as a VJ on Much Music, do you miss the crew over there?

WALSH: I do. I really do. I was there for three years and it was such an amazing learning experience and so much fun. It was my life for three years. I was in there every single day. You really become a family with people if you’re working with them every single day like that. Since it was live television, it kind of felt like the stakes were even higher. So you really fall into a groove quickly. It was such a great job. I got that job when I was 19.